ON THE SINGING CIRCUIT

 2025 END-OF-YEAR SUMMARY

The summer was busy with our play readings at the Village Nursing and Rehab Center, The Red Dot Gay Cabaret and Bastille Day celebrations, Henry Dee in A Tribute to Lady at Sunset, and the Barry Harris Jazz Intensive. It is now January 2026 and time for my end of year review covering events of the fall and winter of 2025.

Red Dot

At the famed RED DOT Restaurant and Cabaret in Hudson we celebrated Songs of Columbia Indigenous Peoples' Day October 11 and 12. There was a Latin American edge to all our choices under Andrew Loren Resto direction. I was thrilled to focus on Antonio Carlos Jobim's beautiful songs. Waters of March is to me a perfect prayer honoring nature and respectful of all native peoples. I also sang The Girl/Boy from Ipanema and One Note Samba. As the traditional tip of the hat to Italian Americans and all immigrants that have made our country great, we sang  with audience That’s Amore. Kate Medhus and Andrew Loren Resto danced, and Mary Ellen Ryan and John Philip sang. The great Ricky Ritzel played the piano. And always, the wonderful James Keith Moore as Stage Manager extraordinaire!

In September, happily, I also saw our friend J. Dolan Byrnes in To Feed The Roses at the Theatre for the New City in September. Dolan is an excellent actor, and this play showcased his talents well. 

On 9/11 The Can We Talk Theatre (the name of our play reading company) closed the year at the Center for Nursing and Rehab with a reading of the play Survival NYC.  It was the play I developed with the staff and residents of John Heuss House the year following 9/11. John Heuss House was a drop-in center on Beaver Street in lower Manhattan for the mentally ill and fragile homeless.  This was the only place not evacuated in lower Manhattan after the planes hit. Our clients were not going to be given places in the W Hotel as did other lower Manhattan residents. I remember staff had to get special police escorts to get into the cordoned off area. It was my job as art therapist to help the clients and staff cope with the aftermath. John Heuss House was a program of Trinity Church and has since closed. Severely traumatized people such as the mentally ill homeless were re-traumatized. One of the clients thought he sent the planes. Aaron Morishita, Daniel McHenry, J. Dolan Byrnes, Mary Ellen Ryan, Lois Ann Delong, James Tomkins, David Freeman and staff members from the Center participated in the reading and in sharing their memories of that fateful day. I need to remember to plan for next year as it will be the 25th Anniversary of 9/11. Survival NYC is remarkably relevant and poignant.

Brooklyn Book Club 

September, we continued with E. Lockhart’s  young adult saga with reading Family of Liars. This followed reading We Were Liars. These books were the suggestion of Lauren and Jessica Knowles who were unable to attend the September discussion, so we decided to read the next to lure them in for the next. It worked. Interesting review by members as to the privileged elitists’ lives of the protagonists.

In October it was Aura by Carlos Fuentes, a modern Poe-like horror story poem. This was Mike Daly’s suggestion who keeps us fluent in Latin American literature. We closed the year in December with the non-fiction Andrew Lipman’s Squanto. Many of us found this a little dry and wanted more emotional input as it attempted to de-myth the myth of Thanksgiving and the kindly native who helped the colonists conquer America. This was a great controversial discussion, needless to say.

Coinciding this fall and winter we have begun to have discussions led by Mike Daly on American History following book club discussions. Jessica Knowles has also taken the mantle and is participating in these discussions which are keenly appropriate and needed in these times addressing civic education and American history. The book club provides me with great intellectual discussions and focus. Who would have thought my neighborhood bar would provide this level of cerebral activity?!

Punch

After my body structuring class at the New York Sports Club a woman was upset about a show she had seen on Broadway called Punch. She said it wasn’t really a play. So, I went to see it. I disagree. It was a play, a true-life story of a restorative justice project. Young people in a bar, a fight breaks out. A punch is thrown and somebody dies. The one who throws the punch is sent to prison and seeks redemption through a restorative justice program. He seeks forgiveness and understanding from the parents of the young man who died. Punch documents the story of this young man and the parents of the young man who died. I identified with this project as many of the plays I have written over the years document a true-life story in play format. All the Homeless Trilogy are in this nature. I find it hopeful that a similar work has made it to Broadway. Perhaps there is room for me yet. To check out my plays, they are published on this website.

Back Room Art Fair

Julius’ Back Room Art Fair was on Sunday, October 19. It was a benefit for Save The Children. David Hillman and James Tomkins represented the writers in the group. James Wilson, Dominick and I were the visual artists. It was the day after the NO KINGS EVENT and not very well attended (more importantly NO KINGS was) but with the generous help of Helen Buford, Julius’ owner, we were able to make a 500-dollar contribution to Save The Children. Special mention should go to staff person Dominick who participated for the first time with his dried flowers. Very beautiful!

Just a quick mention of Uni (actor and director) and the Village Playwrights. I’ve enjoyed participating with this group which meets the first Monday of every month at St. John’s on Christopher Street. I have fun being an actor reading parts and I meet new writers such as Reginald T. Jackson and David Freeman. Hopefully in this year I will submit my play Artichoke Information which is based on the true story of a lesbian couple in the 1920’s. 

Field Trip

On 11/14 it was great fun to have a field trip with the kids from Ty’s to the Museum of Natural History. We were guided on this adventure by Shawn Fox, a zoologist who happens as well to be bartender extraordinaire. We found the neanderthal man and many other delights exploring the evolution of life. There is so much expertise all around me these days. I am honored. 

In Memoriam

The family at Ty’s lost George T. Lovell who died June 10 and my SIP theatre family lost Marvin Peter Westney who died this past October. Peter was always a presence in our Social Isolation Project (SIP) Zoom meetings throughout COVID and beyond. Jimmy, Dolan and I visited him a couple times in N. J. nursing rehab places this fall in his latest struggle. Peter, a former flight attendant was the last person to close the door of the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania on 9/11. In recent years, he told me this story as in the past, he had difficulty talking about it. George was also ever present at Ty’s. Great sadness for all friends and family. May they rest in peace. 

Ready and Willing

Much of this fall and winter has been devoted to directing James Tomkins original work Ready and Willing. A one-person show with various characters as one man reflects on who is to get what of valued possessions as he writes his will. Jimmy’s work is always inciteful and funny despite the seriousness of the task. We met weekly at a rehearsal studio at the Barrow Street Music School as Jimmy perfected his script and his acting. Then we would go to Ty’s. It was quite the adventure! The show was on December 4 at Don’t Tell Mama. It was a packed house and extremely well received. There are plans for the show to continue in Connecticut this year! Looking forward!

My paintings continue with all their imperfections. Sold one of the Smith Family portraits and recently completed another of Evelyn and Thomas ‘Tommy Mac’ McMahon to have them remain included on the wall of Smith's. 

Painting is a process I love as it involves only myself. Of course, it is great when people like it or have a place to display it as I do at Smith’s for the Smith Family Portraits, but the painting act itself is just me and I don’t have to have an audience or fellow players. I love my theatre but it ain’t always easy.

John McWhorter’s Early to Bed

On December 5 approximately 6:30pm, I’m having a glass of wine and reading my book at Malachys on 72nd Street, planning to see across the street John McWhorter’s Fats Waller’s lost musical Early to Bed. I look at my ticket and the show is not 7:00 but 9:30pm! Oh no! So, I went Christmas shopping at Barnes and Noble and then returned at 9:30 to a sold-out show at The Triad Theatre. John McWhorter and Diana Bertolini are to be in my Christmas show and it was important that I see their work. Wow! John created and directed, arranged, played piano, sang, wrote lyrics and narrated this lost musical of Fats Waller from 1943. Mr. McWhorter is remarkable! 

Last year John and his daughter Dahlia sang in my Christmas show and she also was in this show along with Ivis Fundichely, another friend from Marie’s Crisis where I also met John and Diana many years ago.  John was so very proud of Dahlia’s sophisticated and joyful performance!  Ivis and Diana were wonderful as well, beautiful singers adding much to the comedy and elegance.  So much talent I am thrilled to know! Early To Bed can be seen again on January 9 at The Triad at 7:00. The talented cast also included Kristen Joseph, Dirrane Cove and Katy Grenfell.

Marie’s Crisis  

Marie’s is located on Grove Street in the West Village, a revered piano bar sing-along. For over 30 years I have been stopping in and enjoying the patrons and pianists. This is a place for singers to sing. And they know all the words! This is the place for singers to sing! Musical theatre babes from all over the world show their stuff! Amazing!

I met Ivis Fundicely, Diana Bertolini and John McWhorter and a gazillion others years ago singing with the late great pianist Jim Allen. I often frequent Alex Barylski on Mondays and Franca Vercelloni plays on Saturdays. This month I have been there several times to witness Franca singing and playing with the audience. It is always fun to experience an hour or two under their spell. There is too much to say about Marie’s, many great performers. I am not there as often as in past, but ‘back in the day’ they would say I am a ‘regular’. Bar people, waiters and piano players all are extraordinary entertainers. It is a marvelous space and always, always at the heart of my Singing Circuit.

Barry Harris Month

December is the month of Barry Harris’s Birthday. Historically in the jazz community this is a big deal! As we didn’t do a Red Dot Christmas this year, I was able to attend both a concert in his honor at Rutgers December 8 as well as the Birthday Celebration at the New School December 14. Fabulous! For over 20 years I have been a part of the chorus. I think I sing better with the chorus than I do anywhere else. My goal is still to blend…! I’m still working on it. 

International Human Rights Festival

On December 13 I saw Black in the First Degree, a play by Reginald T. Jackson at the International Human Rights Festival at the Tank. The play was well performed and directed. Troublesome and powerful content. It was part of a series of one acts addressing social justice. I was happy to discover this organization. I will explore further this new year.

Christmas Show

Bronwyn’s Christmas Show was on December 20 at Don’t Tell Mama. I was thrilled. We had a packed house and lots of fun. The audience sang along a lot, and all seemed to be having a great time. My guest singers were marvelous: Aaron Morishita, J. Dolan Byrnes, Christine Rising, Diana Martinelli, John McWhorter and Henry Dee! 

My nephew Jake was in the audience. Very few people from my family have ever been to my show, not for many years. So, this was a real treat! (The next day Jake and I went to the Staten Island Ferry which also is one of my favorite things to do and I gave him a favorite painting I did of teens waiting on the Staten Island side). 

At the show, many great guests were in attendance: Jessica, Karolina, Susan, the Kille-Sawyers, Tom, Alex, Sean, Marty Deane’s Family, Matt, Anna and new ones like Carmel from Malachy’s! I am sure I am forgetting someone and some I didn’t know, but for me the audience was everything. Marty Deane had the flu, but he sent his family as well as a beautiful vase of flowers that was properly placed on the piano!

Artistically, I messed up here and there but in general I had a good time.  I learned to let the mistakes go, not dwell. Starry Starry Night/Vincent went very well! I forgot to tell my story about Frosty terrifying me as small child as he melted away and my child sense of time couldn’t grasp a year. Now as an adult, time moves so swiftly and Frosty is the magic of Christmas…but I forgot this story…Oh well. 

I also remembered to give Jerry Scott credit for encouraging me to explore my full voice- i.e. soprano voice as well as The Try to Remember/City Sidewalks arrangement. Jerry is now one of our Christmas angels. He died in 2013. In past most piano players knew me as a ‘talk singer’ as “when I burst on the scene” (1980’s), I couldn’t sing. I sang a line and then talked getting me in the back door as a comedienne, a Victor Borge-like technique. My piano players of past just wanted my talking voice. So, it’s all dear Jerry’s fault, even though admittedly I sometimes sound like Florence Foster Jenkins. 

Sidney Myer

The day after my show I went to Sidney Myer’s show at Pangea, after the Staten Island Ferry with my nephew. I love Sidney! He is a wonderful performer and has the most extraordinary material. One song was about doing anything on New Year’s Eve except going to Times Square. So very funny. Also, Good Advice by Allan Sherman. So many good tunes and filled with the special poignancy that only Sidney can do! Terrific show!

Francis Roach and Luigi

Another project to mention slightly off the singing circuit but not really, is ongoing work that I am doing with Francis Roach of the Luigi Jazz Center researching and documenting for a future book Francis is writing based on Luigi quotes over the years. This has involved various FOIA requests (Freedom of Information Act) that verify Luigi’s terrible accident as a young man that paralyzed him, inspiring him to develop a dance technique that continues today. 

Luigi, Eugene Louis Facciuto returned after the war and active duty with the Navy in the Philippines without a scratch, went to California to pursue his dance. The car accident temporarily derailed his life, but Luigi would not let go and taught himself to walk, to dance again. He went on to work in MGM films with Gene Kelly and others, settling in NYC teaching many dancers and stars his unique technique that continues today under the tutelage of Francis Roach and the Luigi Jazz Center. I have been dancing Luigi for 40 years. Research has never been my thing, so this work has been a challenge, so many requests and not an easy time to communicate with the government and the VA what with all the DOGE cuts etc…. Indeed a challenge, but I am very proud and happy to help Francis!

So that’s it… the end of 2025 and a few tasks are set for 2026! 

HAPPY NEW YEAR! LOOKING FORWARD! 

AUGUST 4, 2025

So, it’s been about 6 months since my last entry…

We have had a couple of shows at the Red Dot in Hudson, The Gay Cabaret on June 24 and The Bastille Day Cabaret on July 12.  3A Productions who produce our cabarets with Alana of the Red Dot asked me to direct the Gay Cabaret as both Andrew, our regular director and Jimmy Moore, our Stage Manager were away on a cruise. I, Ricky Ritzel, Mary Ellen Ryan and Terrence Law were the main players. The Theme in Hudson was ‘The Wizard of Oz’. Throughout the cabaret, I had quotes from The Wizard of Oz that audience and actors would read at random. This was a big hit.  Other highlights included Mary Ellen performing a gay disco medley including I am What I Am, and I will Survive. Ricky Ritzel singing If I only had a brain and Gay Paree with Andrew. For me, I really enjoyed singing Lush Life. There were also several of my favorite songs that were group songs such as Sunshine Lollipops, Rainbow Connection and Over the Rainbow. It was a great show!

Donations for The Gay Cabaret and The Bastille Day Cabaret went to the extremely worthy work of the Colombia County Sanctuary Movement, to help immigrants fight for rights to stay in Colombia County and pursue citizenship.

The Bastille Day Cabaret was under Andrew Loren Resto’s direction and brought us the beautiful dancing of Kate Medhus and also songs by 3A producer John Philip as well as our main stalwarts of Red Dot Cabarets, Ricky Ritzel, Mary Ellen Ryan, Terrence Law, Myself and our fabulous owner/also producer of Red Dot, Alana Hauptman.

The past few months, we have had several play readings at the West Village Rehab Center.   On March 27 and April 3, it was the Madwoman of Chaillot and on May 29 we read On The Staten Island Ferry. This July my play Winkie and Ginnie was read on 7/24 and on 7/31.

We divided the reading of Madwoman of Chaillot, one of my favorite plays, between two days but there still wasn’t as much time for discussion as I would have preferred for our audience. 

I chose Madwoman of Chaillot, written in 1943 by Jean Giraudoux, as I found it very relevant to today. Rich oilmen and politicians want to dig up Paris for oil so they can make money. The beauty of the city is saved by the madwomen of Paris. However, the play with a “cast of  thousands” and much text simply didn’t allow time for much discussion of relevance to today’s politic.

On The Staten Island Ferry reading the following month was better. The reading of text and discussion was an hour. Audience members were engaged. As I wrote On The Staten Island Ferry with monologs by other writers, I could easily control text and engage audience. For me the highlight was an older woman who stated she didn’t think anyone else felt like this. She thought she was alone. Breaking through the isolation of old age is a major goal in CAN WE TALK THEATRE.

On The Staten Island Ferry and Winkie and Ginnie are plays I’ve written that address political and social issues. On The Staten Island Ferry addresses the partisan politics of and the threat of losing our democracy to autocracy. It takes place on the Staten Island Ferry as people take selfies of themselves with lady liberty. Winkie and Ginnie is based on the lives of two elitist southern women, Mary Wingfield Scott and Virginia Reese Withers, lesbians who adopted two boys in 1920’s; went to Paris, visited Gertrude Stein and other America ex-pats such as Langston Hughes and Richard Wright. In the play they confront their plantation roots and discuss racism, reconstruction and the rearing of their two boys. As they are actual historic figures, the play features as well as my fictional dialogue, their own writings reflecting on these times.

Winkie and Ginnie also addresses LGBTQ+ issues. The past reading conversation was primarily on gender fluidity having male and female readers of the female roles. We talked as well, of the reality of two women adopting boys in 1920.  We met again on July 31 and discussed further race and reconstruction.

The July 31 reading was indeed a bit more complicated. There was a gentleman who had difficulty hearing and although I tried to keep my actresses near him so he could hear, he became increasingly frustrated and angry. He was angry that I wasn’t addressing the Israeli state and “Louie.” I didn’t know what he meant, and he said I should know as I knew everything. Fortunately, there was one of the residents, a former social studies teacher who explained that Louie was a ship of Israeli refugees in 1943 who were refused entrance to Cuba and went on a hunger strike.

Winkie and Ginnie was not about that, but the poor man couldn’t hear and was angry that Jewish issues were not talked about. Two of my actors left their seats and tried to intervene with him breaking the circle (we were seated in a circle). It appeared as if they were ganging up on my elderly angry audience member. It took me a bit to get them back to their seat and I was able to thank actors and audience and close the group. It was a messy ending for sure and I felt bad that this gentleman was so upset.

I must remember always that when addressing complex issues sometimes other complex issues arise, especially when working with vulnerable people as certainly we were. In my past work where I ran groups with homeless or teens, I was staff and could always return the next day and see how someone was doing, talk further etc... As a volunteer this is not possible. I need to think about this and better prepare my actors and the group to handle conflicting and/or emotional issues when they arise.

So, it’s been a busy time with new adventures for my motley crew of actors and writers. The Can We Talk Theatre has been challenging as the goal is to engage seniors in discussion, and it is a non-traditional venue. We are exploring in front of the audience the beginning of the creative process by offering cold readings and sharing the exploration of new material. This demands from the actors a performative style, speak loud, reach the audience, have patience for interruptions etc… It is not for every actor.

My past work has often been about serving the underserved with theatre and art. This adventure at the West Village Rehab Center is in that vein. I jokingly would say it was “left of left”, in contrast to that more direct ‘path to Broadway’. Whether it was work with the homeless or the gangs of East New York, this was not what career-minded actors did. I see that now. Oh well. However, I am passionate about theatre and sharing it, as that is what theatre is.

The wonderful actors who have participated in The Can We Talk Theatre are Joe Dolan Byrnes, Lois Anne DeLong,  Michael Freeman, Mimi Hart, Jessica Knowles, Marc McBarron Kessler, Daniel McHenry, Maggie Mendel, Aaron Morishita, Rudy Reed, Christine Rising, Mary Ellen Ryan and James Tomkins. I thank them all!

Also, after The Gay Cabaret in Hudson, I spent a week at The Barry Harris Summer Jazz Intensive at The New School. The Barry Harris Chorus had daily rehearsals and provided a concert at the final performance. There was intensive work on harmonic structures, improvisation and instruction daily for all musicians. The instructors were fabulous! James Austin Jr, President and fabulous pianist of the Barry Harris Institute. (He played for me once in the Hague. Barry taught yearly at the Hague and the choir and others would follow him. I only went once in 2002. James played in the after-hours club. I sang my stream-of-conscience version of Just In Time wherein I talked of Uta Hagen and various loves of my life. It was definitely not jazz…what did I know)? Nothing. I have always felt on the edge of everything, but no greater than my life on the edge of the jazz community. I have been enormously intimidated and astounded that the musical theatre world connected so little with Jazz. Yes. Our great musical comedy songs are part of the American Song Book, but despite gorgeous tunes, the worlds don’t often overlap.

However, I have been part of the Barry Harris Chorus for over 20 years. Each day the BH Intensive ended with a choir rehearsal where many new singers learned Barry’s choral harmonies and then the final concert. At the end of the final performance, I said goodbye and thank you to Phil Bingham, also a wonderful pianist and choral director. He said to me that I sang “beautifully.” No one has ever said that to me. 

I have always thought that I sing best with the choir. My role is simple there. The goal is to blend, (I have a loud voice). The notes and rhythms are clear.  Of course, mistakes are still made and I certainly have made plenty through the years, but my choices are designated by the choir director (Phil Bingham) and Barry’s music which is so very beautiful. It is a simple role for me. I still am so very happy that Phil said this to me. It is probably the best comment anyone has ever made to me regarding my singing.

Other great jazz artists/performers/instructors I experienced were Isaac Raz, Richard Clements, David Glaser and Phil Bingham! There were many wonderful musicians participating in the workshops and performing at the Final Performance. It was a great honor to be part of it! I also saw Naoko, a wonderful singer I met online during Covid. She was part of my Zoom theatre group, then she moved to Pittsburgh. She also wrote a poem about being a refugee that is part of the play On The Staten Island Ferry.

On July 5, I attended the last performance of Pirates of Penzance-Ish at 53 Above directed by Jason Ellis and featuring award winners Evelyn Sullivan and Aaron Morishita. It was extremely clever, joyful and filled with the boundless creativity evident in all Jason’s work. Aaron and Evelyn were fabulous as always! I love my talented friends!

So, it has been a busy few months and I am grateful to report the work and thank all who participated!

One of my favorite moments is to sit at the bar and read my book with a glass of wine…AND… (This, I read this past month in Mary Rodgers and Jesse Green’s Memoir SHY - great book!), AND…did you know that Mary Rodgers and her husband’s ashes were put in the planters outside Joe Allen’s on 46thStreet so they would be close to the bar?! 

APRIL 17, 2025

The ever-learned and soulful singer Henry Dee performed at Don't Tell Mama with a marvelous band, under the direction of David Pearl, songs from Billy Holiday’s last two albums. Henry sang great and is expert at creating beautiful tributes, and none better than this, dedicated to the great Lady Day entitled A Tribute to Lady at Sunset.  Every tune was sensitively arranged and performed. My personal favorites were When it’s Sleepy Time Down South, Please Don’t Talk About Me When I’m Gone and What a Little Moonlight Can Do.  Henry’s artistry touches my soul and I look forward to hearing whatever musical adventure he creates in the future. 

JANUARY 23, 2025

OMG, the first month of January 2025 is almost over and I didn’t even do the end of the year summary of On The Singing Circuit. I guess the election took over and the inauguration and whatever…. So here goes….

The Christmas shows went fabulously well. Bronwyn’s Christmas Sing-a-Long at the Red Dot in Hudson was a happy event with singing surprises. John Philip read from Eddie Casson’s Farm Story. Eddie was also in the audience. Fabulous to meet him! I have since read his book which I so enjoyed and explained why I heard a gasp from him and his partner when my waitress character tossed a handful of glitter when I sang “a pocket full of starlight” from the song, Catch a Falling Star. Throughout Farm Story, there are references to ‘tossing glitter,’ something his beloved grandma often said, as he reckons his coming of age as a gay man.

Alana Hauptmann sang wonderfully as did John Philip, Mary Ellen Ryan and Ricky Ritzel at the piano, who also sang a jazzy Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas which was also sang by all at the close of the show. Alana beautifully decorated the Red Dot ala The Great Gatsby adding a very elegant look of leopard prints and glitzy gold to the entire proceedings.  Andrew Loren Resto tap danced magnificently to Jingle Bell Rock and my darling stage manager James Keith Moore continued courageously reading of Thorton Wilder’s stage manager monolog.  Most importantly, it was the grand audience who sang with us the many carols throughout the show, creating a very sweet, lovely time!

In the city, Bronwyn’s Christmas Show at Don’t Tell Mama also was a rounding success, a packed house and fantastic special friends. James McWhorter, the writer, accompanied his teenage daughter Dahlia who shared her beautiful voice with us. Aaron Morishita broke my heart with What are you doing New Years Eve? Cristine Rising magically sung When I Look in Your Eyes and Joe Dolan Brynes as always adding his joyful thoughtfulness with The Man with The Bag and joining me in I’ll be Home for Christmas. I introduced two new songs to my repertoire dedicated to my dear friend Marty Deane and his family who have been to all my many Christmas shows at DTM the past 20 years. Wow!  During this time, his daughter Emily married Justin and had two children, Madeleine and Hudson. Also, my wonderful yoga teacher Karen Coles and her dad were there! Karen also just had a baby, Little Ella! The songs were Thad Jones and Alec Wilder’s A Child is Born in a medley with Sondheim’s Nothings Going to Harm You. I so enjoyed learning these songs and singing them to these very special guests!

Well, I enjoyed the whole adventure of both shows. The Christmas shows always keep me focused on joy and happiness and this year what with the election and 47, I needed all the help I could give myself. As I said in Blue Bird of Happiness which I sang in both shows with Ricky Ritzel. Happiness today is most certainly a very conscious choice and a ‘radical action’!

As always Marie's Crisis continues to play a place in my Holiday Season. Special appreciation goes to the pianists, James Merilatt and Alex Barylski, also the bartender/singers, director Doug Thompson and Kyle Motsinger; who added much to my Marie’s Crisis experience on the evenings I visited with their wonderful voices and hospitality On the Singing Circuit.

And so here we are…The New Year…. Well, I went to one AEA audition this month. I had pretty much stopped open AEA auditions as, well, it’s like playing scratch off… but hope never dies…. This year I must get an agent.  Also, as resolution, SIP Theatre my zoom theatre open mic will resume at least once a month. The first meeting will be January 30 at 3:00. (Let me know if you are not on my email list for link.) and I am practicing chord structure.

I’m working on the audio book for my book White Lady, and we will see what cabaret arises…. Again, happiness and hope are radical actions! Happy New Year 2025 everyone! Peace and love and hope to see you On the Singing Circuit. 

2024 END-OF-YEAR SUMMARY

OCTOBER 30, 2024

So here we are in the last third of the year. I had three playreadings of The Radon Daughters on The Staten Island Ferry, three cabaret performances of Too High and appeared in Hudson three times, Presidents Day, Indigenous Peoples Day and Gay Pride and there is the upcoming Christmas Show. Isn’t three that magic comic number? Nothing at present feels funny to me.

I suspect it is the politics of the day. I am losing my sense of humor. The threat of a fascist state, the reports of all the many millions who support Trump and a myriad of other complex grief laden personal issues kill my humor.

I wish I could have done more and more successfully and yet I think this may be it.  I just don’t think I can keep on with the self-producing of the cabaret shows etc…but let it rest for now. No serious decision today.

I have been painting and continue to work on that. There is so much imperfection in this process but It is the only creative activity I can explore that doesn’t involve an audience at least initially.

The Radon Daughters on The Staten Island Ferry, the Playreading. The first, I now realize, was not this year. It was July 2023 at the club, 53 Above. My friend Jason Ellis is the Director of this club which is also a comedy club. There was a problem with overbooking and in an amateur move the production was aborted before the reading was even completed. This was the worst thing that ever happened to me in all my weird avant-garde work over the years. I had a great audience and cast and it was so horribly unprofessional to have the reading stopped midway. In the audience we had producers, writers and other professionals. I had invited them all saying this was a political revue and following the reading I needed, we needed, their input. On stage there were terrific actors. The reading was aborted. There was nothing I could say. I cried.

We never recovered. In subsequent readings I never got many of those people, the actors and the audience back. 

The Radon Daughters on The Staten Island Ferry, is about civic education and an intergenerational effort to address the challenges to democracy. It is a political revue culminating in  open discussion with the audience. I have written several scenes and conceptualized the event, but other writers are included addressing issues of freedom. 

This year, I struggled again to set up a reading. I went to several places in the village, but it’s not like the old days of The Frolics (a weekly open mic I ran in Village many years), where I could approach a restaurant and say I will bring a bunch of people for a reading who will buy food and drink. They all want a guaranteed amount for food and drink. 

The next reading was at The Revelation Gallery in the Village. Revelation Gallery is a part of St John’s Episcopal Church. Here too the Reverend wanted a fee. I said it was a benefit for the church’s community programs as well as SAGE and I couldn’t pay the fee. He waived it and I was grateful.

This event was intended to be an art fair and reading. None of the village visual artists from Julius’ were available, so I held up that end with my own paintings. In the past, I have had several art shows at Julius’, a gay bar on West 10th. Different visual artists had initially been interested. In the end it was only me holding up the visual art end. Also, Bill Sattan brought jewelry from his workshops and Tom Bernadine brought books and village maps.  

One of the best things about this reading was at the very end I got a photo of audience and actors holding my paintings of patriots. A great photo! 

A principal part which in the previous reading was read by Karolina, a Polish immigrant who is a bartender in Brooklyn from whom the role was based. Karolina is a tall zoftig beautiful blonde with matching  personality. She played the part of the leader of the performance group who is helping the seniors in presenting the civic education program with a performance of Radon songs along with the new song, On The Staten Island Ferry.  After the previous debacle, the ‘real’ Karolina was unavailable, as was Dorothea Gloria an excellent Asian actress who I was thrilled to have as part of a diverse cast. 

I was fortunately able to engage a trans actor to play Karolina and a brilliant young 20-year-old Jessica Knowles to play Dorothea’s part. The theatre producers and directors who comprised the audience of the first reading never returned.

The discussion following the reading was pretty good.  Tom, the map vendor got up to say goodbye and I went to give him a hug. Others thought that was the cue for the ending and the group started breaking up. Consequently, the conversation was somewhat shortened. I had been leading the discussion. It was my fault as I went for the hug.

The third reading was at Stonewall. Aaron Morishita, Lois DeLong and Jimmy Tomkins were readers as they had been for the previous readings and deserve special mention. Jimmy read his humorous observations about people on the ferry. Lois wrote a new monolog about being an older woman and being invisible as well as her American Dream Gatsby speech. The discussion went very well. We were joined by David Hillman and Anna Feil in the audience, as well as some who I didn’t know. Yay! Jessica Diero Berryessa, an occupational therapist from Brooklyn, admirably read the role of Karolina. 

I was also inspired by the readings of wonderful performing and cabaret artists, Carlos Acosta, Bill Goffi and Chauncey Daindridge who joined us for this event. Chauncey, Stonewall’s tech director wrote of democratic freedom. Carlos was truly my inspiration with his enthusiasm bringing the generous and gentile musician Bill Goffi to help with the Radon Daughter music. 

Although I wanted to have this third reading, I was losing heart. It was important that we do the reading before the election. To provide a forum for discussion, if for nothing else but support for each other and our belief in democracy.  Yet, I was discouraged. It seemed a little like pulling teeth, herding cats, whatever…. Carlos Acosta encouraged me. Carlos is a wonderful performer and writer with a unique joyful wit that was hard to ignore. Thank you, Carlos, for keeping me smiling!

NOVEMBER 1, 2024

Simultaneously, Too High, my memoir about my time with Anita O’Day, continued at Don’t Tell Mama. It is also a memoir about my mother, my work with the homeless, my social work life and our commitment to life as artists. Anita, who I knew in her last year here in NYC at the end of her life, is the connection to all the other parts. 

There were three shows under the direction of Aaron Morishita and with Ricky Ritzel at the piano. Each performance tweaked here and there. The last was the best and James Gavin, author of many books including Intimate Nights, about the cabaret world, was there with the great Sydney Myer and wrote a wonderful comment about the show. We have put his words on the website Anita O’Day tribute page.  https://bronwynrucker.com/anita-oday-tribute

And now to Hudson New York and the Red Dot. It has been 8 years that I have been going to Hudson for the shows at the Red Dot Restaurant. The amazing Alana Hauptmann has opened her doors to many artists. She, as well, is a singer and participates in all our shows under the auspices of 3A Productions and the Red Dot. 3Aproducers are John Philip and Andrew Loren Resto with James Keith Moore as Stage Manager. We do at least three shows a year. Additionally, the last 3 years Bronwyn’s Christmas Show has been at the Red Dot. 

There are many great Hudson based performers participating along with Alana, John and Andrew. Also included are Kate Medhus, Terrence Law, Ophelia Nightly, Kevin Weldon, Sky Blakiston, Sandi Blakistan, Gregg Shephard, Mary Ellen Ryan, Nea McKinney (Sister Red Hawk), Stephanie Monseu Moranda Morai and Rose Levine. 

February, we began with Rose Levine’s Hello Gorgeous. In June The Art of The Gay celebrated Hudson Gay Pride. No one beats drag performers Miranda Morai and Rose Levine in lovely craziness. 2024 was the second time we had Indigenous People Day with Sister Red Hawk blessing us with her unique sound poetry, singing bowls and special prayers. And closing out this year will again be Bronwyn’s Christmas Show and Sing a Long, joined again by wonderful Hudson artists. 

Great talent and great spirit are the primary elements in all Red Dot performances. The Blakiston twins play amazing stride piano and Kate Medhus and Andrew provide extraordinary cabaret dance. Stalwart singers such as myself, John and Terrence joyfully hold up the singing end. This year the great Ricky Ritzel has been at the piano and we’ve been recently joined by cabaret artist Mary Ellen Ryan. Ricky, Mary Ellen and myself performed special tribute to our immigrant populations with particular attention to Italian Americans. Mary Ellen and Ricky played Louis Prima and Keely Smith and I sandwiched their routine with “That’s Amore.” Audience joined in happily. It was much fun!

My favorite part of the Indigenous People show aside from Sister Hawk’s blessing was Terrence Law’s “You’ve Got to be Carefully Taught” (Oscar Hammerstein); also Kate Medhus and Andrew’s romantic dance. I also always enjoy just about anything Miranda Morai does. Although this show was particularly heartfelt by all.

I look forward to Bronwyn's Christmas Show & Sing-A-Long at the Red Dot on Saturday, December 14.

Other shows I have seen this year include the debut cabaret shows of John Philip and Woody Regan. Both were great and they are at the beginning of their solo careers and I salute them. I have been performing in cabaret shows since 1980. Woody played for me in my very first cabaret, The Subway Named Desire back then at the original Duplex on Grove Street in the Village that year. John aside from our recent history at Red Dot with 3A Productions, joined forces with me many years ago to help with my weekly Frolics in the Village. It is quite wonderful to have such a history with such remarkable artists. 

Spent a few hours recently at Marie's Crisis in the Village wherein I sang as well as others. In my past I ‘hung out’ here much more than I do these days. This place is truly the root of the Singing Circuit. So many of us began our ‘frolicking’ there. The wonderful James Merillat at was at the piano, joined by regulars Francisca Bertolini and Diana Bertolini and the writer John McWhorter. Alex B Piano another Marie's pianist was also there singing. Francisca, Diana and Alex came to the last performance of my show Too High and I was so happy to see them and thank them!

In October I also saw a fascinating show at City Center. It was Fatherland, Conceived and Directed by Stephen Sachs of the Fountain Theatre Company in LA. All based on transcripts of a court case of a man who participated in the Jan 6 Insurrection at the Capital. His young son turned him in for his ever-increasing and worrisome right-wing activities. They called it  ‘Verbatim Theatre’. All performers were good but particularly arresting was the actor Ron Botitta who played the Father, the now imprisoned insurrectionist. 

So, I return to my opening discouragement and the election as we do what we can to prevent fascism. It is scary and my singing circuit helps me keep my mind a little free but it ain’t so easy. Tuesday is the election, and I admit to having just a little anxiety. Today I am staying in my Park Slope neighborhood going to see the famous Karolina who is tending bar today at Sharlene’s. I will wear my  , la shirt.

NOVEMBER 3, 2024

I wore my shirt. The bar was packed. Spoke a little to Karolina who was very busy. Met with other friends. No one said anything about my shirt. The silence makes me nervous. 

So, I return to my opening discouragement and the election as we do what we can to prevent fascism.  It is scary and my singing circuit helps me keep my mind a little free but it ain’t so easy. Tuesday is the election, and I admit to having just a little anxiety. Today I am staying in my Park Slope neighborhood going to see the famous Karolina who is tending bar today at Sharlenes. I will wear my   , la shirt.

NOVEMBER 9, 2024

Racism, Misogyny, Greed  the holy trinity…selective reasoning, miscommunication, misinformation, ignorance, selective denial, fear, anger, racism….many reasons are part of the reasoning for the big T win. FEAR RAGE RACISM MYSOGYNY IGNORANCE AT THE THE TOP OF THE LIST…..AND the 10 million who didn’t vote!!!

NOVEMBER 12, 2024

Karolina said she saw my Kamala Shirt but as I was sitting she did not see the ‘la’. She thought the very large red comma was a Japanese design.  Well, that explains one person. However, I feel the silence spoke to resistance, shall I say ‘fear’ of many to state any conflict, to express in these very partisan times any disagreement or honest feelings that may ruffle feathers. In retrospect of the outstanding GOP sweep, the silence I now find prophetic.

When I first workshopped On the Staten Island Ferry at Village Senior Centers one of the actors, a liberal leaning actor was afraid we would offend republican seniors.  That was the point, to engage in discussion, to address the controversy, to talk to each other. Yet, there was fear then.  There was that silence and look what happened, an overwhelming GOP win.  I didn’t expect that. I as many other democrats were astonished and to say the very least find it again ‘worrisome’.

I forgot to mention in my last entry the cast member Sarah Wonsever who played the part of Elizabeth. Sarah is bartender at Smith’s Tavern on Fifth Avenue in Brooklyn and is one of the smartest people I’ve ever met.  She is not a trained actor. This I found to be one of the pleasures of the Stonewall reading as the actresses reading the parts of the Radon Daughters, Jessica Knowles, Jessica Diero Berryessa and Sarah were not professionals and added a ‘freshness’ which spoke to the content of the project and to their individual commitment.

Sunday November 7, I saw Regeneration Theatre’s Skyscraper, a 1960 musical comedy.  It was much fun!  It was directed and choreographed by Avital Asuleen, an MFA directing student who did a fabulous job.  The choreography was terrific, very clever and creative. I particularly liked the tapdancing auction!  The cast, all experienced musical comedy actors danced wonderfully and clearly respected the direction of Ms. Asuleen as they lovingly sang Happy Birthday to her at curtain call.

Skyscraper is an old fashioned somewhat dated musical of the time when sexist behavior abounds. This is the first revival ever done anywhere. Much of the score was not even on record. Barnaby Edwards, the General Manager and Founder of Regeneration Theatre, credits the brilliance of Mathew Stern the musical director for creating the scores and musical arrangements of the innovative music of Sammy Kahn and James Van Huesen.   The musicians: Ben Rigney (conductor, piano), Lindsay Rosenberg (Bass) and Ian Weidman (Reeds) were live behind the screen and sounded terrific.

All the singing was very accomplished. These were all experienced musical comedy performers and at times I felt I was watching a diabetes commercial.  Not really. This cast and the choreography was so much better, but there is a stylized thing that is only found in musical theatre which I find enjoyable, even in that horrible commercial. 

The content as said is a bit dated.  I overheard a group of young men talking after the show amazed at the sexual politic.  “Can you imagine talking to someone like that?”  and comments as to why ‘marriage’ was the resolution for the female lead’s malady, which was too much imagination, day dreaming... Really, let’s call the woman crazy.

The female lead was Rachel Lauren James. Originally this was played by Julie Harris.  Ms. James acted best in the songs as well as displayed a beautiful singing voice, but in the ‘talking parts’ she was not as skilled, particularly ‘the angry talking parts’.  Her rants were delivered in a rush with no center and little diction.  This is the beauty of song as rhythm and content are expressed with the help of composer/lyricist designated timing.  Ms. James work was admirable none the less. I particularly enjoyed her dancing with the chorus.

The chorus was outstanding.  Katryna Marttala demonstrated exceptional musical skill. Her voice particularly in choral numbers blended beautifully providing a remarkable base with the others. All the performers danced fabulously and were enthusiastically on target.

Also listened this week to the documentary Moon is the Oldest TV. This is the story of Nam June Paik, a revolutionary, a radical and one of the founding fathers of experimental theatre and music. He is most noted as the originator of video art. He predicted the internet and was the first to coin the phrase, ‘the information highway’.  Later he said that he was wrong to refer to the internet that way; that it was more a ship in the sea that can’t find the shore.

Nam June was a colleague and friend of John Cage. Their work was about rethinking, turning upside down, destroying preconceptions to create new forms of theatre and art.

Radical thinking and action in experimental theatre and music had it’s heyday in the early 60’s and 70’s. Maybe now is the time for all artists to rethink and experiment; to redefine previous concepts of art and life. Interesting Skyscraper certainly was not experimental but maybe for the world of musical theatre it was reflecting the norms and culture of the day.  None the less it is time for artists to make art. Rethinking the experiment is needed in all aspects of this life.  Nam June Paik inspired me to rethink my experiment, to play and have fun and it was fun seeing Skyscraper!! There is room for all.