Richard Skipper Celebrates

While cancer has silenced Russ Lorenson's voice, San Francisco's Favorite Crooner is on the path to recreating his musical magic, culminating in the eagerly anticipated release of his never-before- heard live album, 'Standard Time: Live in New York,' available now on the airwaves on December 1 (San Francisco, CA) October 30, 2023 - Russ Lorenson, acclaimed as "San Francisco’s Favorite Crooner," is set to enchant audiences worldwide with his latest album, "Standard Time: Live in New York." The record, a captivating live jazz-cabaret experience, is set to be released on December 1, 2023, under the independent label LML Music. A passionate champion of The Great American Songbook, Lorenson has been captivating audiences across the United States and Europe with his burnished tenor and warm charisma. He has previously released three critically-acclaimed albums, including two Christmas albums that garner heavy radio rotation nearly two decades after their release. His second holiday album, In The Holiday Spirit, was given 4 stars by Downbeat, and included in their “Best Albums of 2015.” In 2021, Lorenson faced a life-altering diagnosis of HPV-positive tonsil cancer. Through early detection, he overcame this significant health challenge and is now in remission. While cancer may have taken away his ability to sing, it hasn't silenced his voice. With profound gratitude and a sense of purpose, Lorenson is now channeling his creative energies into a flurry of activities, including the reintroduction of his back catalog, a children’s book inspired by his fan favorite holiday track, "Jingles, The Christmas Cat," and, notably, his first album in 8 years, "Standard Time: Live in New York." "Standard Time: Live in New York" offers a glimpse into Lorenson's captivating live performances in the iconic Metropolitan Room, New York, recorded in 2008.

We celebrate a book that book marries art and science with a new and exciting collaboration between one of the world’s leading creativity scholars and an internationally renowned musical theatre composer. This book will help readers tap into their creativity and unleash their own creative potential as they start their careers. Blending cutting-edge research, juicy anecdotes, lived experience, hands-on activities, and gentle advice, authors James C. Kaufman and Dana P. Rowe take readers on a journey to explore and enhance their own creativity. Each chapter addresses a key aspect of creativity, from how to overcome blocks to understanding one’s personal strengths all through the lens of Musical Theatre characters along with insights from those within the industry. Kaufman and Rowe shatter creativity myths (such as the tormented artist or having one big break) that may be harming the reader’s potential growth. Probing questions, fun quizzes, and engaging exercises will help the reader reflect on the material and develop strategies for their next step. All throughout, the readers can learn from the tales of Sweeney Todd, Maria Von Trapp, Alexander Hamilton, Christine Daaé, and countless others to inspire their own creativity. This book is ideal for aspiring theatre professionals, students of performing arts, and theatre and creativity scholars.

For Immediate Release: THE SEASON: STRAIGHT UP WITH A TWIST! A benefit for St Jude Children’s Research Hospital SUNDAY, DECEMBER 3 rd - 7:00 SHOW at DON’T TELL MAMA, 343 W 46 th St, NYC $30 Cover Charge - includes 1 raffle ticket (add’l raffle tickets - $10 each, 3/$25) $20 Minimum (must include 2 drinks), Food Menu Available, Cash Only Doors Open at 6:15 Reservations - donttellmamanyc.com Join MAC Award winner GOLDIE DVER and a stellar lineup of performers for a sophisticated soirée, and celebrate the holidays in style! We’ll be decked out in our finest baubles, bangles and beads—so bring your bling to the party as well! Indulge in 90 magical minutes of marvelous music, merriment, and martinis (shaken, not stirred)! Bring your funny bone…and leave the triggers home! In the true holiday spirit of sharing love and bestowing gifts, it was important to Goldie that this show be a benefit for children in need. St Jude Children’s Research Hospital, which focuses on children with cancer, has special meaning for Goldie. Remembering the impact of being hit with those three words, “You have cancer” 17 years ago, she can only imagine how hard it is for a parent to hear those same words regarding their child. And when a child is treated at St Jude’s, there is no cost to the families for treatment, housing, or transportation - so families can be together and support each other during this most difficult and challenging time. To that end - Goldie has tapped into the generosity of the cabaret community. Watch to learn more!

Josefina López (Writer/Director/Producer/Performer/Author/Activist/Shaman) is best known for authoring the play and co-authoring the 2002 SUNDANCE AWARD WINNING film Real Women Have Curves. López started her writing career at 17 and has had over 130 productions produced of her many plays throughout the country. She has been working as a professional screenwriter in Hollywood for over 30 years with countless development deals and screenplay assignments. She has worked with many established producers like Norman Lear (All In the Family) and Michael McDonald (American Crime) to bring Latinos to television. Born in San Luis Potosi, Mexico on March 19, 1969, Josefina López was five-years-old when she and her family migrated to the United States and settled in the East Los Angeles neighborhood of Boyle Heights. López was undocumented for 13 years before she received Amnesty in 1987 and eventually became a U.S. Citizen in 1995. She is a graduate of Columbia College Chicago, has an MFA in Screenwriting from UCLA’s School of Film/Television and Theater, as well as a Diplôme de Cuisine from Le Cordon Bleu, Paris, France. López has also attended the New School of Cooking in Culver City, CA where she studied cuisine with a California touch and making pastries, and at the Gourmandise Cooking School in Santa Monica, CA where she studied chocolate making, bread making, pasta making and pastries. Josefina López is the Founding Artistic Director of CASA 0101 Theater.

Eddie Shapiro grew up singing music from every cast album he could get his hands on. He is the author of Here’s to the Ladies: Conversations with More of the Great Women of Musical Theater, Nothing Like a Dame: Conversations with the Great Women of Musical Theater, A Wonderful Guy: Conversations with the Great Men of Musical Theater, Queens in the Kingdom: The Ultimate Gay and Lesbian Guide to the Disney Theme Parks, and hundreds of articles in magazines with much shorter and more sensible titles than his books. He lives in New York City and Los Angeles. “Another delightful gathering of the voices of women of Broadway” — Library Journal In the follow-up to Nothing Like a Dame: Conversations with the Great Women of Musical Theater, theatre journalist Eddie Shapiro sits down for intimate, career-encompassing conversations with yet more of Broadway's most prolific and fascinating leading women. Full of detailed stories and reflections, his conversations with such luminaries as Barbara Cook, Kelli O'Hara, Heather Headley, Faith Prince, Stephanie J. Block, Tonya Pinkins, and a host of others dig deep into each actor's career -together, these chapters tell the story of what it means to be a leading lady on Broadway over the past fifty years. This new volume brings more fly-on-the-wall opportunities for fans to savour, students to study, and even the unindoctrinated to understand the life of the performing artist. Key Features:  Includes nineteen unique and career-encompassing conversations with Broadway's leading women  Features a chapter of conversations honoring the late Marin Mazzie  Offers a behind-the-scenes look at the inner lives of musical theater veterans  Ranges from Barbara Cook to Tonya Pinkins, from Faith Prince to Charlotte Amboise

The day before gathering around the turkey, gather around the nearest jukebox to celebrate National Jukebox Day! As Americans flock to their hometowns for Thanksgiving, many will head out to neighborhood bars and restaurants. They will catch up with friends and family and celebrate by playing great songs on their local jukebox. The name jukebox is thought to originate from places called ‘juke houses’ or ‘jook joints.' In the early 1900s, people congregated in these establishments to drink and listen to music. In 1889, Louis Glass and his partner William S. Arnold invented the first coin-operated player in San Francisco. They were both managers of the Pacific Phonograph Co. Formally known as the nickel-in-the-slot machine, the player included a coin operation feature on an Edison phonograph. However, it played a limited selection of songs without any amplification. Glen Kelly is a music arranger and composer. He is best known for his musical theatre arrangements for Broadway shows including Beauty and the Beast, The Producers, Young Frankenstein, Spamalot, The Drowsy Chaperone, The Book of Mormon and Aladdin. Nicolas King has been performing since age 4. He was seen first on Broadway in 'Beauty & The Beast', then in 'A Thousand Clowns' opposite Tom Selleck, and 'Hollywood Arms' directed by Hal Prince, all before age 12.

Tess La Bella https://tesslabella.com/about-tess-labella/

Seth Sikes www.instagram.com/sethsikes

Steve March-Torme https://www.stevemarchtorme.com

Mystery Guest Richard Holbrook

Dana Aber (she/her) is an award-winning theatre performer, producer, collaborator, and creator, with a 20 year career spanning across the country and across the seas. She has been seen in NYC Off-Broadway, at The Dixon Place, NYFringe Festival, NYMF, Apollo Theatre, and FDCAC/Classical Theatre of Harlem. A strong advocate for the development of new musicals, she has been involved in countless presentations at New Dramatists, NYU Tisch, Dramatists Guild, Ars Nova, and across virtual media. Through her Big Thunder Productions company, Dana has created and helmed 8 concert-cabarets, most notably the bi-coastal #YesAllWomen Raise Your Voice concert joining artists within the movement for gender equality. As a theatre writer, Dana’s autobiographical 1-woman musical, Baggage at the Door, travels her healing process from trauma-induced PTSD. Baggage at the Door was a finalist in NYC’s ONEFest, and earned Dana a month-long artist residency with Elsewhere Studios in Colorado in 2018. Coming up, Baggage at the Door looks forward to its regional premiere in Virginia, and Dana’s next soloshow FINAL BLOW, which explores the blame placed on boundary setting, will have its NYC festival debut in November 2021. Dana is currently collaborating with her brother, Broadway’s Drew Aber (he/him), on her new play Save/Reload, about identity exploration through video games. She is a survivor and advocate, and is honored to be able to use her voice to share for those who cannot. Four consecutive Januarys with four near-death experiences...um, Happy New Year?

Richard Skipper Celebrates The Hunter's Moon is a YouTube video. The video discusses the name "Hunter's Moon," which is thought to have originated in the 1700s when hunters prepared for winter. 

Huntersmoon Hall is also a place. 

Other videos by Richard Skipper include: 

Special FULL MOON AFTERNOON Edition Of The Let That Go Show The Ultimate Tribute to Kathy Searle Richard Skipper Celebrates Eugene Ebner and Paul Page Happy Publicists Day!:  Richard Skipper Celebrates Renee Katz Unveiling the Sturgeon Moon's Magic with Richard Skipper Richard Skipper Celebrates Hello Dolly!:

After a 20 year absence from the cabaret stage, Manhattan Association of Cabarets & Bistro Award winner James Beaman returns, older, wiser, with a song in his heart and his filter decidedly off. Celebrating 33 years in show biz, including a decade as one of cabaret's finest female impersonators, Beaman brings his unique and tartly critical point of view on the cultural zeitgeist. Reunited with his longtime musical director, the brilliant David Maiocco, Beaman hopes to dazzle in this long anticipated comeback! "On very rare occasions, a show comes along that is so extraordinary, statements of excellence don't tell the full story...sheer brilliance" ~Roy Sander, Back Stage

https://douglasjcohen.com

“Life is what you make it. Always has been, always will be,” says political figure and diplomat Eleanor Roosevelt When the young composer-lyricist Douglas Cohen first secured the musical rights to the novel No Way to Treat a Lady by William Goldman—the acclaimed author of The Princess Bride and Marathon Man—he hoped it would be his big break, the first step on a gilt path to artistic triumph and commercial success in the form of a hit Broadway musical. What happened after that, while memorable, was anything but. How to Survive a Killer Musical chronicles Cohen's decade-long quest to bring that musical to the stage—writing, re-writing, and shepherding it across the US and Europe amidst all manner of adversity and plain rotten luck. It's a fascinating portrait of passion, persistence, and resilience—a coming-of-age story populated with famous mentors and formidable adversaries, told with refreshing honesty and humor. On Cohen's journey, we meet an unforgettable, vividly rendered cast of characters, including: an Oscar-winning screenwriter who invites Cohen to his personal screening room for a marathon midnight writing session; a Tony Award-winning director making his comeback after a horrific accident renders him a quadriplegic; and a celebrated, volatile British director who inspires a fruitful collaboration in London, only to later leave carnage in his wake. Catastrophes abound, including the near-fatal stabbing of a female lead in rehearsal and an onstage accident incapacitating another leading lady—leaving only the author to go on in her place! Whether you’re a fan of musicals or just someone who’s trying to bring a passion project into the world, this tale of fortitude in the face of obstacles, personalities, and egos will make for an eye opener!