Erik Lawrence, Bob Simonello, Bernadette Peters...and MORE!

Jawaharlal Nehru

There is nothing more horrifying than stupidity in action.

― Jawaharlal Nehru


Happy Card Reading Day!
Day! On Card Reading Day, celebrants read and enjoy greeting cards they have been sent over the years, which they have kept for sentimental reasons. Sometimes they give greeting cards on the day as well and thus may receive some cards from others that they can read. Some online holiday sites speculate this holiday may be about tarot cards, but the overwhelming majority of sites relate this holiday to greeting cards.
February 21 is the 52nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. 314 left in the year.
It is a Leap Year!

• French lyricist/librettist Henri Meilhac born (1831)

Henri Meilhac

• British actress/singer Gertie Millar born (1879)
• Actress Tyne Daly born (1946)
• Actress/singer Christine Ebersole born (1953)
• Legendary flop Portofino opened on Broadway (1958)
• Elaine Stritch: At Liberty opened on Broadway (2002)
• Sunday in the Park with George revived (1st time) on Broadway (2008)

Today, I celebrate everyone's art. Today's social media engagement: Comment on something mentioned in this blog and let's keep the next 24 hours upbeat! Have something to promote? Email me! Now, go out and so something nice for someone without expecting anything in return! Celebrate the gifts you have to offer the world! Did you do your Morning Pages? Have no clue what I am referring to? Today, celebrate your crazy ideas and surround yourself with those who will support those ideas! Make it a great week! Recommended Reading:

Famous Wisconsin Film Stars
By Kristin Gilpatrick

Now, Go to the 3rd person in your friend’s list on your favorite Social Media Platform and do something for them without expecting anything in return and let me know what happens!

10 People, Places, Events I Recommend!
1. Erik Lawrence
Saxophonist and Flutist: 2 Grammys as founding member of the Levon Helm Band, multi-platinum record with the Spin Doctors, has appeared on most major stages and festivals, tv shows, hundreds of recordings, thousands of appearances, millions of miles traveled)
Sound and Vibrational Healer: Utilizing traditional and original techniques including toning, tuning forks, Tibetan bowls and especially the deep vibrational tones of his personal sound on saxophones and flutes.

Tomorrow Night at 8PM, Erik will be appearing at the Nyack Center in New York celebrating Mardi Gras. I am going to try and be there. Please celebrate with us!
Click HERE for more info.

2.Bob Simonello's ROLLIN' a 7 / Saturday, Feb 29 / MAGNOLIA ROOM, Norwalk, Connecticut

Tickets and Information (online only): www.BJRyansMagnoliaRoom.com

Bistro Award Review
Kristine Zbornik, Director
Jeff Harris, Musical Director/Pianist

ROLLIN’A 7 is a musical coming-of-age adventure, a

funny, touching, off-beat look at one man’s journey on a road less traveled: from a shy, Judy Garland-loving, parochial school-hating kid to outspoken, unpredictable, audacious, Judy Garland-loving man-child with a burning need to know what lies beneath the surface of things.

Featuring songs of Delbert McClinton, Craig Carnelia, Marilyn and

Delbert McClinton

Alan Bergman, Michel Legrand, Joe Sample, Gordon Jenkins, Joe Raposo, Rupert Holmes, Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty and more.
Jeff Harris, Pianist Scott Thornton, Base
Reservations guarantee seating.

Tickets and Information (online only):

$20 cover (online), $30 at the door
$20 food or drink minimum
www.BJRyansMagnoliaRoom.com

Bistro Award Review

3.Bernadette Peters, Sierra Boggess and More Join BROADWAY BELTS FOR PFF!; Complete Casting AnnouncedThe 10th Annual BROADWAY BELTS FOR PFF! will take place on Monday, February 24 at the Edison Ballroom. Hosted by Broadway's Julie Halston (Tootsie, You Can't Take it With You, Sex and the City) and directed by Carl Andress (The Confession of Lily Dare), this year's

gala event will honor multi-award winning Broadway producer Daryl Roth. Tickets can be purchased at BroadwayBeltsforPFF.org Read More HERE

4. TUESDAY, MARCH 3rd @ 9:30 pm
SUSIE MOSHER’s THE LINE UP @ BIRDLAND THEATER

315 West 44 Street, NY
$25.00 Cover Charge / $10.00 food/drink minimum (cash or credit)
Reservations: 212-581-3080 or click HERE. 

If you have not attended The Line Up…where have you been? This

Brad Simmons

is one of the most sought-after gigs in the city due to the incredible “Line Up” (hence the name) of talent from the Broadway, Cabaret and Jazz worlds hosted by the insanely talented and funny, Susie Mosher and featuring Musical Director, Brad Simmons.

5. MONDAY, MARCH 9th @ 6:00 PM
The 35TH ANNUAL BISTRO

AWARDS
GOTHAM COMEDY CLUB - 208 West 23rd Street, NYC
Reservations: Click HERE

Maltby and Hire

This year honoring: Maltby and Shire (Bob Harrington Lifetime Achievement Award) – Charles Busch (Creative Artistry) – Lorna Dallas (Cabaret Artistry) – Jack Bartholet (Ira Eaker Award) – Michele Brourman (Singer, Songwriter, Musical Director) – Spencer Day (Singer, Songwriter, Recording Artist) – Aisha de Haas (Jazz Vocalist) – Joanne Halev (Debut) – Sean Harkness, Lina Koutrakos  and Marcus Simeone (Musical Group)

Sue Matsuki and Gregory Toroian (Outstanding Collaboration) – Elizabeth Ward Land (Tribute Show) – Nancy McGraw (Interpretive Artistry) – Gretchen Reinhagen (Recording) – Gabrielle Stravelli (Recording) and Stephanie Trudeau (Tribute Show).


6. On Stage: Hello Dolly! at Kimmel Center this week
It seems that everybody is familiar with “Hello Dolly!” in one form or another – especially the Academy Award-winning film and the hit Broadway musical.
It’s hard not to be familiar with the song, “Hello Dolly!”– at least

with the tune’s opening lines… “Hello, Dolly; Well, hello, Dolly; It’s so nice to have you back where you belong.”
For the next week-and-a-half, there is an opportunity to get more familiar with the musical version of “Hello Dolly!”
The Kimmel Center is presenting “Hello Dolly!” now

through March 1 at the Academy of Music (240 South Broad Street, Philadelphia) as part of its Broadway Philadelphia series.
The cast of the National Tour features Carolee Carmello as Dolly Gallagher Levi, John

Bolton (not that John Bolton) as Horace Vandergelder, Daniel Beeman as Cornelius Hackl,Analisa Leaming as Irene Molloy and Sean Burns as Barnaby Tucker.
Burns is familiar with his role having played it on the 2018-2019 and current editions of the National Tour.
This production is a crowd-pleaser, and then some. Read MORE 
(I saw it last night and absolutely loved it!)

7. This Is Your Life: MACK SENNETT [VIDEO OF TV SHOW]
Quite an amazing video, particularly in light of Encores!’s MACK and MABEL. Fascinating the see the real Mack Sennett in the early 1950s. It’s about 25 minutes long.
See it HERE
Thank you, Josh Ellis for this!

8. ‘Mack and Mabel’ Review: Lights! Camera! Passion!
Jerry Herman’s buoyant score is the highlight of this Encores! production about a troubled silent-movie-era romance. 

9. Birdland is excited to welcome Leanne Borghesi and Marta Sanders in Show Broads!
The critically acclaimed SHOWBROADS starring Leanne Borghesi and Marta Sanders returns to BIRDLAND JAZZ CLUB Sunday MARCH 8th

Photo credit: Stephen Mosher

at 5:30pm after playing a sold out engagement.
SHOWBROADS is a comedic, musical nightclub act starring Marta Sanders (Broadway's Best Little Whorehouse in Texas) and Leanne Borghesi. Borghesi and Sanders, both powerhouse cabaret singers, are uniting to bring audiences a "a one-two knockout punch" (Cabaret HotSpot).

Marta Sanders

Tickets: $30 + $10 food/drink min
When: SUNDAY MARCH 8th, 5:30pm
Location: BIRDLAND JAZZ CLUB 315 W 44th St Suite 5402, New York, NY 10036

10. Ewan McGregor transforms into American party animal fashion designer for Netflix series
Ewan McGregor is set to star in a new Netflix series based on the life of iconic US fashion designer Halston. 

Halston – real name Roy Halston Frowick – was a huge deal in the fashion world back in the 1970s and was pals with the likes of Liza Minnelli, Elizabeth Taylor, Bianca Jagger, and artist Andy Warhol.
Read more HERE

Now, go and do something nice for someone without expecting anything in return! Treat them to a LIVE Show! 

Thank you all! Here's To a Great End of the week/And an Even Greater Next Week

A Few Audience Testimonials about Richard Skipper Celebrates

I had Richard Skipper on my Dare to be Authentic Radio show 2/6/20 and he was absolutely fabulous! He was so encouraging and inspiring! I got off the air feeling uplifted and ready to conquer the world. Richard is a gem and I'm so blessed and honored to have met him. Check out his interview HERE
Mari Mitchell,San Bernardino, CA

I had the pleasure of seeing Richard Skipper host the holiday

luncheon at the Dutch Treat club at The Players Club and wow! What a wonderful and perfect host! Richard brings so much energy and light to a stage and he shares it all with us. Thank you!
Robin Westle, http://www.robinwestle.com

I feel so fortunate to have attended Richard Skipper's show “The Magic of Believing” at Urban Stages Theater. It was a beautifully crafted nostalgic tapestry of vivid storytelling, spot on musical numbers, and perfectly timed photographic images and videos. I loved the thought that a little boy with boundless energy and dreams performing on the front porch “stage” of his family home could take an audience full of adults on a hilarious and heartfelt journey to discovering the magic of believing. I’m still smiling. Thank you! Bob Armstrong, NYC

With grateful XOXOXs,

Check out CallonDolly.com

Please LIKE (if you do!) and SHARE!

NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED. FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY!


Please do what YOU can to be more aware that words and actions DO HURT...but they can also heal and help!


Keeping America great through Art!


Here's to an INCREDIBLE tomorrow for ALL...with NO challenges!

Please leave a comment and share on Twitter and Facebook

Keeping Entertainment LIVE!


TILL TOMORROW...HERE'S TO AN ARTS FILLED DAY
Richard Skipper, Richard@RichardSkipper.com

Random thoughts on staying in the business, Julie Sheppard, and Randall Wrigitt

"The Nicest place to be is in someone's Thoughts" ...

I am often asked where I find the time to do as much as I do. My response? I make the time! I am disciplined and focused in terms of what I need/desire to accomplish. AND I LOVE doing for others. When I got up to begin my blog this morning, I saw this comment from yesterday's blog:
Richard thank you for writing this wonderful and insightful blog. Just before I read this, I was writing in my journal about gratitude for the blessings in my life which have come from doing celebrity impersonations and even asked for a"sign" from above re: my career and here it is your wonderful email. You are an angel of inspiration! Much love to you! ~ Michele MarzanoI hope you don't mind my including this in my blog so that I can address this. THIS is a tough BUSINESS. I wouldn't change my life for all the money in the world. I also would not recommend it to anyone unless you feel like you would die if you could not do it! I know that sounds extreme but we don't have the luxury of those who choose other professions. I never feel that MOST of us in our profession choose our careers, I think they choose us. When I left South Carolina in '79 at the age of eighteen to pursue a career as an actor, I never dreamed and/or imagined that most of my life would be spent performing as Carol Channing! I wrote a few weeks ago about David Friedman's book, THE THOUGHT EXCHANGE: OVERCOMING OUR RESISTANCE TO LIVING A SENSATIONAL LIFE As David writes in his book, " With the recent mainstream popularity of THE SECRET and so many other wonderful books and seminars on New Thought, people are, more than ever, thinking that all you have to do is think a thought and whatever you want will appear." This book does NOT follow that philosophy! David began writing this book because, in his own life and in his teaching, he had stumbled upon a way of working with new thought that was producing amazing results in helping people to manifest what we desire to see in our lives. I promise you , THE THOUGHT EXCHANGEwill not drop you, but will give you the tools to move through to a real and TRUE matery of healing and manifestation.
Look in the mirror.


Michelle, order this book. I truly believe you are exactly where you need to be right now.
The day you STOP caring, is the day you leave the profession. But get back in touch with WHY you got into this business in the first place!(Michelle Marzano as Sarah Palin)"Hello my fellow Americans! Join Michelle tonight in NYC for the CELEBRITY LOOKALIKE PARTY tonight May 19th 10pm at Club-One-Oak hosted by "DeNiro" Joe Manuella!Free admission til 12am. I hear that Donna Maxon is going to be there as Bette Midler!
Go mingle with the stars tonight, or the next best thing.

I started writing this week about my friends in the celebrity tribute artist industry.
It started when I received a press release for Randy Roberts who will be at Bob Egan's New Hope on May 28th. Again, I stress DON'T MISS THIS SHOW!

I wanted to write today about one of my favorites: Julie Sheppard as Judy Garland.I first saw Julie in, I think 1985, at DON'T TELL MAMA in “Julie Julie Julie”(Winner of 5 MAC Awards). It was one of the most brilliantly conceived cabaret shows I have ever seen, then or since. The title of the show was a play on the famous Judy Garland 1961 Carnegie Hall poster. My friend, John Fricke (pictured), Judy Garland historian, invited me as his guest. From the moment you entered THE cabaret room at Don't Tell Mama (there was only one cabaret room at that time, a time I miss!), you were entering a cabaret room circa 1961. Ricky Ritzel was at the piano playing and then there were a few trivia questions to engage the audience. Then he said our next question will be a little trickier. The next song was sung in three movies. And he began to play "Singin' In The Rain" Well, naturally everyone say's Singin' In The Rain! " Yes! But it was first sung in...Hollywood Review of 1929
Singin’ in the Rain m. Nacio Herb Brown, w. Arthur Freed(pictured) was published in 1929. However, it is unclear exactly when the song was written with some claiming that the song was written and performed as early as 1927. It became a hit and was recorded by a number of artists, notably Cliff Edwards, who also performed the number in the early musical sound film The Hollywood Revue of 1929.
It was also performed on film by Jimmy Durante (in 1932′s Speak Easily) and Judy Garland (in 1940′s Little Nellie Kelly).

Back to JULIE, JULIE, JULIE,a voice from The back of the room says, "Little Nellie Kelly"!
She repeats this a few times before she gets Ricky's attention.
She slowly starts making her way to the stage. She is wearing a fur coat and smoking a cigarette. As she makes her way to the stage, you realize it is Judy Garland. After all, this is 1961! She is in town to appear at Carnegie Hall. At no time, is the name Judy Garland EVER uttered (even in her poster!), but there is no denying. I STILL feel that I saw Judy Garland! (I ended up seeing it 5 times during it's 8 month run!) It ran for eight months the first time around because Julie conceived her son that night!

Well, she had LOTS to celebrate! It was brilliant. As she sat down at the piano for what started out as an intimate conversation with a piano player, we were all drawn in. Then he asked her if she knew the opening verse from "Singin' in the rain" from Little Nellie Kelly: "Have you ever suffered that horrible thing of having your hostess ask you to sing? And just because you're so polite, you mumble through your teeth, 'Well, all right" And suddenly a densely gloom descends upon the entire room, and the whispering galley starts to ring with "With hold your hats, she's gonna sing..."
Ricky interrupts by asking, "Well is she?" Her response is, "You're tricky". And before you know it, we all are treated to a private intimate Judy Garland concert!
The tension was always that at any moment, she could disappear. It was a brilliant show and I wish that she would bring it back!
"She represents a sort of perfection of Garland...she magically becomes her." --Steve Allen

Julie worked with Steve Allen in Seymour Glick is Alive…at the King Cole Room/NYC
I auditioned for that show! I said to Steve Allen, that Jayne Meadows had sent me. He said, "I'' send you back when you finish!"
THE show was actually a joke, a play on words; somebody asked Steve, 'Have you seen ''Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well''?' and he answered, 'No, but I've seen ''Seymour Glick Is Alive but Sick.''



I was shocked yesterday to find out about the passing of Randall Wreghitt. I knew Randall and he was one of the nicest men I have ever met in this profession. He is in my data base and if I ever needed his time for career advice, he ALWAYS made the time for me. He would cross the room to say hello when we were at theatrical events together rather than being that person who just waved across the room. A real mensch. I called my friend Jana Robbins yesterday to talk. They worked very closely together. She said she was losing her friend, her partner, her mentor. I will tell you this, the theatrical community is going to feel this loss.
MIRACLE WORKER, INISHMORE Producer Randall L. Wreghitt Dies from Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
Broadway and off Broadway producer Randall L. Wreghitt has passed away, according to his production company website. A message posted on the homepage reads: Hello friends,

Our beloved Randall passed away early this morning. All arrangements are pending as of now and we will keep you posted.

Christine Ebersole sings "The Revolutionary Costume for Today" from the Scott Frankel/Michael Korie musical Grey Gardens, based on the 1975 documentary of the same name. She won a Tony for this performance. Randall was one of the producers of this.




Any emails can be directed to randallwreghittproductions@gmail.com



http://www.randallwreghitt.com

Wreghitt died from a recent run in with carbon monoxide poisoning. Once again, we are reminded of how cherished our lives are. Please sieze the day and don't put off doing good deeds for people today and/or telling someone you love them!
Rest in peace, Randall! You will not be forgotten!

I received this email yesterday and it touched my heart:
Mornin' Richard.

When Broadway Cares sent me an invitation to last week's private screening of Carol Channing: Larger than Life, I had no doubt that you'd be featured somewhere along the line in 30-foot by 50-foot splendor.

Well, the screen was quite a bit smaller than I expected. Nevertheless, congratulations are in order since you garnered more screen time than Tommy Tune and Chita Rivera.........combined.

I was a bit irritated, though, when the on-screen identifier referred to you as a Carol impersonator. Christopher Peterson impersonates. Alan Palmer impersonates. You......become, which, although it might be considered by some to be a subtle difference (I disagree), is what sets your portrayal apart from all the rest of the Carol wannabes and puts you in a class by yourself. And not intending to demean the performances of the others, I'm nonetheless always pleased to be able to tell people that I have seen more than one of your performances over the years

Hope all is well with you!

- Richard

All you have to do today is bask in the LOVE and talent that surrounds you!

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Tomorrow's blog will be YOU TELL ME...the first three suggestions I receive!

Please contribute to the DR. CAROL CHANNING & HARRY KULLIJIAN FOUNDATION FOR THE ARTS: http://www.carolchanning.org/foundation.htm
TILL TOMORROW...HERE'S TO AN ARTS FILLED WEEK!
Richard Skipper, Richard@RichardSkipper.com