CAROL CHANNING IN CONCERT STARRING RICHARD SKIPPER, WEDNESDAY NIGHT AT THE IGUANA, MELISSA HAMILTON...AND MORE!

HAPPY SATURDAY!
This has been a roller coaster of a week. Due to “unusual” circumstances, the GREAT ENTERTAINERS ON BROADWAY series at The Broadway Emporium has been canceled. This program was to have been presented by The American Theatre Network at The Broadway Emporium @ the Times Square Center, July 26-August 5. Performers were to have included Mark Nadler, Tony Babino, Richard Skipper, Rebecca Luker, Donna McKechnie, Christine Andreas, Steve DePass, Marni Nixon, Liz Callaway, and Faith Prince. My show was scheduled for July 27th. This show was not going to be just another show for me.
Award winning film maker Dori Berenstein is filming portions of the show that eve. Two angels (John Sefakis of DANCERS OVER OVER and Ed Gaynes of ST. LUKE'S THEATRE) came my way this week and the show has now moved to The St. Luke’s Theatre. The show will still be on July 27th and it will now be at 8PM (a better fit). Tickets will be on sale through Telecharge.

This will go into effect sometime between Monday and Wednesday! Call me if you have any questions. Keep trying and THANK YOU for your patience!
It would mean the world to me to have you in attendance that night .
Please feel free to contact me if any questions!

Richard Skipper 845-365-0720
In the meantime, we are gearing up for another exciting WEDNESDAY NIGHT AT THE IGUANA! We hope you'll join us this Wednesday Night as we celebrate Bastille Day! Joining us for the first time is Melissa Hamilton. I heard Melissa for the first time about five years ago at a Valentine's Ball with the Rich Siegel Orchestra. So excited that she will be joining us!

Melissa Hamilton is a finalist in the 2009 Jazzmobile Competition! Singing the national anthem at first grade school assemblies is not the way most singers start their careers, but it is exactly the way Melissa's began. At the age of nine, however, she took a break from singing and studied classical flute - until one day in college when she heard Ella Fitzgerald sing. Years later, along with her former band mates in the renowned vocal group, The Ritz, Melissa is one of the newest additions to the Encyclopedia of Jazz.
Originally from Portland, Maine, she spent her early career touring throughout New England and subsequently has countless performances to her credit, including nightclubs, concert halls, television, and radio in the classical, folk, and jazz idioms. After earning degrees in jazz and theatre at the University of Maine, Melissa taught at the University’s Augusta campus for eight years, and still serves as a clinician and adjudicator for high school and college jazz programs.
In 1987, she was honored by the University of Massachusetts with a Jazz in July scholarship to study with renowned jazz vocalist, Sheila Jordan. This association led to an appearance opening for Billy Taylor at the Bright Moments Jazz Festival, as well as her own public television special, which was syndicated throughout the United States. Also in 1987, Melissa was invited to join the celebrated vocal jazz group, The Ritz.
This collaboration led to four recordings for the Denon label and numerous appearances at many of the world's most notable venues and jazz festivals- including the Blue Note clubs in Tokyo, Fukuoka, Jakarta, and NYC. She was honored to be producer of the last Ritz cd, "Almost Blue", as well as the lead vocalist. Since moving to New York City in 1989, Melissa has performed with many celebrated jazz musicians including Doc Cheatham, Grady Tate, Frank Wess, Harvie Swartz, Victor Gaskin, and Gene Perla, and toured the East Coast with acclaimed Chicago blues guitarist, David Bromberg.
Chosen in 1996 to receive the University of Maine Augusta’s Distinguished Achievement Award, Melissa was a speaker at the University's 28th commencement exercises! Discography: Feeling Better and Better, Tom Hoffmann (guest vocalist) Movin' Up, The Ritz, Denon (vocals) Flying, The Ritz, Denon (vocals) The Spirit of Christmas, The Ritz, Denon (vocals) Almost Blue, The Ritz, Denon (vocals, producer) Castle of Dreams, Byron Taylor, independent (guest vocalist); Tryin' to Sort it All Out, Core NYC, independent (guest vocalist). Press Quotes: It's been said of Melissa that she "...is a female vocalist far above the usual cut of jazz singers.
Hear for yourself why versatility, technical control, delicacy of articulation, poetic sensitivity, and adventurous scat singing are just some of the terms used to describe her. Hear for yourself why listeners around the world have said she made the whole audience take notice, this woman can really sing!"
Read more: http://www.myspace.com/melissahamiltonsings#ixzz0tI8zpDQk

JANICE HALL RETURNS!Janice Hall is one of the most versatile sopranos singing today. Since her professional debut at the age of 19 as Monica in The Medium with the Opera Theatre of St. Louis, her repertoire has grown, from the coloratura fireworks of Bellini and Rossini, to the classical elegance of Mozart and Verdi, and finally to the verismo passion of Puccini and Strauss. After studies at the Boston Conservatory, Miss Hall began her career in the United States, singing with companies such as the Washington Opera (Un Ballo In Maschera, La Sonnambula, and Il Barbiere Di Siviglia), the New York City Opera (Falstaff, La Clemenza Di Tito) the San Diego Opera (Don Giovanni, Carmen, Rigoletto), and the Houston Grand Opera (La Périchole). She appeared as Elvira in I Puritani and as Giulietta in I Capuletti Ed I Montecchi with the Boston Concert Opera, and at the Santa Fe Opera Festival in Barbiere, Don Pasquale, Handel's Ariodante, Cavalli's La Calisto, and La Traviata.

Upcoming engagements include the role of Blanche Dialogues of the Carmelites with Ft Worth Opera, and the title role of Madama Butterfly at the Komische Oper Berlin in a production to be directed by Calixtho Bieito.



Janice Hall made her European debut as Rosina in Il Barbiere Di Siviglia at the Hamburg State Opera, a role she has also sung in Cologne, at the Vienna State Opera, and at the Royal Opera, Covent Garden. For several years she was a member of the ensemble of the Cologne Opera, where her repertoire included Lucia, Gilda, Violetta, Adina, Liu, Susanna, Lauretta, Ninetta in Rossini's La Gazza Ladra, and the title role in Janacek's The Cunning Little Vixen.



Additional European appearances include Micaela in Carmen with the Zurich Opera; Il Matrimonio Segreto at Teatro La Fenice, Venice; La Boheme at the Komische Oper Berlin, and several productions at the Schwetzingen festival, two of which (Agrippina and La Cambiale Di Matrimonio) were filmed for German television and later released on video. For two seasons she performed at the Salzburg Festival in Austria, appearing in Monteverdi's Il Ritorno D'ulisse in Patria and various concert venues.


Janice Hall's other concert appearances include performances with the Chicago Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, the National Symphony of Washington, DC, Rome's Santa Cecilia Orchestra, and orchestras in Zurich, Brussels, Antwerp, and Paris. Concert repertoire has included Samuel Barber's Knoxville:Summer Of 1915, Honegger's Jeanne D'arc au Bûcher, Mozart's C-Minor Mass, and the Symphonies 4 And 8 Of Mahler.



Janice Hall has also appeared with the Lyric Opera of Chicago Marriage of Figaro, Vancouver Opera La Boheme, and the Flemish Opera, Antwerp John Blow’s Venus and Adonis. She performed as Violetta in the New York City Opera’s Emmy-winning telecast of La Traviata, Live fromLincoln Center, directed by Renata Scotto. Important new roles include Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni , performed at the Festival of Perth, Western Australia, Madama Butterfly, the Governess Turn of the Screw at the Ft Worth Opera, and Salome, performed in Germany in a production directed by Bernd Weikl.

Ms. Hall is managed by Robert Gilder


TAKE JANICE HOME WITH YOU! Rossini - La Cambiale Di Matrimonio / John Del Carlo, Janice Hall, David Kuebler, Alberto Rinaldi, Gianluigi Gelmetti, Schwetzingen
http://www.a1books.com/cgi-bin/mktSearch?act=showDesc&code=gbase&rel=1&ITEM_CODE=880242549686&ITEM_TITLE=ROSSINI-LA-CAMBIALE-DI-MATRIMONIO


HELENA GRENOT RETURNS! Helena Grenot recently returned to the stage after a fifteen year absence. Joined by longtime collaborator and musical director Barry Levitt on piano and Morrie Louden on bass, Ms. Grenot put together an entertaining program, including many well-loved standards as well as a few lesser known tunes such as Phoebe Snow's "Harpo's Blues" at DON'T TELL MAMA Having toured in Fiddler on the Roof with Robert Merrill and Christine Andreas, she revisited one of the songs from that show, "Matchmaker," but in this case, it was given a snazzy new jazz arrangement, which breathed some new life into it, both for Ms. Grenot and the audience! One of my favorite selections of the evening was an interesting pairing of Carly Simon's "Love of My Life," which was paired with Stephen Sondheim's "Children Will Listen."
The coupling of the two songs was very effective, and Ms. Grenot's connection to the material was evident. Throughout the evening, Ms. Grenot's sheer joy in singing came shining through. Now we don't have to wait another 15 years to see her onstage again! Come see her Wednesday Night at The Iguana!


LINDA FIELDS RETURNS!Linda Fields has been a professional singer and actress since she was 10 years old. A veteran of theatre, films, television and radio, she entered the cabaret world several years ago. Her upbeat styling and big beautiful voice has been heard in clubs and cabarets in New York, New England and throughout the Caribbean. On Broadway, she took over the lead opposite Bobby Morse in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying when Michele Lee left the show. Linda toured the country for five years in Strictly Dishonorable with Cesar Romero, and played leads in the national companies of Sabrina and Last of the Red Hot Lovers. She had starring roles in the touring companies of Much Ado About Nothing, and Born Yesterday. She appeared in the film, Shining Star with Harvey Keitel. Off Broadway, she was a featured singer in Dear Piaf. For several years, Linda enchanted audiences on cruise ships throughout the islands, in Canada, the British Isles and Europe. A veteran of the soaps "As The World Turns" and "Edge of Night," Linda Fields is well known in the advertising community for hundreds of on-camera, voiceover and jingle commercials.




DAVID ALPHER & JENNIFER LITT RETURN!The husband-and-wife cabaret and songwriting team of David Alpher (pianist/composer) and Jennie Litt (singer/lyricist) started performing together on their very first date, which they spent singing and playing great songs by Gershwin, Berlin, Rodgers, and Porter in a cabin in the New Hampshire woods. Since then, they have appeared in numerous venues in the northeast and beyond, including the 2005, 2006, and 2007 seasons of The Chamber Arts Festival of Marbletown (with Jay Ungar & Molly Mason; Poets of Tin Pan Alley author Philip Furia; and Celtic powerhouse trio Ferintosh, respectively), the Rockport Chamber Music Festival, Bard College, Harvard University, The Albany Institute of History & Art, The People's Voice Café (NYC), The MacDowell Colony, and The Millay Colony. They headlined the 2007 Dissident Folk & Arts Festival's "Tribute to Bertolt Brecht," at the Howland Cultural Center, and have been featured at the Music at Marist concert series, the West End Theatre, and St. Giles Church (Oxford, UK), as well as on WAMC/Northeast Public Radio's popular "Dancing on the Air."

PAM TATE RETURNS!“Tate is a high-octane dramatic singer, assigning a mix of standards, theatre tunes, and contemporary songs to illustrate the diverse loves that connect us. Possessing a voice that is more powerhouse than pretty, Tate grabs the listener’s attention and holds tight….she releases a theatrical strength to charge the lyrics…a snappy, passionate show...” Elizabeth Ahlfors, Cabaret Scenes Magazine


TIMOTHY WARMEN & LAUREN ROBERTS make their debut with us. They come to us via Bobbie Horowitz!Timothy Warmen is a veteran of several original Broadway musicals. Among them are Pete Townsends’ The Who’s Tommy (Grammy Award: Best Broadway Cast Recording), Henry Krieger’s Sideshow (cast recording), Kander & Ebb’s Steel Pier, and Jim Steinmans’ Dance of the Vampires. Other Broadway credits include the revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Jesus Christ Superstar, and Frank Wildhorn’s Jeckyll & Hyde, Leonard Bernstein’s Wonderful Town (New York City Opera). Lauren Robert is a professional actress, singer, songwriter and playwright. She is a former Epic Records artist and her original songs have been produced by Stephen Bray (The Color Purple, Madonna) and Robert Nemiroff (Raisin). Lauren spent years recording and performing on the road at clubs, festivals and on national theatrical tours. Her own musicals include .22 Caliber Mouth originally produced by The Bloomington Playwrights Project (the first musical ever produced by the company). It went on to be developed via The O’Neill Musical Theater Conference (2004). At the conference, Lauren won the Georgia Bogardus- Holof Award, for best lyrics in a musical.
They will be performing a song from .22 Caliber Mouth.

MEG FLATHER RETURNS!Meg Flather Rogers

Spokesperson/Educator/Artist

Meg Flather Rogers has always made it her focus to educate and empower women. It is her goal to enhance their natural beauty and self-esteem through skin care and cosmetics that are easy to apply on a daily basis.

Meg has spent over twenty years building a multi-faceted career in both the make-up and skin care worlds. As National Make-up Artist and Spokesperson for Olay cosmetics, she worked closely with public relations, marketing and product development. Meg went on to be the Perlier On-Camera Spokesperson for The Shopping Chanel of Canada where she just celebrated her seventh anniversary with the brand. From 2004-2007 Meg worked as Spokesperson and Director of Training for Kelemata Skin Care, a division of Perlier. Meg was also featured on NBC's Today Show in a story about the phenomenon of home shopping while appearing on HSN. From 2007-2008 Meg promoted Aloette Skin Care on Shop NBC and then in late 2008 Meg joined PRAI Beauty as their On-Camera Spokesperson for Australia’s only shopping network, TVSN. Meg also enjoys consulting Vapour Organic Beauty, Silk’n, Sun Soul, TIPS and Leaf and Rusher Skin Care lines off camera. (As Consultant, Meg prepares/trains on-camera talent by defining product/company points of difference, composes selling script and plays TV host in role playing exercises to help on-camera talent strengthen, control and close sale.)

Meg began her cosmetic career in New York City, where she was Counter Manager/ Resident Trainer, then Special Events Captain of all metropolitan accounts for Clinique. She then became Resident Make-up Artist for Yves St. Laurent at Bergdorf Goodman, where she earned a solid reputation with an exclusive clientele. At Barneys NY, she held the highest national sales record for both Stila and Body and Soul cosmetics. Later, as a Senior Consultant, she improved service and artistry standards at all three Face Stockholm locations in Manhattan.

Lou Iacovino RETURNS!

CATT JOHN RETURNS!Beautiful, saucy, confident, pretty, cute, sexy, a wonderful singer and actress!

JACKIE DRAPER RETURNS!

DORA RUBEN RETURNS!

ROBERT GINO MAKES HIS IGUANA DEBUT!

CRAIG POMRANTZ RETURNS!“One of New York's most critically-acclaimed saloon singers,” (New York Magazine)The word ‘saloon’ conjures up a noisy place where rowdiness is the order of the day. In fact Craig Pomranz says he looks forward to the sound of silence. Presumably, once the audience have stopped giving the waiter their orders, have filled their collective glasses with enough to drink, and have stopped chattering among themselves, then for the performer to command their attention must be a great feeling, although possibly a frightening one, too. Craig learned the art of commanding silence from actress Lynn Cohen. He wanted to be an actor but the singing stuck with him and, anyway, singing is a form of acting and in cabaret it’s a question of creating your own world.

And, of course, DANA LORGE!



WARREN SCHEIN RETURNS! Warren has been performing on stages from New York to LA for over two decades. He has played lead singing roles in many stock and Off Broadway performances. Warren is also a actor and voice-over artist for TV and Radio. He has recorded for such well know advertisers as The History Channel, Nickelodeon, WPLJ Radio, AMC, M&M's and A&E.

PHYLLIS MOLLEN RETURNS!

JUDITH CAPORALE & GEORGA OSBORNE MAKE THEIR IGUANA DEBUTS! (Georga Osborne pictured)Bistro and MAC Award winning Broadway singer Georga Osborne was named one of the “Funniest People in Cabaret” by In Theater Magazine. She is a classically trained performer (with graduate degrees from Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music) who has taken her career into a mélange of entertainment genres including Broadway and cabaret stages as well as a foray into the land of television commercials.

JERRY WISCHINSKY RETURNS!

ELLEN BULLINGER RETURNS!Ellen Bullinger has a unique versatility and passion for many musical genres which has led her to perform in Broadway musical theatre, jazz, pop, opera and sacred music. This elegant songstress has most recently performed in Ellington by Starlight, a celebration of the musical genius and sophistication of Duke Ellington at The Bristol Riverside Theatre. Ellen has also appeared at BRT in For Sentimental Reasons... a Tribute to the Unforgettable Nat "King" Cole, The Song is You... Songs of the Great American Songbook, and I've Got You Under My Skin... Songs of the 1930's. Miss Bullinger performed in Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera for three years in Hamburg, Germany, portraying the role of Madame Giry. There she was a soloist on NDR Radio Hamburg. She also starred in the off-Broadway hit musical celebration, Our Sinatra, in NYC and again at The Stage Door Theatre in FL.
Ellen played the role of Diana in the hilarious comedy of errors Lend Me a Tenor at The Women's Project Theatre in NYC. She also played the role of Gymnasia in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum at The Merry-Go-Round Playhouse in NY and again at The Riverside Theatre in FL. Ellen originated the role of Opal McHone in the world premiere of Christy based on the novelat The Cumberland County Playhouse in TN.

Miss Bullinger headlined with the Ocean City NJ Pops Orchestra in Broadway Showstoppers and A Night at the Cabaret. Her debut, according to the Ocean City Sentinel, was "a total success" as she "wowed the audience," "caused a near riot" and "had all the males breathing heavily."

Ellen garnered standing ovations as she toured the Middle and Far East headlining her one-woman shows, Dream and Here's to Life with The Legend of the Seas Orchestra on Royal Caribbean Cruises.
Ellen also performed in concert in Lullaby of Broadway on German cruise ships with baritone Jorg Westerkamp throughout The Caribbean and South Africa.

In cabaret, Ellen has performed with Broadway composer Mickey Leonard in The Music of Michael Leonard at The Firebird and The New York Sheet Music Society. Ellen has also appeared at The NYSMS and in concert with award-winning composer Bryon Sommers. Ellen also performed her own cabaret show, Dream, at Eighty-Eight's accompanied by her musical director Mark Hartman, conductor of Broadway's Avenue Q.

Miss Bullinger currently entertains with Michael Walsh and The Smooth Spot Jazz Trio, The Alan Quinn Orchestra, and The Jump City Jazz Orchestra at various weddings and private events. Ellen has performed with her trio at upscale venues worldwide, including The Grandhotel Giessbach in Switzerland, The Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia, The City Island Yacht Club, and in many of NYC's elegant rooms including The Carnegie Club, The Grand Hyatt Regency, The Oak Room at The Plaza, The Blue Fin at The W, The Firebird, and Swing 46.

Ellen has also enjoyed touring with The Bud Forrest String of Pearls Orchestra in Holiday Swing and singing with The Garden Orchestra at Tavern on the Green, The Supper Club Orchestra at The Supper Club, The Rich Siegel Trio at Newsweek and Macy's, The Chris Byars Octet at Small's Jazz Club and The Carnegie Club, The Kevin Fox Orchestra at The Harvard Club, and The Tedd Firth Orchestra at Park Avalon.

Ellen has performed many benefit concerts in NYC, including What the World Needs Now... Music to Lift the Spirits for The September 11th Fund with Michael Walsh at Sam's and The Story Goes On... for The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation at The Laurie Beechman Room. Ellen is featured on Love is on the Way, a CD to benefit the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Ellen also regularly sings at St. Paul the Apostle Church in Manhattan.

Ellen recorded an original pop duet "Do You Believe in Love (This Way)?" with Latin pop star Alejandro Lagrotta in Panama for his upcoming 2008 album release in Latin America.

Ellen's uplifting Christmas album, Christmastime is Here, is available at http://cdbaby.com/cd/ellenbullinger.

Miss Bullinger studies voice with Dr. Michael Warren and holds a Bachelor of Music in Opera from The Hartt School of Music, University of Hartford. Demo CDs are available upon request.

Available for Bookings Worldwide

212.229.7974

Support THE ARTS! LIVE THEATRE! Go see a LIVE show this week!


Send me your reviews and suggestions and I will put them in my next blog coming out July 15th.
Here's to an ARTS-filled July! Don't forget to contribute to the DR. CAROL CHANNING & HARRY KULLIJIAN FOUNDATION FOR THE ARTS:
http://www.carolchanning.org/Foundation.htm

With grateful XOXOXs for your support!

Richard Skipper

Follow me on Twitter @RichardSkipper


MARIA OTTAVIA in 'If I Were A Carpenter: A Reconstruction'
Sunday, July 11, 2010
4:00pm - 5:00pm
Don't Tell Mama, NYC
343 W 46th Street (Restaurant Row)
New York, NY


HERE IS WHAT AUDIENCES ARE SAYING ABOUT MY WORK:

A big Thank you to Dana and Richard for such a joyous evening on Wednesday at the Iguana. They love what they do and the entire room loves them for what they do. The show was terrific on so many levels. They are gracious and welcoming to audience and performers, offstage and on - Richard and Dana are FABULOUS onstage. Hey Folks, see you there!!
Judith A. Caporale, New York, NY

I had such a great time performing with Richard Skipper & Dana Lorge last night at the Iguana.
They are always so kind and loving towards me and the work I do!
Marti Gould Cummings, http://www.broadwayspeaksOUT.com


Dear Richard,

Thank you so much for hosting such a wonderful show at The Iguana, which I experienced for the first time last night. I've attended many cabaret shows, but never (yes, I mean never) before have I heard such a wonderful variety of music and such excellent vocalists with great performance abilities. God willing, I will definitely be back! I recommend this event to anyone looking for a great night out in NYC.

Richard, I also want to express my appreciation for your generosity of spirit; you [and the very-funny Dana!] unselfishly promote all the performers' shows and CD's, not to mention the Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs, a most admirable trait!
Sophia Niarchos, Upper Brookville, NY



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: NYC THE AWARD WINNING WEDNESDAY NIGHT AT THE IGUANA STARRING DANA LORGE, RICHARD SKIPPER, AND FRIENDS!
Dana Lorge and I have put our OWN spin on the variety show format and are now going into our second year every Wednesday night in NYC at The Iguana VIP Lounge (http://www.iguananyc.com) in the heart of NYC (240 West 54th Street 8-11PM/with an intermission).
Cover: $12 - no food or drink minimums – but remember – the food is great!
WINNER OF TWO 2010 MANHATTAN ASSOCIATION OF CABARETS AND CLUBS AWARDS (MAC) FOR OUTSTANDING VARIETY SHOW AND OUTSTANDING HOSTS!
or more info, please call 845-365-0720 or visit _www.RichardSkipper.com_
212-765-5454.











JULY 28: PAULETTE DOZIER RETURNS, Patricia Fitzpatrick

TILL NEXT WEEK...HERE'S TO A MUSICAL JULY!
With grateful XOXOXs for your support!
Richard Skipper, Richard@RichardSkipper.com