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Russ
Lorenson News
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Spring, 2008
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This fantastic
portrait of me was done by
Kathy Womack, a fabulous artist from Austin,
Texas. It was commissioned by the Austin
Cabaret Theatre in advance of my shows there in
March. I love it so much that I have chosen it
as the official artwork for my new show and CD,
coming later this year. (Click on the image for
a larger version)
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Friends,
Spring has sprung, and it's time for a new
newsletter, with lots to tell you.
Since last we chatted, I've been traveling and
performing, with shows in Texas and here in
California. We premiered a couple of tunes from
the upcoming new show (see below for details),
including a brand new song co-written by me and
my terrific musical director,
Kelly Park. I really love the song, and by
all accounts, so did the audience we tried it
out on. I can't wait to record it!
Last month, I did something that will forever
change my show,
A Little Travelin' Music. Those of you
who have seen the show know that I share stories
of all the many places in the world (some quite
exotic) that I have traveled to. You also know
that of the many places I've been, I've actually
never been to Paris...well, that has finally
changed! I just returned from a 10-day trip to
the City of Light herself, and fell madly in
love with her. I will now be able to sing "I
Love Paris" with all the spirit and meaning that
Cole Porter intended.
I'm only home for a few more days - next week I
go to Michigan to start rehearsals for
Nunsense Jamboree, which runs May 28 -
June 8. Then it's back home to California for a
performance of
A Little Travelin' Music (the first in 2
years!) and finishing work on the new show to
get it ready for it's debut in the Fall. All
the details are below.
As usual, thanks for your love and support!
Russ Lorenson
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Holy cowboy boots, Batman!
 I'm
so excited that creator Dan Goggin has asked me
to reprise my role as Father Virgil in a new
production of
NunsenseSister Amnesia's Country Western
Nunsense Jamboree
at the Meadow Brook Theatre in Rochester,
Michigan! And marking
my second career
appearance on the same bill as a former "Catwoman"
(the first was Eartha Kitt), I'll be appearing
in this production beside the beautiful and
talented Lee
Meriwether,
who donned the famous black catsuit and ears for
the 1966 film of
Batman,
a spinoff of the popular TV series. Now if I
could only swing a gig with Julie Newmar...
 Now
clad in a different black outfit (that's her, in
the photo below), Ms. Meriwether will star as
Sister Mary Wilhelm, the superintendent of
nursing at Mount St. Helen's school. Picking up
where the two previous
Nunsense
shows left off,
Nunsense Jamboree
is presented as a promotional tour for Sister
Mary Amnesia's newly released album,
I Could've Gone to Nashville.
 After
regaining her memory, Sister Amnesia realizes
she is really Sister Mary Paul, a former country
singer. Reverend Mother, feeling that one should
not waste God-given talent, gets Sister Mary
Paul a recording contract and now she is on a
national tour. She is accompanied by some
familiar faces along with two new characters:
Father Virgil Manly Trott (played by me) - a
radio personality who just happens to be Sister
Mary Leo's older brother - and Sister Mary
Wilhelm, the superintendent of nursing at Mount
St. Helen's School.
 This
show is filled with hysterical one-liners and
infectious comic tunes as they answer the big
question - will Sister Amnesia leave the convent
for the Grand Ole Op'ry? You'll have to wait
till the finale, "Do Unto Others" to get the
answer!
Nunsense
was originally produced as a cabaret revue at
The Duplex in New York's Greenwich Village in
1983, scheduled to run for four weekends only.
38 weeks later, the show was a certified hit,
and it was expanded to a full-length musical.
It opened Off-Broadway in 1985, won four Outer
Critics' Circle Awards, and in 1992 became the
second-longest running Off-Broadway musical in
history. The show has been produced in over 25
countries in over 5000 different productions and
has generated ticket sales of over $300
million! Since the original, there have been 6
additional shows in the
Nunsense
franchise, including
Sister Amnesia's Country Western Nunsense
Jamboree,
Nuncrackers: The Nunsense Christmas Musical,
and
Nunsensations: The Nunsense Vegas Revue.
The show runs May 28 through June 8 at the
Meadow Brook Theatre (on the campus of Oakland
University), Wednesdays through Sundays.
Tickets are $22-$38, available by calling the
box office at (248) 377-3300, or
purchase online by clicking here.
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On The Road Again...
Fresh off my trip to Paris, I'm eager to do the
first performance of
A Little Travelin' Music
in over 2 years! Dusting it off after all this
time has been fun - we've taken a good look at
the show and have made several changes to the
set list, adding some great new tunes that we
missed the first time around. That being said,
"I Love Paris" is definitely a keeper, now that
I've finally gotten to visit there.
 Unfortunately
for most of you, the performance will be a
private event for the members of the Rossmoor
Community here in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Rossmoor is a gated community in Walnut Creek,
California, with a population of about 9,200. It
was one of the first "active adult" communities
for residents 55 years or older in the U.S., and
has won numerous awards for its outstanding
community.
As part of their annual
Summer Outdoor Concert Series,
the boys in the band and I will be taking the
Rossmoor residents on an evocative excursion
through the Great American Songbook, featuring
songs by composers such as Cole Porter, George
and Ira Gershwin, Johnny Mercer and Cy Coleman.
We will fly away on wings of song...from London
to Chicago, Rome to New York, and from Paris
back to San Francisco.
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Standard Time
Once upon a time, pop music was jazz, the
hippest singers were also the most popular,
and the elastic swing of jazz propelled feet
as well as toes. But with the dominance of
hip-hop, the fragmentation of the music
audience, and the current distance of real
jazz from the cultural center, it's easy to
see why the Great American Songbook has been
declared dead, if not at least on life
support.
Well, I disagree! And I have a show full of
"new standards" to prove my point that
well-written songs with meaningful lyrics
are still being written today, just waiting
to be interpreted by thoughtful,
jazz-inspired vocalists. My brand-new show
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Standard Time - explores the Great
American Songbook of the New Millennium,
featuring great songs written within the
last 20 years.
I'm pleased
to announce that the show will debut in
October at one of the best clubs in the
country,
The Metropolitan Room in New York City.
PLUS
- we will be
recording the show for a live album!!
If you live in or near New York City, or
will be heading there for this year's
Cabaret Convention (which starts October
29), mark your calendars now to be there!
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Book me for your
private party or corporate event!
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