2010 MEETING SCHEDULE
*** July, August, September Meeting Location***
TEMPLE BETH SHALOM
Century Village, Boca Raton
see FLYER for Details
8/8 - Matt Stanley - versatile singer from Broadway to Sinatra, from Tom Jones to jazz. See FLYER for details and location.
9/12 - Lou Villano
10/10 - Daniel Delmont
11/
7
12/5
2011
1/9/11
2/6
3/6
4/3
5/1
6/5
7/10
8/7
See also, EVENTS for additional Philadelphia Social Club Activities.
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PAST 2010 MEETINGS
July 11th - Martha Brown
When Martha Brown first approached the stage at Temple Beth Shalom, she was ecstatic to discover a Baby Grand piano. This meant that instead of playing recorded piano music to accompany her songs, she would play the piano live. And she did.
Martha's presentation was most unique. A former history teacher, as she went from the "Roaring Twenties" to "Disco" in the 70's, she prefaced each song with headlines of that era - from wars, economics and presidents.
Martha's opening number was a jazzed up version of "Five Feet Two, Eyes of Blue," followed by "Happy Days are Here Again." She took us through the Big Band era with "Side by Side" and "Bei Mir Bist Du Shane" a la the Andrew Sisters. In 1940, everyone was tapping their feet to "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy."
As Martha approached the 1950's, the room was alive with Elvis Presley's "Blue Suede Shoes," "Jailhouse Rock" and "Rock Around the Clock." Since the songs she belted out were so familiar to us all, Martha conveniently let us fill in the words at different intervals.
Continuing into 1956, she progressed into Doo Wop and belted out Jerry Lee Lewis' "Great Balls of Fire." Martha played piano magnificently, but what was most incredible, she did not have one piece of sheet music.
In 1960, some folk singing emerged with "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" followed by "The Age of Acquarius," and "Let the Sun Shine in." The Beatles were next with "I Saw Her Standing There." In 1970, there was disco with a wonderful arrangement of "Dancing Queen" and "Sweet Home Alabama."
Martha's piano playing talent was totally amazing, as evidenced when she did "Chopsticks" as if it were played by Beethoven, Chopin and Franz Liszt. Martha's finale was Carol Burnett's theme song - overall a fine performance enjoyed by all.
6/6 - Iris Revson
From the minute Iris Revson said hello prior to the show, bubbling over and chocked full of personality, I knew our members and guests were in for an exceptional performance! There are singers who simply sing and there are "showmen," who, in addition to their vocal talent, delight the audience with their charm, humor and charisma. It is this latter category that I place Iris Revson. To further substantiate her truly magnificent voice, in my opinion had she been a final contestant on "American Idol," she would have walked away with the title.
This entertainer was well equipped with three huge speakers strategically placed on the stage while her husband Michael, a drummer (and I'm sure an excellent one), programmed her music off to the side.
Iris, bouncy and effervescent, wearing a short black dress with lace bodice and lots of sparkling jewelry to set off her long red hair, opened with "Who Can Ask for Anything More." Her accessories were a plus as she flaunted a red feather boa while singing "Cabaret," "Send in the Clowns," and "Everything's Coming up Roses" (a la Ethel Merman).
This talented "ball of fire" bonded with the audience immediately, especially when she left the stage and sang directly to our male members and guests. Iris' amazing voice was not surprising since she has been in several Broadway shows including "Evita" and "Pirates of Penzance." When she sang "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" and "Memory" from the show "Cats" (wearing a headband of cat's
ears), you could have heard a pin drop.
Aside from being funny and charming, Iris was delightful in an imitation of Liza Minnelli doing "New York, New York." There was audience participation when she sang "Be My Baby," but what exemplified her dynamic talent best was when she sang an incredible opera, completely in Italian.
Iris' final number was "Tomorrow" from the show "Annie." It was quite evident that the sun had come out when she was on stage, as evidenced by an immediate standing ovation by over 220 Philly club members and guests.
As I mingled through the crowd after the show, I received many many accolades for Iris Revson, all indicating that this was one of the very best shows we have had.
5/2 - Mindy McGee
With a crowd of over 250 members and guests, the room came alive when singer Mindy McGee took center stage. Mindy opened her act with "I'm gonna Live Forever" and then accompanied by her guitar, sang "After the Lovin'" dedicated to two guests celebrating their wedding anniversary.
Next, the audience participated in the singing as Mindy led us in a medley of "Home on the Range," "Oh Suzanna," "My Darling Clementine," "Coming Round the Mountain," "I've been Working on the Railroad," and "Take me out to the Ball Game."
To diversify her act, Mindy told a few jokes that made the audience chuckle. Singing and playing the trumpet near the conclusion of the show, Mindy did a wonderful impression of Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong's "Hello Dolly" and "Besame Mucho." To close the show, she sang "Smile, Smile, Smile."
4/11 - MANON ROBERT
Over 300 members and guests enjoyed the morning when charming vocalist/entertainer Manon Robert took center stage. Manon's beautiful voice captivated us when she sang "La Vie en Rose" in French. She also belted out "That's Amoré" in Italian and then took us back to the 50's with rock 'n roll numbers a la Elvis Presley ("All Shook Up," Blue Suede Shoes," "Rock Around the Clock").
Manon's music instantly came alive (especially when she sang "Que Sera") through excellent playing of the keyboard/piano, which accompanied all of her songs. Her exuberance, warmth and love brought joy to the audience, as evidenced by those who sang along with her.
With a French/Canadian background, Manon's finalé was a beautiful love song that she sang in French and was most enjoyed by all.
3/7 - LOU & LYNN CARABELLO
Happy 7th Birthday to The Philadelphia Social Club! Today's special breakfast meeting, catered by Poppies, got rave reviews from everyone. Each centerpiece was a gynormous fish platter; in the center a very large white fish sliced open to reveal tons of white fish salad. The presentation was spectacular and the consensus of opinion, it was equally delicious.
Each time we think the entertainment can't get any better, it does. Today's performance by Lou and Lynn Carabello was beyond exceptional. In addition to their powerful vocals and dancing, their delightful personalities proved them to be the ultimate showmen - especially Lou who was resplendent in his bright yellow jacket.
Early on, Lou and Lynn did a number called "Jump Jive" where Lou danced and shook his legs so fast you could hardly see them. Most enjoyable was "Besame Mucho" in Italian and when Lynn sang "By Meir Bistu Shein" and "Don't Cry for me Argentina," from "Avita." Most of Lou's songs were punctuated by his fancy quick steps.
Having honed his talent at Brown's in the Catskills many years ago, Lou sure knew how to make everyone laugh. He went on to say that they've been married for 36 years and told about when he first took Lynn to meet his parents, who lived in a hi-rise luxury tenement on Hester Street; how she was greeted by his Italian father and Sephardic Jewish mother. He promised Lynn if she would marry him, he would take her to the best condos in Florida.
From singing and dancing a Spanish merengue/swing to a perfect imitation of Louis Prima, "Just a Gigolo" and "I Ain't Got Nobody" (including the Louis Prima 'walk'), for one hour the audience was spellbound by Lou and Lynn. "Have you Heard" was their final number, met by thunderous applause and a very well deserved standing ovation.
2/7 - Michael Rapposelli
Dressed in black tux and black on black silk shirt, Mike Rapposelli made "a statement" prior to showtime. The crowd was huge and our room at the Civic Center was bursting at the seams. When we tried to get everyone's attention to begin the meeting, it was practically impossible . . . UNTIL Mike stepped up to the microphone. In a perfect imitation of Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone), it didn't take but a second for all to simmer down. Suddenly we were transported to the steps at the Philadelphia Art Museum.
Mike is not only an incredible singer, but a comedic impressionist as well. He did perfect imitations and body movements of Elvis Presley, Satchmo Armstrong, Sammy Davis, Jr., Jackie Mason and Dean Martin in a most hilarious manner. A highlight of the performance was Michael's interpretation of "Bring Him Home" from "Les Miserables" in honor of our troops overseas. The audience responded enthusiastically.
Michael Rapposelli received thunderous applause with his operatic rendition of Puccini's "Nessun Dorma" from the opera "Turandot," a Pavarotti favorite. The standing ovation from the audience demonstrated the group's appreciation of an outstanding performance from a superbly talented artist, a native South Philadelphian from 17th and Oregon Avenue.
1/10 - Myrna Goldberger -
Members and guests were thrilled to welcome back this highly talented speaker who delighted us with an interesting new topic, "Spies and Lies." Suffice to say, the stories (coming right off the top of her head) were fascinating, plus we had never heard them before.
Ms. Goldberger spoke about Ethel & Julius Rosenberg and Ted Hall, American physicist and atomic spy Jonathan Pollard. We were sitting on the edge of our seats when she related to us that Julia Child was a spy for the OSS and concealed messages in her recipes. She informed us that likewise, Marlena Deitrich sent messages in her songs.
In conclusion, Ms. Goldberger answered questions from a very enthusiastic audience and spoke about some other well known public figures, including Supreme Court Justice Arthur Goldberg, baseball player Moe Berg, historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr. and film actor Sterling Hayden.
As expected, Myrna Goldberger proved to be a master story teller and was without a doubt enjoyed by all.
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