July 6, 2024 • 32 mins
From Broadway to classics, on stage and in concert, Lisa Vroman has established herself as one of America's most versatile voices. She starred on Broadway, LA and SF as Christine Daaé in The Phantom of the Opera and garnered theater critics’ awards for her portrayal.
Her Broadway debut was in Aspects of Love and she was the first to play both Fantine and Cosette in Les Misérables. She has starred in major productions as Marian Paroo in The Music Man, Lili Vanessi in Kiss Me Kate, Birdie in Regina, Josephine in HMS Pinafore, Anna 1 in The Seven Deadly Sins, Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus, Laurey in Oklahoma, Anna Leonowens in The King and I, Mary Turner in Of Thee I Sing and Rosabella in The Most Happy Fella. Lisa appeared on PBS as Johanna in the Emmy Award winning production of Sweeney Todd and was featured in the London Royal Gala, Hey! Mr. Producer.
She has played, sang and danced opposite Dick Van Dyke as Mary Poppins at the Hollywood Bowl Disney’s 75th, and played the role of Maria Callas in Terence McNally’s award-winning play, Master Class. Lisa is a frequent guest with symphonies including SF, Nashville, Philadelphia, Dallas, Utah, St. Louis, Houston, Pacific, Atlanta, Hong Kong, Cleveland, National, Florida, Cleveland, BBC Concert Orchestra, Boston Pops, Philly Pops, and the NY Pops. She is a graduate of the Crane School of Music, SUNY Potsdam (BM, Hon. Dr. of Music, Minerva Award), Carnegie-Mellon University (MFA), and is a George London Competition winner.
Lisa has become an active mentor and sought-after clinician with many colleges and universities across the country and around the world. She has acted as a judge in both the Lotte Lenya Competition for the Kurt Weill Foundation and UCLA’s Walter Jurmann Competition, and regularly performs Weill’s music with symphonies throughout the country. Recent performances have included symphony concerts celebrating the music of George Gershwin, and her 2024 Bistro Award-winning cabaret, “Ingénue…Ingé-not-so-new!”, in NY. www.lisavroman.com
Lisa also gave us the scoop on the upcoming "Broadway and Beyond" benefit for the Richmond/Ermet Aid Foundation. It's happening on July 14th at the Marines Memorial Theater, and it's set to be a night filled with incredible talent and heartwarming performances, all for a good cause.
Trust me, you won't want to miss this intimate look into Lisa's world and the wonderful community she's part of. Head over to reef-sf.org for more details on the event. Let's support the arts together!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Music.
(00:09):
Well, thank you for coming on, Lisa. Hey. So we were just talking about your
teaching. What's the school that you teach at?
It's called AMDA. It's a four-year BFA program in Los Angeles.
It's a two-year program in New York. But I joined the voice faculty fall of
2019, and then the pandemic hit.
(00:35):
Yes. And during that time, I had 26 or 27 students, plus some other people that
I coach on Zoom, which is why I have this nice microphone.
Yeah, it sounds great. We kind of set ourselves up with a good camera and a
good mic, and so I could give the kids a really better experience with me.
(00:56):
And I have to say, I really love the teaching. My whole family are teachers.
And even though I've been singing all my life, I just didn't stop and take the time to do it.
And since being back in person, it's really been unbelievably fun.
Like I said, the kids are in college. They're artists. They want to be on Broadway. They're singers.
(01:19):
They're either musical theater or contemporary singers, commercial singers.
And they just want to learn how to use their voices.
And it's really fun for me to be with that age group.
They don't have kids, so it's kind of fun. Yeah. All that enthusiasm.
Yeah, they have a lot of that. I wish their technique met the enthusiasm.
(01:41):
Yeah. Well, some of them will take a while to get there, and some of them will get there quickly.
You know, it's about them respecting themselves and their authenticity,
and they can see the results after.
It's not a bunch of tips like you would ask Roger Federer how to be a tennis star.
And oh he gives you some tips and all of a sudden boom
(02:03):
you're a star forever you know it takes time and it's
conditioning and it's it's a craft like anything else and
i i kind of say it's sort of like being an athlete
you have to keep that pace and that training is your
body's different every day you're maturing they're not mature yet they have
certain layers of instability physically that won't kind of meld until they're
(02:23):
26 27 their bodies and their mucous membrane system are all changing and right
and then they'll have a good 40 years before it gets unstable again so i.
Want them to be i want them to be
as prepped and proud of them their work as possible yeah
it's been really great for me i've loved it i've loved it so great to
talk to you because i'm here in the bay area and i know you've been
(02:44):
here a lot and i lived there a long time i know
and i don't think we ever met or anything i did know
you in phantom which i loved yeah i think
i i knew some other people in the show John you
know John Monagro yes John Monagro
yes I was in a show with
him oh John's the best they're all they're just it was a great company of
(03:05):
people I love them you know they it was
a beautiful five years with with people who really cared about the show everybody
worked hard every day and it was some shows get old and people get tired of
it but we couldn't afford that in in San Francisco so I well it was such a huge
hit here oh we just had a ball. It was a great, and it went by.
(03:26):
Like in a flash. I know. I remember. All of a sudden it's over.
And it was just always sold out for five years or is that what it was? Five years?
Yeah. Five. Yeah. Five years. Well, wow.
What a great treat that was. And a great run. You know, I bought a home after
that and I was, I'm forever grateful to that long-term show, you know? Yeah.
I just, it's in, I'm in Pasadena.
(03:48):
And right after that, I went back to New York for another kind of three and a half years.
So. And you did some shows on Broadway in New York?
Yeah, I did Phantom for another three years. Oh, you did it?
I didn't know you did it in New York. Yeah, I bought my home after Phantom closed
in San Francisco and Pasadena, and I'm sitting there, and the phone rings.
And of course, you're still in kind of a loop of the role of the girls who do it.
(04:13):
And they wanted me to go to London, and I said, no, I just got a house, and I have a puppy.
And it was too much. I was in boxes still.
But and i said no and i i was like
gosh maybe that's it you know you don't know if they're gonna call again
and yeah literally a month later they called and
said both girls in new york are pregnant can you come and i
went i'm in so because after that much
(04:35):
time i i did the tour a little bit before that after five or
six years in a show in a role you kind of want the payoff of doing
it on broadway yeah so so what
was it like what was it like going from san francisco to broadway
was that your first broadway show no i did aspects of love before
oh so you oh so you're old hat yeah i did lame
is for three years and in the middle of it i did the the uh new
(04:56):
broadway premiere of aspects of love yeah i
lived in new york a long time i actually moved out of new york to come to
san francisco and do uh phantom oh i
didn't know that oh yeah i thought you were from here okay no well it
felt like you were from here i think a lot of people thought it was like my hometown doesn't
it yeah i think a lot of people assumed it was they
do my cell phone is still 415 so i think people think
(05:18):
that i that i live there still yeah i think
a lot of people probably think you still do but i
did i don't know why like the ghost of phantom past here so so what's the show
that you have coming up here we are doing the 30th anniversary of help us on
the way the richmond ermite you know benefit that that started a very long time
(05:42):
ago and i was there at the the beginning,
because I was in San Francisco, those were the years, the 90s,
when we were all in San Francisco together.
With Ken Henderson and Joe Seiler, and we just, they become dear,
dear friends of mine, like my family, and I've been in so many of them,
you know, over 25 of them, I'm pretty sure,
that, you know, like, everybody that comes back to it feels like your family
(06:04):
again, in San Francisco, and the, when we started doing them, I, I,
couldn't get enough of it every year because it was
a night off from doing the same show over and over again and a
night where everybody did one song and we were backstage together
enjoying each other's company and artistry and it was
glorious it was a glorious time and i and
(06:25):
singing music that you didn't normally get to so i am
so it's like a cabaret format it's yeah
everybody comes in and does one thing you know they kind of get up and
do a number and you hope it's early so you can go have a drink right away yeah
that's what i love about doing cabaret type shows yeah it's so it's so much
it's so much fun it's actually it's so much easier than doing an entire musical
(06:48):
that's for sure you think and it's just and people are so.
Receptive and warm and it's just a great environment it's a fun thing and you
just feel like you can be yourself i mean i i recently just did a one-person
show and I won the New York Bistro Award for it this year. Did you write it?
(07:10):
I did. My husband and I put it together. Good for you. And it's music?
As my friends call it, they call it Intro to Lisa 101.
Oh, nice. So I mean, I did it in the Green Room 42 in New York a year ago and
then I just did it Easter weekend again and then April 1st was the Bistro Awards
that they told me I was getting an award for the show.
Well, congratulations. Yeah, that was fun. on i mean i
(07:33):
said does it mean something goes oh are you going to be a cabaret singer now and
i said i don't know i find it a lot of pressure but really
really fun to do i love telling the
stories that you're not going to know you know they're you know they're even
my friends who had known me for years said i hadn't heard half of the things
that you were telling me i just because you're revealing things about your childhood
and family and little stories fun stories that have happened along the way and
(07:57):
there's i mean there's 40 years of it so there's plenty of good stuff,
yeah it was from i have to wait till some people probably pass
away to tell some of it but you know it's that'll be
part two yeah that's the problem with writing a an autobiographical show or
a memoir or something it's like what can you get away with you know what if
(08:18):
they read it yeah yeah it's uh it's yeah but you know it's it's uh it was great
fun and i have a couple of pianists one
on the East Coast, one of the West Coast that I've worked with. I did the show out here.
Last summer too and there's a lot of there's a great arts community out here and down here in la,
also and it's been you know even though i'm teaching and still i'm still traveling
(08:43):
a lot doing concerts so the time to book like a show take off five or six weeks is kind of difficult,
at times but you know there's still some shows
like a couple of shows i'd like to do if they find me
that'll be great what would those be i i mean the the
top of the list would have to be like the piazza i've
always wanted to play margaret oh i love that so i'm just putting
(09:05):
it out there i'm waiting for somebody to uh you'd be
great in that i love that yeah it just
it suits me now it seems like people aren't doing
that as much as they used to used to say they should yeah the music's glory
it's it but it's no joke it's really difficult and the it's not only the italian
and the language but the music is very complicated and beautiful and so you
(09:29):
really have I'd have a cast of pretty tight musicians that can then handle it.
But it's a beautiful show.
And I'll just keep my fingers crossed.
I think there always should be a bucket list, right? Oh, for sure.
People ask me if I'm going to retire. I'm like, I don't know.
What does that mean, really? What do we do? I mean, it changes.
(09:52):
What you want to do changes, but you can't ever really.
It's hard to retire from this, I would say. Well, you know, your voice will
tell you what it wants to do.
I mean, my voice still works for me very well because I trained well.
I went to MFA, was in voice performance and was in kind of the opera world out of grad school.
(10:14):
And I just had a good technique and I've always been a crossover singer and I've taken care of it.
But I think I was, I came into Phantom a little older, so my voice was really
settled in a place where it could withstand that role for a number of years
and not hurt it or damage it.
Or it was, you know, I was ready for it at that time.
(10:34):
And I've seen it with singers who didn't have that all together that do some damage.
And maybe they weren't old enough or mature enough to, because it's not easy
singing and you're singing every day. You have to be that kind of an athlete, I think.
Yeah, it's the everyday thing. And sometimes twice a day, they can really take
(10:55):
a toll on you, I think. It does.
And yet it's over and you're thinking, you know, where did the time flew?
Like I said, and I loved, I'm glad it was San Francisco. I love that city.
I have so many dear friends there.
Joe and Ken actually just sent me a video of one of the first.
(11:16):
Benefits that I did with them almost 30 years ago
and my mom who has passed away now was visiting me with my stepfather they were
both choral music educators and they came out to see phantom for the weekend
I was doing the benefit so I said hey you want to come and play for me you know
and so my second song I invited her up and I introduced her as my my high school
(11:37):
and junior high music teacher,
oh and then she walked up and everybody started giggling because we
are kind of carbon copies so i said oh
it's mother's day oh mrs gage is also my mom you
know kind of and i i don't have any videos of
my mother we weren't a video family have a lot of pictures yeah so i have a
(11:58):
video of her and i performing together and then we did an interview backstage
after for like oh you're like three four four or five minutes and it's both
of us standing there and talking with each other and And I'm telling you,
it just makes me cry just to think of that. I'm so happy I have it.
Well, that's wonderful. Yeah, it's great. Those kind of things are.
(12:18):
But that's what this benefit kind of means to me. And I'm going to be back with
some incredible talent on this one yet again. Yes. We are.
Yes. People will. I mean, Rob McClure, who is starring in Mrs.
Doubtfire, for one, if you hear anything about him, the guy's a superstar. I can't wait to hear him.
(12:39):
Do his thing but there are just bruce falange is there again paula west sam
harris who i've met i've met all these people doing this benefit so it's kind of,
yeah yeah david burnham and faith prince and debbie
boone jennifer lee warren let me think who
else oh jason brock who's back from japan lived
(13:00):
there for a while but a bay area singer wonderful talent so i
mean all these people i've known for all these years because of
this benefit of it so i'm it's kind of like coming home a
little bit too yeah well i
sort of know faith prince i mean uh i did a while back she i went backstage
when she did there was a play here in act that didn't the tales of the city
(13:23):
music oh yeah yeah yeah that was fun didn't take off i enjoyed it a lot yeah
i heard people loved it but they yeah they um,
Yeah. I don't know. I don't know. Things kind of go. It just depends whether
they think it's going to make it in New York or not. Yeah.
And New York is another banana. It's all about the money, if they can sell it.
Yeah, it's all about the profit. Yeah.
(13:46):
That's not really what's going on too much in San Francisco,
except for the touring companies.
Yeah. But everybody else is non-profit for the most part.
Yeah. So I feel the pandemic really put
its stamp on the Bay Area you and people sustaining and staying afloat and alive
and it's affected opera companies and symphonies all every arts organization
(14:09):
so uh it's been hard i had to leave the union myself really i just couldn't
get anything anymore and i felt like i wanted to do stuff so,
and you were limited i'm not sure if i made the right decision but i did a couple
plays non-union and at least i got to do something could you go back i just
wrote them an email asking Yeah.
(14:30):
I mean, I can't imagine that they wouldn't because they know that this is affecting everyone.
Yeah. But all of the tours, like so many of the tours, my students ask me all
the time, should I join the union?
Should I not? I'm like, why don't you not for a while and go get some experience?
Because most of the tours on the road are all non-union now. Oh, I know.
There's a big Peter Pan tour here at San Jose Center of Performing Arts, which is huge.
(14:53):
Yeah. It's the one that Lonnie Price directed. Yeah. It's the one Lonnie Price directed.
Yeah yeah yeah yeah non-union i
can't believe yeah so i tell them why
don't you go work see what you can get and work
work work and don't join the union and without any experience first well
the other thing too is some of these non-union shows are actually paying
decent wages yeah oh yeah so they're competing
(15:15):
with the union in that sense yeah i know you
don't get the benefits fits but yeah yeah
i don't know things are changing or protections or protections
which is important we just have to keep live art arts alive yeah gotta go with
the flow and keep it alive i live in la but i don't i love movies and tv but
(15:37):
that's not my industry my industry is that live experience which we we we have
witnessed and experienced how it can be so quickly taken
away oh because of the live like the pandemic
right yeah it could and it can happen again it can happen if
someone doesn't support the arts and we have to still struggling most theaters
are still struggling to get an audience back since then right just people have
(15:59):
become complacent and stay home yeah and they lost so many subscribers yeah
almost every theater yep yeah because if people aren't putting their money in
it uh it's it's you know it's hard but I can't give up.
No, there's no, yeah, I know. I, well, I don't think, I don't think live theater,
live performance will ever go away.
(16:21):
I mean, people are going to, it's part of human nature. Right. Yeah.
Yeah we need it i call my students
when you sing and we sing live for each other we are
like the wave of second responders you know
you can watch a movie you love and that's that certainly helps but when someone's
in front of you and they are this their your sound is hitting their body and
(16:44):
their their ears there's nothing like it it's it's a sensory you know overload
and and there's There's a vibrational thing that goes on. It's helpful.
It'll, I think it'll save the world. So I'm, I'm all, you know,
I want music education to just
be completely supported everywhere and the kids to get the experience.
And I just tell them, I want them to get up during the pandemic.
(17:06):
They had nowhere to perform.
So when they, we got out of it, they were so nervous in class to get up and
sing because they hadn't exercised that, that, that technique of getting up
the performance energy and that, that, that bit of the craft,
they, and they were scared to death emotionally.
They were the kids were getting up and
going i can't do this i can't do this you know they just hadn't been
(17:27):
able to exercise it at 18 to
19 plus they grow up in a time where you know
because of you know that your social media
everything has to be you're
perfect all the time or you have
to or it'll be on social media forever and you'll
have to live with that i mean it's we didn't have have to do
(17:49):
that growing up in our era so i we're at which i'm grateful for you could make
mistakes you you and you should be able to make mistakes you should you should
singing every day yeah just we're not an ai product we're we're human you know and thank god still.
Yeah for the for the moment for the moment
(18:11):
we're still apparently that might change from what
they how do i know you're not a robot no how do
you know i'm not an alien i was watching the show resident alien
on tv it was about have you seen it oh my god
i love it it's one of our favorite things i love
it so how do you say his last name how do you say his name what's
(18:32):
his last name oh forget about everybody go
go see every minute of resident alien it
is it is a piece of genius it's so funny
yeah it's moving and everything's such a great show
it's it's from beginning to end it was beautifully written and
it's so kind-hearted too yeah it's like it's good family entertainment his adopting
(18:55):
the 14 year old sensibility you know with the child how they banter just it
i couldn't get enough of it and it's like he's it's like he's so uncomfortable
in his own body all the time.
But they just put so many... I'm just going to look it up.
Resident alien because i i
(19:15):
have to cast oh alan
to to dick to dick yeah that's his name t-u-d-y-k
yeah oh my god people apparently a lot of people a lot of people have known
about him before i i didn't know he was in other shows that were really good
like firefly voiceover stuff for characters too oh i'm sure yeah the guy's he's
(19:40):
brilliant though i i i want to you You know what I love the most?
If you watch the show and you look on the periphery sometimes,
some of the actors will start laughing. Oh, yeah.
And the editors leave it in for like a split second. Yeah, they can't hold it together with him.
Or the woman who plays the main character. I forget her name.
(20:03):
Yeah, Sarah. Is that her name? Once in a while, she'll start. Asta.
Yeah, Asta. She'll start laughing at the actor. And they'll leave it in.
The editors will leave it in for just a split second you
know they're doing it on purpose yeah sarah tomko and
like cory cory reynolds who plays sheriff mike oh god
oh my god he's great well they're
(20:23):
all great i mean the entire elizabeth bowen
who is the other agent i mean the yeah oh she's fun
everyone in it is so good that i i it looks like
they're just having so much fun yeah i think i
think they get along really well you can just feel the chemistry through
this oh my god they know they have a good show so i'm yeah so that helps that
(20:44):
we we were sad when that when we finished the season it was that it was over
i have a little ways to go yet so don't tell me the end i won't tell you i'm
not saying anything because it just it keeps getting better.
That's one thing i like shows that keep getting better too like
that where they they start off a little unsure of what
they're about and then you know episode after episode
(21:06):
it just gets better and better right and you can tell
that so are we going to see you with this benefit i'm going to be there for
sure let's see find me okay find me
find me and and the benefit is to support to support hiv programs hunger programs
and youth programs their small emergency emergency grants program all right
yes but project open hand which is incredible and yes i came to know that group
(21:29):
when i was in san francisco and a lot of sponsors no it's an It's an incredible,
incredible gift to the Bay Area, this thing.
And Joe and Ken have been completely devoted to this.
For years and years and all the people that have come through it and that i've
known like i said it was it was a such a relief from the and the phantom company
(21:50):
a lot of them joined all the time they said it was such a great night for our
for our san francisco community.
And i'm still friends with a lot of them so that that's a it's a great thing
to get up there it feels like it was sort of my second home for a while so i
miss it yeah i do and these are really
great programs that they're giving to here so you're really supporting a lot
(22:15):
of people who need help if you if you attend the reef and you're going to see
the next group of you know broadway talent that are cast and mrs.
Yes this talent is incredible yeah the
what yeah the talent is just fantastic yeah yeah
these kids are going to be able to you
know you're on tour and you're doing the same show all
the time and now they get to get up and dress up look pretty
(22:38):
and get up and do something else that they
love so that's that's kind of a i love
watching them do that the last one i did was with the les mis company and get
this that company had in it a cover for cosette and fontaine and she was maybe
23 24 and her mom and dad and i were in phantom together in new york Oh, wow.
(23:04):
And there she is. And her dad was, and we were, I was on the Les Mis,
this particular, a tour of Les Mis originally.
It started in 88. And so, and her dad was in that company for a while.
So, I mean, I've known her since she was a baby.
So, needless to say, we took a lot of pictures together and sent it to her parents.
But I thought, oh, my God, my friend's children are now doing what we did.
(23:28):
They're on tour and out of college. And they want musical theater.
She comes by it rightly. Both of her parents are superstars. So that was...
Helps a little bit. To have the influence of that. It's pretty cool.
So I was looking here. We have Jason Brock from...
(23:50):
On the poster from the X Factor, David Burnham.
Yeah, Jason lives in San Francisco. He was in Japan for the last three or four years. Oh.
And he's immersed himself and lived there. David Burnham, I just sang with here in Pasadena.
We've sung a million concerts together. And, of course, Sam Harris, superstar.
(24:11):
Yeah. Started it all, Faith.
Jennifer Lee Warren, who was out of control, talented. Yeah.
Paula West, who is, you know, our San Francisco, you know. Yes.
Star, star, star, star. But she sings all over the place. She's great.
And you have Bruce Valanche for the comedy. He is hilarious.
He's been in the show. Yeah, I know. He's a lot. And he's perfect and he's brilliant
(24:35):
and he's unbelievably funny.
And anyone who watched Hollywood stars in the 70s, you'll know who he is. I did.
And then there's you, Broadway star. Look at that.
She used to be somebody i'm saying no it's
it's that it's gonna we're gonna have a ball be funny michael orland
(24:55):
is the music director who was with american idol originally it's md and he is
just he works with everybody and he's wow the best that's a tough job being
the musical director on american idol wow i think he did originally and i hope
i don't i give his bio correctly but he's worked with everyone and he's he's
a big deal and he's a wonderful man,
Actually, I don't watch American Idol anymore, but when I did,
(25:18):
that was the thing I was most impressed with, was getting all that music together
and making the performances something that people enjoyed.
And when you had no time at all. The weekly.
Yeah, incredible. Yeah. Just an incredible feat. I mean, wow.
You look at the kids, they're young. They can memorize things very quickly. I know. I know.
(25:42):
I remember those days. A few years ago, I did Maria Callas and the Masterclass and the play.
And it's basically a one-woman show. And I'm telling you, I was like, oh, my God. I know.
Can I memorize this? And I found that I could, and it felt good.
(26:03):
And I realized I was oddly calm the opening night.
And I thought, gosh, I don't really feel the same kind of nervousness that I
usually do. do, but I realized it's because I didn't have to sing any high notes. Oh.
I thought, all I have to do is talk. This is easy. No, I'm just kidding.
That's a great show. I love that show. I loved it. I had a great time doing
(26:23):
that. I'd love to do that again.
I just finished the first draft of a one-man show.
I had a great-grand-uncle who came here from Italy to become a big movie singing star in New York.
Oh. And he was in a Broadway show when he was like 30 and then never again.
And he wrote his memoir and he published it in Italy.
(26:46):
And I wrote a one-man show based on that. And so it's going to have music. Oh, what was the show?
Well, I haven't. I'm just writing it. It's called The Singing Janitor right now. Oh.
Oh. Yeah.
Anyway, I just thought I'd share that with you. No, that's great.
Yeah. I love real stories.
(27:06):
So broadway and beyond this this uh
july 14th 7 30 p.m at
marines memorial theater yeah you have got
a great space do you have the you have the info i do
i'll put it all in the notes yeah yeah i
don't have that address at the top of
my head oh for the website yeah yeah
(27:29):
i have it here okay the website is www probably
don't have to put that but a reef r-e-a-f f
as in frank yeah f as in frank dash s-f as in frank dot org reef dash s-f dot
org yeah it's a richmond agreement aids foundation yes yeah great yeah oh so
(27:55):
that'll be great it's It's going to be a really, really fun night.
And getting back to San Francisco, as I've told you, I don't get to do it enough anymore.
Yeah. Well, maybe we can see you more often.
I would love to, but doing the teaching kind of keeps you on a regular schedule.
(28:17):
Oh, right. So I really, and I love it.
I don't want to give it up, but I didn't think I'd sing this much this late.
And so the juggle around the concert travel has been a lot.
The spring was just almost killed me. So I thought I'm trying to do it all,
but someone's going to have to give at some point. But for now.
(28:38):
How about if you do a show at the Raz Room?
At the Raz Room? I don't know the Raz Room. I mean, not Raz Room.
Feinstein's. Feinstein's. I've done that before, and it'd be fun to do it again.
Yeah. I could see about that.
I'm for it. You got my vote. Okay. I'll be there. I've sold one ticket.
(28:58):
I've sold one ticket. Yay. I'm in.
I'm in. yeah it'd be fun to come up there and do that again uh it
used to be called the razz room i keep forgetting it's
feinstein yeah feinstein's is a great space oh yeah
i just i just videoed a show there last week
sean two weeks ago sean patrick murtaugh
i don't know yeah i know sean i think sean and i met doing this benefit
(29:20):
also there you go years ago i
just i just i just did i just videoed his show which was
a tribute to the divas of feinstein sonheim yeah
i saw that yeah but he i said
these are you know if if it's been so
many years doing this that that everyone's come through this benefit at
some point or another yeah that's um that's a
(29:42):
good thing yeah yeah i'll maybe you you probably know carly my friend carly
ozard too i do yeah i do hey carly let's do shout out she's like my best pal
amazing talent amazing voice yeah lover of lover of animals which we love Yes, we do.
(30:02):
Yeah, she's like, you know, truly, her voice is like a precious gem.
There's not a lot of people with her voice type.
No, there aren't. People don't, they don't write for it. They don't know what
to do with it. But I have a student that is a true contralto,
you know, big dark mezzo.
And it's hard. And she goes, well, there's not a lot of roles in musical theater.
I said, so we're going to have to find you where you fit.
(30:24):
Get people to write for you. one thing that they found that she fits well in
is dance club dance music oh yeah yeah yeah,
she's done a bunch of that because she has that big voice they can like fill
in the background right but she's done some uh lamplighter stuff the gns recently
yeah been she's been fantastic with them oh i love it she's incredible so i'm
(30:47):
perfect for that perfect yeah yeah it's so much
that is so much fun also yeah yeah the gilbert and sullivan oh stuff it's great
it's it's so funny you would you would swear it was current.
I know, and it's so old. Yeah, I am. It's so old. The 1880s or something? I know.
(31:07):
Yeah. Hey, I have to teach a little lesson. Well, thank you, Lisa.
I have to teach it at three, so I have like six minutes. Oh,
gosh. Okay, I'll let you go. We'll see you at the Reef. I'll be there.
Please do. Yeah, I'll come back and see you. Reef. Doing some.
Zoom doesn't really like our singing lessons, but there's a lot of things you
can do as far as sharing and listening and self-taping and back and forth.
(31:28):
We did a lot of that. but nothing like being in person and really hearing the
voice but we do what we can and we have to so it's yes at least we have the
zoom so it's that's good yeah so reef.sf.org to go get all the information about
the benefit yeah there's there's a very few of the great tickets left.
So there's not a bad there's really not a bad seat anyway so
(31:51):
yeah it's a great it's a great space it's a great space it's all sorts of fun
how many times have i sung there millions so i'm i'm digging it it's called
broadway and beyond probably beyond
all right square thanks ray thank you thanks so much okay okay bye bye.
Music.
(00:09):
Well, thank you for coming on, Lisa. Hey. So we were just talking about your
teaching. What's the school that you teach at?
It's called AMDA. It's a four-year BFA program in Los Angeles.
It's a two-year program in New York. But I joined the voice faculty fall of
2019, and then the pandemic hit.
(00:35):
Yes. And during that time, I had 26 or 27 students, plus some other people that
I coach on Zoom, which is why I have this nice microphone.
Yeah, it sounds great. We kind of set ourselves up with a good camera and a
good mic, and so I could give the kids a really better experience with me.
(00:56):
And I have to say, I really love the teaching. My whole family are teachers.
And even though I've been singing all my life, I just didn't stop and take the time to do it.
And since being back in person, it's really been unbelievably fun.
Like I said, the kids are in college. They're artists. They want to be on Broadway. They're singers.
(01:19):
They're either musical theater or contemporary singers, commercial singers.
And they just want to learn how to use their voices.
And it's really fun for me to be with that age group.
They don't have kids, so it's kind of fun. Yeah. All that enthusiasm.
Yeah, they have a lot of that. I wish their technique met the enthusiasm.
(01:41):
Yeah. Well, some of them will take a while to get there, and some of them will get there quickly.
You know, it's about them respecting themselves and their authenticity,
and they can see the results after.
It's not a bunch of tips like you would ask Roger Federer how to be a tennis star.
And oh he gives you some tips and all of a sudden boom
(02:03):
you're a star forever you know it takes time and it's
conditioning and it's it's a craft like anything else and
i i kind of say it's sort of like being an athlete
you have to keep that pace and that training is your
body's different every day you're maturing they're not mature yet they have
certain layers of instability physically that won't kind of meld until they're
(02:23):
26 27 their bodies and their mucous membrane system are all changing and right
and then they'll have a good 40 years before it gets unstable again so i.
Want them to be i want them to be
as prepped and proud of them their work as possible yeah
it's been really great for me i've loved it i've loved it so great to
talk to you because i'm here in the bay area and i know you've been
(02:44):
here a lot and i lived there a long time i know
and i don't think we ever met or anything i did know
you in phantom which i loved yeah i think
i i knew some other people in the show John you
know John Monagro yes John Monagro
yes I was in a show with
him oh John's the best they're all they're just it was a great company of
(03:05):
people I love them you know they it was
a beautiful five years with with people who really cared about the show everybody
worked hard every day and it was some shows get old and people get tired of
it but we couldn't afford that in in San Francisco so I well it was such a huge
hit here oh we just had a ball. It was a great, and it went by.
(03:26):
Like in a flash. I know. I remember. All of a sudden it's over.
And it was just always sold out for five years or is that what it was? Five years?
Yeah. Five. Yeah. Five years. Well, wow.
What a great treat that was. And a great run. You know, I bought a home after
that and I was, I'm forever grateful to that long-term show, you know? Yeah.
I just, it's in, I'm in Pasadena.
(03:48):
And right after that, I went back to New York for another kind of three and a half years.
So. And you did some shows on Broadway in New York?
Yeah, I did Phantom for another three years. Oh, you did it?
I didn't know you did it in New York. Yeah, I bought my home after Phantom closed
in San Francisco and Pasadena, and I'm sitting there, and the phone rings.
And of course, you're still in kind of a loop of the role of the girls who do it.
(04:13):
And they wanted me to go to London, and I said, no, I just got a house, and I have a puppy.
And it was too much. I was in boxes still.
But and i said no and i i was like
gosh maybe that's it you know you don't know if they're gonna call again
and yeah literally a month later they called and
said both girls in new york are pregnant can you come and i
went i'm in so because after that much
(04:35):
time i i did the tour a little bit before that after five or
six years in a show in a role you kind of want the payoff of doing
it on broadway yeah so so what
was it like what was it like going from san francisco to broadway
was that your first broadway show no i did aspects of love before
oh so you oh so you're old hat yeah i did lame
is for three years and in the middle of it i did the the uh new
(04:56):
broadway premiere of aspects of love yeah i
lived in new york a long time i actually moved out of new york to come to
san francisco and do uh phantom oh i
didn't know that oh yeah i thought you were from here okay no well it
felt like you were from here i think a lot of people thought it was like my hometown doesn't
it yeah i think a lot of people assumed it was they
do my cell phone is still 415 so i think people think
(05:18):
that i that i live there still yeah i think
a lot of people probably think you still do but i
did i don't know why like the ghost of phantom past here so so what's the show
that you have coming up here we are doing the 30th anniversary of help us on
the way the richmond ermite you know benefit that that started a very long time
(05:42):
ago and i was there at the the beginning,
because I was in San Francisco, those were the years, the 90s,
when we were all in San Francisco together.
With Ken Henderson and Joe Seiler, and we just, they become dear,
dear friends of mine, like my family, and I've been in so many of them,
you know, over 25 of them, I'm pretty sure,
that, you know, like, everybody that comes back to it feels like your family
(06:04):
again, in San Francisco, and the, when we started doing them, I, I,
couldn't get enough of it every year because it was
a night off from doing the same show over and over again and a
night where everybody did one song and we were backstage together
enjoying each other's company and artistry and it was
glorious it was a glorious time and i and
(06:25):
singing music that you didn't normally get to so i am
so it's like a cabaret format it's yeah
everybody comes in and does one thing you know they kind of get up and
do a number and you hope it's early so you can go have a drink right away yeah
that's what i love about doing cabaret type shows yeah it's so it's so much
it's so much fun it's actually it's so much easier than doing an entire musical
(06:48):
that's for sure you think and it's just and people are so.
Receptive and warm and it's just a great environment it's a fun thing and you
just feel like you can be yourself i mean i i recently just did a one-person
show and I won the New York Bistro Award for it this year. Did you write it?
(07:10):
I did. My husband and I put it together. Good for you. And it's music?
As my friends call it, they call it Intro to Lisa 101.
Oh, nice. So I mean, I did it in the Green Room 42 in New York a year ago and
then I just did it Easter weekend again and then April 1st was the Bistro Awards
that they told me I was getting an award for the show.
Well, congratulations. Yeah, that was fun. on i mean i
(07:33):
said does it mean something goes oh are you going to be a cabaret singer now and
i said i don't know i find it a lot of pressure but really
really fun to do i love telling the
stories that you're not going to know you know they're you know they're even
my friends who had known me for years said i hadn't heard half of the things
that you were telling me i just because you're revealing things about your childhood
and family and little stories fun stories that have happened along the way and
(07:57):
there's i mean there's 40 years of it so there's plenty of good stuff,
yeah it was from i have to wait till some people probably pass
away to tell some of it but you know it's that'll be
part two yeah that's the problem with writing a an autobiographical show or
a memoir or something it's like what can you get away with you know what if
(08:18):
they read it yeah yeah it's uh it's yeah but you know it's it's uh it was great
fun and i have a couple of pianists one
on the East Coast, one of the West Coast that I've worked with. I did the show out here.
Last summer too and there's a lot of there's a great arts community out here and down here in la,
also and it's been you know even though i'm teaching and still i'm still traveling
(08:43):
a lot doing concerts so the time to book like a show take off five or six weeks is kind of difficult,
at times but you know there's still some shows
like a couple of shows i'd like to do if they find me
that'll be great what would those be i i mean the the
top of the list would have to be like the piazza i've
always wanted to play margaret oh i love that so i'm just putting
(09:05):
it out there i'm waiting for somebody to uh you'd be
great in that i love that yeah it just
it suits me now it seems like people aren't doing
that as much as they used to used to say they should yeah the music's glory
it's it but it's no joke it's really difficult and the it's not only the italian
and the language but the music is very complicated and beautiful and so you
(09:29):
really have I'd have a cast of pretty tight musicians that can then handle it.
But it's a beautiful show.
And I'll just keep my fingers crossed.
I think there always should be a bucket list, right? Oh, for sure.
People ask me if I'm going to retire. I'm like, I don't know.
What does that mean, really? What do we do? I mean, it changes.
(09:52):
What you want to do changes, but you can't ever really.
It's hard to retire from this, I would say. Well, you know, your voice will
tell you what it wants to do.
I mean, my voice still works for me very well because I trained well.
I went to MFA, was in voice performance and was in kind of the opera world out of grad school.
(10:14):
And I just had a good technique and I've always been a crossover singer and I've taken care of it.
But I think I was, I came into Phantom a little older, so my voice was really
settled in a place where it could withstand that role for a number of years
and not hurt it or damage it.
Or it was, you know, I was ready for it at that time.
(10:34):
And I've seen it with singers who didn't have that all together that do some damage.
And maybe they weren't old enough or mature enough to, because it's not easy
singing and you're singing every day. You have to be that kind of an athlete, I think.
Yeah, it's the everyday thing. And sometimes twice a day, they can really take
(10:55):
a toll on you, I think. It does.
And yet it's over and you're thinking, you know, where did the time flew?
Like I said, and I loved, I'm glad it was San Francisco. I love that city.
I have so many dear friends there.
Joe and Ken actually just sent me a video of one of the first.
(11:16):
Benefits that I did with them almost 30 years ago
and my mom who has passed away now was visiting me with my stepfather they were
both choral music educators and they came out to see phantom for the weekend
I was doing the benefit so I said hey you want to come and play for me you know
and so my second song I invited her up and I introduced her as my my high school
(11:37):
and junior high music teacher,
oh and then she walked up and everybody started giggling because we
are kind of carbon copies so i said oh
it's mother's day oh mrs gage is also my mom you
know kind of and i i don't have any videos of
my mother we weren't a video family have a lot of pictures yeah so i have a
(11:58):
video of her and i performing together and then we did an interview backstage
after for like oh you're like three four four or five minutes and it's both
of us standing there and talking with each other and And I'm telling you,
it just makes me cry just to think of that. I'm so happy I have it.
Well, that's wonderful. Yeah, it's great. Those kind of things are.
(12:18):
But that's what this benefit kind of means to me. And I'm going to be back with
some incredible talent on this one yet again. Yes. We are.
Yes. People will. I mean, Rob McClure, who is starring in Mrs.
Doubtfire, for one, if you hear anything about him, the guy's a superstar. I can't wait to hear him.
(12:39):
Do his thing but there are just bruce falange is there again paula west sam
harris who i've met i've met all these people doing this benefit so it's kind of,
yeah yeah david burnham and faith prince and debbie
boone jennifer lee warren let me think who
else oh jason brock who's back from japan lived
(13:00):
there for a while but a bay area singer wonderful talent so i
mean all these people i've known for all these years because of
this benefit of it so i'm it's kind of like coming home a
little bit too yeah well i
sort of know faith prince i mean uh i did a while back she i went backstage
when she did there was a play here in act that didn't the tales of the city
(13:23):
music oh yeah yeah yeah that was fun didn't take off i enjoyed it a lot yeah
i heard people loved it but they yeah they um,
Yeah. I don't know. I don't know. Things kind of go. It just depends whether
they think it's going to make it in New York or not. Yeah.
And New York is another banana. It's all about the money, if they can sell it.
Yeah, it's all about the profit. Yeah.
(13:46):
That's not really what's going on too much in San Francisco,
except for the touring companies.
Yeah. But everybody else is non-profit for the most part.
Yeah. So I feel the pandemic really put
its stamp on the Bay Area you and people sustaining and staying afloat and alive
and it's affected opera companies and symphonies all every arts organization
(14:09):
so uh it's been hard i had to leave the union myself really i just couldn't
get anything anymore and i felt like i wanted to do stuff so,
and you were limited i'm not sure if i made the right decision but i did a couple
plays non-union and at least i got to do something could you go back i just
wrote them an email asking Yeah.
(14:30):
I mean, I can't imagine that they wouldn't because they know that this is affecting everyone.
Yeah. But all of the tours, like so many of the tours, my students ask me all
the time, should I join the union?
Should I not? I'm like, why don't you not for a while and go get some experience?
Because most of the tours on the road are all non-union now. Oh, I know.
There's a big Peter Pan tour here at San Jose Center of Performing Arts, which is huge.
(14:53):
Yeah. It's the one that Lonnie Price directed. Yeah. It's the one Lonnie Price directed.
Yeah yeah yeah yeah non-union i
can't believe yeah so i tell them why
don't you go work see what you can get and work
work work and don't join the union and without any experience first well
the other thing too is some of these non-union shows are actually paying
decent wages yeah oh yeah so they're competing
(15:15):
with the union in that sense yeah i know you
don't get the benefits fits but yeah yeah
i don't know things are changing or protections or protections
which is important we just have to keep live art arts alive yeah gotta go with
the flow and keep it alive i live in la but i don't i love movies and tv but
(15:37):
that's not my industry my industry is that live experience which we we we have
witnessed and experienced how it can be so quickly taken
away oh because of the live like the pandemic
right yeah it could and it can happen again it can happen if
someone doesn't support the arts and we have to still struggling most theaters
are still struggling to get an audience back since then right just people have
(15:59):
become complacent and stay home yeah and they lost so many subscribers yeah
almost every theater yep yeah because if people aren't putting their money in
it uh it's it's you know it's hard but I can't give up.
No, there's no, yeah, I know. I, well, I don't think, I don't think live theater,
live performance will ever go away.
(16:21):
I mean, people are going to, it's part of human nature. Right. Yeah.
Yeah we need it i call my students
when you sing and we sing live for each other we are
like the wave of second responders you know
you can watch a movie you love and that's that certainly helps but when someone's
in front of you and they are this their your sound is hitting their body and
(16:44):
their their ears there's nothing like it it's it's a sensory you know overload
and and there's There's a vibrational thing that goes on. It's helpful.
It'll, I think it'll save the world. So I'm, I'm all, you know,
I want music education to just
be completely supported everywhere and the kids to get the experience.
And I just tell them, I want them to get up during the pandemic.
(17:06):
They had nowhere to perform.
So when they, we got out of it, they were so nervous in class to get up and
sing because they hadn't exercised that, that, that technique of getting up
the performance energy and that, that, that bit of the craft,
they, and they were scared to death emotionally.
They were the kids were getting up and
going i can't do this i can't do this you know they just hadn't been
(17:27):
able to exercise it at 18 to
19 plus they grow up in a time where you know
because of you know that your social media
everything has to be you're
perfect all the time or you have
to or it'll be on social media forever and you'll
have to live with that i mean it's we didn't have have to do
(17:49):
that growing up in our era so i we're at which i'm grateful for you could make
mistakes you you and you should be able to make mistakes you should you should
singing every day yeah just we're not an ai product we're we're human you know and thank god still.
Yeah for the for the moment for the moment
(18:11):
we're still apparently that might change from what
they how do i know you're not a robot no how do
you know i'm not an alien i was watching the show resident alien
on tv it was about have you seen it oh my god
i love it it's one of our favorite things i love
it so how do you say his last name how do you say his name what's
(18:32):
his last name oh forget about everybody go
go see every minute of resident alien it
is it is a piece of genius it's so funny
yeah it's moving and everything's such a great show
it's it's from beginning to end it was beautifully written and
it's so kind-hearted too yeah it's like it's good family entertainment his adopting
(18:55):
the 14 year old sensibility you know with the child how they banter just it
i couldn't get enough of it and it's like he's it's like he's so uncomfortable
in his own body all the time.
But they just put so many... I'm just going to look it up.
Resident alien because i i
(19:15):
have to cast oh alan
to to dick to dick yeah that's his name t-u-d-y-k
yeah oh my god people apparently a lot of people a lot of people have known
about him before i i didn't know he was in other shows that were really good
like firefly voiceover stuff for characters too oh i'm sure yeah the guy's he's
(19:40):
brilliant though i i i want to you You know what I love the most?
If you watch the show and you look on the periphery sometimes,
some of the actors will start laughing. Oh, yeah.
And the editors leave it in for like a split second. Yeah, they can't hold it together with him.
Or the woman who plays the main character. I forget her name.
(20:03):
Yeah, Sarah. Is that her name? Once in a while, she'll start. Asta.
Yeah, Asta. She'll start laughing at the actor. And they'll leave it in.
The editors will leave it in for just a split second you
know they're doing it on purpose yeah sarah tomko and
like cory cory reynolds who plays sheriff mike oh god
oh my god he's great well they're
(20:23):
all great i mean the entire elizabeth bowen
who is the other agent i mean the yeah oh she's fun
everyone in it is so good that i i it looks like
they're just having so much fun yeah i think i
think they get along really well you can just feel the chemistry through
this oh my god they know they have a good show so i'm yeah so that helps that
(20:44):
we we were sad when that when we finished the season it was that it was over
i have a little ways to go yet so don't tell me the end i won't tell you i'm
not saying anything because it just it keeps getting better.
That's one thing i like shows that keep getting better too like
that where they they start off a little unsure of what
they're about and then you know episode after episode
(21:06):
it just gets better and better right and you can tell
that so are we going to see you with this benefit i'm going to be there for
sure let's see find me okay find me
find me and and the benefit is to support to support hiv programs hunger programs
and youth programs their small emergency emergency grants program all right
yes but project open hand which is incredible and yes i came to know that group
(21:29):
when i was in san francisco and a lot of sponsors no it's an It's an incredible,
incredible gift to the Bay Area, this thing.
And Joe and Ken have been completely devoted to this.
For years and years and all the people that have come through it and that i've
known like i said it was it was a such a relief from the and the phantom company
(21:50):
a lot of them joined all the time they said it was such a great night for our
for our san francisco community.
And i'm still friends with a lot of them so that that's a it's a great thing
to get up there it feels like it was sort of my second home for a while so i
miss it yeah i do and these are really
great programs that they're giving to here so you're really supporting a lot
(22:15):
of people who need help if you if you attend the reef and you're going to see
the next group of you know broadway talent that are cast and mrs.
Yes this talent is incredible yeah the
what yeah the talent is just fantastic yeah yeah
these kids are going to be able to you
know you're on tour and you're doing the same show all
the time and now they get to get up and dress up look pretty
(22:38):
and get up and do something else that they
love so that's that's kind of a i love
watching them do that the last one i did was with the les mis company and get
this that company had in it a cover for cosette and fontaine and she was maybe
23 24 and her mom and dad and i were in phantom together in new york Oh, wow.
(23:04):
And there she is. And her dad was, and we were, I was on the Les Mis,
this particular, a tour of Les Mis originally.
It started in 88. And so, and her dad was in that company for a while.
So, I mean, I've known her since she was a baby.
So, needless to say, we took a lot of pictures together and sent it to her parents.
But I thought, oh, my God, my friend's children are now doing what we did.
(23:28):
They're on tour and out of college. And they want musical theater.
She comes by it rightly. Both of her parents are superstars. So that was...
Helps a little bit. To have the influence of that. It's pretty cool.
So I was looking here. We have Jason Brock from...
(23:50):
On the poster from the X Factor, David Burnham.
Yeah, Jason lives in San Francisco. He was in Japan for the last three or four years. Oh.
And he's immersed himself and lived there. David Burnham, I just sang with here in Pasadena.
We've sung a million concerts together. And, of course, Sam Harris, superstar.
(24:11):
Yeah. Started it all, Faith.
Jennifer Lee Warren, who was out of control, talented. Yeah.
Paula West, who is, you know, our San Francisco, you know. Yes.
Star, star, star, star. But she sings all over the place. She's great.
And you have Bruce Valanche for the comedy. He is hilarious.
He's been in the show. Yeah, I know. He's a lot. And he's perfect and he's brilliant
(24:35):
and he's unbelievably funny.
And anyone who watched Hollywood stars in the 70s, you'll know who he is. I did.
And then there's you, Broadway star. Look at that.
She used to be somebody i'm saying no it's
it's that it's gonna we're gonna have a ball be funny michael orland
(24:55):
is the music director who was with american idol originally it's md and he is
just he works with everybody and he's wow the best that's a tough job being
the musical director on american idol wow i think he did originally and i hope
i don't i give his bio correctly but he's worked with everyone and he's he's
a big deal and he's a wonderful man,
Actually, I don't watch American Idol anymore, but when I did,
(25:18):
that was the thing I was most impressed with, was getting all that music together
and making the performances something that people enjoyed.
And when you had no time at all. The weekly.
Yeah, incredible. Yeah. Just an incredible feat. I mean, wow.
You look at the kids, they're young. They can memorize things very quickly. I know. I know.
(25:42):
I remember those days. A few years ago, I did Maria Callas and the Masterclass and the play.
And it's basically a one-woman show. And I'm telling you, I was like, oh, my God. I know.
Can I memorize this? And I found that I could, and it felt good.
(26:03):
And I realized I was oddly calm the opening night.
And I thought, gosh, I don't really feel the same kind of nervousness that I
usually do. do, but I realized it's because I didn't have to sing any high notes. Oh.
I thought, all I have to do is talk. This is easy. No, I'm just kidding.
That's a great show. I love that show. I loved it. I had a great time doing
(26:23):
that. I'd love to do that again.
I just finished the first draft of a one-man show.
I had a great-grand-uncle who came here from Italy to become a big movie singing star in New York.
Oh. And he was in a Broadway show when he was like 30 and then never again.
And he wrote his memoir and he published it in Italy.
(26:46):
And I wrote a one-man show based on that. And so it's going to have music. Oh, what was the show?
Well, I haven't. I'm just writing it. It's called The Singing Janitor right now. Oh.
Oh. Yeah.
Anyway, I just thought I'd share that with you. No, that's great.
Yeah. I love real stories.
(27:06):
So broadway and beyond this this uh
july 14th 7 30 p.m at
marines memorial theater yeah you have got
a great space do you have the you have the info i do
i'll put it all in the notes yeah yeah i
don't have that address at the top of
my head oh for the website yeah yeah
(27:29):
i have it here okay the website is www probably
don't have to put that but a reef r-e-a-f f
as in frank yeah f as in frank dash s-f as in frank dot org reef dash s-f dot
org yeah it's a richmond agreement aids foundation yes yeah great yeah oh so
(27:55):
that'll be great it's It's going to be a really, really fun night.
And getting back to San Francisco, as I've told you, I don't get to do it enough anymore.
Yeah. Well, maybe we can see you more often.
I would love to, but doing the teaching kind of keeps you on a regular schedule.
(28:17):
Oh, right. So I really, and I love it.
I don't want to give it up, but I didn't think I'd sing this much this late.
And so the juggle around the concert travel has been a lot.
The spring was just almost killed me. So I thought I'm trying to do it all,
but someone's going to have to give at some point. But for now.
(28:38):
How about if you do a show at the Raz Room?
At the Raz Room? I don't know the Raz Room. I mean, not Raz Room.
Feinstein's. Feinstein's. I've done that before, and it'd be fun to do it again.
Yeah. I could see about that.
I'm for it. You got my vote. Okay. I'll be there. I've sold one ticket.
(28:58):
I've sold one ticket. Yay. I'm in.
I'm in. yeah it'd be fun to come up there and do that again uh it
used to be called the razz room i keep forgetting it's
feinstein yeah feinstein's is a great space oh yeah
i just i just videoed a show there last week
sean two weeks ago sean patrick murtaugh
i don't know yeah i know sean i think sean and i met doing this benefit
(29:20):
also there you go years ago i
just i just i just did i just videoed his show which was
a tribute to the divas of feinstein sonheim yeah
i saw that yeah but he i said
these are you know if if it's been so
many years doing this that that everyone's come through this benefit at
some point or another yeah that's um that's a
(29:42):
good thing yeah yeah i'll maybe you you probably know carly my friend carly
ozard too i do yeah i do hey carly let's do shout out she's like my best pal
amazing talent amazing voice yeah lover of lover of animals which we love Yes, we do.
(30:02):
Yeah, she's like, you know, truly, her voice is like a precious gem.
There's not a lot of people with her voice type.
No, there aren't. People don't, they don't write for it. They don't know what
to do with it. But I have a student that is a true contralto,
you know, big dark mezzo.
And it's hard. And she goes, well, there's not a lot of roles in musical theater.
I said, so we're going to have to find you where you fit.
(30:24):
Get people to write for you. one thing that they found that she fits well in
is dance club dance music oh yeah yeah yeah,
she's done a bunch of that because she has that big voice they can like fill
in the background right but she's done some uh lamplighter stuff the gns recently
yeah been she's been fantastic with them oh i love it she's incredible so i'm
(30:47):
perfect for that perfect yeah yeah it's so much
that is so much fun also yeah yeah the gilbert and sullivan oh stuff it's great
it's it's so funny you would you would swear it was current.
I know, and it's so old. Yeah, I am. It's so old. The 1880s or something? I know.
(31:07):
Yeah. Hey, I have to teach a little lesson. Well, thank you, Lisa.
I have to teach it at three, so I have like six minutes. Oh,
gosh. Okay, I'll let you go. We'll see you at the Reef. I'll be there.
Please do. Yeah, I'll come back and see you. Reef. Doing some.
Zoom doesn't really like our singing lessons, but there's a lot of things you
can do as far as sharing and listening and self-taping and back and forth.
(31:28):
We did a lot of that. but nothing like being in person and really hearing the
voice but we do what we can and we have to so it's yes at least we have the
zoom so it's that's good yeah so reef.sf.org to go get all the information about
the benefit yeah there's there's a very few of the great tickets left.
So there's not a bad there's really not a bad seat anyway so
(31:51):
yeah it's a great it's a great space it's a great space it's all sorts of fun
how many times have i sung there millions so i'm i'm digging it it's called
broadway and beyond probably beyond
all right square thanks ray thank you thanks so much okay okay bye bye.
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