Saturday, September 25, 2010

Marquee Five gets "top-notch spectacular" review by Sandi Durell of CabaretScenes.org!

CabaretScenes.org just posted this stellar review by Sandi Durell regarding "8-Track Throwback," Marquee Five's latest show highlighting singer-songwriter favorites from the 60's and 70's.

I gotta just quote the whole thing here, I'm so excited!


Soaring on the success of their debut show, We Can Make It: The Songs of Kander & Ebb, which earned the group a 2010 MAC Award for Best Vocal/Duo/Group, Marquee Five isn’t leaving any dust in their wake as they forge ahead in this latest creation. 8-Track refers to music on magnetic 8-track sound recordings popular in the ’60s and ’70s, eras that produced many of the greatest hits of all time.

Reminiscent of The Modernaires, the 1940s quintet with the Glenn Miller Orchestra who recorded “Make Believe Ballroom Time” for WNEW, the tight harmonies of Marquee Five are, indeed, top-notch spectacular. Impressive, too, are the talents of the individual singers who comprise the group: soprano Vanessa Parvin; mezzo Julie Reyburn; alto Sierra Rein; and the two smooth-sounding males, Mick Bleyer and Adam West Hemming, the latter responsible for the clever arrangements and musical direction.

From group numbers like “Moondance” and the smart, witty “Copacabana”(that intermingles “Oye Como Va,” “Them from The Pink Panther” and “Theme from Sex and the City”), to individual highlights—including Hemmings’s rich and beautifully phrased “A House Is Not a Home” underscored with “Honesty,” Rein’s strong and expressive “Move Over,” Reyburn’s intense rendition of time and love “Tangled Up in Blue” and the juxtaposing duet of Bleyer and Hemming’s pairing “Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word” and “All in Love Is Fair”—there isn’t a dull moment. The musicians are a unique combination of talents: Mark Janas (piano); Matt Scharfglass (bass guitar); John Benthal and Tony Romano sharing dates on acoustic/electric guitar. Joseph Ward directs. Special thanks to Father Jeffrey Hamblin who produces Marquee Five.

Sandi Durell
Cabaret Scenes
September 17, 2010
www.cabaretscenes.org

Cheers,

Sierra Rein

"I don't sing because I'm happy, I'm happy because I sing" - William James

Friday, September 24, 2010

Marquee Five - We Can Make It Demo



Cheers,

Sierra Rein

"I don't sing because I'm happy, I'm happy because I sing" - William James

Monday, September 20, 2010

"...this ensemble deserves attention." - David Finkle, VillageVoice.com

On Marquee Five:
"When the five of them harmonize, they're reminiscent of the reception choir stationed directly inside the Pearly Gates. The five of them are Julie Reyburn, Vanessa Parvin, Sierra Rein, Mick Bleyer, and Adam West Hemming, the latter of whom apparently does all the arranging. They also divvy up in various, usually rewarding ways throughout their set. Not too many quintets make a go of this sort of thing; this ensemble deserves attention."
-David Finkle, VillageVoice.com

Cheers,

Sierra Rein

"I don't sing because I'm happy, I'm happy because I sing" - William James

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Tomorrow, get thrown back with Marquee Five - "8-Track Throwback"

  • 5 MAC Award-Winning Singers
  • a rockin' band, including Mark Janas on piano
  • an hour of music from the 60's and 70's, including work from Carol King, Stevie Wonder, Dolly Parton, Leonard Cohen and more
  • and all new tight-harmony arrangements by Adam West Hemming
Tomorrow it begins...

Marquee Five
(Winner of the 2010 MAC Award for Vocal Duo/Group)

in
"8-Track Throwback"

5 nights in September and October starting Thursday, September 16th at 8:30pm.

Don't Tell Mama
343 West 46th Street (Restaurant Row) New York City
$20 - $15 for MAC, Actors Unions & Cabaret Hotline Online Members!plus 2 drink minimum
CASH ONLY
www.donttellmamanyc.com

Thursday September 16th, @ 8:30pm
Thursday September 23rd @ 8:30pm
Saturday September 25th @ 4:30pm
Saturday October 2nd @ 6pm
Saturday October 16th @ 6pm

Directed by: Joseph Ward

Musical Direction/Arrangements: Adam West Hemming

Piano: Mark Janas
Bass guitar: Matt Scharfglass
Guitarists: John Benthal (9/16 & 10/16) and Tony Romano (9/23, 9/25 & 10/2).

www.MarqueeFive.com

"...but you don't really care for music...do ya?"
- Leonard Cohen
See you there!

Cheers,

Sierra Rein

Alto, Marquee Five

"I don't sing because I'm happy, I'm happy because I sing" - William James