I just wanted to drop a line to express my sheer joy attending last night’s performances.
I literally laughed & cried.
Every single performance was given & accepted in such a heartfelt manner. I was proud to be part of this nurturing environment.
Thank you,
Debi Javier
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Niamh and Charles,
The ART community is so very lucky to have your dedication, passion and energy in their corner…with or without walls.
Thank you for another really special night at AWoW. And thank you for continuing to provide this incredible platform where artistic gifts, hugs, tears, laughter and hope are shared. AWoW ….WOW.
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This embracing community of richly talented artists sharing their gifts with us; an appreciative supportive audience , makes Tuesday nights very special indeed.
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Each diverse performer brought something that each of us could hold close. So happy we could be there last night.
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All the best,
clyde berger
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David Goldman and Niamh Hyland
Peter Nolan and Amanda MotturMichael MullerJillian BuckleyCharles R. HaleNiamh Hyland, Cecil Hooker, Charles R. Hale, Michael Muller, Amanda Mottur, Jillian Buckley, Peter Nolan, Sam Adelman, David Goldman, Katrina Crawford and Martha PinsonRenata HinrichsSam Adelman and Katrina Crawford
From Sam Edelman’s story “Getting Out of Show Business”
“I totally enjoyed the Showcase. The level of professionalism was captivating, and inspirational…the The Cell is an exceptional venue. Thank you for an enjoyable evening….I plan to be there again soon.” Maia Nero
Sam Adelman opened the evening, reading a humorous piece from his upcoming book “Getting Out of Show Business,” offering an anecdotal account of getting stiffed for cash on an editing job, only to receive a world-famous photograph and a hand shake from Muhammed Ali. This picture was certainly worth a thousand words. A perfect opening to what became a grand evening.
Charles R. Hale’s “Jazz and the City”
Charles R. Hale, one of Artists Without Walls’ cofounders and a Resident Artist at The Cell Theatre, premiered his short film “Jazz and the City: The New York Connection.” The film is a companion piece to his show of the same name, which debuted at The Cell in April. From the best of times to the worst of times, songwriters have captured every corner of New York City through music. Weaving story, sidebars, images and the music of the Gershwins, Jerome Kern, Johnny Mercer, Billy Strayhorn and others, Charles’s film connects New York City through the songs of the composers and performers who lived in the city, through the venues in which the songs were popularized and through his own recollection of New York and song. “Sharp film…and that voice…as usual, great tone and presence.” David Goldman
Almeria Campbell
Actor/singer Almeria Campbell followed with a stirring performance combining her acting and singing skills. “Performing at AWoW was my first time singing (outside of voice lessons ) for an audience in quite some time. It was amazing. The audience, or I should say community, is so supportive.” Despite her concerns, Almeria’s voice was in very fine form, seamlessly incorporating two songs, “His Eye is on the Sparrow” and “Maybe This Time” into her presentation.
Joel Cruz
Joel Cruz, the story teller, will make you cry…and then smile. He’s not just toying with emotions; His songs are borne from his personal story. They pull your heart in all directions the way life does. He takes his time, as if he really wants you to listen and hear. Joel demonstrated his vulnerable side, sharing his most inner thoughts, but the audience loved and appreciated his work. Additionally, it was a joy to see singer/songwriter Martina Fiserova and Joel perform together. They were clearly having a good time! The music was complex– lots of lyrics, yet catchy enough for listeners to sing along. We look forward to more unexpected surprises from Joel Cruz.
Mark Donnelly
Mark Donnelly channeled his inner child with a funny monologue based on his boyhood desire tobe a cowboy and ride the range with Gene Autry and Roy Rogers. But it seems the audience was most impressed with Mark’s father, who stepped up, defended his son, and won the day…and the audience.
David Raleigh and Annette Homann
David Raleigh was joined by Annette Homann for a moving and evocative “Stormy Weather,” a pop standard built around a classic weather metaphor. From the moment Annette’s bow struck her instrument, through the moment David sang, “Don’t know why, there’s no sun up in the sky…stormy weather…” through their last playful notes, the audience was held rapt. A beautiful duet. David closed out the show with a brilliant medley, incorporating tunes by Al Green, Stevie Wonder, George Gershwin and one of David’s tunes, “One Together.” The perfect finishing touch to another sensational evening of diverse talents.
The next Artists Without Walls’s Showcase at The Cell, 338 West 23rd St, NY, is scheduled for Tuesday, July 26. The doors and the bar open at 6:45. The performances begin at 7:30. For more information: info@artistswithoutwalls.com
Join Artists Without Walls’ artistic directors and cohosts, Niamh Hyland and Charles R. Hale for its June Showcase at The Cell Theatre, Tuesday, June 28th. The doors and the bar open at 6:45 and presentations begin at 7:30. The Cell Theatre is located at 338 W23rd St. NYC.
David Raleigh
Pianist/vocalist David J Raleigh was last scene at The Cell in April when he and his quartet performed in Charles R. Hale’s “Jazz and the City: The New York Connection.” David, whose heartfelt music crosses musical boundaries and transport listeners to a timeless era of music and passion, will be returning to The Cell Tuesday night, 6/28 to perform a few songs from the show. Lauded by Time Out Magazine as the ‘Nat King Cole’ for a new generation, David has the ‘old soul’ songwriting sensibilities of some of the greatest performers of our time.
Sam Adelman
Film editor Sam Adelman has worked on over 70 feature films and documentaries including “Easy Money,” “Desperately Seeking Susan,” “Donnie Branco ” “Pollock,” “Sweet Lorraine,” “Changing Lanes,” “Screen Door Jesus,” and the soon to be released “Hometown Hero” with Eric Roberts. Partially inspired by the recent passing of Muhammad Ali, Sam will be reading a piece from his coming-up-on-retirement project “Getting Out of Show Business.”
Almeria Campbell
Making her debut appearance at an Artists Without Walls’ Showcase will be actor/singer Yvonne Almeria Campbell. Almeria, from Tyler, TX is a Resident Artist at The Cell Theatre. She attended Texas Christian University ( receiving her B.F.A.) and then Rutgers University, Mason Gross school of the arts (receiving her M.F.A.). Her TV acting credits include “Law and Order,” “Person of Interest” and “Guiding Light.” Her theatre credits include the lead role of Nelly in “Hard Times” at The Cell, as well as Yolanda in “10 Minutes Deep,” also at The Cell.Almeria will be performing a scene about love, loss and winning. You can check out her upcoming webisodes at almeriacampbell.com.
Mark Donnelly
Come meet and hear Artists Without Wall’s charter member Mark Donnelly, who will be performing “Cowboy Time,” a short, humorous monologue based on his boyhood dream of becoming a cowboy. Mark is a playwright, poet and short story writer, who teaches English at St. Francis College and Borough of Manhattan Community College.
Joel Cruz
Joel Cruz, a regular AWoW attendee, will be making his initial performance appearance at Tuesday’s Showcase. Joel is a saxophonist, artist instructor, and writer, who music incorporates all genres. His team is most important to him and each show features a different instrumentation and the use of different styles according to the team on-hand. Every event in his life goes into his writing. Every emotion in the stories goes into his performance. Every moment on stage goes his teaching.
Charles R. Hale
Charles R. Hale, one of Artists Without Walls’ cofounders and a Resident Artist at The Cell Theatre, will be premiering his short film “Jazz and the City: The New York Connection,” at this Tuesday’s Showcase. The film is a companion piece to his show of the same name, which debuted at The Cell in April.
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From the best of times to the worst of times, songwriters have captured every corner of New York City through music. Weaving story, sidebars, images and the music of the Gershwins, Jerome Kern, Johnny Mercer, Billy Strayhorn and others, Charles connects New York City through the songs of the composers and performers who lived in the city, through the venues in which the songs were popularized and through his own recollection of New York and song.
Singer/songwriter Martina Fiserova will be performing at the Path Cafe, 131 Christopher Street, West Village, NYC on Friday January 9th at 7pm, and featuring a special guest, Yuka Kameda (tap dance). There is no cover.
Join Annette Homann for her CD release at the Duplex Cabaret Theatre, 61 Christopher St, January 15th, 9:30pm. Tickets are officially on sale now. “I Would love to share my excitement with all of you!” says Annette. For tickets click here.
Jim Hawkins will be telling Frank O’Connor Stories on Friday, January 16 at 7pm, at the Inquiring Mind Book Store and Gallery, 200 Main Street, Saugerties, New York. Storyteller Janet Carter who runs this monthly event will also tell Irish stories. Admission is free. Donations are gratefully accepted.
“Brilliant! Somehow egos are left at the door and you sit there absorbing these wonderful performances. And by the end of the evening you find yourself connected to your soul.” Ray Lindie commenting after a recent Artists Without Walls’ Showcase
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And this Thursday night’s Showcase promises to be equally absorbing.
Jose Roldan will be performing from his one man show Father Forgive Me for I Have Sinned, an award winning auto-biographical coming of age story of a young Latino boy who grew up in the South Bronx of New York City in the 80’s/90’s. José takes the audience into his family’s apartment and onto the mean streets of the Bronx as he searches for self-acceptance and personal identify in a world of stereotypes.
Koro Koroye
Spoken word artist and rising star Koro Koroye will present two poems “I Can Write About That Too” and the “Sickness of Freedom,” which she triumphantly performed at Lehman College in “Rise Up Singing: Women in the Labor Movement.”
Honor Finnegan, whose performances of “Aint I A Woman,” “Bread and Roses” and “West Virginia Mine Disaster” drew raves in “Rise Up Singing” will be performing whimsical holiday tunes, including her song from Christine Lavin’s Holiday compilation, “Just One Angel 2.0.”
Scott Kettner
Drummer Scott Kettner made his biggest mark on the music scene as the leader of Nation Beat. His drumming seamlessly blends the Louisiana second-line sound with a Brazil-ified backbeat. Scott will be making his first Showcase appearance performing a pandeiro solo. In addition to his enormous music talent, Scott has also written a book called Maracatu for Drumset and Percussion, the first in-depth English-language instructional book on the 400 year-old traditions of Maracatu de Baque Virado.
Sam Adelman will be presenting a film he has co-produced called That Daughter’s Crazy, a documentary portrait of Rain Pryor, daughter of legendary comedian Richard Pryor. A talented performer/singer/actress in her own right- Rain has written and stars in a one-woman semi-autobiographical show, Fried Chicken and Latkes, which has played around the world to terrific reviews and in front of enthusiastic audiences.
Kate McLeod
Kate McLeod, producer of NYC’s “Bacon Theater Festival will be presenting two short works from the Festival. Here’s what the New York Daily News said about Kate and the festival. New York Daily News’ article
Rounding out the evening: “Showcase” favorite Honor Molloy will tell a classic Irish version of the Nativity Tale–a la a Moore Street Market Woman, Dublin, 1966, in an excerpt from her book Smarty
Brian Farrell
Girl – Dublin Savage; poet/writer and photographer Gary Ryan will read a passage from The Quest of the Holy Grail, “Percival’s sister,” accompanied by his photographs, and Brian Farrell a pianist/guitarist/singer and songwriter from County Leitrim Ireland, who made his first appearance with a brilliant short performance accompanied by fiddler Deni Bonet at AWoW’s Swift Showcase , will be singing a few tunes.
All that plus the friendliest group of folks and the best “intermission” in NYC. The fun begins at 7pm, The Cell Theater, 338, West 23rd Street. See you there.
Cecil Hooker and Peter Nolan
