WELCOME

NYMF picks Jay’s Incredibly Deaf Musical!

Tue, 1 Jun 2010 21:54:56 -0400

The New York Musical Theatre Festival announced today that Jay’s show was chosen out of over 400 entries to be a NYMF Next Link Production! NYMF shows have gone on to not only award-winning Broadway and Off-Broadway productions, but one -- Next To Normal -- recently won the Pulitzer Prize. Needless to say, Jay is hopping up and down to “Dance In Your Heart” at a very fast tempo!

Based on Jay’s life and the successful one-man show previously seen at the Capital Fringe Festival (“Pick of the Fringe!”), this version is vastly expanded into a full cast production with a new book and many new songs. There will be singing, dancing, rapping, multimedia, comedy, and some sign language interwoven with the story, as well as captions for the deaf and hard of hearing. Perhaps even balloons : )

Tickets will go on sale soon, but if you would like to help make this production soar, please make a tax-deductible donation through the show’s website at NYMF: www.nymf.org/deafmusical

Donations of any amount are greatly needed and appreciated!!

The official blurb is below:

“When the noisy buzz of progressive deafness steals away his songs, Jay becomes one pissed-off composer. As Jay struggles to hold onto the disappearing notes, can his wife and son get him to strive for something other than fame or death? A wild pop-rock-rap-dance-classical-disco-experimental-sign language-multimedia mash-up, Jay Alan Zimmerman's Incredibly Deaf Musical is the heartwarming, booty-shaking autobiography of a man trying everything he can to keep the music flying.”

ART / SONG @ chashama Times Square

Wed, 24 Mar 2010 01:22:39 -0400

Ever wonder what a singer’s voice looks like? How to make music visual? Well, that’s just what I’m exploring with artist Lisa Ingram via art installations, live performances, and lots of cool tech and software.

It’s hard to explain, so start with the Broadway World article here: BROADWAY VOICES MADE VISUAL BY DEAF COMPOSER 2/23 - 3/16

Then drop by the gallery for a performance (wednesdays and saturdays at 7pm), or to see the art (Tuesdays-Saturday 2-7pm), or watch the window display of an eMac “listening” to my songs and musical films as they play on a tv (24 hours a day for 3 weeks!)

where: chashama times square
112 west 44th Street, between 7th & 6th avenues

when: Performances — February 25, 27, March 3, 6, 10 and 13 at 7pm.
Open Rehearsals — Feb 25, 27, March 3, 6, 10 and 13 btwn 3-6 pm.
Gallery Open — Feb 23 to March 16, Tuesday-Saturdays, 2-7pm
Window Installation — Feb 23 to March 16, viewable 24 hours a day.

Here’s the current performance line-up:

WED, FEB 25 ANDREA DORA (from Broadway’s Tarzan) sings songs from Jay’s musicals from inside the video projections of live frequency analysis of her voice. Jay joins in with a rap or two.

SAT, FEB 27 CABARET NIGHT: The “smokin’” MATT LUTZ and jazz singer GABRIELLE STRAVELLI sing highlights from Jay’s recent concerts at The Duplex, Dillons, and the Lincoln Center Songbook Series.

WED, MAR 3: ANDREA DORA (TARZAN) and soprano SIERRA REIN sing songs from Jay’s musicals including My Café Cinderella and Pomes while MELVIN BELL III (BLACK NATIVITY) premieres “Sharing Dreams.”

SAT, MAR 6: POETRY NIGHT: Diva KELLY ELLENWOOD (from Broadway’s PHANTOM) performs Jay’s incredibly difficult song cycle, Punctuated Thoughts. Plus operatic bass RYAN ALLEN and comedienne EMILY CRAMER sing the infamous horrible poetry that spawned the annual Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry contest.

WED, MAR 10: Cabaret legend RAISSA KATONA BENNETT (from Broadway’s PHANTOM) joins SIERRA REIN and CANDY BENGE to sing Jay’s most beautiful and Sondheim-ish repertoire, including a song of three Dorothy Parker poems.

SAT, MAR 13: INSTRUMENTAL NIGHT: Violinists Blair Lawhead, Bryony Straud-Watson, and Heather Vixler, tackle Jay’s violin trio and other works.

"A Party High" at Lincoln Center

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 01:26:42 -0500

where: Lincoln Center Bruno Walter Auditorium
when: Sunday, December 13th, 2:30pm

Jazz singer Gabrielle Stravelli and bassist Ritt Henn debuted my new holiday song “A Party High” yesterday. They were both amazing. Gabrielle brings such honest yet subtle emotion to her performance, it was really quite touching. And Ritt Henn plays with such expressiveness and character, it’s easy to see why he is the most sought after bass player in the NYC scene.

I hope to get the video on youtube soon. Till then, here is a PLAYBILL article about the event and the other wonderful composers and performers involved.

PLAYBILL: HOLIDAY SONGBOOK 2009

SMOKIN'! @ THE DUPLEX

Mon, 5 Oct 2009 01:29:06 -0400

They came, they sang, they boozed it up: Mick Bleyer, Kevin Massey, Matt Lutz, Lisa Marinacci, and Sierra Rein and her puppet.

It was the simple story of girl meets boy—who met other boy—while girl has an affair with man—who’s wife talks with a puppet. The guy who smokes is allergic. The one who thinks he’s fat is skinny. And the boy in the middle is bi. Meanwhile the girls duke it out and become best friends.

Oh yeah, that’s a lot to sing about.