Stephanie J. Block- Page 5

[ken8631]

Posted: 7/2/09 at 8:40am

Five songs? That's pretty good - too bad about the mic issues, but sounds like she overcame that too!

Seeing 9 to 5 next week, then Birdland - looking forward to both....

Anyone confirm that Birdland is sold-out?

[emilyfaye48]

Posted: 7/5/09 at 4:55am

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxZeH5YETtA

A video of sjb singing Invitation for anyone who missed it

[Sab6888]

Posted: 7/5/09 at 6:00pm

I put a video of Steph singing Never Neverland from the Barnes & Noble event up on youtube! Sorry the last little bit got cut off but enjoy it - she was wonderful!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZGkdUStR3k

[iflip4musicals]

Posted: 7/7/09 at 12:21pm

I'm sure it's been posted somewhere before, I searched, but you never know.

For those of us too silly to get Birdland tickets in advance, does anyone have any suggestions of what time to get there to get bar seats on Monday?

Edit: I lie, i thought it was this Monday, it's actually in August, can't go

Updated On: 7/7/09 at 12:21 PM

[Amaranth9]

Posted: 7/7/09 at 12:35pm

Iflip4musicals, her show at Birdland is in fact this Monday the 13, not in August, so hopefully you can go. Sorry, I have no advice about the bar seats though.

[iflip4musicals]

Posted: 7/7/09 at 12:37pm

Oh okay, I just saw an article that said August, but Monday is soooo much better! Thanks Amaranth! Anyone else advice?

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 7/7/09 at 2:58pm

if you get there around or before 6pm, you should be able to get bar seats...

[SingingCats]

Posted: 7/7/09 at 4:13pm

I don't know if anyone saw this yet, but there's an interview with Stephanie over at BroadwaySpace.

http://www.broadwayspace.com/page/10-questions-with-stephanie-j

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 7/13/09 at 12:13pm

just wanted to bump this thread to say that i'm really looking forward to Stephanie's concert tonight. i've been listening to her CD and it is fantastic.

[iflip4musicals]

Posted: 7/13/09 at 12:15pm

I was just about to do the same thing WAT! So excited for tonight!

I have a seat now! What time are people getting there? I know people said 6 for bar seating. Thoughts, suggestions?

Updated On: 7/13/09 at 12:15 PM

[obsessedjb]

Posted: 7/13/09 at 12:18pm

A friend and I are getting there at 5 so we can have dinner first. So excited!

[iflip4musicals]

Posted: 7/13/09 at 9:10pm

Wow. Well, first off, it wasn't general admission, so I appologize for all of my annoying posts.

This woman is beyond remarkable! I loved how many of the composers and lyricists came out for her concert, it made it so much more incredible. I also loved that they too signed her CD after the concert.

Her rendition of Love To Me finished with me in a melted puddle on the floor. I hope someone at some point gets a recording of her singing this song. I also love Scott Alan's Never Neverland (Fly Away) for personal reasons beyond it's amazingness.

Wow. Just... Wow.

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 7/13/09 at 9:50pm

She was outstanding tonight. I have been a fan of this woman for a while now, but had never seen her in cabaret. She not only blew the roof off the place with her vocals, but was also very warm and funny and touching in her stories in between songs. Congratulations to SJB and her new CD. She deserves all the accolades she has gotten and has coming her way.

On another note (and I'm saying this as a pure observation), I had no idea that SJB had such a large lesbian following...

[PlayhouseBeauty]

Posted: 7/13/09 at 10:06pm

I was also there tonight and I have to agree with WAT and iflip4musicals. She was just outstanding! It was also great to see how much the composers all loved her! She is a fantastic women and I can't wait to see what the future holds for her!

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 7/14/09 at 7:48am

I also wanted to say that "Fifteen Pounds Away from My Love" was a really fun song...and it was great to see Tori Ross (9 to 5, Cry Baby) backing her up. I listened to the entire CD again today and it is really wonderful.

[Amaranth9]

Posted: 7/14/09 at 1:34pm

I also had the pleasure of attending the concert at Birdland last night and really must echo what has been said about her wonderful performance. It was my first time at the venue (we drove from CT) and seeing her perform outside of a show. My parents and I loved the atmosphere of Birdland and the great staff. It was very intimate and there didn't seem to be a bad seat in the place. The audience greeted Stephanie with hearty applause, and SJB completely charmed the crowd with her talent, grace, wit and beauty throughout the evening.

Some highlights/details:

She sang 9 of the 13 songs from her album, as well as some others, including some clever bits by Steve Marzullo.

"Something Beautiful" really showcased her lovely upper register and brought my mother and others to tears. She has a great way of interpreting songs not only with her voice but her gestures and expressions, which she used in all the songs. In the intro, SJB was telling the story of how Lynn Ahrens was inspired by a photograph of a tree taken by her father, who has scoliosis. She then said, "And I think Lynn's mother is now in assisted living and the picture is there... Did I just make that up?" When Lynn laughed she goes, "Oh my god! Ok, that didn't happen. You see what actors do? We just create our own little worlds. Cut that!" The crowd got a good laugh.

"15 pounds (away from my love)" was hilarious. She was joined by Tory Ross and Jen Dinoia (sp?) for backup. Jen sounded nice enough, but it was really Tory and Steph that played off of each other while improvising with some of the lyrics and story bits in the song. SJB was so funny with her dancing. When the song gets to the part about the new wife, Tory Ross was like, "that skanky whore!" which had everyone in stitches. Then Tory said "bet she's bulimic" and Steph struggled to keep a straight face but had to giggle. She was really into "5-0! Ouch, the truth hurts!" as well. The song got great applause.

In the intro to "One Day," SJB talked about how she loved Andrew Lippa's music and wanted to sing something from The Wild Party on her album. Then she said, "But who would want to follow Idina and Julia? Not me," earning a huge guffaw from the audience even though she was earnest about it. Earlier the crowd had cheered when she mentioned her involvement in the wicked workshops and she said, "That's why I love Birdland; you cheer for everything!"

During "One Day" and some of the other romantic bits in the songs she would look over or gesture to Sebastian who stood watching against the wall just behind me to stage right and the audience gave an "awww." He was smiling the whole night and you could see how proud he was. They were really sweet.

I also happened to be seated just behind a table reserved for some of the composers, including Stephen Flaherty, Lynn Ahrens, Steve Marzullo, and Andrew Lippa. Paul Loesel was off to their left. Watching them watch SJB was a treat as well. Stephen Flaherty's smile while watching her was striking, and Steve Marzullo was so responsive to her jokes. He would close his eyes and sway his head to the music in enjoyment. Mr. Lippa kept silently tapping the wooden ledge next to our tables in time with the music. Before he played for "One Day" he said something to the effect of "I was sitting there listening to these songs from these great composers being sung by one of the world's greatest vocal talents and I just felt lucky." SJB was self-effacing and joked, "If you're breaking the rule (about not recording) I want that!"

Afterwards, the composers and SJB signed her album and were taking pictures. They were all excited and appreciative of the support. Scott Alan was chatting it up and laughing. He is pretty attractive. I'm not sure why, but Paul Loesel just has an air of kindness about him. He told me that he and Scott Burkell didn't think "Invention" was performable when they wrote it. She's now 3 for 3 in public appearances with that song. I told Stephanie my thanks for the evening and before I knew it she just swept me up into a hug and kept repeating her thanks in return.

I know there's been a lot of praise in this post, but it is well deserved. She was in excellent voice; truly, I don't think there was a bum note the entire evening. Plus she displayed wonderful charisma and stage presence. My parents, who didn't know much of her except for the little they learned from me, were quite impressed with her and enjoyed themselves very much. I admit I was a little sad she did not perform "I will always love you" but that is just a passing thought. It was a great show, a complete evening of top quality entertainment and I am happy I was able to attend.

Cheers!

Posted: 9/7/09 at 3:58pm

Anyone know what key Stephanie sings "Never Neverland?"

[Blockhead24]

Posted: 9/18/09 at 5:53pm

looks like she's going back to Birdland for two holiday concerts http://www.instantseats.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.venue&VenueID=68 scroll down to the bottom of the page

[Soliantu]

Posted: 9/18/09 at 7:37pm

yayyy!. That will be nice