Tis’ mid December, 2015, amazing as that may seem. It certainly amazes me. This strange, tumultuous year has flown by, blown by winds of change, fury, exhaltation. Life on steroids! If this year was a cup of Starbucks coffee I would say it was a QUAD…as in four shots of espresso!

Since last I blogged (I still find that such an odd verb!), it has been such a dance! October in New York, singing a brand new show at 54 Below, filled with very new and very old song- children. I am always anxious when new musical children make their debuts. This was a whole schoolyard of new babies.

It was wonderfully well received, much to my relief, by the best audiences in the world…New Yorkers! They even sang along with enthusiasm to my (with Michele Brouman, of course) latest totally impolite political carol about all those running for office called “RUN RUN”.

Then to Town Hall, that grand old theater in the heart of Manhattan, to kick off the Cabaret Convention. And to be honored with the Mabel Mercer Award! I always say I am supremely blessed to be in that odd edge of the musical world where it is OKAY to grow older. At the end of the evening, this entire panoply of brilliant performers joined me onstage for a rousing, tear filled rendition of THE ROSE. Unforgettable!

And my favorite baritone on the planet, my husband George, made his Town Hall debut and tore the roof off the theatre. (This is us, the VERY happy couple, with the brilliant cabaret diva K.T. Sullivan, who invited us to join this stellar event. Bless her forever!)

And then home to wash out the pantyhose and one week later BACK to NYC to sing at the divine Ms. Barbara Cook’s 85th birthday party. What a room full of talent! I was especially thrilled to be in the same room as the great composing team of Charles Strouse and Lee Adams , David Zipple, JohnBucchino,and the divine Sheldon Harnick… heroes of the world of musical theatre, with Barbara as their heroine.

And then…home for the holidays!

I shared a lovely lunch with Michael Feinstein and his delicious honey Terrance Flannery at their avocado ranch up the road from us in Carpenteria. They are serious farmers, these two, when not in their tuxedos. Any day, I expect “George Gershwin Gentleman’s Guacamole” to hit the shelves of the best delis in New York.

And then days and days of very little to do but walk the dogs, cook, write poetry, and keep the garden alive while we pray for the rains to come. My prayers wing ever skyward for the rain finally to make it to our side of the mountains!

We celebrated our 41st wedding anniversary…UNBELIEVABLE…in one of the most glorious spots on earth…Death Valley. Don’t laugh! It is a truly awe inspiring place…a bucket list for me. We had the most wonderful time. I find it a true miracle that with all the oceanic passages of married time, the ups and downs, the huge highs and deep lows, we are still very much in love. The trick for me has been to marry my best friend. I remember hearing an interview with two people who had been married for 80 years. When asked the secret of their longevity, the husband answered “every day of our life together I have left her a love note somewhere.” I thought, how brilliant! That means every day, no matter what happened the night before, you have to remind yourself of why you love your partner. It is a great exercise. I recommend it!

Two concerts left in my 2015 calendar…Beverly Hills and in my own home town. Then we burn the eyelashes and get out the good wine!!!!

These past two months has been a view in miniature of this year to me.

Great joys…singing, anniversary, friends together…great sorrows…the loss of two of our dearest friends, Thom Thomas the brilliant playwright, and Michail Larry Haynes, my pal since we were 14, when we were in competing marching bands in South Texas. He played the clarinet, I, the snare drum. (He looked much better in his uniform than I did. )I was his date to the Junior Prom.He was a brilliant artist, singer, soul. He rides around on my shoulder many times a day lately. Hi, Michail. I miss you.

Lately, ostrich-like, I find myself not reading the front section of the paper, not watching the news. I hear enough to darken my heart, to challenge my understanding.
I have come to the conclusion that the one unanswerable question is WHY.
WHAT, HOW, and WHERE can somehow be grasped, often explained. But the WHY of it all is unfathomable to me.

So my Christmas challenge is to keep my hope rising, to believe in the light that will return. Isn’t that what this season is supposed to be about? To not just hold prayers and good thoughts in my heart, but to DO what I can in real time with real effort to heal and help.

And so, I send you all wishes for a great, peaceful, loving , ACTIVE holiday.

Here, from me to you, the gift of a new Christmas song lyric. (Hopefully I will be recording this before the next holiday comes around!)

ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS YOU
Scarlet ribbons…silver bells…
Rainbows on a string…
Icy windows and first Noels..
Songs the season brings.

Here we are again, my love,
Underneath a tree.
Time for me to let you know
Just what you mean to me.

You’re my Christmas angel.
You’re my silver star.
There’s a sweet warm light shining
Wherever you are.

If I had one gift to wish for
To last my whole life through,
All I’d want for Christmas is you.
All I want for Christmas is you.

In the hustle and the rush of the season,
Sometimes we forget why we’re here.
To love and to share, to show that we care.
It’s the loneliest or the loveliest time of year.

You’re my Christmas angel.
You’re my silver star.
There’s a sweet warm light shining
Wherever you are.

If I had one gift to wish for

To last my whole life through,
All I ever want for Christmas …
All I ever need for Christmas ..
All I want for Christmas is you.

May your greatest gifts be to and from your heart!
Joy in whatever you may be celebrating!
Much love to you.

Hooray!

The trees are turning color, the skies are achingly blue, the grass is a rich and radiant green. You KNOW I am not writing this from Southern California, which is, at this point, heinously hot STILL and the color and consistency of a box of Wheaties.

Yes, I am on the East Coast at the moment…in the fabulous city of Philadelphia at the moment, where I am about to warble for the first time in years at the gorgeous Rrazz Room of the Prince Theater.

I have to confess, I LOVE THIS TOWN!
The old and revered architecture, which no one seems to want to tear down and turn into a parking lot…

…the window boxes filled with gorgeous autumn greenery and red-ery… pumpkins on marble stoops…the wide, smooth river with the whip -thin boats dancing along it’s coverlet…I think I could live in this town. Of course, I have not yet been here in January, so I am not about to commit to whimsical statements. But October here is fantastic!!!!

Last night we dined at an OLD restaurant called Victor’s, with GREAT Italian food and even greater wait staff that sings operatic arias at the ring of a large brass bell. And they sing them wonderfully. That is one hard gig! A little ziti, a large aria…and you should hear HAPPY BIRTHDAY in 6 part harmony with a high D at the top! Whew!

WE just came from a few days in that other Eastern City, the great New York, where we had a chance to open a brand new show at the great club 54 Below. New shows always terrify me, and this one was especially scary because I decided to let a whole lot of my very old musical children out of the trunk, along with some very NEW ones, and show them to the world. Wonder of wonders, it seemed to work!

And I had the great delight of special guesting one of the truly great Broadway divas, Karen Mason, sing a song I had written for her in my long ago musical, HEARTBEATS.

The song is called DANCE. I wrote it after she auditioned for us and I realized OMG, this woman needs a big old SONG! So she is directly responsible for one of my favorites. Thank you Karen!

The other exciting moment at 54 Below was when someone smelled gas , the bartender called the fire department, and 12 handsome men in full suit showed up and had to wend their way through all us festive cabaret folk at the end of the bar. I think this was probably the first time any of them ever visited a cabaret.

(The wacky blonde who is photo bombing is the equally fabulous singer Sharon McKnight.)

AND I was delighted to reconnect with an old and dear pal, Sandra Bernhardt, who asked me and Michele Brourman to be on her Sirius Radio show. The three of us used to sing back up for each other back in the day at the Bla Bla Café when we all wore spandex and believed we were rockers.
Hell, we WERE rockers!

New York gets busier and more crowded and loud and electrifying every time I visit. I am always happy to see it. And always happy to head for home and quiet nights with stars shining in the sky, instead of on the marquees.

My latest CREATIVE adventure was the creation of my first YouTube Video, of a song called YARNELL HILL, which I wrote with Michele Brourman, It is a love song and tribute to the 19 firemen who lost their lives in Arizona last year. It is actually a tribute to ALL firemen, everywhere, God Bless their brave hearts! Living in a Box of Wheaties makes one REALLY grateful for their presence and commitment.

You can see and hear the YouTube on the home page of this website. Hopefully, this is the first song of the upcoming CD. It is about time. About damn time. Hoping to record it before Spring rolls around next year, My motto now being, IF NOT NOW, WHEN????

And my astounding SPIRITUAL adventure of the past months was a trip to The Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah, right outside of glorious ZION National Park…

A landscape so awe inspiring, and in it, residing in beautiful Angel Canyon is this wonderful organization , that is hugely responsible for the creation of no-kill shelters across the United States, at the forefront of ending puppy mills , rescuing of animals in disasters, rehabilitating all the Michael Vick dog victims. www.Bestfriends.org. Check them OUT!

We rented a gorgeous cottage on the grounds and spent a day volunteering in the old dog compound, washing dog bowls, cleaning kennels, petting. And at the end, my beloved George was seated in the middle of a kennel and was told to read them a book. He did, in his mellifluous bass baritone, and all the dogs came to the front of their kennels and lay down to listen. It was a beautiful, tearful moment for us. We will go back. So wonderful to be doing something more than just mailing a check. I have been searching for physical ways to do good in the world. I have found it. Or at least one of the “it”s for my life. May there be more.

CULTURE CORNER:
MOVIE – THE MARTIAN-Ridley Scott- most excellent!
BOOK – THE INVENTION OF WINGS-beautiful and disturbing.
MUSIC– Michael McDonald singing anything.

And here’s my poem for Autumn…actually the lyric to a song I have written with the brilliant Roget Kellaway.
Happy Halloween!
May your pumpkins be merry and bright!

AUTUMN

I ALWAYS CHOOSE THE SUNSET
OVER BREAK OF DAWN.
I ALWAYS LIKE THE SONG
THAT BRINGS A TEAR.
AND HILLSIDES TURNING GOLD
WITH JUST A HINT OF COLD…
AUTUMN IS MY TIME OF YEAR.

THE SMELL OF BURNING MAPLE,
THE TASTE OF PUMPKIN PIE,
THE DISTANT SOUNDS OF FOOTBALL
IN THE AIR.
LOVERS WALK TOGETHER
IN PERFECT SWEATER WEATHER.
AUTUMN IS MY TIME OF YEAR.

SOME WILL SAY THAT SUMMER
IS THE SEASON THEY PREFER…
SAND AND SUN AND FIREWORKS IN THE STREET.
AND SOME WILL SING THE PRAISE
OF PERFECT APRIL DAYS.
BUT I PREFER MY DAYS, LIKE WINE,
SLIGHTLY BITTER SWEET.

THE LEAVES AND I GO DANCING
TO THE MUSIC OF THE WIND.
THE SKY ABOVE IS CHINA BLUE
AND CLEAR.
AND THROUGH THE SLEEPING TREES
COME ALL MY MEMORIES.
AUTUMN IS MY TIME OF YEAR.

I CLOSE MY EYES AND THEN
I FEEL YOU HERE AGAIN.
AUTUMN IS MY TIME OF YEAR.
YES, AUTUMN IS MY TIME OF YEAR.

Happy Birthday, my beloved, wacky country of origin!

I hope all you citizens celebrated safely and joyously. I have always found it bemusing that we ooh and ahh to the sights and sounds of faux battlefield explosions at this time of year. I do not say that as an outsider. I love them bombs bursting in air too. (Maybe because my dad made all those war movies. Here he is, the fresh faced young lad about to save Gary Cooper in GUNG HO.)

And in my little town, the 4th of July Parade is about as Americana as you can get. The floats on truck beds, the kindergarten kazoo bands, the way the chairs start appearing on street corners three weeks in advance for those who will sit and wave and cheer. I love the whole kit and caboodle.

And this 4th wound up being an extra special delight. We were planning a quiet little wine and burger burning on the back patio at sunset, when who should appear, guacamole in hand, to share the afternoon but the amazing Michael Feinstein and Terrence Flannery, who have a glorious home just up the highway on an avocado ranch overlooking the sea, bringing with them a brand new friend, Marc Cherry, creator of such TV delights as DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES. It wound up being a marvelous conversation sparkler of a party. That was fire works enough for anyone!

Summer is upon us!

Here in Ojai, moisture is but a dream. It feels as if we are all living in a box of Rice Crispies. That is certainly the color of the landscape. Buckets in all the showers and sinks, and flushing is but a dream, unless company is coming! But my roses WILL SURVIVE! If I have to pee on them daily, they will still get moisture!

It has been a most wonderful and challenging month. I was thrilled to be cast in a production of Jon Robin Baitz monster play, OTHER DESERT CITIES, at my beloved Rubicon Theater. My first non-singing role in about seven years! COULD I remember lines without melodies??? COULD I remember anything as difficult as this play? (Mr. Baitz cut his teeth at the knee of Aaron Sorkin on WEST WING, so you know the dialogue was smart, complicated, and FAST!) AND could I play a hostile, uptight Reagan era Republican dragon mother with a BIG SECRET??? It appears I could. (This play makes KING LEAR feel like LITTLE MARY SUNSHINE!)

Thank God for the most wonderful theater family…Granville Van Dusen, Trey Ellett, Deborah Taylor, and Michelle Duffy! The cast was astoundingly talented and totally dear, and our beloved director, Brian Mc Donald, brilliant! I could not have asked for a more wonderful leap back into the world of drama. A theater family such as this is the reason anyone stays in the business! Laugh together, cry together, act together, drink Scotch from tiny glasses in the dressing room together… Now I am greedy for more!

So now the play is over, my theater family has scattered to the theatrical winds (I miss them terribly), I have burned my Spanx and am enjoying a summer vacation of sorts…learning to Tweet(I can’t believe I am writing the words!) …to You Tube (is that a verb?)
Oh, it is all so sci fi to me.

(I had to find some way to lead into this photo that some nice Star Trek geek from London sent to me. Yes, that’s me as the JAG of the Universe, trying to decide if Data the android is a person or a machine. But what part of his anatomy am I pondering in this picture, I wonder???)

My most exciting news of the moment… I am plotting my next CD. I have been writing several new songs with my beloved Michele Brourman, and some of them are doozies. It is about time they came out of the closet and into the light. So hopefully the end of the year, or the beginning of next, will find some new musical stories for your ears.

Two of my older songs have made delicious returns to the zeitgeist. ERROL FLYNN was just recorded as the lead track on a new CD by the wonderful country singer Donnie Fritz. It is a wonderful, honest, heartfelt, MALE version of the song and warms my heart!

AND THE ROSE is not only making the rounds of the world under the divine tutelage of Ms. Midler in her world tour, but was featured in the opening sequence of TRUE DETECTIVE last week! The whole thing! I gather the creator of TRUE DETECTIVE ( one of my favorite TV series) lives in Ojai. I have to find out where and send him flowers, or a basket of cookies. SOMETHING to say thank you very much!

What else to tell? That I find the whole circus of American politics right now hilarious, debilitating, depressing, confounding. I think England has the right idea. They are allowed to campaign for three weeks only! The rest of the time they are supposed to take care of their constituents. From Bernie Sanders (my personal hero) to Donald Trump…from soup to nuts, as it were, of the American political spectrum. We are SUCH a mixed bag! Will the Confederate flag come down? Will the drachma return? Will I be able to stay awake past 10 PM when we lose Jon Stewart? This summer is fraught with unpredictability!

SO I think I will close the way I opened, with a celebration of this 4th of July. Here is my poem in honor of the CHAIRS OF SUMMER!

THE CHAIRS OF SUMMER
It starts with just one chair
Alone…aloof…astride a busy corner
By a bus stop or under a dusty oak
From Costco or Target, Viet Nam or Taiwan
Worn white plastic or ragged rainbow webbed
A solitary chair appearing suddenly, surprisingly
Like the face of Mary in a taco
A miracle of the mundane

Tomorrow it will multiply magically, mysteriously
Into four…fourteen…forty-five…
By week’s end four hundred plus
Bound together by bungee cords and anticipation
Waiting for the large pink people waving small bright flags
Who will plant themselves like sunburned petunias
Listening for that first squeal of high school clarinet
that rat-a-tat of snare drum
The buzz of fifty kindergarten kazoos
Flinging John Phillip Sousa
To the summer skies.

The fire truck will pass by…
The flatbed filled with princesses
Representing various vegetables
Pious folk on hay bales with banjos
A float or two of bunting and bed sheets
All will wave and cheer and pass on by
Leaving the chairs to sit in silence
As the sun dips behind the crisping hill
The sky explodes above the football field

Then one by four by forty they will disappear
Back to garages , closets , invisibility
Their annual migration complete
Until next July calls them out once more
To unveil their true selves,
Their sacred purpose
To be the chairs of summer.

Stay cool. Love, Amanda (and George)