Review: "Let the Mystery Be"
- Jeff Waxman: Musical Director, Piano, Synthesizer, Backup Vocals
- Bob Colligan: Upright Bass, Ferrington Bass Guitar
- Bob Green: 5 String Fiddle, Mandolin, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Fiddle, Low Fiddle, Ukulele, Back Up Vocals
- Laura Liben: Key Chime, Bones Chime, Tamboura, Dumbek, "Hi-Lo" Wood Blocks, Alto Recorder, Meditation Bell, Slide Acoustic Guitar, Soprano Recorder, Rainstick, Tenor Recorder, Melodica, Mark Tree, Backup Vocals
- Michael Shaw: Synthesizer, Rhythm Eggs, Shakers, Tambourine, Sand Blocks, Backup Vocals
- Barbara Shapokas: Flyer Design
- Amelia V. Panico: Photography
Let the Mystery Be was an outgrowth of my curiosity about all those things in life that we can't see or get a hold of — things like ghosts, dreams, God, visions, deja vu experiences, angels and superstitions. I noticed the growing popularity of the television show, "The X-Files", which weekly addressed the realm of the supernatural and of alien life forms interacting with humans. I also noticed that books like "The Celestine Prophesy" by James Redfield and "Ageless Body, Timeless Mind" by Deepak Chopra were remaining on The New York Times best seller list for record lengths of time. I realized that pop culture was beginning to openly embrace concpets such as the possibility that we are not alone in this galaxy and the notion that spirituality might be something more than just religious doctrine or space age flakiness. I decided to explore my increasing curiosity about such things in the form of a musical/theatrical journey. As I searched for material, a suprisingly eclectic mix of song titles showed up. From Rodgers and Hart to Neil Young, I found songwriters whose songs asked the same questions I did, and even offered some keen and amusing observations. So to quote John Lennon and Paul McCartney, "turn off your mind, relax and float downstream..."
- I'M STANDING IN THIS ROOM
(Craig Carnelia) - LET THE MYSTERY BE
(Iris DeMent) - GALILEO
(Amy Ryan) - WHERE OR WHEN
(Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart - I FEEL LUCKY
(Mary Chapin Carpenter) - LOVE-LINE
(Walter Marks) - WHEN DID YOU LEAVE HEAVEN?
(Walter Bullock and Richard A. Whiting) - TOMORROW NEVER KNOWS
(John Lennon and Paul McCartney) - AFTER THE GOLD RUSH
(Neil Young) - LIFE ON EARTH
(Craig Carnelia) - THE SONG REMEMBERS WHEN
(Hugh Prestwood) - SENSITIVE NEW AGE GUYS
(Christine Lavin and John Gorka) - BREATHE
(Eric Bain Peltoniemi) - FLIGHT
(Craig Carnelia) - GOOD TIMES
(Sam Cooke) - A MINUTE
(Craig Carnelia) - IMAGINE
(John Lennon)
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If you've ever wondered about the mystery of life, the universe and everything, take your astral plane to Don't Tell Mama. You might find some answers there in Lisa Asher's truly terrific cabaret show entitled LET THE MYSTERY BE.
Asher emerges from the shadows enveloped in white gossamer. She possesses an almost beatific glow as she takes you into her world of superstition, ESP, ghosts and dreams. But even the most fervent skeptic about the paranormal will be swept away by Asher's enchanting manner.
Her song list is decidedly eclectic and contemporary: Neil Young, Mary Chapin Carpenter and John Lennon. But when she takes a standard like Rodgers & Hart's Where or When, it magically takes on an aura of deja vu: "Some thing that happen for the first time/Seem to be happening again/"
The show's funniest number, Sensitive New Age Guys by Christine Laving and John Gorka, is worth the price of admission. The interaction with her five stellar musicians, led by Jeff Waxman, is hysterical.
Did I like it? The Magic 8 Ball says: Definitely.
DONNA COE, Daily News
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Kentucky-born Lisa Asher, has a nicely ripe, full, smooth voice that she applies to an uncommonly wide variety of material. She moves comfortably from standards by old masters (such as Rodgers and Hart's Where or When and Richard Whiting and Walter Bullock's When Did You Leave Heaven?) to contemporary songs (such as Iris DeMent's Let The Mystery Be and Craig Carnelia's A Minute — which is given its first public performance in this show).
What ties all of the songs together is her running commentary, expressing her sincere belief in ghosts, reincarnation, UFOs and so on. I was intrigued by her recounting an experience of having seen a ghost. (To me, that was so interesting, I wouldn't have minded if she had cut a song or two — she sings 17 in all — to make room for more of such remarks.) And when she sings with great gusto Mary Chapin Carpenter's I Feel Lucky — which received not just applause but some well-deserved whistles — you believe her.
Adding a needed touch of comic relief midway through her act, is a number by Christine Lavin, Sensitive New Age Guys, in which she asks such questions as "Whose last names are hyphenated?/ Who walked out on 'Terminator 2' a movie they hated?" The four male members of her band croon the response: "Sensitive New Age Guys," while the sole female member of the band sits there reading a book called "Rock Wives."
The band, under the direction of pianist Jeff Waxman deserves special mention because it's unusually good; and it's members, by doubling on assorted instruments (violin, mandolin, recorder, etc.) provide a surprising variety of textures.
CHIP DEFFAA, New York Post
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An original, fresh idea for a show, Lisa Asher's LET THE MYSTERY BE is a musical exploration of things unseen, unknown and uncommon. From ghosts to aliens and from God to reincarnation, this show is constructed as a good-natured, upbeat and open-minded piece of work. In both her patter and in her approach to the music, Asher takes a generally lighthearted look at the otherworldly, exploring and enjoying the mysteries that lie just beyond our understanding.
Backed by a five piece band led by the talented Jeff Waxman, there is no mystery about why Asher has so swiftly made a name for herself in cabaret; she has a highly textured voice full of timbre and tone and an willingness to put it through its paces. More than that, she has become a fine interpreter of lyrics, often finding new ways to sing familiar songs. And when she stand center stage, Asher is the epitome of self-assuredness; in just a few short years she has become a marvelously poised performer.
The show kicks along nicely, enhanced by amusing lighting designs courtesy Shawn Moninger, with a song like Galileo about reincarnation, Love-Line about palm reading, and When Did You Leave Heaven? about angels. But the ectoplasm really starts flying toward the end of the show when she gets behind a great Waxman arrangement of Neil Young's After The Gold Rush, and Hugh Prestwood's The Song Remembers When, the latter getting to the heart of the power of music, both in its style and in its substance.
If there was one song, beyond any other, that made this show fly, it was Craig Carnelia's Flight. One of the great new songs of the last 10 years, we've heard this performed by Carnelia, as well as by Eric Michael Gillette, Karen Akers, and many others. Regardless of how well they've performed it, the interpretations have all been generally the same, some more pensive, some more defiant, some more hopeful. Asher's interpretation, however, was entirely different; a throbbing, moving rendition about her soul lifting toward the heavens, this "Flight" received a fully warranted ovation at its conclusion.
And wouldn't you know it, the show was directed by Craig Carnelia, himself.
At the end of LET THE MYSTERY BE, Asher passed out fortune cookies; a nice touch.
SCOTT and BARBARA SIEGEL, Drama-Logue
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When Lisa Asher asks her audience how many of them have ever seen a ghost, she is not trying to get a laugh. In college, Asher believes she actually saw one and her new show, LET THE MYSTERY BE, celebrates those things in life one cannot readily explain.
The music is a unorthodox blend of country, rock and folk presented with an exceptional five piece back-up band. The entire show is an entertaining journey through a side of life we only suspect is all around us (everything from deja vu to psychic phenomena) handled with great humor, appropriate respect and a terrific mix of songs.
Asher possess a crystal clear vocal instrument capable of capturing every nuance of her music. She delivers Mary Chapin Carpenter's I Feel Lucky with a strong sense of conviction and a defiant edge in a voice that goes right through you with its big belt sound.
Also powerful, When Did You Leave Heaven was a country tune played with lights bouncing off a hanging crystal ball creating the atmosphere of a honky tonk and Asher reminiscent of Patsy Cline.
Exceptional is Asher's interpretation of Craig Carnelia's Flight. She captures the beauty of this song of desire with a wistful, almost peaceful rendition. One of the best I have ever heard.
The transitions are impeccable here and always on target. With the help of director Craig Carnelia, Asher sets up each number so that the evening blends together in a seamless entertaining fashion whether investigation the humor of Christine Lavin's Sensitive New Age Guys or the true meaning behind Rogers and Harts class Where or When.
LET THE MYSTERY BE is an upbeat, alive and joyful show full of hope for the future. Using non-traditional music in a format that's strictly cabaret, the singer expresses herself through song of her generation. It's an evening that is thoroughly entertaining. Lisa Asher may very well be the modern face of cabaret.
LESLIE ALEXANDER, Cabaret Scenes
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Except for Rodgers and Hart's enduring take on reincarnation, Where or When, there's not a Broadway tune to be heard in Lisa Asher's LET THE MYSTERY BE, an evening about metaphysical and paranormal phenomena running at Don't Tell Mama.
Backed by an exceptionally polished ensemble, Asher proves an impeccable musician with a country/western flair and her program is nice unhackneyed. I liked her best in the upbeat numbers, which she delivers with an infectious swing, like Mary Chapin Carpenter's I Feel Lucky and Sam Cooke's Good Times.
With an earth mother persona and an unmannered purity of style, Asher confidently presides over the proceedings like a New Age priestess. But lest you think she's a 60s flower-child throwback, she's also got a very much with-it sense of humor, and her between song patter, like her monologue on chain letters, is delightful. Sensitive New Age Guys is the vocal comic highlights (with its amusing refrain intoned by her musicians).
This is an unusual act, and even if angels, extra-terrestrials and the like are not your bag, you won't want to miss her. Asher's a fine singer with a bug future. No mystery about that.
HARRY FORBES, Manhattan Spirit
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In LET THE MYSTERY BE Lisa Asher takes a stroll through the dubious, yet emotionally appealing field of New Age mysticism, occult phenomena, and astrological guidance. While Asher gives us an occasional wink to let us know she does not gullibly buy it all, she clearly has a fondness for it and charmingly asks, through music and story, for an open mind on the subjects.
Asher benefits from a number of wonderfully full and rich arrangements by musical director Jeff Waxman. And, she's chooses a lot of material not usually done in cabaret. Her covers of Neil Young, Sam Cooke, and Mary Chapin Carpenter work so splendidly that they serve as yet another example that other cabaret artists should broaden their repertoire and experiment with the genre.
New Age as a mode of thought can be given to overly warm and fuzzy rationalizations. But, Asher avoids this pitfall by keeping an astutely wry sense of humor. Her characterization of "Madam Lisa", a psychic cabaret advisor, makes for some dead-on satire.
And, of course, there is Asher's singing voice, as entrancingly winsome as ever. LET THE MYSTERY BE is a show you should make time for.
JOHN MICHAEL KOROLY, WVOX AM/WRTN FM
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LISA ASHER'S new show at Don't Tell Mama, LET THE MYSTERY BE, is twice as good as her last show, and we were pretty impressed with that one. This offering deals with things that we can't touch — things like love, afterlife, reincarnation, and even ghosts and extra-terrestrials! It's an eclectic selection of songs. From the bright and bouncy title song to haunting renditions of "Breathe" by Eric Bain Peltoniemi and "Flight" by Craig Carnelia, there's a common thread. Lyrics of reincarnation in "Galileo," messages from folks in outer space in "Life On Earth," blessings from angels in "When Did You Leave Heaven?", and revelations from palm readings in "Love-Line " all co-mingle beautifully in LET THE MYSTERY BE.
There's even room for standards, such as Rodger's and Hart's "Where Or When" and Sam Cooke's "Good Times." There's a hysterical version of "Sensitive New Age Guys," and I bet you won't be able to resist moving at least one body part during Mary Chapin Carpenter's "I Feel Lucky." Asher has a clear and melodious voice with a hint of Southern twang. She's like a refreshing breath of country air. Accompanied by a great band comprised of Musical Director Jeff Waxman on piano, Bob Colligan on bass, Bob Green on fiddle, mandolin and guitar, Laura Liben on percussion, recorder and vocals, and Michael Shaw on percussion, keyboards and vocals, the night becomes a special event indeed. LET THE MYSTERY BE is mystical, magical, and marvelous. Don't miss it.
LAURIE LAWSON, Electronic Link Journey
