Loving Donna Albanese De Cicco Out Loud

Donna Albanese De Cicco is moved by the opportunity to participate in this special event. Some of Donna’s most memorable regional credits include: Brunnhilde in Das Barbecu, Vicki in The Full Monty, Miss Mary Jane in Big River, Dr. Charlotte in Falsettos, Doatsy Mae in Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Sr. Mary Amnesia in Nunsense, Miss Ritter in She Loves Me, Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living In Paris and Jerry’s Girls. Tour: Miss Sylvia in The People Garden. Donna is a featured soloist with Jersey Dreamers and owner of the popular NYC club, The Duplex. We are blessed to have this enthusiastic performer with us and know that her wonderful spirit will spread the news for Lifebeat!

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Lovin' MarTina Vidmar Out Loud

MarTina Vidmar’s voice is just only part of it. She is one of those people whose vitality and charisma keep you focused on what she is doing on stage. She is an integral part of the New York cabaret and theater scene. Her versions of familiar material will make you forget where they came from, because she makes them all hers. When she found out about our fundraiser she volunteered to help out in any way. It was easy to say yes to her, because she is just “one of those people.” She is everything that is good about the New York scene and she is definitely one of those people one wants around.

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More Love for Stewart Lewis

Hey Big Apple Peeps! and beyond:

A note to remind you of the second Out in the Round songwriter series I am hosting upstairs at The Stonewall Inn. the first one was a huge success, it was a dream come true for me...thanks to all who came!

Out in the Round
Thursday November 4, 2010 7pm
Stonewall Inn (upstairs)
53 Christopher St. New York City
w/ Tom Goss, Brandon Anderson, and comedian Joanne Filan!

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Lovin' Grayce Coviello Out Loud

An accomplished, expressive Cabaret performer Grayce Coviello has had the good fortune to appear on the stages of The Duplex, Danny’s Skylight Room, Upstairs at Roses Turn, The Encore and Don’t Tell Mama with top New York City musicians: Rick Jensen, Jim Horan, Regan Ryzuk, and Rio Clemente. From theaters to nightclubs, Grayce Coviello is brash, bouncy, & bluesy! Heralding her show State of Grayce at the Encore, critic Roy Sander proclaimed “Grayce Coviello sings with so much authority, passion, energy, heart and intelligence that it would take a thesaurus full of superlatives to do her justice. And what a voice!” A veteran regional theater performer her credits include leading roles in Leader of The Pack, Guys & Dolls, Grease, Godspell, Pippin, Sordid Lives and One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest. We are delighted that Grayce is lending her voice to promote Lifebeat’s efforts in their fundraiser Brother, Brother! King for a Day!

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Lovin' Jeffrey Fiorello Out Loud

Jeffrey Fiorello has worked in the New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania area, as an actor, singer and director. Theatrical (performance) credits include: Jekyll and Hyde, Pippin, A Man of No Importance, Smokey Joes Café, Blood Brothers,Rent, Into the Woods, and A Chorus Line. Jeffrey has also performed Cabaret throughout New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Directing credits include: Triumph of Love, Nine, The Light in the Piazza, and Jesus Christ Superstar. In 2011, Jeffrey will be directing productions of Gypsy and Grey Gardens in New Jersey. Brother, Brother! King for A Day, we are honored to have this versatile and very talented man on board to support Lifebeat. It is an embarrassment of riches.

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Lovin' Julie Waldman-Stiel Out Loud

Julie Waldman-Stiel left her native Sunny California home to pursue a theater career in New York City. Not long thereafter she arrived she was cast in the National Tour of Cats as if New York wanted America to see her. Other National tours soon followed, including Fiddler on the Roof with Topol. and The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber with Michael Crawford. She performed off-Broadway in the original musical Suds covering all three female roles! She has performed her one woman show on cruise ships and performed as a featured entertainer at Tokyo Disneyland. Regional productions: Triumph of Love, The Graduate as Mrs. Robinson, Little Women, I Do, I Do, City of Angels and Into the Woods. A friend referred to her as a professional sweetheart and the real deal. We like real deals, especially when they are generous with their time and talent. Come out to Comix New York City to see the real deal and support a great organization like Lifebeat!

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Lovin' Tina Kaye Out Loud

Tina Kaye could not be more honored to support such a worthy cause and is thrilled to be in the company of such amazing talent. And speaking of talent, after having just closed a very successful run of Chicago staring as Velma Kelly, we are so fortunate that Tina Kaye is able to join us for Brother, Brother! King for a Day. A top NJ Musical Theater performer known for her sultry voice & sexy character roles, Tina's theatrical credits include: Triumph of Love, Nine, Rent, Little Women , Into the Woods, Noises Off , The Scarlet Pimpernel, Children of Eden, Cats, Aida , Jesus Christ Superstar, Grease as Rizzo, and West Side Story as both Maria and Anita on separate occasions. She would like to dedicate this performance to her cousin Ralph who she knows is watching down from above—smiling.

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Lovin' Chris Dilley Out Loud

Chris Dilley is a New York-based singer, actor, songwriter, vocal arranger and vocal instructor. He is best known to many as Trampolina with The Kinsey Sicks, with whom he performed these past nine years throughout the US and the world. The performances included a Lucille Lortel and Drama Desk nominated Off-Broadway run at Studio 54 and an extended run in Las Vegas. Chris has performed in several Broadway concerts, and has performed critically acclaimed solo concerts throughout North America (one of which ran in rep with Patti Lupone). Chris is currently working on his first fully produced recording of original songs. In addition to serving as Assistant Director of the Sacred Center Gospel Choir in New York City, Chris shares his talent by teaching private voice and a group vocal workshop called, Power Breathing For Singers. For more about Chris, check out his site to learn more about this handsome and talented man. You will get to hear him on November 29 as part of the musical experience called King for A Day.

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Lovin' Barbara Porteus Out Loud

Barbara Porteus is the quintessential cabaret performer who can give you precisely what you came for from Stephen Sondheim to Johnny Mercer while ading her personal touch providing her listeners with something unique. She has performed in such shows as The Sound of Music with Marie Osmond, How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying with Donald O'Connor and Side by Side by Sondheim. She has opened for Sid Caesar, Ben Vereen, Petula Clark and many others. Her extensive and impressive résumé also includes performing and touring with Eddy Arnold and Bing Sings Whilst Bregman Swings. Barbara has stepped up more than once for a good cause and her musical presence brings to us a performer of the highest calibre. A touch of class for King for a Day.

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Lovin' Sherri Lewis Out Loud

"The tale of how Sherri has come to a place in her life where she can help women living with HIV seems one part VH1: Behind the Music, another part Ripley's Believe It or Not! From her California home, she shares her many-layered saga, hoping that it will inspire—and protect." (Kellee Terrell) Go here to read more. It was only natural for Sherri to join us and she readily accepted when asked. Sherri Lewis is an inspiration as an AIDS Activist in Hollywood having come up from the trenches. She is the kind of person that shows that getting and staying well is what this struggle is all about. She has moved forward by virtue of living a life that looks back only to help learn what the future is all about. Not to mention that this is one talented woman who can sing and emote with the best of them. She is coming all the way from sunny California to grace us with her very appropriate presence in a very important event.

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Lovin' Stewart Lewis Out Loud

Stewart Lewis began his career in the living room of his parents home, when at a mere age of five he was thrown a tambourine. His parents moonlighted in a bluegrass band and there was always four part harmony around the fire among sleeping labradors.
Attending the University of Colorado in Boulder, a few years later, Stewart directed plays and starred in the main stage production of Pippin. At the time, his band Acoustic Junction was becoming a college jam band phenomenon, opening for Blues Traveler and The Band among others. After graduating, Stewart left the band to pursue acting in New York. After a short stint on CBS’s Guiding Light, Stewart decided to move back to Colorado and pursue a solo singer-songwriting career. After the release of his first recording Faces in the Crowd, Stewart’s soulful blend of pop and folk was featured on Ghost Whisperer, MTV's Laguna Beach, Joan of Arcadia, Dawson's Creek, Biggest Loser, and Firehouse Dog. He has shared the stage with Grammy winner Shawn Colvin and indie stalwart Ani Difranco. Stewart was the very first artist signed to the Here! TV Network and Regent Entertainment's new music venture, Here! Tunes, where the CD, In Formation was released. He is also the author of the semi-autobiographical novel Rockstarlet, and Relative Stranger (praised by Augusten Burroughs) both from Alyson Books. No wonder Neil Plakcy at GayWired referred to the fetching Mr. Lewis as a triple threat. If threats be the food of admiration, threaten us, please. It was a reference to his three major talents as a singer/songwriter/novelist. No doubt there are more threats coming. He is part of the WCBS radio family, doing thrice-weekly reports on “City Life” in Manhattan and the five boroughs.

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Lovin' John Pagano

John Pagano never disappoints. His name is familiar to many fans of Burt Bacharach as a featured vocalist with Burt ’s orchestra. John has generously offered once again to grace a New York stage for HIV/AIDS awareness. The great American songbook is too rarely approached with the unique blend of honesty, inventiveness, and reverence that John Pagano accords it on his [recording] Pure Imagination. From conception to execution, Pure Imagination is a refreshing, even daring journey, encompassing twelve timeless, classic songs – setting well-known standards alongside more unexpected, revealing selections. Pagano is quick to note that Pure Imagination was approached as a genuine creative release. “I wasn’t trying to follow guidelines,” he explains. “For years I’ve dealt with record companies telling me what to do. This CD is the sound of me making the decisions myself, experiencing the freedom of being able to be creative without someone else calling the shots.” Of course, his name was one of the first considered for King for A Day, because in past events and fundraisers John’s was a sound appreciated by audience and performers alike. When he sang “A Song for You” flawlessly at Love Out Loud West in 2009, one could hear a pin drop. His will be a performance not to be missed.

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Lovin' Matt Walton

Actor/Director/Producer Matt Walton puts his heart and soul into everything he does whether he is playing a heart throb turned villain on a daytime serial, acting in feature films, producing independent films, directing comedy shorts or making memorable commercial spots. He, therefore, makes quite an impression. When asked to host Brother, Brother! King for A Day, there was no hesitation on his part and we are proud to have him with us. It's no surprise that many are drawn to him, because his handsome stature is indicative of a good man with a great heart who works very hard. Matt is definitely one of the good guys with a strong creative streak. Back in 2008, he sang his heart out at Bacharach to the Future. He is back again doing his turn for HIV/AIDS awareness for King for A Day.

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Lovin' Colton Ford Out Loud

The subject of Naked Fame, Christopher Long's “intelligent and appealing documentary” which tells how Colton Ford, “wildly successful gay adult film star leaves porn behind to pursue his dream: music.” If that weren’t enough, he is now part of the stunning cast of here! TV’s The Lair as Sheriff Trout. He has generously agreed to perform at Brother, Brother! King for A Day a World AIDS Day concert and tribute to Carole King’s music. What is most striking about this formidable and multi-talented man’s modus operandi is his ability to achieve his goals flying in the face of conventional wisdom. Long time fans know that there is nothing at all conventional about the man and given his history it is a boon to Lifebeat that he is doing his part for awareness and fund-raising on their behalf.



Find out more about him here.

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Lovin' Gregory Nalbone Out Loud

Gregory Nalbone has been singing his heart out all over Manhattan. His devoted fans have populated sold out performances at The Duplex and The Laurie Beechman Theater. The move to New York City in 1991 from New Jersey when he was paying his bills by bartending and dancing turned out to be great exposure for him—literally—his image was requested by many a topnotch photographer. A serious student of both acting and voice proved to be a great boon for him and New York was the beneficiary! His modeling career has brought him into contact with the best among photographers among them the late Bill Costa, Antoine Verglas, Thomas Synnamon, Reed Massengill and Steven Meisel. His prolific modeling experience has brought Gregory into the pages of Italian Vogue, Men's Health, Exercise for Men Only, Manner Aktuell, Details, Playboy, Glamour and Dreamboys among others. This generous man will be on hand on Monday November 29th at Comix for AIDS Day awareness benefitting Lifebeat.

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Love Out Loud for LaLa Brooks

LaLa Brooks is one of the featured singers on Brother, Brother! King for A Day, a World AIDS Day concert to be held at Comix on November 29, 2010. Stay tuned ...in the meantime, our Miss Brooks will be singing at BB King's!

LaLa Brooks of The Crystals & Paula Valstein
B.B. King Blues Club & Grill

237 West 42nd Street, New York
212.997.4144

October 20, 2010 7:30PM


Doors open @ 6PM $15 Advance $17 Day of Show

* General admission seated show - First come, first seated.

Dolores "LaLa" Brooks was a member of the legendary girl group The Crystals and is best known as the lead vocalist on their hits "Then He Kissed Me" and "Da Doo Ron Ron."
Brooks was the second youngest of 11 children, born to a full-blooded Native American mother and an African-American father. She once told an interview of her mother and laughed, "I knew she was different when she couldn't comb my hair. She told me to ask a neighbor to do it. I have my father's kinky hair."

Brooks first displayed her talent by singing gospel music in church. At age seven, she took part in her siblings' gospel group called the Little Gospel Tears, where they sang in Brooklyn. While attending PS 73, she was discovered in an after-school program by Dolores "Dee Dee" Kenniebrew and her mother, who invited her to join The Crystals as a replacement for a departing member. Brooks accepted this invitation.



After leaving the Crystals, she married jazz musician Leo Morris (also known as Idris Muhammad) in 1966; the union brought two sons and two daughters. Shortly thereafter, she converted to Islam with him, going under the name Sakinah Muhammad. She then helped him write and record his material over the years. In 1968, she appeared in the original Broadway production of the musical Hair, where she performed the song "Aquarius." She would later appear in the Broadway show Two Gentlemen of Verona in 1971. She also toured with and recorded for various artists (such as the Neville Brothers, Bobby Womack and Isaac Hayes), made short appearances in films, and contributed songs to different movie soundtracks (including the 1970 film Cotton Comes to Harlem). In 1971, she reunited with Dolores "Dee Dee" Kenniebrew, Mary Thomas, and Barbara Alston as The Crystals and toured and performed in rock-&-roll revival shows. Their touring lasted until 1973 when the members decided to devote their time to their families.

In 1983, she and her family moved to London, England where she and Morris continued their careers in music. In 1990, they moved to Vienna, Austria where she continued singing and writing songs with Morris and also hosted a local radio show; they lived in Vienna until 1997. Andrew Edge sang backing vocals her on her BMG (Austria) CD LaLa Brooks & Friends in 1994.[1] In 1999, she and Morris separated but have remained on good terms since then. Brooks moved back to the United States at the turn of the century and currently resides in New York City.

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Harm Reduction

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