{"id":37861,"date":"2017-12-19T09:54:35","date_gmt":"2017-12-19T14:54:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=37861"},"modified":"2017-12-19T09:54:38","modified_gmt":"2017-12-19T14:54:38","slug":"on-stage-hardly-a-fish-out-of-water","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=37861","title":{"rendered":"On Stage: Hardly a Fish out of water"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff<\/strong>, Staff Writer, The Times<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Samantha Fish<\/p><\/div>\n

If you\u2019re prone to believing stereotypes, then you probably envision an older black male if someone referred to a veteran blues artist \u2013 that a young, white female blues veteran would be a fish out of water.<\/p>\n

And, you\u2019d be very wrong \u2013 especially if you consider Samantha Fish.<\/p>\n

Samantha Fish, who is headlining a show on December 9 at the Ardmore Music Hall (23 East Lancaster Avenue, Ardmore, 610-649-8389,\u00a0www.ardmoremusic.com<\/a>), is a veteran musician. She\u2019s also a talented singer and an adept songwriter. But, more than anything, she\u2019s a guitarist with roots in rock, blues and Americana.<\/p>\n

Fish is touring in support of her latest album, \u201cBelle of the West.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy previous album \u2018Chills and Fever\u2019 was done in Detroit and produced by Bobby Harlow,\u201d said Fish, during a recent phone interview from her home in New Orleans. \u201cThat was a rock-and-roll\/soul album with blues as its foundation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI moved to New Orleans from Kansas City nine months ago. Most or my band lives here \u2013 and it was just time for a change. New Orleans has a great vibe for songwriters.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBelle of the West\u201d was recorded in late 2015 and produced by the North Mississippi AllStars\u2019 Luther Dickinson at his father Jim Dickinson\u2019s famed Zebra Ranch studio in Coldwater, Mississippi \u2013 an area located just south of Memphis. It was the same combination used for Fish\u2019s \u201cWild Heart\u201d album that came out in 2015.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to use Luther\u2019s place,\u201d said Fish. \u201cSome of my favorite musicians are in Mississippi. I love playing with Jimbo Mathis. We used a lot of female voices too. The album had more of an Americana vibe.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Chills and Fever\u2019 came out in March and \u2018Belle of the West\u2019 was released in November. We\u2019ve been touring non-stopo all year. My band is a six-piece with horns and keyboards. We\u2019ve been doing mostly songs from \u2018Chills and Fever.\u2019 Now, we\u2019re looking at making a consistent set list with songs from both albums.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fish has music in her DNA.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy dad played and my mom sang in church,\u201d said Fish. \u201cMy dad\u2019s friends all played music. They\u2019d come over to our house and play. It was a social thing. My uncles played metal with heavy guitar. My dad\u2019s friends played country-and-western and blues.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started with drums and did that for a couple years. I\u2019m glad I did because it gave me the rhythmic foundation. When I picked up guitar \u2013 that\u2019s when I started singing. Not long after, I started writing songs.<\/p>\n

\u201cSongwriting is something you have to work on if you want to learn how to write good songs. I still play songs today that I wrote when I was 20. My songs are rock, country and soul \u2013 all bluesy even though I\u2019ve never written a standard blues song.\u201d<\/p>\n

Musical diversity has always been crucial for Fish \u2013 listening and playing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI listened to a lot of soul music — people like Otis Redding and Ray Charles,\u201d said Fish. \u201cI was also influenced by blues acts — especially North Mississippi blues — people like R.L. Burnside and Junior Kimbrough.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith my guitar playing, I felt accomplished on guitar when I played as a trio and felt up to par. With a trio, there is no place to hide.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCurrently, I\u2019m playing with a six-piece band but it will be a seven-piece next tour with the addition of a violin player. I\u2019ve been doing a trio my entire career \u2013 playing with a trio for a decade. I\u2019ve always wanted to have a bigger band with lap steel and pedal steel. I could hear it when I was writing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe band I have now has two horns, keys, bass, drums and guitar. It was the right time to do it. It\u2019s exciting because I can do other things. I can really focus on singing a little more. I\u2019m just trying to do stuff that works best with the band I have.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for Samantha Fish \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/TRILQk5ydU0<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show at Ardmore Music Hall, which has Louie Fontaine opening, will start at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $18.<\/p>\n

In the long history of Broadway musicals, \u201cMy Fair Lady\u201d is well-established as one of the all-time classics.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

My Fair Lady<\/p><\/div>\n

In March 2018, for the first time in 25 years, Lerner & Loewe\u2019s \u201cMy Fair Lady\u201d returns to Broadway in a lavish new production from Lincoln Center Theater.<\/p>\n

Area theater fans don\u2019t have to wait three months or travel to New York to enjoy a production of the timeless musical because now through December 23, Quintessence Theatre Group is presenting its production of \u201cMy Fair Lady\u201d at the Sedgwick Theater (7137 Germantown Avenue, Mount Airy, www.quintessencetheatre.org<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\u201cMy Fair Lady\u201d tells the story Henry Higgins, a celebrated professor of phonetics, who makes a bet that he can pass off a lower-class flower girl from Covent Garden as a duchess at the Ambassador\u2019s Ball. By dressing her in expensive clothing, improving her manners, and teaching her how to speak correctly, Higgins transforms Eliza Doolittle into a lady.<\/p>\n

Following the Greek myth of Pygmalion, Higgins becomes enamored with his creation, now the most eligible lady in London. Adapted from George Bernard Shaw\u2019s \u201cPygmalion,\u201d with songs by Lerner and Loewe, \u201cMy Fair Lady\u201d is known as \u201cthe perfect musical.\u201d \u00a0Its theme of a woman overcoming enormous odds to gain her independence despite the machinations of a troubled genius\u00a0is as applicable today as it was in 1912 when the play takes place.<\/p>\n

The original 1956 production won six Tony Awards including Best Musical and ran for 2,717 performances, making it, at the time, the longest-running musical in Broadway history. The show features such classic songs as \u201cI Could Have Danced All Night,\u201d \u201cThe Rain in Spain,\u201d \u201cWouldn\u2019t It Be Loverly\u201d and \u201cOn the Street Where You Live.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Leigha Kato<\/p><\/div>\n

Leigha Kato plays the key role of Eliza in the Quintessence Theatre Group\u2019s current production.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very familiar with \u2018My Fair Lady,\u2019\u201d said Kato, during a recent phone interview. \u201cI grew up with the show. I was seven when I first saw the movie. Eliza has always been my biggest dream role.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe, like me, is very scrappy. She always has this strength in her. She is a prodigy and we try to incorporate that into our show. She becomes this fresh woman after Henry Higgins takes her on. I identify with her spunk.\u201d<\/p>\n

Playing the role of Eliza can be challenging for an actress.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis production doesn\u2019t have an orchestra \u2013 just two pianos,\u201d said Kato, a native of Orange County, California who graduated from Philadelphia\u2019s University of the Arts.<\/p>\n

\u201cVocally, I can sing the part. But, it\u2019s difficult because we don\u2019t have mics. The acting part I feel really comfortable with. I definitely make it my own.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone is open to see what Quintessence is doing with it. Our adaptation is really cool and new and fresh. We\u2019re doing it more in modern times. It\u2019s actually set now. And, my Eliza is not as timid.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fans seem to always love \u201cMy Fair Lady,\u201d whether it\u2019s a classic stage performance, a movie or a modern adaptation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe music is really timeless,\u201d said Kato. \u201cI have certain memories with each of these songs. I like to think it hits memories with the audience. And , people love the story \u2013 the story of someone being able to find their strength in a new way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Quintessence Theatre Group\u2019s production of \u201cMy Fair Lady\u201d will run now through December 23 at the Sedgwick Theater. Tickets cost $18-$40.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff, Staff Writer, The Times If you\u2019re prone to believing stereotypes, then you probably envision an older black male if someone referred to a veteran blues artist \u2013 that a young, white female blues veteran would be a fish out of water. And, you\u2019d be very wrong \u2013 especially if you consider Samantha […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":37863,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8457],"tags":[7426,10735,10736,10256],"class_list":["post-37861","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-d-arts-entertainment","tag-featured","tag-my-fair-lady","tag-quintessence-theatre-group","tag-samantha-fish"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37861","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=37861"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37861\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37862,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37861\/revisions\/37862"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/37863"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=37861"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=37861"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=37861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}