Floanne Returns to Joe's Pub With EDITH PIAF ALIVE, 3/24

The French singer and actress Floanne returns to Joe's Pub on Sunday March 24 at 7:30pm with a new edition of her still unfolding Edith Piaf project, "Edith Piaf Alive."

"I am not Piaf, but it's her music that makes me feel alive," says Floanne, who, in addition to Joe's Pub, has performed her solo shows at the Metropolitan Room, The Triad and Symphony Space. She has also appeared at the Shrine Auditorium alongside Liz Callaway, Debbie Gravitte and Jody Watley in "Loving the Silent Tears." "As a child I felt connected to the songs of Edith Piaf, her sensibility as a woman and a songwriter. She didn't seem like she came from another time, and yes I think she still speaks eloquently to our times, to my generation." Floanne, 29, is joined on stage by the musicians Will Holshouser on accordion, Alby Roblejo on percussion, and Ian James on piano.

Herself a French farm girl from Grenoble whose own bohemian dreams have led her far from home, the New York-based Floanne infuses her dramatic evocation of Piaf's art with a contemporary energy, comedy and rhythm. Her mixing of song, theatre, dance and opera, is meant to amplify the concert experience, to bring it more in line with French music hall going back to the last century and even beyond.

Trained as a nightclub chanteuse under the mentorship of Lina Koutrakos and Daniel Isengart, Floanne also trains in dance and improv comedy, and as a coloratura soprano under the watchful eye of April Evans. Director Jankell was a creative executive in musical development at Disney Theatrical Productions and an associate artistic director of the Williamstown Theater Festival.

Piaf died at age 47 in October 1963, after a turbulent life and career. From the streets of Paris where she performed as a girl, to international stardom, Piaf struggled to balance her bohemian, non-conformist values with a longing to connect and belong.

Floanne's music Web site is www.floanne.com Her acting work can be seen on www.FloAnkah.com

Floanne's "Edith Piaf Alive" performs one-night-only, Sunday March 24 at 7:30pm, at Joes' Pub, 425 Lafayette Street (at Astor Place). The music charge is $20, plus a $12 food/drink minimum. For reservations call 212/539-8778. For more information or to order online visit www.joespub.com