Interview: At Home With Leslie Orofino

In a quiet town north of Manhattan lives a mother, a grandmother, a wife, a sister, the daughter of a strong woman, and the daughter of a determined couple. She is Leslie Orofino and she has been a nightclub singer for over three decades. Inspired by and mentored by a legendary club singer, Orofino has taken the lessons she learned from that singer and turned them into a life filled with the desire to entertain others... even at the wedding altar.

A fan since the first Orofino cabaret show I saw, I emailed this woman for all seasons and asked if she wanted to talk about the boas, the kiddie winkies, and the painting of her legendary idol, and, naturally (and luckily!), Leslie Orofino said, "I do."

This interview was conducted digitally and is reproduced with minimal edits.

Name: Leslie Orofino
First Cabaret Show (Just Friends with Leslie Orofino and Clare Bathe ), 1987, Plaza Hotel, N.Y.C.
Most Recent Cabaret Show: SHINE ( the lives and music of 4 incredible women, Dorothy Fields, Alberta Hunter, Peggy Lee, and Lady Gaga who found their strength in music and became the stars that still shine today ), 2019 at Don't Tell Momma and Magnolia Room

Website or Social Media Handles: www.leslieorofino.com and leslieorofinojp.com

Leslie Orofino, welcome to Broadway World! Thanks for chatting with us today.

You are a leading force in the community when it comes to the power of positivity and optimism - how have you and the family managed these last ten months, and how's everyone doing these days?

Believe me, I'm not always feeling optimistic, especially with Covid and the news but that's sweet of you to say. Most of the time though, I am a pretty positive person who does like to look for the light down the road so to speak. I guess I'm basically wired that way. My parents taught me how to handle life with their great example of spirituality and how they dealt with really tough situations. One example of strength that stands out, is when my dad was given up for missing in action in WW II and declared dead after being blown out of two tanks and a prisoner of war, my mom refused to give up. She wrote to dad every single day for over a year. When dad finally returned home, they were advised not to marry as he had PTSD. She again refused to listen and they were happily married for 60 years and had four daughters.

Some of the things I do to keep a good frame of mind is meditate every day with my husband Tom. Prior to meditating, we read from the Daily Word which is a wonderful little booklet that has a spiritual message for every single day. I also try to walk on the beach or ride my stationary bike. Teaching piano and voice virtually has been a real blessing. It gives me a sense of purpose. I used to go to private homes locally but when things closed down back in March all the teachers went into a panic. Surprisingly, it has worked out beautifully. I have some students I've never met in person but we really have a wonderful connection.

I'm happy to say my family is all doing well. The five grandchildren are keeping busy with art classes, sports, and hybrid learning. My daughter Liz, right before Christmas, did get Covid but thank God she had a very mild case! She is a very successful real estate agent in PA. and my son, Tom is a partner in a law firm in Manhattan.

You are a proud grandmother who is always happy to share photos and stories about the little 'uns. Did you have to be apart from them during the crisis? And more importantly - are you able to see them now?

That has been the absolute hardest part of this pandemic not being with our grandchildren as much as we were before. Since March of 2020, we have seen the five (soon to be six in June this year) in NYC and Pa. several times when we were outside wearing masks for occasional weekends at our farmhouse and also visiting them at their homes. This Christmas our son and his family came to visit and we enjoyed each other tremendously. However, since Christmas with the variation in Covid, I've decided until the warm weather arrives and we get our vaccines we better put visiting off. Boy, do we miss them. However, we all stay in touch via FaceTime and I'm teaching piano to my 6-year-old Colin and reading the Magic Tree House series with 8-year-old Connor. They truly are the joy of our lives.

You have one of the really interesting stories in the cabaret community. You are a feather boa wearing, Sophie Tucker singing, voice teaching, Justice of the Peace Is it safe to assume that the first of your vocations to reach out to you was that of a performer? At what point did you add piano and voice teaching to your list of skills?

I know I do a lot of different things but I enjoy them all. I started out as a singer. That's how my dad and I communicated. We didn't do board games or sports but it was always music. He was a fabulous singer classically trained and sang in many musicals and Carnegie Hall. He always encouraged me to sing and was my greatest fan. He signed me up to sing when I was about 12 and was my accompanist at our beach club and that was my first experience. I hated it. It scared me to death. I can remember singing, I Only Have Eyes For You but my eyes were red from crying before I went on. I looked like a leopard with red spots on my face. I didn't want to perform. But... in high school, I started to absolutely love singing and performing. I wasn't a great student but here was something I could do !! As an actress/singer I've had many leading roles but some of my favorites were the Mother Abbess in The Sound Of Music, Miss Hannigan in Annie, Sharon McLonergan in Finian's Rainbow (Yip Harburg held my hand and came backstage) at St. Bart's in NYC and Kay Goodman in NiteClub Confidential at the Westport Playhouse. I started off in musicals but have remained in cabaret for the last 25 years. I've had the great joy of singing across the country from the Algonquin's Oak Room (my dad was my favorite guest singer), to the Silverado Country Club in Ca. including practically every club in Manhattan. I was always primarily a wife and mom and secondarily a performer. I added teaching voice and piano to students in their homes or mine about 15 years ago. . I love music and the joy it brings to so many children and adults and certainly to their teacher.

You have tended, in your work as a singer, to lean into the glamour, the fashion, the sexiness of being a woman, but always with strength and empowerment. From where did those instincts develop?

Well, I think those instincts come from my mother who was very strong and glamorous in her own way. Mom loved fashion and was quite the businesswoman becoming a super successful real estate agent. She also had a deliciously wild sense of humor. Another empowering example was quite by mistake. As a girl in St. Mary's high school, I remember coming home one afternoon and flipping on some old movie. As I stood watching, in my uniform of knee socks, grey skirt, and blue blazer, a woman with blond hair piled on top of her head, not particularly beautiful was having so much fun being bad! The fabulous, Mae West. Loved her. Years later, Julie Wilson became a very important influence in my life and was the essence of fun-loving sexiness. I first met Julie when I started out in cabaret over 30 years ago and I remember her telling me she would come to my cabaret show at 88's. I never thought she really would actually show up and as I nervously paced up and down before I went on, she arrived, came up to me pushed my bangs aside, and said, " Now go out there and have fun." Well, I've been doing that ever since. I loved her so much and she became a personal friend of my family's for many years. We would attend every show she ever did and share many visits to Ct. and birthday parties. I remember Tom and I drove to my parents when my dad was not feeling well at the end of his life and Julie came to visit in 2005. When we arrived, Julie didn't have her boa with her but grabbed a blanket in place of it threw it around her shoulders, and sang, I'm A Bad Bad Bad Bad Woman But I'm Good Good Good For You. Dad loved it.

Your most recent show, SHINE, is one that pays tribute to strong and individual women. What was your own trajectory as an emboldened woman, and is it fair to say you are a feminist?

I come from a background of very strong women. My mom was a take action type of a woman. When the Depression hit and mom's family was totally broke she grabbed the first job she could ( bridal gown model in NYC ) and gave every penny to her family. No poor me attitude and that's what she taught her four daughters. When my dad lost his job when we were about to all go to college mom became a real estate agent and adored that job. She worked till she was almost 90 and was very successful. I like strong women who are not beaten down with life and the barriers we have to face. In my show SHINE, I selected four women who showed enormous strength and their strength came from their music. They wouldn't let anything stop them. Dorothy Fields was forbidden to go into show business but wouldn't listen and had a career that spanned 50 years, wrote over 400 songs, and was the first woman to win an Academy Award for songwriting. Alberta Hunter grew up in a house of ill repute, looked around and said that's not going to be my future, and became an international sensation as a cabaret/singer-songwriter. Peggy Lee decided as a child that she would hop a train and that train would take her to her future. It did. She had a career that spanned seven decades became an international hit as a singer/songwriter/actress and composer. She wouldn't back down and sued Disney for her songs in Lady And The Tramp and won millions. Lady Gaga is today's icon actress/singer/songwriter and shares the same backbone and strength as the other ladies in SHINE. She has put mental illness out front by sharing her own story of courage and determination.

I guess you could say I'm a feminist absolutely.

How was your work as a Justice of the Peace born?

I was at my god daughter's wedding a few years ago and did a reading for her ceremony. Her dear friend came up to me afterward and asked if I was a Justice Of The Peace or ever thought of being one. When I checked it out at my Town Hall in CT. they said it was a political appointment and they just happened to have a possible opening for a Democrat. That was moi and I've loved this job. What could be happier than marrying people in love? I go throughout Ct. and have married couples at country clubs, beaches, back yards, woods, front porches ... you name it .. I'm there.

Actors have to discover, to develop their voice as an artist ~ is that a process that a Justice Of The Peace goes through as well?

I believe it is and the more I officiate weddings and create the ceremonies the better I get at it. I've been doing it now for five years.

Of course, being an actress/singer and the years of experience I have had being one is something that helps in delivering the ceremony and I certainly do not get stage fright. I can help my couples with that too if they tend to be a little timid.

So, in quarantine, you took up the art of painting. Put a picture in my head of that experience.

I always wanted to paint and one gorgeous day last September, my friend who is an artist, asked me to come to her home. She has a huge backyard garden and provided me with a canvas and paints. Joannie said to look upwards at the sky and paint clouds. She instructed me gently with just a suggestion here and there and I got such a thrill from it that something clicked in my head like when I sing ....it makes me happy !! So since September, I paint every few days and am delighted that I have found this new creative outlet. The time flies when I'm doing it. So far, I've painted divas (including Julie Wilson), my five grandchildren, several outdoor scenes and am in the process of painting a typical New England scene.

What is the source of your deep well of optimism and hopefulness?

The source of my hopefulness and optimism comes from my parents, my dear husband, my children, grandchildren, and close friends. Also, and very important to me is my spirituality.

Leslie, have you ever worn a feather boa while conducting a wedding ceremony?

NO, but I am going to do that and it's a great idea !!! How about you and Pat renewing your vows? I'll wear it just for you and throw in a song too.

Thank you so much for chatting with us today, I can't wait till the clubs are open again and we can see your next show.

I just want to say I could not have ever done cabaret without the wonderful men in my life. Daryl Kojak, musical director for many shows through the years including Cocktails With Cole and Kenneth Gartman as musical director for SHINE. Boots Maleson on bass for every show and my terrific director for the last 20 years Louis Pietig.

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