Feature: The Days Of Cabaret Gratitude - Day Ten - The Sisters
Broadway World Cabaret looks at the people for whom we are grateful.
By: Stephen Mosher Nov. 10, 2023
The Days Of Cabaret Gratitude
Day Ten: The Sisters - Catherine Porter and Elizabeth Ward Land
Women empowering other women has taken a front seat, of late. In fact, there have been women living and working with a concentration on raising up other women for years, decades, even centuries, but the unfortunate flip side to the story is that show business has had a strange fascination with pitting women against one another as a storyline staple. On stage (Old Acquaintance), on film (All About Eve) and on television (SMASH), there are always storylines of women fighting each other - the three examples given are only three among hundreds, even thousands. These days, though, there is a major focus, everywhere, on Sisterhood, and that is an excellent and fine thing.
For Catherine Porter and Elizabeth Ward Land, sisterhood existed from day one.
Two singing actresses with an affinity for an English musical-making Lord, Elizabeth and Catherine met in 1992 when they were both touring with THE MUSIC OF Andrew Lloyd Webber STARRING Michael Crawford. (EWL: “We loved singing next to each other then and we still try and sing with each other whenever we can!”) (CP: “We took an instant liking to each other on that wonderful tour, relished singing together, and here we are, 30 years later, still singing in harmony and still the dearest of friends.”) Best friends since, the two women who call one another “Kit” (with a Scottish accent, when telling the story) have spent these last three decades being there for each other on the stage and off. (CP: “She’s a loving, supportive, magical friend who has helped me through some challenging times. Every one needs an Elizabeth Ward Land in their life!”) (ELW: “Catherine was beside me the day my first album had its Barnes and Noble release concert back in 2008 - which was also the day my father died.”) Although both women pursue their personal careers, with Catherine leaning into the writing these days, and Elizabeth sticking with the acting (including a recent stint in Sunset Boulevard, a play Porter has also done - Lord Lloyd Webber again), the best mates will always turn up to sing together. When Porter did a Birdland concert with her beau, rock icon Jim Vallance, Land was on hand for a trio that featured Susie Mosher, a devoted fan and supporter of both performers. And not only does Catherine appear in (almost) all of the performances of STILL WITHIN THE SOUND OF MY VOICE, she was there to assist Liz and collaborator Joel Waggoner in the development of the concert. The threesome will be doing the program in Florida, a program that Catherine says has been one of the highlights of her recent years.
And on the subject of recent years, both of these besties have a common goal to inspire others, a goal that has been put to use, recently. Catherine has been active as a writer, using her voice and her experience with cancer to inspire others, and Elizabeth went straight to YouTube during the pandemic, producing music and videos to keep people feeling connected. As artists, as women, as sisters, Elizabeth and Catherine have every appearance of being fated together. Indeed, their friendship has, so, informed their work and, indeed, their brands, that the professional association is always in the air. People think of them together, like the other great duos of show business and real life. In an email to this writer, Catherine Porter referred to Elizabeth Ward Land as “that radiant sister of mine” and that sort of sums it up in one clever and heartfelt turn of phrase. These empowering women set an example of radiant sisterhood that everyone should use as the standard to which all our relationships can rise, if given the time and effort. In that, Elizabeth and Catherine have empowered us all.
Read a Broadway World Cabaret review of Elizabeth Ward Land HERE.
Read a Broadway World Cabaret review of Catherine Porter HERE.
Elizabeth Ward Land will appear at The THEATREZONE in Naples, FL for two shows of STILL WITHIN THE SOUND OF MY VOICE: The Songs of Linda Ronstadt (4pm and 7:30pm) on January 15, 2024. She will also be at the Dickens Parlour Theatre in Bethany Beach, DE on November 10-11, 2023, as well as on cruise lines all over the world as a Guest Entertainer in 2024.
The studio recording of STILL WITHIN THE SOUND OF MY VOICE is available on all streaming sites, as well as EWL's debut recording FIRST HARVEST (both released by LMLMusic).
Catherine Porter's latest (this comes directly from Catherine herself):
Upcoming for me? More shows with Liz, luckily! I’ve also been doing shows with Norbert Leo Butz of late and I look forward to our continued collaboration. I am also nearing completion on an album of songs with Seth Barrish, who is an extraordinary teacher (he and his lovely wife, Lee Brock are co-Artistic Directors of THE Barrow Group), wonderful writer, director and fabulous piano player. We don’t have a release date yet, but we hope to launch it into the world early 2024.
More immediately, I have a solo project release coming up! My co-write, WE WANT PEACE, with Kevin Malpass, a long time collaborator, will be make its debut on November 23rd!
Catherine’s pronouns are she/her/hers.
Elizabeth's pronouns are she/her/hers.
Elizabeth can be found online at the following links:
Website: HERE
LinkTree: HERE
Instagram: HERE
Facebook: HERE
Threads: HERE
Spotify: HERE
apple Music: HERE
YouTube: HERE
Catherine can be found online at the following links:
Instagram: HERE
Twitter: HERE
YouTube: HERE
Photos by Stephen Mosher
Comments
Videos