Review: Lisa Donahey Throws a Fun Filled BIG BIRTHDAY BASH

Actress/singer par excellence Lisa Donahey presented her Big 50th Birthday Bash at Feinstein's Upstairs at Vitello's Friday July 19 and did an encore performance Sunday July 21. I attended Friday and had a great time. Donahey has an infectious personality. Her charisma is enormous, as she talks directly to her audience, including them in the repartee - with a bevy of surprises - and has a joyous time doing it. Backed by six extraordinary musicians* with virtuoso musical director David Arana at the keyboard, the show came in at almost two hours, but was so enjoyable, the time flew by, literally.

Donahey had two glorious backup singers Lyndsay Dodoras and Billye Johnstone. There was such fine chemsitry betwee the three that they blew the roof off the building. Guest stars included Don Lucas, known for his perfect pitch and Roger Befeler, who toured the country as the Beast in Beauty and the Beast for msny years.

Donahey is known for her jazzberet mashups and told her audience at the top that being a party, the evening would be free form. In fact, she had a bucket with the songs written on pieces of paper and asked audience members to reach in and pick each tune. There were kazoos provided on all tables - that we got to play later in accompaniment - and a delightful multiple choice quiz of facts from Donahey's life and career. For the person who raised his or her hand first and guessed correctly there was a grab bag of Donahey's favorite things. For example, she asked something like the following: What was Lisa's favorite pet as a child? a. dog b. kittie c. tarantula. d. pony The correct choice was, unbelievably, a tarantula. Goes to show that this lady, even in her early years, was never ordinary. She collected a mass of Halloween costumes and showed us pictures of herself as Liza, Annie, and Frida Kahlo, among several others. She told jokes about products from the Fabulous Fifties, even though she wasn't born until 1969, like Do you Gotta go now?...Depends. If it sounds, silly, it was but that's all part of surprising an SRO crowd and pulling them in. Donahey has that natural flair for being a people person who just loves to have a good time and to spread the love to everyone around her.

Musically, the evening had mostly great country and pop tunes from the 70s and 80s. Highlights included: a rousingly rhythmic "Hawaii 5-0" as opener and closer, "Feels Like the First Time"/"Feel the Earth Move" mashup; "Try me Again" made famous by Linda Ronstadt and Trisha Yearwood; a gorgeous duet of "Another Time, Another Place" with Roger Befeler; a really cool and jiving "Dancing in the Streets" by backups Lyndsay Dodoras and Billye Johnstone; a big and bold "Just One Dream" and two original compositions by Donahey "Stranded" and "Joe".

This was a terrific evening of song and anecdotes by this uber talented singer. Audience was asked to describe Lisa Donahey by penciling in in one word on a small piece of paper. I wrote "lovable". Don't miss her whenever snd wherever she performs!

*band

David Arana - Piano

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