Joan's Shows
Project 142 is proud to present JOAN JAFFE together with MATT BAKER and special guest CHARLES BARAN in SOMETHING COOL, a concert of Cool Jazz, Cabaret and Comedy, an evening featuring three award winning artists. The concert is being presented in the beautiful Concert Space at Beethoven Pianos (NYC) and is guaranteed to be a particularly special event.
JOAN JAFFE, singer/comedienne, Winner -Best Musical Comedy Performer- MAC Award
MATT BAKER, internationally renowned jazz pianist, recipient of the 2016 Bistro Award.
CHARLES BARAN, singer/comedian, won the MAC Award -Best Male Debut- 2016.
SOME AUDIENCE QUOTES
IT WAS A GREAT SHOW -- thanks to JOAN JAFFE, MATT BAKER and CHARLES BARAN, with thanks also to SCOT ALBERTSON who produces the shows. We thoroughly enjoyed the evening, Jo Ryman Scott
The concert was awesome!! - Definitely true!!! Wayne Mullin
IT WAS A WONDERFUL SOIREE NIGHT AT BEETHOVEN IT WAS A GREAT SHOW--PHENOMENAL IDEA FULL OF VARIETY AND ENTERTAININGAS ALL GET-OUT I SUPPOSE THAT DATES ME AT TIMES I HAD TROUBLE HEARING - BUT THAT'S BECAUSE I HAVE TROUBLE HEARING I COULD NEVER DO A SHOW WITHOUT A MIc ANYMORE BRAVO!!!!!! Edie Stokes
you were terrific!! AND looking beautiful!!!! Ben Cassara
Great job by all! Ted Arthur
great show Corky Romash
Awesome show! Dawn Hillen
It was great to see you again last night. Thank you for inviting me to your concert. You were wonderful and I enjoyed it very much! Love to you, Rabbi Jill
I enjoyed the entire show. What a good idea it was to have the men participate. I didn't know Matt sings; and Charles was beyond wonderful in that Pelican song. But you, my friend, were definitely the star. Your singing was wonderful, better and better. I enjoyed it all. Memory and Acapulco were funnier than ever. Your activity in Memory was most appropriate and funny (to me). On the serious side, I particularly liked Something Cool and Not Exactly Paris. In the later, I remember having strong feelings of not exactly sadness. But I felt I could picture that relationship pretty clearly. I wish you continued enjoyment in your singing and performing. Michele Zalkin
Joan Jaffe’s FOOD is a smorgasbord of comedy and music guaranteed to make you laugh. You’ll thrill to hear Joan sing songs about FOOD – most funny, some very tasteful and some obscure. The patter written by Joan, is so good – there won’t be a dry seat in the house – you’ll hunger for more.
Internationally acclaimed Matt Baker is the musical director and arranger for Joan’s show, and Adam Kabak is on Double Bass. Consultant for the show – and additional lyrics – Rob Lester.
PRESS QUOTES
“A smorgasbord of comedy and music. The emphasis is on comedy…..the show was packed, and the house laughed loudly and often cheered! - I once wrote that watching Jaffe...was a master class in show business! Jaffe is flying high and is the perfect remedy for stormy weather and the blues!” Joe Regan, Jr. - Theatre Pizzazz
“I can tell you, without equivocation, that “FOOD” is easily her best cabaret effort yet - heartwarming and hilarious, and her musical chops have grown exponentially. …FOOD is a perfect treat for the upcoming holidays” Kevin Scott Hall - Kevin On Kabaret/edge.com
“the lady is every inch as charming and effervescent as always……As expected, Jaffe is quick with the jokes in between songs. And Joan Jaffe is, as always, absolutely scrumptious.” Andrew Martin - CabaretScenes
“Her banter is punctuated with a clown’s honking horn - a prop she uses just in case someone didn’t get the joke….Audience members were lapping it up, and had hearty appetites for Joan’s delivery…..her choices of songs showed a carefully selected menu…Joan Jaffe’s world is stuffed full of tasteful humor and is sure to please.” Ruth Antrich - Times Square Chronicles
Joan Jaffe’s MAN-ha-ha-ha-TAN is a tribute to New York and is now expanded to a full length presentation perfect for Off-Broadway or Regional Theatre.
JOAN JAFFE (moon* of stage, screen & TV) 2012 MAC Award WINNER, 2010 MAC Award nominee and named one of the Top 15 in New York Cabaret 2010 by Kevin Scott Hall – EdgeNewYork.com, brought her new show Joan Jaffe’s MAN-ha-ha-ha-TAN to Manhattan and won rave reviews from the critics.
Smart funny New York songs by Murray Grand, Kander & Ebb, Sue Matsuki to mention a few, will make you laugh. The smart funny script written by Joan, is so good – there won’t be a dry seat in the house. Multi-award winning Jerry Scott is the musical director and arranger for Joan’s show, as well as her critically acclaimed CD JOAN JAFFE SINGS FUNNY…
*(moon – not a star – yet)
PRESS QUOTES
“Joan Jaffe has a funny bone to pick with New York…” – Time Out
“Mercurial comedic sprite - jolly jokester Joan Jaffe is a joy. - She could make an audience die laughing without seemingly trying. Such is this mastery of mischievous shtick. - Joan Jaffe has her own basket of goodies and charms.”
Rob Lester - CabaretScenes
"Extraordinarily skilled comedienne-singer Joan Jaffe - has the energy of a hyped up rock star - Nobody else does this piece of very special material (Too Old To Die Young) better than Joan Jaffe. - Jaffe left us wanting more of this exceptional woman's talent."
Joe Regan, Jr. - Times Square Chronicles
"She's even funnier in this new romp - she had a captivated audience hootin' and hollerin' at her stand-up stuff and several comedy songs - Not just a clown, she proves her versatility with standards, particularly a compelling take on Vernon Duke's 'Autumn In New York'."
Jan Wallman - NiteLifeExchange.com
"Joan not only sang the heck out of my MAC Award Winning song (One Stop Shopping) - she got it. She got every single joke. With a CD named,"Joan Jaffe Sings Funny", she should know from funny and she does! A public thank you to you Joan for doing the song and for doing it justice."
Sue Matsuki - Sue's Views, Reviews & News-CabaretHotline
New York: Viva la Joan! Good news for the city that never sleeps! The fun starts when popular musical comic Joan Jaffe (who never sleeps!) brings her new cabaret show, “Joan Jaffe Sings Funny…Part II!”
Along with some surprises, “Joan Jaffe Sings Funny…Part II” will focus on mostly fun songs and banter, with four outstanding comic songs written by award winning songwriter Francesca Blumenthal, one by Alan Arkin, and some sassy rarities that only Joan could pull off.
Ms. Jaffe has understudied some of the theater’s “healthiest” women. She and husband Hal Blankenship were featured as Burt and Lizzie in the award winning film “The Savages,” starring Philip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney. She has also been featured in Disney’s “Enchanted,” “Approaching Union Square” and “The Producers.” She has appeared on Broadway in “Much Ado About Nothing” and “Bajour.” Off-Broadway, she was seen in “Trophy Wife,” “The George M. Cohan Revue” and “Yankee Doodle Boy.” On television, she has appeared on “Saturday Night Live,” “Late Night With Conan O’Brien” and Comedy Central.
Ms. Jaffe, along with husband Mr. Blankenship, have frequently collaborated and brought their riotous cabaret act (“The Joan & Hal Show”) to venues around the country, with critical success including an SRO night at the legendary Friar’s Club. Recently, they co-hosted the popular Algonquin Salon Series along with Mark Janas and Peter Napolitano to a house packed with the cabaret coterie.
Musical director Jerry Scott remains one of Manhattan’s most beloved nightlife fixtures with a long history of cramming crowds into numerous venues throughout the years. He is also the multi-award winner of a Back Stage Bistro Award, two Critics’ Choice Awards as Entertainer of the Year, and ten MAC Awards.
Savvy director Hal Blankenship is known as an oxymoron. He is a working actor with extensive Off-Broadway experience in tours and regional theaters in many shows including “Annie Get Your Gun,” “Gigi,” “Cat On A Hot Tin Roof” and “Gin Game.”
This special evening is sure to sell quickly. Early reservations suggested.
*Original Musical Direction by Jerry Scott
**Original Stage Direction by Hal Blankenship
PRESS QUOTES
New York Cabaret’s Best 2010 - (the Top 15) - JOAN JAFFE - The veteran actress put her acclaimed show JOAN JAFFE SINGS FUNNY.. to a recording. Picking comical gems both old and new - and often rare - Jaffe brought delightful delivery to both the live show and the CD. Kevin Scott Hall, “Kevin Kabaret”- EdgeNewYork.com
..on-the-mark vital recital...a modest, merry breath of fresh air.. One needn’t struggle for words to describe the work of JOAN JAFFE on her album. It works. She is so deliciously amusing. Rob Lester –Talkin’ Broadway Sound Advice
2010 MAC Award nominee JOAN JAFFE, who performs an evening no less than howling funny and uncannily impressive...the act emerges as an absolute triumph. Andrew Martin - NiteLifeExchange.com
Joan Jaffe has recently done shows of her own and released a great CD and I have picked tracks from her CD several times on PING! Stu HamstraCabaret Hotline-on-line
JOAN is a cabaret singer with lots of drama...entertaining tunes infused with a large dose of humor...Joan gives us pages of her life experiences with stark realities...funny and like a stage show. Oscar Groomes - O’s Place Jazz Magazine
JOAN JAFFE has been making quite a splash this year with her cabaret show, JOAN JAFFE SINGS FUNNY.... She was nominated for a MAC Award for Musical Comedy and now...the CD!....a wild ride this year.. Kevin Scott Hall, “Kevin Kabaret"- EdgeNewYork.com
..an endearing, enduring “old school” pal of a gal, determined to bring chuckles and cheer. It works...Three cheers for the daffy JAFFE...she’s plucky and just ducky... effective with an understated but heartfelt ballad, too...the ageless sprite delight called JOAN JAFFE has mucho energy Rob Lester - NiteLifeExchange.com
Anyone who wants to see what a class cabaret act can be should not miss JOAN JAFFE SINGS FUNNY... Joe Regan, Jr. - Cabaret Scenes
JOAN JAFFE is one funny lady..utterly delightful..She gets all the laughs in the brilliant Blumenthal numbers..Her timing is masterful. Jan Wallman - Cabaret Exchange
She’s a totally delightful and engaging performer! John Hoglund - Theatrescene.net
JOAN JAFFE is FUNNY!..at her best in this new show..the top of her form..we need her to brighten up our nights. Jan Wallman - NiteLifeExchange.com
..part stand-up, part burlesque, part dance and all good fun. Stu Hamstra - Cabaret Hotline