In-depth Interview on Common Man Musical's new cabaret series

Ed Pierce is Director/Conductor/Vocalist from Fort Atkinson, WI with over 35 years experience in the musical field.  He is the winner of the 2011 John Philip Sousa Foundation's Award and the 2014 Bandmaster of the Year Award.

Here are Ed's off the cuff comments on Common Man Musicals and their recent production of "You Can Always Come Home", a cabaret of new musical theatre.

Ed: First let me address your WONDERFUL cabaret: When I think of the audience that comes to a cabaret, they are looking for fresh, original material coupled with exciting talent: clearly this is the case with “You Can Always Come Home Cabaret”! 

You have assembled a great ensemble coupled with Jonathan’s amazing talent for composition. 

“Sandwich”, “Spiders”, and “Shut Up” are great fun coupled with contrasting social issues like “I Don’t Want”.  And of course there's the heartfelt feelings of your title song “You Can Always Come Home".  (see videos)  Kudos go to you and Jonathan and the whole team at Common Man Musicals.

 

Ed: Question: does your performance team stay together? Are you always recruiting?

Kimbirdlee: We've had 2 productions so far and the cast for each production was about 10 actors.  3 of the actors from last summer’s “Four One Act Musicals” (Thomas Slater, Kaitlyn Abdul and Kimbirdlee Fadner) were also in "You Can Always Come Home".  We invited a few of our professional friends/colleagues from the NYU-Tisch Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program, and then we wanted to include more of the talent that has grown up on Roosevelt Island and is connected with Main St. Theatre & Dance Alliance.  Our intention is to have a core group but to continue to recruit new talent all the time!  Sometimes we hold auditions that are open to the public, and sometimes (mostly for the cabarets) we will invite folks to join us.  Our challenge is widening our audience base beyond our own circles, but we can do that by consistently producing quality shows.  

    

MSTDA and Common Man Musicals are launching a “You Can Always Come Home” Cabaret series that will take place every other month now.  Our next one is Saturday, June 17th.  We are also producing one annual full length musical, which is scheduled for the first weekend of August!  We welcome any chance to get the word out about anything to do with new musical theatre!

Ed: Does Jonathan write for each performer?

Kimbirdlee: As the composer, Jonathan usually collaborates with a writer either to write a full show or single songs or short musicals, not usually with a specific actor in mind.  That said, he has written many songs and roles that are in my range and I have the honor of workshopping them, recording demos, and performing them.  I have a true love for developing new works and cherish every project! 

He is developing a full length musical, "Northanger Abbey", that will be produced in August.  He knows who will be singing a couple of those parts, so he will try to emphasize their particular strengths - which is so awesome for actors to have something made to fit them, rather than trying to mold themselves into something written for someone else!  

Ed: Do you put music into place and THEN seek out the talent to pull it off?

Kimbirdlee: When we organized this cabaret, we had an idea of who we wanted, then put the song list together and fit actors to songs.  We always have more actors than we could ever fit into a night, so that's not a problem.  One thing that I loved about "You Can Always Come Home" is that even though there were 7 women, we each were unique and covered the spectrum of "types" and weren't competing but rather highlighting each other and supporting each other!  I LOVE THAT!!!  The Common Women have such a great time together!  I'm all about individuality in artistry, which is hard in this business when auditions are often about trying to fit actors into a very specific type.

Ed: Allow me a comment: In my humble opinion, you and Jonathan are on the front lines of growing the arts with fresh material, not being afraid to experiment and push boundaries. The Cabaret format seems to be an ideal one to do so. I offer in contrast Disney: they are about to launch a new live action Beauty and the Beast, a move I applaud. But this comes at a price: the energies used are not being directed at exploring new, original and fresh material. The studio the once prized itself on its musical Renaissance with a new musical every year for ten years straight seems to have dried up. It already has been three years since their success in Frozen until Moana came out! They are sliding slowly back into the creative funk they were in after Walt died. You, Jonathan and the rest of your company have no such fears: you are not afraid to take risks and that makes your material shine! I don’t know how often you will be required to come up with different shows but speaking from the artistic point of view, you are in the right place to do the most good. Folks in the audience come out happy and eager for more.

Kimbirdlee:

THANK YOU for believing in me and us!

I have to tell you that all of the opportunities you've given me over the years have helped lead me to this point.  I am ever grateful for our musical collaborations and our friendship.  I know we will keep working together for a long long time!   

To see the entire playlist of videos from "You Can Always Come Home" Cabaret, click below:

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COMING UP:
Common Man Musicals Events
Saturday, June 17th      "You Can Always Come Home" returns to MSTDA on Roosevelt Island

Friday - Monday, August 4-7th "Northanger Abbey" (Jonathan Fadner & John Blaylock)

Kimbirdlee is the Artist-in-Residence Vocalist for Ed Pierce’s Wisconsin based band, PECB.  They have an exciting 2017 Summer Pops Concerts Series lined up!  

This year’s musical highlights will include a premier of a Jonathan Fadner composition titled "Rushing Past the World",  Disney heroines Moana, Pocahontas, Beauty and the Beast - also song of Patsy Cline, People from Funny Girl, and La Traviata, to name a few fantastic selections.   

Thursday, June 29	Concerts at Rotary Park	Rotary Waterfront Park - Jefferson, WI	7pm
Saturday, July 1	Classic Concert Series	Phoenix Park Bandshell - Delavan, WI	7 - 9pm

Sunday, July 9

Eagle Ice Cream Social

Eagle Village Park - Eagle, WI

2pm

A Musical Merry-Go-Round Summer

As I travel from NYC to Wisconsin to San Diego and back to Wisconsin in the last week, I may dare to call myself and the Fads "jetsetters"!  Life is flying fast!  So, listen up real quick - because I am super super excited to announce my Midwest summer concert series tour!  It kicks off next week with the Palmyra-Eagle Community Band in Hartland, WI.  As the Artist-In-Residence of PECB, I have the ultimate joy of singing great music in a big band setting and reenacting milestones from our musical history!  This series is so incredibly dear to me with my favorite maestro, Ed Pierce and my good ole pops, Dr. Bob. Please come and enjoy music from the Worlds' Fairs, the Broadway Stage, The Grand Opera and the Golden Era!!!

Featured in the Milwaukee Journal - 

Our concert is Thursday, June 18th at 7pm

There is a great line-up of concerts to follow, 

each with something unique to offer! 

Thursday, July 2, 7pm

Red, White and Blue Concert - Tribute!!

Jefferson, WI

Thursday, July 9, 6:30pm

Shorehaven

Shorehaven

Sunday, July 12, 2 pm

Eagle Historical Society Ice Cream Social - A Fair Extravaganza!!!

Eagle Park

Monday, August 17, 7pm

Barrie Band Shell Fort Atkinson - THE BEST SHOW of the Summer!!!

Barrie Band Shell

Check my website calender for dates:

http://kimbirdlee.net/Calendar_of_Events.html

And I'm especially excited to share my 

NEW YORK CITY Cabaret Live Video Footage so... 

stay tuned for my next blog post!  

XOXOXO - kimbirdlee

CD release

"The 40's: A Sentimental Journey"

listen to the music on kimbirdlee's soundcloud

This is such an exciting announcement for me to make - the release of a wonderful CD that I was invited to sing on, involving my dad and his lovely group of musicians.  I had the honor to perform with PECB over the summer.  

My vocal numbers include "God Bless America", "Somewhere over the Rainbow", "Till We Meet Again", "I'll be seeing you", and "Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree".

A few local newspapers published articles about it:

I'm sharing the article, along with the short but sweet biographies of Band Director Ed Pierce and my dad Bob Millers' stories below because I feel so lucky to have this opportunity!

Professional singer, actress

Vocalist Kimberly Fadner joins Palmyra-Eagle Community Band

by Ruth Ann Mueller - Palmyra Correspondent

   Palmyra - A very talented vocalist joined the PECB this past summer and is doing all the singing on the band's upcoming CD which members hope to have ready for release by Christmas.

   Kimberly Fadner, formerly Kimberly Sau Wai Miller who now lives in Oakland, Calif., is home with her 3-month-old son, Jack Robert staying over the summer and through early October with her family in Mukwonago on Eagle Springs Lake.

   "I have made it a tradition to spend much of my summers in the Mukwonago and Eagle area, as it is, hands down, the best place on earth to be during the summer," said Fadner.

   Fadner attended Mills College, an all-women's college in Oakland, Calif. and graduated in 2006 with a degree in vocal performance and dance.  She also received stage and film acting training at the American Conservatory of Theatre in San Francisco and the Aerial Arts at Kinetic Arts Center in Oakland.

   Since then she has been working as a professional singer and actress mostly in the California Bay Area and the Midwest.

   "I'm very active in musical theater, as it combines my love for singing, dancing and acting," said Fadner.  "I've worked steadily with the family friendly theater, Berkeley Playhouse, where I've appeared not only as an actress but also an aerial dancer on aerial silk and things like you see in Cirque du Soleil."

   She also sings professionally for all types of special occasions, charity events and churches.

   "Singing is my number one passion, and it has always been that way," Fadner said.

   As a little girl around age 4 or 5, her parents gave her a tape player, and she would stay up all night singing along to her tapes, and refused to listen when her parents told her to go to sleep.

   "I am fortunate to be a part of a very musical and artistic family," Fadner said, adding, "One of the best things ever is when we sit down together for a good live music session or record songs together in the studio."

   Both her husband, Jonathan Fadner, and her brother, Matthew Miller, are composers, and her father, a retired pediatrician, also is a musician who plays baritone horn in the community band.  Her mother, Charlotte, does Chinese Brush Painting which she learned in her birth town of San Francisco's Chinatown, and has passed this skill onto Kimberly.

   Fadner's relationship with PECB began a few years ago when Ed Pierce, director or the Palmyra-Eagle band, invited her to sing on a summer program with the band, in which her father plays.  She sang a Sousa song, "I've Made My Plans for the Summer" and a jazz standard, "Stardust" with her father.

   "This began my relationship with this friendly group of talented musicians," she said.

   Nothing is more gratifying to her than sharing music with others in a way that inspires positive feelings such as the music from the World War II era.

   "The concert at the Palmyra Methodist Church on Monday, Sept. 17, was exactly that," Fadner added.  "We were all experiencing the heart-warming effect of this music.  It's very touching to look out into an audience and see folks singing along to songs they can recollect firsthand."

   These, she said, are some of the best-loved songs of all time; "Somewhere Over the Rainbow", "I'll Be Seeing You" and "Till We Meet Again".

   "This music is universal.  It speaks to all of us about love and loss," Fadner said.  "There is a certain unbridled passion for life that comes from not knowing if you or your loved one will even be here tomorrow.

   "Wartime was a scary and dismal time, yet creativity and expression soared due to that sense of urgency," she added.  "Everybody in the photographs I see from this era look like movie stars.  I love that!"

   The vocalist hopes to continue to spread joy and inspiration through music and the arts, and remain active on the stage and a part of special events as a singer and performing artist.

   "I'm very excited to be a part of the upcoming community band's CD, and Ed Pierce is an absolute delight to work with!"  Fadner said.  "Everyone in the band is super welcoming and talented.  And above all that, I get the unique opportunity to share this gift of music with my father.

   "I'd love to act in one of my husband's musicals someday and release an album with my brother but, most of all, I'm looking forward to being a mom, and watching my family grow and journey through this amazing life together," she concluded.

Ed Pierce has directed the Palmyra-Eagle Community Band since 1994, the year after its founding.  He also directs the St. Paul's Lutheran School Band in Fort Atkinson, WI and gives instrumental lessons to 5th-8th Grade students.  Mr. Pierce is a Civil War buff and is a performing member and chief historian of the 1st Brigade Band, an organization which performs at historical events and community celebrations all over the state.  He is a member of the Wisconsin Band Masters, the National Band Association, and Phi Beta Mu - Professional Band Directors Fraternity.  Mr. Pierce also directs the Lebanon Community Band and is Music Consultant to Old World Wisconsin.  He and his wife live in Fort Atkinson.  Ed has been involved in CD projects with the 1st Brigade Band, the Lebanon Community Band, as well as the PECB, so he is truly a musical ambassador to Wisconsin!

Bob Miller has been playing Baritone horn with PECB since 1998, as well as providing occasional vocal support for selected favorites.  Although a pediatrician and hospital administrator (retired) by profession, music has always been a part of Bob's life, whether with community bands and choruses, or at home with his children Matt and Kimberly.  "Singing duets with Kimberly is always a joy!" he notes.  Bob and Kim sing together on "Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree" on the CD.