SoloFest at Luna Stage Dec 8-17

For two weeks this December, Luna Stage is proud to present five extraordinary solo performances from five singular New Jersey artists. From the legacy of female codebreakers in World War II (Once In...Never Out!—June Ballinger) to the intense absurdity of the social work system (Call Me Crazy: The Diary of a Mad Social Worker—Helena D. Lewis), from a musical celebration of extraordinary black women (Phenomenal Woman—Ami Brabson) to a gently humorous coming of age story in the wake of mental illness (Panther Hollow—David Lee White), all culminating with a musical performance by a reluctant holiday jam-band (a concert featuring Trent Armand Kendall), there is something for everyone! Each performance is sold individually For more info and tickets go to www.lunastage.org or call the box office (973) 395-5551.

Performance Schedule for SoloFest:

December 8th at 8pm Ami Brabson, Phenomenal Woman

December 9th at 8pm Helena D. Lewis Call Me Crazy: Diary of a Mad Social Worker

December 10th at 3pm Ami Brabson, Phenomenal Woman

December 10th at 7pm Helena D. Lewis, Call Me Crazy: Diary of a Mad Social Worker

December 15th at 8pm David Lee White, Panther Hollow

December 16th at 8pm June Ballinger, Once In...Never Out!

December 17th at 3pm Trent Armand Kendall, A Reluctant Holiday Jam Session

About Phenomenal Women with Ami Brabson

With a little help from strong women like writer/activist Ruby Dee, songstress Phoebe Snow and Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Ami Brabson explores the many facets of being a phenomenal woman. This evening of music, poetry and storytelling celebrates women who have dared to speak their minds. Phenomenal Woman stars Ami Brabson and features Corey Wachala on piano, Christian Fabian on bass, Brian Crooks on drums, and direction by Corinna Sowers Adler.

About Call me Crazy...with Helena Lewis

After being assigned more cases than she can handle, social worker Lewis has a nervous breakdown, tries to kill her boss, and is committed for psychiatric observation. It's all in a day's work. While being restrained, Lewis recalls her true-life experiences working with prostitutes, drug addicts and prisoners, portraying twenty-five different characters from pimps to menopausal women. CALL ME CRAZY is a funny and moving look at the highs and lows of working for peanuts while trying to save the world one client at a time.

About Panther Hollow with David Lee White

Part stand-up comedy confessional, part examination of the cultural taboo of mental illness, Panther Hollow details storyteller and monologuist David Lee White's struggle with love, sex, and clinical depression while he was 25 and living in a one-hundred-year-old house under a bridge in the eerie Panther Hollow neighborhood in Pittsburgh.

Once In Never...Never Out with June Ballinger

An 80-year-old British former codebreaker at Bletchley Park looks back on her life and all the secrets about her work and identity that she has held onto for 50 years. Will she ever be truly known by her children? How will she be remembered? Was her contribution worth the sacrifices?

Written and performed by June Ballinger, this piece is inspired by her own mother’s work at Bletchley Park during WWII. The story was created through memories, letters, and a diary discovered after her mother’s death in 2013.

About Reluctant Holiday Jam! with Trent Armand Kendall

They’re snowed in and

the band is “SCROOGED”!

Ripping through the hits of...

Louis Armstrong, Mariah Carey, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Sam & Dave, Ella Fitzgerald, Donny Hathaway, Johnny Mathis, Prince, Annie Ross, Blood Sweat & Tears, Manhattan Transfer, Luther Vandross, Lee Ann Womack, Maroon 5… and more contemporary favorites!

Trent Armand Kendall - book & vocals

Martin Askinazi - arrangements & bass

Louie DiNatale - piano

Stu Seiderman - saxophone

Paul Somer - trombone

Frank Rizzo - drums