Get Ready, New York
Celia Berk Sings Elizabeth Sullivan
By Peter Leavy
Hey, you New Yorkers and any of you others who can get there by Friday, December 8, 2023. Here’s your chance to catch a new show by the knockout vocalist Celia Berk focusing on the songs of Elizabeth Sullivan, that well-termed “Mother of singers, mistress of song.”
Top billing, of course, goes to Celia Berk. Not only is it her show, but from the time of her New York debut at the Metropolitan Room that earned her both a Broadway World Award and a coveted MAC Award, her accolades and awards have piled up like Lego blocks. On first hearing, the esteemed critic Rex Reed was enamored with her “charm, sophistication, good taste, and titanic talent.” David Hurst labelled Berk as “a savvy new singer with style and substance to burn,” and a host of others, including Stephen Holden in The New York Times; Joe Regan, Jr.; and Alix Cohen, all have added their names to the Celia Berk Admiration Society.
If that isn’t enough to make you change any other plans you had, how about some of the facets of Berk’s musical focus, Elizabeth Sullivan, and her multiple intertwined career(s)? A writer, a poet, a lyricist, and a composer as well as a performer herself, she also rates five stars on both sides of the proverbial “nurture versus nature” debate about what makes a person the one he or she turns out to be—her accomplishment as “a mommy” raising a houseful of eight kids. Four of her brood are eminent professional singers—the omnipresent KT Sullivan, who is also the artistic director of the Mabel Mercer Foundation, and siblings Stacy Sullivan, Heather Sullivan, and country singer Tim Sullivan.
Sullivan’s songs have quite a range, sometimes considering the present, recalling the past, or making us smile in pleasant contemplation, such as a personal favorite, “But Not Tonight.” Long appreciative of Berk’s “cello” renditions, Sullivan was both flattered and surprised when Berk queried her about a show exclusively about her and her own songs. Her response said a lot about Sullivan’s feelings for Berk and her shows that she had seen. “I trusted her,” she told her, and even more, remains eager to hear her songs interpreted by Berk in the resonant timbre she is known for.
Berk recalls, “Back in June 2022, Elizabeth and I saw each other at a Mabel Mercer Foundation event that KT had organized at the National Arts Club. We hadn’t seen each other since before the pandemic, but had always had a warm friendship. She pulled me in for a hug, and whispered ‘sing me something in that beautiful cello sound of yours.’ And I instinctively sang, ‘You’ll never know how much I love you.’ That made her say, ‘Oh I would so love to hear you sing my music in that range.’ I said ‘Send me your songs!’ And in August 2022, that’s how it all began.
Berk has titled her show A Dream and a Song: The Musical Stories of Elizabeth Sullivan. It premieres as part of Urban Stages’ Winter Rhythm series, and also features other notables on stage with her. Her music director and pianist is Jon Weber, with Sean Driscoll on guitar, and Seoyeon Im on violin. All of whom have worked together preparing the show under the aegis of its director, Jeff Harnar. And it’s all coming together Friday, December 8 at 7 pm, at Urban Stages in New York City.
Click HERE for tickets
Urban Stages
259 W 30th Street,
New York, NY 10001
