Melissa Definitely Made Some Memories
by James Lehman
A fun time was had by all at the Melissa Franjesh concert! If memory
serves me, the first time I met Melissa was at the Lynn Lavner concert, benefit
for St. HOPE AIDS Housing Inc. People had told me about her before that, and
everyone who spoke of her commented on what a great singer she really is.
Well now that I've seen her for myself, let me tell you, she really is. She could
hold her own on the same stage as the greats of Broadway. --Really! Her pitch
is impeccable and her tonality and inflection are par excellent. She's a really
neat person too. She's gangbusters about raising money and awareness for
AIDS charities and other gay community groups. That's what this performance
was all about! (Violet's Cupboard, Stonewall Akron, St. HOPE AIDS Housing
Inc. and to fulfill other community needs)
She was accompanied by her sister, Mi Tomaiko, and her very good
friend, Cinara Cobb. A great deal of production went into the performance, with
choreography, lighting, frequent costume changes and slide shows during
certain numbers. The two other girls even danced around in the audience
while Melissa sang solo and then they drifted back to the stage to add their
back up vocals --a very nice effect indeed!
Both Mi and Cinara had solos as well and they were wonderful. Two fun
surprises in the show were the first female drag show I've ever seen, with Mi
playing a platinum blonde bomb shell to Patty Foor's super butch dude;
complete with a whip and hand-cuffs. They did a really cute, lip synched
number that had fancy choreography and really hilarious facial expressions.
With Patty dressed like that, if you didn't know and you saw her from across
the room, you'd swear she was really a he. That was a hoot. Patty Foor is
Melissa's life partner. The other was when a little girl, about 8 or 9, Miss Morgan
Elizabeth Mingo sang Colors Of The Wind. She did a fine job.
Judging by the audience response, there was no doubt what was the
real show stopper of the evening though --the duet. Melissa and Cinara sang
Moonglow, with M singing the lower part and C singing the higher. WOW! Their
two voices chimed together in perfection. Two words. PURE SILK. That's the
kind of thing that Letterman needs on his show. You know what I mean?. It was
that good.
There was lots of yummy finger food, coffee, pop, and hot mulled cider
at the intermission. Everyone got a chance to mingle and meet new people.
The event drew some very nice folks too. You know, when you get right down
to it, there's a hidden benefit to a gathering like this that might not occur to
everyone. Since it was attended by so many different people from so many
different life styles, all getting along quite nicely, it's just the kind of function
that a not-so-out gay person should want to go to. This would give someone a
chance to get out and strike up conversations and possible friendships
without anyone being able to associate him or her with a strictly gay oriented
happening. If this though appeals to you, think about it the next time you see a
notice for another benefit in What's Up. Beside that, every fund raiser that Terry
and I have ever been to, since we started doing What's Up has been worth
more entertainment than it cost. --Every one. And that is a direct result of the
hard work that volunteers do to organize these events for all our pleasure.
Thanks, Melissa and everyone else.
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