February 3, 2008 – Medford-based singer/songwriter B. Iris Tanner will perform her cabaret show, "Animal Instincts," at the First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church in Arlington on Friday, February 29 and Saturday, March 1. Tanner, who is also a cat show judge for the Cat Fanciers' Association, the world's oldest and largest registry of purebred cats, collaborated with pianist Doug Hammer (who was, for many years, owned by a dog) on the show, which premiered last year as part of the Boston Association of Cabaret Artists' 2007 Cabaret Celebration. In this year's version of the show, a special guest, Ashley Lieberman, will join Tanner in two duets and perform a solo of her own.
Tanner's March 1st performance will be a benefit for two animal shelters, and is sponsored by the First Parish Social Justice Committee. Nemasket Orphaned Animal Haven (NOAH) is an all volunteer, no-kill, rescue group from the South Shore, and the Brighton-based Ellen Gifford Sheltering Home is the second-oldest animal shelter in the United States. Both are nonprofit 501c-3 organizations, and tickets to this performance will be tax deductible.
Tickets for both performances can be purchased online at Tanner's website, www.b-iris.com.
According to critic Beverly Creasey, "Animal Instincts" is full of songs about critters ... a tour de force for a singer like Tanner and a dazzling accompanist like Doug Hammer ... Tanner has lovely, resonant low notes and torchy, sophisticated high notes – and a wry sense of humor. Since all the songs involve animals in some way, Tanner and Hammer refer to the show as their "critter cabaret." "Animals teach us, amuse us, drive us crazy and bring us to tears, which makes them wonderful vehicles for songwriters' messages," says Tanner. Songwriters represented in the show include Cole Porter, Stephen Schwartz, Steve Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens, Tom Lehrer, Michael Flanders and Donald Swann, and many others. Several of Tanner's original songs, as well as three songs by West Coast songwriter Babbie Green, will also be featured.
Tanner has been a Medford resident since 1987. A member of ASCAP, she has been writing and performing her songs in the greater Boston area since 1998. "Most of my originals depict me poking fun at myself in one way or another," she says. However, her performance repertoire occasionally touches on the "dark side," so those considering bringing young children to the show should note that there is violent imagery in some of the lyrics.
Tanner has recorded two CDs of her original songs. Both are available from www.cdbaby.com and will be on sale at the show. In addition, all songs from both CDs can be found on iTunes, MusicNet.com, MSNMusic, Rhapsody, and many other online music sources too numerous to mention here. For more information, see Iris's web site at www.b-iris.com.
Ashley Lieberman is a Yale Drama School-trained actress, teacher, and cabaret artist. She has been recently seen about town in her one woman cabaret show, "Passion and Ambivalence", as well as showing off college acceptance letters for her son Harlan, traipsing the Arlington Great Meadow with her dog Rusty, and vacuuming her cat Magellan's fur off the furniture in her East Lexington home.
Doug Hammer, one of the most sought-after accompanists in the greater Boston area, is also a composer, producer, arranger, and recording engineer. He is a scholarship graduate of Berklee College of Music and recently released "Solace," a new CD of his original piano compositions.
Throughout the international cabaret music community, March is considered "Cabaret Month" and it is the peak performance period of the year; however, Tanner's show is one of only two cabaret events scheduled for the first Saturday in March. Many other cabaret performances will take place later in the month and more detail about them can be found on the web site of the Boston Association of Cabaret Artists, www.bostoncabaret.org.
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