News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
A sold-out Sisters audience was treated to an evening of first class entertainment Saturday, April 18, as the Sisters Starry Nights concert series wrapped up its 1998 season.
Headliner Gary Morris dazzled the crowd with a voice that has entertained queens and presidents and filled the theaters of Broadway and Los Angeles in his role as Jean Valjean in Les Miserables.
But more than his considerable talent, Morris won the crowd with his obvious enjoyment of Sisters and with the kind of wry humor and storytelling acumen that seems to be bred in the soil of his native Texas.
"I've had way too much fun this week," he said.
An avid sportsman, Morris enjoyed fishing on the Metolius, where he landed a "nice native rainbow trout." He skied, hiked and generally spent a week taking advantage of what the Sisters country offers.
He said he thought the Sisters Starry Nights benefit "is the neatest concept for a community I've ever heard of."
Morris was generous with his spotlight - in fact, he spent most of his second song pulling a running gag about the spotlight, looking for a "sexy" light.
He shared the stage with Sisters Elementary students Libby Mayea, Jessica Little, Devon Rollins, Audrey Tehan, Blake Poynor, Cody Peden and Lauren Shultz in a crowd-pleasing song-and-dance number, "Honeycomb." He also introduced his 18-year-old son Matt, who is following in his father's footsteps as a singer and entertainer.
The young man performed a freshly written original song, and joined Morris in a series of duets.
In another highlight, Morris sang "Lasso the Moon" a cappella to Marsha Marr of Miss Sew-It-All. Morris had "heard that she loves this song," but he doesn't play it. Marr's reaction indicated that the vocal-only rendition fit the bill just fine.
Phillipe Mallen struck a poignant note in the opening of the show with his "Star of the Starry Nights," a tribute to the late Nicolette Larson. Accompanied by Anne Noel on piano and backed by a video montage of Larson's 1997 Sisters performance created by Leonardi Media Arts, Mallen sang to a silent and sometimes tearful audience.
Mallen's song has been produced on a CD, with proceeds from sales going to a trust for Larson's daughter, Elsie May.
Mallen's performance capped a strong opening performance by songwriter Rhonda Hart Oakes, who has struck Nashville paydirt recently with "Did I Shave My Legs For This?" co-written with Deana Carter.
Hart-Oakes was backed by local musicians Clay Smith, Mallen, Noel, Thomas, Tsuneta and Rudi Booher.
Rudi Booher and his brother Ned took center-stage to perform "The Orange Blossom Special," which brought a roar of pleasure from the crowd.
The concerts, which are a benefit for the Sisters Schools Foundation, are expected to raise some $40,000 for school programs this year.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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