Spend the evening getting to know Cole Porter in the cabaret "Down in the Depths", a musical deep dive into Porter's life and catalog. The music selections range all throughout his career, from the biggest shows to obscure pieces rarely performed. One might make you shed a tear and the next will have you rolling with laughter. Singer-storyteller Mel McGuire will be accompanied by Rodney Loren with a jazz trio of piano, bass, and drums. If you're interested in early 20th century American history and pop culture or just love good music, this show is not to be missed!
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Full Show runs 1 hour, 3 minutes
Can be cut to 50 minutes or 2 segments to suit your event/space/crowd.
Down in the Depths was created by Mel McGuire with musical arrangements and direction by Rodney Loren
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Mel McGuire is a cabaret singer, personal trainer, fitness author, and mom living in Stamford, CT. As a cabaret performer, Mel is best known for her autobiographical cabaret show Tinder Roulette which ran at the 13th Street Repertory throughout the fall of 2015 and received rave reviews. She stayed on at 13th Street Repertory as the host and creator of The Overshare Cabaret, a monthly performance party merging the art forms of cabaret, sketch comedy, and personal storytelling. Recent NYC & CT cabaret shows include Don't Go Into Labor-Day Cabaret, A Feminist History of Musical Theater, #Thankful, and Remembering Barbara Cook. Mel earned her bachelor’s degree from New York University where she studied musical theater, she has also studied voice at The Manhattan School of Music and Eastman School of Music.
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Rodney Loren is new to Connecticut from San Diego, California following early retirement in Milwaukee Wisconsin. Rodney is serving as the music director at Wilton Presbyterian Church following a lengthy career teaching university and public school students and serving as church organist. He holds a B.A. in music education and church music (Olivet Nazarene University), an M.M. in Organ (Indiana University), and Ph.D. in Music Education (University of Illinois). He taught general/vocal music at a nationally recognized Blue Ribbon school, and on the faculties of University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and University of Illinois, teaching courses in music education and technology. An advocate of integrated arts education, Rodney was named Music Teacher of the Year by the Civic Music Association and served as program director Arts in Community Education—a program sponsored by National Endowment of the Arts and Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. While studying on a Fulbright-Hays scholarship to Hungary and the Czech Republic, he became interested in the folk music of the Hungarian and Moravian people. In 2008, Rodney was surprised by an opportunity to play organ for Easter Monday services at St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City and in 2023 performed a choir concert on the organ at Carnegie Hall. He is grateful to mentors for their inspiration, particularly Eunice Boardman, Mary Hoffman, and Marilyn Keiser.