Lopez animals are getting a little love this spring.
Tenor Stephen Oles and pianist Marjorie Stensrud will perform songs on the theme of love by Gershwin, Rogers and Hammerstein, Rodgers and Hart, Jerome Kern, Harold Arlen, Andrew Lloyd-Webber, Joni Mitchell and others during “Love is Here to Stay” on Sunday, March 16, at 4 p.m. at Lopez Center. Admission is free; donations will benefit the Lopez Animal Protection Society (LAPS).
Guest vocalists Robert Herrmann, Ginni Keith and JoAnn Lange will also make appearances during the show. The concert is named after the last song Gershwin wrote, which Oles will sing. Other selections include “I’ve got the World on a String,” “Broken Vow” (made famous by Josh Groban), “Last Time I saw Richard,” a duet from the Broadway show Parade, and “Autumn Leaves” with the original French lyrics. Herrmann and Oles will perform a “slightly vulgar song” from the musical Chicago.
“It’s such a joy to work with Marge Stensrude, who is a very talented accompanist. It’s also a big thrill to work with these three guest singers,” said Oles.
Oles organized this concert because he “wanted to bring awareness and some money to Lopez Animal Protection. I was inspired because I lost a very beloved dog, Miranda, this year, so I had my mind on pets. Ginni Keith also lost her German Shepherd, Midnight, this year, and a few other friends have lost pets recently as well. The concert is kind of a tribute to them.”
“On behalf of the board we are deeply gratified that this concert is a benefit for LAPS and will help animals on Lopez,” said Joyce Myhr, secretary of LAPS.
Oles and Lange performed together last year at Lopez Center, and “we got such great feedback it seemed there was a desire to hear this kind of music — the Great American Songbook and broadway songs. Since then, a lot of people have been asking me when the next concert was going to be!”
Oles continued, “The craftsmanship of current pop songwriting is so abysmal, when you sing the songs of Arlen, Rodgers, or the other greats, it’s like looking at the Parthenon and comparing it to a modern warehouse. You think: ‘Wow! What beauty, what structure, what intelligence! They sure knew how to build back then.’ And it makes you kind of ashamed that our standards in popular music have fallen so low. The songs are so sophisticated. This was music written by grown-ups for grown-ups.”
Oles has been an actor since he was a child, but didn’t sing on stage until he was over 30. “I had this terrible phobia. When I was living in Los Angeles, I started forcing myself to go to karaoke places. I went about six times until I got up the courage to sing a song. Fortunately, this is no longer true!” While still living in Los Angeles, Oles sang in a number of new musicals and was on the board of the Academy for New Musical Theatre.
He is currently playing Gaston in Orcas Center’s production of Beauty and the Beast. “He’s the burly bad guy. He’s conceited, rude, selfish, sexist. He’s a lot of fun to play,” laughed Oles.
Beauty and the Beast plays Thursdays-Saturdays, April 10-26, 7:30 p.m., $15, $12 (Orcas Center members), $8 (students). Visit www.orcascenter.org for information.
