Campaigning & Performing for BERNIE SANDERS In IOWA
February 2016
For this born-and-bred New York Jewish lawyer, political junkie and cabaret satirist, Iowa caucus week ending 2-1-16 was something of a culture shock immersion into Midwest Americana. Click here to read more.
People's Voice Cafe presents OCCUPIED!
Rachel Stone, Marc C. Leavitt, Joel Landy
April 2012
“In the honored tradition of Tom Lehrer, Oscar Brand and even—God help us!—Weird Al Yankovic and Alan Sherman... master satirical singer/songwriters [in] an evening of wickedly funny topical songs... They pretty much covered and brilliantly savaged all the evils of the day... Rachel Stone (rachelstonemusic.com) has a charmingly folksy, slightly ragged soprano, quite an effective tool with which to communicate her ideas. Mr. Leavitt (poltunes.com) is the charming, straightforward everyman with a natural sweet baritone, and Mr. Landy’s voice (singfreedom.org) is a cross between Tim Buckley and Phil Ochs, particularly warm when singing his own, original songs.” Music Director Paul Johnson accompanies on piano. ”
OLIVER! with Theatre by the Bay
March 2012
In real life, Marc Crawford Leavitt is a partner in the law firm of Leavitt & Kerson but in the musical “Oliver!” Leavitt plays Fagin, the head of Oliver’s gang of pint-sized pickpockets. Leavitt said that there is also real meaning behind the performance.
“We get the kids to appreciate what real poverty is,” he said. A major theme in the Dickens story is the extreme poverty that existed in 19th century London and how people survived under dire conditions. We try to make the experience as real as possible,” said Leavitt, who received a bachelor’s degree in theater and political science from Stony Brook University and was the only Columbia Law School student in the Barnard Gilbert and Sullivan Society.
Active in his community, Leavitt is a member of the Jewish People’s Philharmonic Chorus. Also, just prior to the show’s March debut, Leavitt said he’s traveling to Africa for 10 days that’s part vacation and part volunteer work at a school in Tanzania.
--Excerpted from the Times Ledger article about the performance
Yiddish Classics & Yiddish Classical
JUNE 2010 through 2015
Marc performs wonderful Yiddish music with the JEWISH PEOPLE’S PHILHARMONIC CHORUS
at Symphony Space and Merkin Hall in Manhattan.
Binyumen Schaechter, CONDUCTOR
Leo Rosten, author of "The Joys of Yiddish," writes: "The vocabulary of Yiddish is drawn from 72% German, 18% Hebrew, 16% Slavic tongues, 5.6% Romance languages and 3.55% English. The fact that these numbers add up to more than 100% demonstrates the limitation of statistics" and confirms for me the richness ofthe Yiddish language! Consider the brazen chutzpah, the intrepid kibbitzer, the greedy gonef, the tedious shlep, poor quality shlock, the nagging nudnick, the delicious little nosh, the righteous mitzve, and the honorable mentsch. A grandparentqvelling over a grandchild and the nacchus experienced mean so much more than pride and joy. The single word "Oy!" notes Rosten is really a whole vocabulary!
People's Voice Cafe Presents: "It's Still The Economy, Stupid!"
"I am the Money and I write the Laws!” (Track #9 on Pol Tunes CD)
JANUARY 2010
"It's Still The Economy, Stupid!" on Saturday night, January 23, 2010 at 8pm as part of the People's Voice Cafe at The Community Church, 40 E. 35th Street just west of Park Avenue in Manhattan. $15. Rachel Stone, Joel Landy (a modern day Phil Ochs), Paul Johnson (at the piano) and I satirize, criticize, and laugh and cry at life .
We open with the patter chorus of “Pick-a-Little, Talk-a-Little” from “The Music Man!” updated to“Emailittle, fonealittle, emailittle, fonealittle, Tweet, tweet, tweet, textalot, Googalittlemore…” Joel’s song (to the tune of “If You’re Happy and You Know it…”) “If You Know an Oxymoron Shout it Out: FOX NEWS… Business Ethics…” is a hoot.
And I musically explain a modest proposal to address the wide disparity between the super-rich and the rest of us which I heard decades ago from my college economics professor, Robert Lekachman. Entitled “Be Generous When You’re Dead”, it recommends a 100% inheritance tax with a $5 million exemption for as many people as you want- kids, nieces, neighbors, your hairstylist. After all, how much does one person really need? Bequests to charities would remain exempt. Think about it.
Fundraiser for Jimmy Van Bramer for City Council
January 2009
Marc Leavitt as Captain Hook in Peter Pan
"AT LAST I’VE REACHED ME PEAK!
Peter Pan killed, and all the Lost Boys about to walk the plank!"
MAY 2008
...One of my favorite lines as I embodied the deliciously nasty Captain Hook (I also played Mr. Darling, just like Cyril Ritchard in the Mary Martin version of J.M. Barrie’s deeply mysterious fantasy of adventure in Neverland). I hit a high "G" while proclaiming rhetorically, "Who’s the dirtyest dog in this wonderful world?" with my dancing pirate crew "Yo-ho-ing" in harmony.
Marc played Captain Hook in Peter Pan at the Free Synagogue of Flushing, Queens, directed by Mary Ellen Pierce with Paul Johnson at the synthesizer (music director of all my cabaret shows since 9/11).
The People's voice Cafe presents: "HEAVY HITTERS & WANNABEES"
Left to Right: Marc Crawford Leavitt, Paul L. Johnson, Rick Tibbets, and Rachel Stone
NOVEMBER 2007
Marc performed a political satire show with clever friend Rick Tibbetts and musical director Paul Johnson at Rachel Stone’s COMMUNITY CABARET at the Community Church, 40 E. 35th Street, NYC.
We lampooned various presidential candidates and world leaders. Barack Obama was "the very model of a candidate political" (not G&S' Modern Major General); Hillary Clinton sang "I Can't Say No" when asked if she was "Bush-Wagged" into voting for Bush's blank check for war; Fred Thompson sang a parody of the Flintstone themesong ("I'm a case right out of his-to-ry!"); we foretold McCain requesting Romney's help to the rock 'n roll song "Help Me Rhonda"; and, to the tune of "Bibbidy-Bobbity-Boo", Richardson, Biden & Dodd sang about being 2nd-tier candidates. To the tune of the Kingston Trio favorite about "Charlie & the MTA", Sen. Chuck Hagel, Mayor Mike Bloomberg & VP Al Gore sang: "But will we ever get in? No, we'll never get in, to a race a-nother will win. Are we doomed to nev-erending big, bucks races and campaigns that are sound bite thin?"
ONCE UPON A MATTRESS
SPRING 2007
Marc played the role of the JESTER (aide to the mute King Sextimus) in ONCE UPON A MATTRESS
the musical based on "The Princess and the Pea" (think Carol Burnett)
with the St. Andrew's Church Players in Flushing, NY.
OKLAHOMASTAN!: The 51st State
The Great American Parody Musical with apologies to Rodgers & Hammerstein
DECEMBER 2005
Marc Crawford Leavitt's Great American Musical Parody "OklahomaSTAN! The 51st State"
Bliss Restaurant 45-20 Skillman Avenue at 46th St., Sunnyside, NY
This is a fundraiser performance in support of LOIS MURPHY, Democrat for Congress, 6th CD, west of Phila., PA.
DIRECTOR Miriam Fond, MUSICAL DIRECTOR Paul Johnson
FEATURING Kerri-Lynn Jennings, member Actors Equity, Justin Holmes, Ric Cherwin, and Kate Brennan. New York Congress-member Joseph Crowley also joined the cast for this fundraiser.
UPDATE: Sadly, Lois got 49.5% and lost by 3,000 votes out of over 200,000.
march 22, 2003
At the Anti-War March down Broadway in NYC, I performed my "GEORGIE DOODLE!" song.
It was a beautiful day for a demonstration - sunny, breezy and just warm enough - as more than 100,000 New Yorkers took to the streets today to protest the war in Iraq. For four hours beginning at noon, the peaceful crowd ambled, danced and marched down Broadway from Herald Square to Waverly Place and then over to Washington Square Park. The organizers of the march said that the crowd exceeded a quarter of a million; the police declined to give an official estimate.
Marc Leavitt as Deaniac
JANUARY 2004
Marc performed on behalf of Gov. Howard Dean's candidacy in IOWA, dressed as Prof. Harold Hill with his parody of "Trouble in River City" and "Iowa Stubborn." This was a role he originated in 1983:
Poltunes Cabaret Show and CD Recording
OCTOBER 2001
At Danny's Skylight Room in Manhattan, Marc performed 4 nights of political cabaret, featuring Kerri Lynn Jennings, and directed by Miriam Fond, with musical direction from Paul Johnson.