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Jenna Esposito Sings Connie Francis has been a work-in-process since summer, 2008. I was at Jim
Caruso’s Cast Party at Birdland (a weekly open mic featuring all
kinds of terrifically talented performers!) and decided to give
“Where The Boys Are” a whirl when it was my turn to sing. Now,
I’d grown up listening to 50s and 60s pop music, and Connie
Francis had been known to me since I was a little girl, but
beyond “Where The Boys Are,” “Stupid Cupid” and “Who’s Sorry
Now,” I didn’t really know much else. So, here I was at this
open mic, and after I finished singing “Where The Boys Are,”
four or five different people stopped me to tell me how well the
song suited me, and each of these people asked if I’d ever given
consideration to doing a show devoted to Connie Francis. At
that point, I hadn’t given the idea any thought, but after those
four or five different people spoke to me and they all had the
same suggestion, I thought that just maybe the idea had some
merit!
So, I slowly
started doing my research: I ordered a couple of greatest hits
albums, and a box set with 120 Connie Francis songs, and found
myself really getting into the music and thinking, “Yes!! This
would be a great project for me to work on!” And THEN…well,
then I read Connie’s autobiography, “Who’s Sorry Now,” and I was
deeply moved. That’s right around the time I went from being a
fan of Connie Francis the singer, to being a fan of Connie
Francis the person. I was simply blown away by her courage, her
passion, and her indomitable spirit. I absolutely fell in love
with Connie and I have to say, I’ve never been quite the same
since.
I dove into my
work on the show with a new gusto, and I’ve become obsessed with
obtaining vintage Connie Francis sheet music and recordings.
I’ve joined a terrific fan group, where members swap favorite
Connie stories and share hints about where to find recordings
and videos.
I’ve been
fortunate enough to see Connie perform in concert twice, and the
experience was simply overwhelming! The first time I saw her
was this past April, when she was performing at the Count Basie
Theater in Red Bank, NJ. Now, I’m not much of a crier, but from
the moment she walked out on stage, I was pretty much a
blubbering mess! It was very emotional for me – after all of
the research I’d done, she was just this huge presence in my
mind, and I was awestruck being able to see her from the third
row of the orchestra as she sang all of the songs I’d come to
love hearing her voice on, and telling the stories I’d memorized
from her autobiography, plus some stories I didn’t know!
After the
concert, she was signing autographs in the lobby (and God bless
her, at 70 years old, after performing an incredible 2-hour
show, she stayed and signed an autograph for every last person
who wanted one!),
and my Dad and I waited patiently with the Connie Francis
t-shirt he’d bought me. When we finally got up to Connie, she
signed my t-shirt for me (“Hi Jenna…Love, Connie”) and I gave
her a letter I’d written, explaining who I am and about the
tribute I was putting together. Well, about three weeks later,
I was shopping in the Staples on 57th and 6th
in Manhattan, when I saw an unfamiliar number coming into my
cell phone. I let it go to voicemail, and had the shock of my
life when I picked up the voicemail a few minutes later and
heard, “Hi Jenna, this is Connie Francis.” WHAT?!!! I think I
emitted some kind of high-pitched squeal, not caring what any of
the other Staples customers thought, and I immediately called
her back! We had a very nice conversation, short and sweet, in
which Connie thanked me for my sweet letter and wished me well.
So, yes…now, among MY souvenirs, I have a voicemail from Connie
Francis – which I will treasure for the rest of my life!
I had the time
of my life performing Jenna Esposito Sings Connie Francis
at the Metropolitan Room in NYC in June and July, 2009, and am
thrilled to have a live recording of the show, which is set for
a November 3, 2009, release date. The CD will be available
through CD Baby and iTunes within a few months of the actual
release date, and anyone wishing to order a copy right away will
have the ability to do so through my website.
This project has
truly been a labor of love, and I would like to thank those that
have been a part of it from the inception through the present:
My fantastic director, Lennie Watts; my wonderful musical
director/arranger, Fortune Esposito; all of the terrific
musicians who have worked on the show: Fortune Esposito, David
Crone, Brian DeWitt, Brian Broelmann, Rob Broelmann, Michael
Blanco, Skip Ward, Kelly Esposito-Broelmann, and Rob Langeder;
my publicist and friend Dan Fortune; my voice teacher, Shirley
Callaway; John & Deb Botti, Eileen Exiner, and the rest of the
Middletown gang who helped give this show its legs; the four or
five people who stopped me on that fateful night at Birdland and
suggested I do a Connie Francis show; my amazing family: Mom,
Dad, my sister Kelly and my brother-in-law Rob, my sweet nephew
CHARLIE, and all of the rest; my talented graphic designer,
Hector Coris; my hardworking webmaster, Dimitri Moderbacher, and
last, but most certainly not least, the incomparable Connie
Francis, who has been the most incredible inspiration I could
have ever hoped for.
Thank you so much
for taking the time to read about the history of this project.
If you’d like to be kept up-to-date on the latest news about it,
please be sure to sign up for my mailing list and/or check the
“news” page regularly!
Thanks for
visiting – please enjoy the rest of the site!
All the best,
Jenna Esposito
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