About Salon People Calendar Blog Press / Awards Photos Salon Presents Contact  

About The Salon

Our Mission History / Timeline FAQs

 

Mission

To provide a platform for singers, artists, musicians & writers to hone their craft in a safe, nurturing, non-critical environment.

 

Our History

May 2005

“Talk of the Town” moves into The Oak Room at The Algonquin Hotel with the following cast: Kristin Maloney as Dorothy Parker, Jeffrey Biering as George S. Kaufman, Chris Weikel as Robert Benchley, Rob Seitelman as Alexander Woollcott, Adam MacDonald as Robert Sherwood, Donna Coney Island as Edna Ferber, Stephen Wilde as Marc Connelly with Mark Janas, Music Director/Conductor, on Piano. The cast was so big and the room was so small, that The Algonquin would roll the grand piano out into the lobby and use an upright for the show. I am not sure of the exact date, but one night after the show, Mark Janas sat down at the grand piano in the lobby and played Rhapsody in Blue. Salon was born. One after another, the charter members would sing impromptu numbers, duets, trifectas, what have you. “Talk of the Town”, and the gatherings in the lobby continued through the first week in August of 2006 when the show closed.

 

August 20, 2006

Mark Janas moves Salon to The Rouge Bar on Bank St. It is the first time it is an independent entity outside of Talk of the Town and The Algonquin Hotel. The newsletter is started and so are the themes. It is now more than just hanging out.

 

March 2008

Salon moves back to The Algonquin and continues every Sunday.

 

June 2008

Salon adds an additional night of the week (Thursdays) in The Oak Room for the summer. We have half of the room and horrific general lighting. The Salons are 5 hours long! 5-10pm with drink specials from The Blue Bar. Jen Wren produced a bunch of these with guest pianists like Bill Zeffiro, with Raissa and Peter as guest producers, while Mark was in Hawaii.

 

 

History Highlights

•• May 2005 - The Salon is born at The Algonquin.

•• Aug 2006 - The Salon moves to Rouge Bar

•• Mar 2008 - The Salon moves back to The Algonquin.

•• Nov 2009 - The Salon moves ot its current home, at Etcetera Etcetera Restaurant.

•• Apr 2010 - WINNER! The Salon wins a Bistro Award

•• May 2010 - WINNER! The Salon wins a MAC Award for Best Open Mic.

•• May 2011 - WINNER! The Salon wins its second MAC Award for Best Open Mic.

•• Dec 2011- The Salon/Etc Etc becomes an official MAC cabaret venue, and premieres its new cabaret series, "Salon Presents."

•• Mar 2012 - WINNER! The Salon wins its third MAC Award for Best Open Mic.

•• Mar 2013 - DOUBLE WINNER! The Salon wins its fourth MAC Award for Best Open Mic as well as one for Mark Janas as Best Host.

• Dec 2013 - NOMINATED! The Salon is nominated for a Broadway World Cabaret award for Best Host/Producer for Variety Show/Recurring Series or Open Mic. Be sure to vote by clicking here!

• Mar 2014 - WINNER! The Salon is the winner of the MAC Award for Best Recurring Series.

Click here for FAQs...

 


September 2008

Peter Napolitano becomes Executive Producer and introduced the idea of co-hosts, to bring greater visibility to The Salon. We also stepped up our technical efforts for the show. First, Joan Jaffe provided an amp & mic stand, with a professional mic on loan from board member, Raissa Katona Bennett. But to our surprise (and great fortune) an anonymous donor gave us a brand new $1200 sound system.

 

February 2009

Tanya Moberly becomes the first Gonkette. (By June  2009, there are at least a dozen Gonkettes.)

 

July 2009

In addition to the now explosive, wildly successful Sundays, The Gonk approaches Mark & Peter about doing a Summer Oak Room Series, but this time "for real" with lights and sound and reservations, etc. The boys agree – Mark on the condition that we now get to roll the grand piano out into the lobby for Sundays. Tanya joins them as Associate Producer. The Oak Room Series had Co-Hosts, Special Guests and The Advisor's Spotlight (the advisor being Roy Sander). Despite the fact that The Summer Oak Room Series was also wildly successful, The Gonk (Gary Budge) wanted us to cancel it half way through, but because we had full bookings and were there by their original request, we played out the summer. The team was denied payment, so The Salon started to search for new digs.

 

September 15, 2009

Adam Shapiro was all set to Co-Host. Cabaret legend Richard Skipper arrived to experience Salon for the first time. As Mark Janas walked in to set up, the management refused to roll the grand piano out into the lobby, which was the final straw. Richard Skipper helped him into a cab with all of our sound equipment and it was goodbye to The Gonk.

 

November 2009

After a brief hiatus, Salon moves to Etcetera, Etcetera. Peter departs for other ventures and Tanya becomes Executive Producer. Classical Corner is added.

 

April 2010

Mark Janas receives a special Bistro Award for creating Salon. Adam McDonald and Chris Weikel performed “I Can See It” with Mark at The Awards Ceremony.

 

May 2010

Mark, Peter & Tanya receive the MAC Award for best open mic for The Algonquin Salon, The Oak Room Salon & The Salon at Etc Etc.

 

May 2011

Mark & Tanya win the MAC Award for open mic for the second year in a row.

 

December 18, 2011

Julie Reyburn debuts as the first cabaret artist in the Salon Presents series at Etcetera, Etcetera with shows at 7 & 9:15.

 

May 2012

Mark & Tanya win the MAC Award for open mic for the third year in a row.

 

FAQs

 

What is The Salon?

Salon is an ongoing open entertainment event in which singers, writers and musicians share their talent with each other and audience members.

 

How much does it cost to attend?

There is a $10 cash cover collected at the door and a $15 food/drink minimum (cash or credit) per person. (For more information about Etcetera, Etcetera's delicious menu, visit www.etcetcnyc.com. Note: A 20% gratuity is added to all checks.)

 

How do we secure our seat at The Salon?

There are no reservations; seating is on a first come/first served basis, Doors open and sign up begins at 6:15pm.

 

How is the evening structured?

The evening runs 7pm-10:30pm, with one intermission around 8:30pm.

 

I'm a performer - how do I sign up?

If you would like to sign up to perform, see one the evening's 'Etceterettes' to fill out a card with: your name, the name of your song, whether or not Mark will be playing for you and any upcoming events you'd like to promote. We do not present performers in order of sign-up, however, indicating requests as clearly and as early as possible as far as time restraints are concerned always makes everything much more possible.

 

What kind of material should I bring?

ALWAYS BRING SEVERAL SONG SELECTIONS to avoid duplication. All types of material, on or off theme are always welcome at Salon. We enthusiastically welcome instrumentalists, poets, playwrights, essayists, comics, illusionists and performance artists. Please limit your selections to three or four minutes in length (including introductions). Please also bring clear, complete charts for Mark to read.

 

Any other rules I should know about?

Sitting on the piano is not allowed, nor is flash photography. Please turn off all noise making devices and give performers your undivided attention.



© Copyright Mark Janas The Salon. All Rights Reserved.
Site made by
The Actors' Enterprise