Have a few laughs and get your toes a-tapping with a night of Broadway tunes, comedy, and blues at Temple Beth El.
Diane Borad-Mirken, who specializes in musical comedy, will kick off the program by singing a selection of popular Broadway tunes.
Borad-Mirken has extensive experience in the Broadway genre. She was a featured singer in the first Central Coast Follies held each year at Arroyo Grande’s Clark Center and has appeared in several musicals, including South Pacific, The Music Man, and Stephen Sondheim’s Follies. She’s also served as director of children’s events for the Santa Maria Philharmonic Society.
The evening will continue with some bluegrass tunes after an intermission and refreshments. Santa Maria-based Wild River Ramblers will perform some traditional bluegrass music to end the night on an energetic note. The Ramblers have appeared at the Parkfield Bluegrass Festival, but are known to Santa Marians as the former house band for Santa Maria Brewing Company. And one band member has yet another claim to fame: Bill Mirken is Borad-Mirken’s husband.
Rounding out the group are two musicians and a banjo player—roughly in descending order with respect to style, wit, charm, and intelligence (according to the band itself): Tony Pires on mandolin, Tony Baloney on guitar, and Julio Boysenberry on banjo.
The Ramblers specialize in the traditional bluegrass sounds of Bill Monroe, the Stanley Brothers, and the Dillards, but don’t be surprised if they sneak in a contemporary surprise or two.
Arts Editor Shelly Cone is full of surprises. She can be reached at scone@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Nov 18-25, 2010.
