Laughter without Borders
“Wildly entertaining” one special evening – two great shows by the “incredible storytellers” Jennifer Rawlings and Lisa Faith Phillips with Ellen Mandel on piano.
Award-winning writer, performer, filmmaker, Jennifer Rawlings, presents her hilarious new show AFTER THE WAR, COMES THE DISHES, True Stories from the Front Line and the Home Front.
Award-winning writer and performer Lisa Faith Phillipsis developing a new show of comedy and song LESSONS I LEARNED FROM JOBS NOT ON MY RESUME (Version 1.0). Laugh out loud at the lessons from working as a stripper, performing phone sex, being a back-up dancer for Bette Midler and Mick Jagger, a night in jail and being sued for her comedy musical, 7 1/2 Habits of Highly Effective Mistresses.
The marvelous composer and songwriter Ellen Mandel will be on piano.
Bios: Jennifer Rawlings has appeared on TV, in the film “I AM BATTLE COMIC” and in three TEDx talks. Using her humor as a way to tackle serious subject matter, she was named as one of the “21 Change makers of the 21st Century” by Women’s E News. She has performed entertaining the troops in over 350 military shows in dozens of countries including Iraq, Afghanistan, Haiti, Bosnia. Jennifer’s powerful directorial debut: “Forgotten Voices: Women in Bosnia” received critical acclaim and screened at film festivals worldwide, prompted her award-winning solo show “I ONLY SMOKE IN WAR ZONES “. Jennifer Rawlings.com
Lisa Faith Phillips: On her Linked-in resume, Lisa admits to working on Wall Street, in publishing at Time Warner, Hachette and Random House, where she was Vice President and General Manager, at the Council on Foreign Relations, and the China-US Women’s Foundation. Lisa has written and performed solo and two-person shows in NY, DC’s Capital Fringe Festival, Dublin and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Her two plays At All Times and All-Nude College-Girl Revue had sold out runs in New York. She is currently studying music theory at Juilliard and has just finished her first novel Love in the Russian Tea Room. Lisafaithphillips.com
Ellen Mandel has written many songs to poems by E.E. Cummings, Seamus Heaney, W.B. Yeats, and others, and music for over 90 plays. She’s released six song CDs and a theater music collection, and received many best music nominations for her theater work. Her songs have been performed all over the USA, and in England, Ireland, Scotland, and Germany. The Royal Conservatory of Toronto and Trinity College of London have published her songs. Ellen just completed a 14-song cycle inspired by Edward Hopper’s paintings. ellenmandel.com
Laughter without Borders
Dates: Tuesday, July 18 & Thursday, August 24, 2023
Show time: 7:00 pm, doors open at 6:00
Tickets: Book online: $20/ $25 door/ $20 food/drink min
Thank you all who made the show so much fun!
Thank you all who came to see the shows!
Back by popular demand! We had a special birthday celebration for our very special guest Lilla Crawford and our director Todd Stuart Phillips at our “wildly funny” burlesque show Songs of Love and Adultery, Birthday Celebration! at East Village beloved cabaret, Pangea Restaurant & Lounge.
Comic storyteller and singer Lisa Faith Phillips was back to weave her hilarious new show of songs, stories & fascinating facts on the highs and lows of love and adultery. From a Marlene Dietrich tribute “Falling in Love Again” (she had affairs with both men and women!) and “Diamonds are a Girl Best Friend” to a funny new take on “Three Cigarettes in an Ashtray”. Lisa gave the skinny on dishy affairs! It will be a delicious evening of laughter and delicious musical joy.
Lilla shared her amazing voice with us, with the marvelous Sean Mahony on piano.
About Lilla Crawford: An acclaimed actress and singer - some her career highlights include the lead in Annie on Broadway, wowing audiences as Little Red Riding Hood in the film Into The Woods with Meryl Streep, and now in Pretty Little Liars on HBO. She is currently working her first film as a writer/director in her senior year at NYU Film School.
It was a very special night!
Learn More
Date: Saturday, February 25 at 7:00
Time: 7:00 pm, Doors open at 6:00
Place: Pangea Restaurant and Bar, 178 2nd Ave, NYC, 10003
Let's Make America Laugh and Sing Again Past Performances
Recent shows
Thank you all who came to see the first draft
You made it a truly special night of laughter, song and creativity! Everyone enjoyed it so much, Lisa Faith Phillips is returning with her new burlesque show Songs of Love and Adultery for two Saturdays, January 28th and February 25th, 2023 at 7:00!
Please join us at Pangea, the charming East Village cabaret, for laughter, song and revelations!
Lisa weaves hilarious stories, songs, and fascinating facts on the highs and lows of love and adultery. For the January 28th show, Lisa is thrilled to have our favorite Mariah Bonner as her special guest. With the terrific Sean Mahony on piano, it will be a magical musical evening.
It's been so wonderful to bring together old and new friends to enjoy shows live at Pangea, East Village's beloved cabaret. We hope you will join us for this "wildly entertaining" evening!
The show: Songs of Love and Adultery
Where: Pangea, the East Village alt-cabaret, 178 2nd Ave, bet 11th & 12th St, NYC, Pangeanyc.com
Praise for previous shows:
Five Stars and Best of the Fringe!
“An incredible storyteller, her show is fascinating to watch and to listen to. - Mariya Danilenko, DC Metro Theater Arts
“Wildly funny… mixes absurdism and social satire to hilarious results”- Jaime Lubin, The Huffington Post
“Outrageously funny…devilishly clever and wildly entertaining” Carolyn Smith, Newyorkcool
Book now!
Date: Saturdays, January 28, 2023
Show time: 7:00 pm, Doors open at 6:00
Tickets: Reserve online: $20/ $25 at door/ $20 food/drink min
Back by popular demand!
After a terrific show in May, we were asked back and had another wonderful show on July 19th. An evening of hilarity and song to support Pangea, the beloved East Village supper club!
Thank you all who came out and made it such a special night!
Comedian Lisa Faith Phillips weaves a hilarious new monologue “Lessons I Learned from Jobs Not on my Resume” as she brings together terrific performers to help us laugh and sing again.
From the captivating chanteuse Mariah Bonner with songwriter and pianist Marcus Dagan to the beguiling music of Ellen Mandel with French mezzo soprano Emma Lavandier and the haunting songs of singer/songwriter T. Spoon Phillips, it will be a terrific night of laughter and musical joy!
“Outrageously funny…devilishly clever and wildly entertaining” – Newyorkcool
Photos, clockwise from upper left: T. Spoon Phillips, Lisa Faith Phillips, Ellen Mandel, Mariah Bonner, and Marcus Dagan. Mariah Bonner’s photo by Nikk Monton.
Make America Laugh and Sing Again!
Join us for a fun night of laughter and song
After over two years of COVID, I was thrilled to bring a new Make America Laugh and Sing Again! show back to support Pangea, the marvelous alt-cabaret club in the East Village, back in May. Now we're back by popular demand on July 19th, 2022.
In May, we had a full house of laughter, song, cheers and applause! It was a very special evening of hilarity and song with the charming chanteuse Mariah Bonner, composer, singer, and pianist Marcus Dagan, raconteur Robin Hirsch, composer, songwriter and pianist Ellen Mandel, songwriter and guitarist T Spoon Phillips, and comic storyteller and emcee Lisa Faith Phillips.
We look forward to seeing you at our next show!
About the 2020 Make America Laugh and Sing Again!
How it came to be
In December 2020 writer/performer/producer Lisa Faith Phillips wanted to bring people together to celebrate the joy of laughter and song to lift spirits against the grim daily onslaught of the political news. So, she asked her talented friends to get together and put on a show. Everyone said "Yes!" The result was MAKE AMERICA LAUGH AND SING AGAIN!
On February 27, 2020, everyone came together for a sold-out "wildly entertaining" evening of hilarity and song to benefit CommonCause.org at Pangea, the East Village Alt-Cabaret Supper Club.
What a great night it was. With the sold-out house, we raised money for a good cause and enjoyed a wonderful evening.
It was such a success we were planning to do a monthly MAKE AMERICA LAUGH AND SING AGAIN show bringing in new performers and raising money to get people out for the 2020 election. But then Covid hit, and NYC locked down on March 15, 2020.
We give big thank you to the performers who donated their time and talent to make it such a marvelous show: the hilarious Stan Baker, the charming chanteuse Mariah Bonner, legendary musician/songwriter/writer Michael Lydon, uber-talented composer and pianist Ellen Mandel, and the comic writer, producer, and emcee Lisa Faith Phillips. The marvelous singer/songwriter/actress Natalie Smith was scheduled to perform, but she was held up shooting Law and Order SUV.
Thank you, Jon Waldman, for the excellent stills and video of the show!
Join us to keep MAKE AMERICA LAUGHING AND SINGING! Now it's needed more than ever!