In The Press
No In Between
"There are enough songs, both old and new, to provide rewards for everyone with an appreciation for show music... I delighted in hearing again competently sung versions of Sondheim's 'Side By Side, By Side' and 'What Would We Do Without You.'"
-- Chip Deffaa, New York Post
"Marc Eliot has a mellow, rich baritone voice."
-- Howard Kissel, The Daily News
"Marc Eliot is absolutely wonderful and clearly belongs on Broadway."
-- John Hoglund, Back Stage
"First-rate, original material from Elliot Weiss and Mike Champagne, most notably the brightly comic, anti-marriage tour-de-force, 'Life That Jack Built.'... Marc Eliot has regular-guy appeal; Robin Gray, definitely Midleresque; Brooke Marie Procida, a beguiling mix of perkiness and power."
-- Brian Scott Lipton, Time Out Magazine
"No In Between is a musical romp... full of gentle humor, engaging characters, and a promising ending... you'll be treated to a winsome rendition of the Coleman/Zippel 'You Can Always Count On Me' and a hilarious 'Life That Jack Built' by Weiss/Champagne."
-- Laurie Lawson, Punch In International Syndicate
Singing In 'Between'-
LI and city roles have actor on the run By Blake Green, Staff Writer
Reprinted from Newsday - Arts & Entertainment
Those old saws "it never rains, it pours" and "feast or famine" could be used to describe actor Marc Eliot's situation. But why not stick to the latest- the title of Eliot's new Off-Off-Broadway musical revue, "No In Between"?
That's the enviable situation the curly-haired 37-year-old Cedarhurst resident finds himself in these days while he's starring some nights in the revue at Don't Tell Mama in Manhattan and others in "Company," the Stephen Sondheim musical running at the Broadhollow Theater in Bethpage.
This being Thursday, Eliot's booming baritone will be heard signing the role of Alan in "No In Between." Friday and Saturday nights he's Bobby in "Company," and after its Sunday afternoon performance he'll zoom into the city in time for a 9pm performance of "No In Between." Fortunately, there doesn't have to be a personality transplant en route. Both Alan and Bobby have similar traits: single, attractive, not sure if he's ready to commit but under lots of pressure to do so.
But if Eliot's characters are somewhat alike, the lines and lyrics of each are completely different, and keeping things straight isn't easy. "I was telling my wife last night that I was exhausted," he reported earlier in the week, "but as tired as I am, I've never felt more alive."
"No In Between" is the first production of ETB, a company Eliot and his wife, Carol, formed earlier this year with the intent of creating one-act musicals "for myself and other actors." In spite of his situation, he says, "it isn't easy to find work out there."
The company's name, he explained, are his mother's initials (Eliot dropped his surname, Birnbaum, when he became an actor). It was her death, in 1990, that was the impetus for some serious decision-making on his part.
"I had been singing since I was 10 years old, professionally since I was 18," the Brooklyn native explained. "But about seven years ago I stopped performing, gave it all up, got a real job." (The Eliots still run the floral decorating business established in Glen Head.) "I decided I didn't want to be on my death bed saying, 'I should've, could've done that,'" he says of his unfulfilled dreams of show-business. "So I took acting lessons in the city at HB Studios, and voice lessons, and slowly got back into it."
So far, aside from a couple of Off-Off-Broadway roles, Eliot's work has been in regional theater, much of it on Long Island. He came to the attention of Jerry and Patricia Zaback, who operate Broadhollow as well as Centre Stage at Molloy College in Rockville Centre, where two years ago he auditioned for - and got the lead role of Marvin in "Falsettos." "When it was over, they asked if I'd do 'Company.'"
The initial intent was to do it on the heels of "Falsettos," but the Broadway revival of "Company" at the Roundabout Theater put Broadhollow's "Company" on hold. Instead, Eliot's resume notes a production of "Chicago" at the Zaback's Bayway Arts Theater. Two months ago he played his first dramatic role in "The Tenth Man," produced by Hofstra USA. "It was for experience," he says. "I'm really a singer-actor; that's what I enjoy most and what people tell me I'm good at."
Then, when "Company" closed in New York and the rights became available again for regional theater, "Pat (who directed "Company") called and asked if I was still interested." By this time, however, Eliot was deep into plans for "No In Between," a collection of original songs by Elliot Weiss and Mike Champagne and Broadway classics. But they were able to shuffle dates around to accommodate Eliot's new schedule. "Everything fell into place. Only one performance of "Company" had to be canceled, and it was because my youngest brother got married last Sunday." (Eliot was best man - and did the flowers.)
"No In Between" has a thin story line - Alan is a runner and meets some women (the female roles are played by Robin Gray and Brooke Marie Procida) jogging in Central Park. "What I'd like to do with the production (as well as a second one ETB has ready for rehearsal, "Jolson - "You Ain't Heard Nothin' Yet") is to sell it as an evening's entertainment for country clubs, organizations, catering halls. It's a clean show and appeals to a wide range of people. I don't care what exit I get off the Long Island Expressway as long as it's headed toward a working venue."
Singing His Way To Broadway
By Jane Shapiro, Columnist
Reprinted from the Nassau Herald
37-year-old actor Marc Eliot is a man on the move and, right now, that means he's hustling between Manhattan's chic cabaret spot, Don't Tell Mama, where he's starring in the musical revue "No In Between," and rehearsal at the BroadHollow Theater stage in Bethpage where he is the lead in Stephen Sondheim's "Company." When he's not lending his rich baritone to audiences who are eager to listen, he's artfully arranging flowers for his floral decorating firm or creating and promoting one-act musicals and revues for ETB Productions, a theatrical entertainment company that he and his wife Carol co-own. How does he do it all? "There are 24 hours in a day," he deadpans.
Mr. Eliot was born in Brooklyn, raised in Commack, Long Island, and moved to Cedarhurst in 1983. He married Carol in 1984 and they have remained in the Five Towns. "We're best friends," he says fondly of Carol, whom he met in a unusual way. "It was September 16, 1982 and I was singing in a cabaret night club in New York," he recalled. During his between-numbers patter from the stage, he looked down and saw that there was an empty seat next to Carol. He asked her who the empty seat was for and she shot back, "It's for you." He took her up on the invitation after the show, and they have been together ever since. "Kibitzing got me married," jokes Mr. Eliot.
Mr. Eliot's singing and acting career is, in his words, "coming together now," but he has had some zigs and zags along the way. He always enjoyed singing. "I've been forced to sing at parties and in front of the mirror since I was 12 years old," he said. In high school, he used to get into trouble because he was always singing in the hallways. "I sang in all the variety shows too."
There were many years where he went on the road, singing and joking in a variety of clubs throughout the country. When he played a restaurant on Ventura Boulevard in California, a peculiar coincidence occurred: "I used to make a U-turn on a side street called Ethel Avenue. After I married Carol, I found out that she had lived there at the same time."
He's played in regional theater companies and summer stock in such diverse shows as "Falsettos," "Phantom of the Opera," "Jesus Christ Superstar" and "City of Angels." He's had Off-Off-Broadway roles and solo performances in top east coast clubs like Catch A Rising Star and Dangerfield's and, on the west coast, Fireside Inn and F. Scott's.
Then, in 1986, he stopped his show business career and went to work for Spitz and Peck in Lawrence where he says he "was okay with myself, earning a steady living and working in the floral field."
He had second thoughts however, when he went to his 1988 high school reunion. Everyone asked him about singing and when he told them he wasn't doing that professionally anymore, they were disappointed. "That threw me into a tailspin," says Mr. Eliot, although it was not enough of a force to propel him back to the stage. That kind of impetus came from another direction.
When his beloved mother became ill and eventually died, he understood the ephemeral quality of life and realized the true meaning of Carpe Diem. He seized the moment and returned to his first love: singing and acting. "Most people say they want to do something; I acted on it."
And he's been doing that ever since. "No In Between," the one-act musical revue at Don't Tell Mama, found him playing Alan, a guy who jogs through Central Park thinking about his life and relationships. Mr. Eliot says that he runs everyday, too, and it also helps him to "get the voices out of his head." He liked playing Alan because it was a sophisticated role that made him think on this feet. The show was a success because it made the audience laugh and cry, and "that's what theater is all about."
On tap for the future is a one-man musical revue with dialogue about Al Jolson. Entitled "Jolson: 'You Ain't Heard Nothin' Yet," it will be produced by ETB Productions and will feature 25 Jolson songs including "Swanee" and "Mammy."
Mr. Eliot is looking forward to playing Jolson as he's been a fan of this vaudeville great for many years. "I've read books about him, listened to a lot of his songs and watched all of his movies," he says. Mr. Eliot identifies with Jolson. "What made Jolson great was his energy level. He loved to entertain, as do I. I also love to see the smile on people's faces."
Mr. Eliot is a believer in being truthful with his audience. "You can't ask an audience to experience anything you've not experienced." He also knows he has to tell the truth because as he says in his Playbill blurb, "(I) dedicate this performance to the memory of my Mom...(I) know she is watching."
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