Interview: At Home With Corinna Sowers Adler

It's all about making a difference. Popular nightclub singer Corinna Sowers Adler knows that, to be sure. When putting together a new cabaret show, Ms. Sowers Adler takes painstaking care to see to it that the audience is getting an evening of substance, of storytelling that they will remember, long after the curtain has come down, which is why those shows are always sold-out and well-reviewed. It is because CSA applies that same care and focus to her work away from the clubs that other artists of all ages are bringing their own brands of making a difference to their own work. The Nicori Studios and Productions that Corinna and her husband, Nicholas Adler, created is where the twosome dedicates their lives to the instruction of young people in the art of storytelling, and it's a passionate dedication that is paying off for everyone.

This interview was conducted digitally and is reproduced in its entirety.

Name: Corinna Sowers Adler
First Cabaret Show (Title, Year, Club): "Stories" 2010 Laurie Beechman
Most Recent Cabaret Show: "By Request"
Website or Social Media Handles: www.nicoristudios.com
Facebook: Corinna Sowers Adler
IG: Corinnasings

Corinna, welcome to Broadway World Cabaret! We are so happy to have you with us today.

Thank you so much for including me! It's a real treat as I am a big fan of Broadway World!

While many people in quarantine have been doing the Netflix and chill thing, you have actually been about as busy as Miss Truvy before Shelby's wedding. Has all the work been a welcome distraction during these troubled times?

Ha! Love the comparison to Miss Truvy. The work has been significantly less than it was in before-COVID-19 times, but what there is of it has been a true blessing. We are finding ways to still connect with the students from the studio. I have done some recordings of performances for special causes, along with some virtual live shows. Coming up, I will be mentoring some young performers through a masterclass series starting next week. All of it has me counting my blessings on the daily to still be able to create, albeit in a new way.

You and your family live outside of the city, so you have had the benefit of open spaces, too, does that provide any kind of solace?

Nick and I live in Bloomfield, NJ which is rather urban even though it is outside the city. The real open spaces are where our families live in PA. After three months of quarantine, we have now been able to take advantage of the 46 acres my family owns and have spent some time there these past couple of weeks where the number of virus cases is next to none. It has been a welcome change and I have learned that I appreciate it more than ever! However...wow, am I missing NYC!

A lot of the public often make the assumption that singing in a nightclub pays the bills, but the truth is that almost every artist has day work, and you are one of the prime examples. Let's talk about Nicori Studios & Productions for a moment.

You have an upcoming event called Perfectly Imperfect that I would love to know about.

Yes! We got married in 2001 and basically incorporated NiCori Studios & Productions right after we tied the knot! It has taken many forms over these past years but is now the artist in residence company at the Oakeside Bloomfield Cultural Center in Bloomfield, NJ. It is our mission to Educate, inspire, and entertain. We have voice lessons for all ages, theatre classes for kids ages 9-19, and we produce and promote cabaret and musical performances, including our series' MUSIC AT THE MANSION and NICORI PRESENTS. The "Perfectly Imperfect" show that features our NiCori Teen Performance Ensemble and will be showcased in two thematic episodes on Wednesday and Thursday nights through the Zoom Webinar platform. The episodes include newly written or lightly performed songs written by some of today's top Cabaret and Musical Theatre songwriters, including Meg Flather, Garry Novikoff, Andrew Koss, Tanya Leah, Jess Newman, and many others. Wednesday night's episode is entitled PERFECTLY IMPERFECT: IMAGE and Thursday night is PERFECTLY IMPERFECT: RELATIONSHIPS. My student, 16-year-old Arriana Cherry, created the best description of the show: "In this imperfect world, it is important to remember the good things. Come join us as we experience what makes us all the same on the inside...our emotions".

You and Nicholas run your Mom and Pop shop educational academy while also working, respectively, as a performer and House Manager at Jazz At Lincoln Center, and you still have one of the most romantic social media pages around - how do you two manage to squeeze in the time for date nights and such?

The thing is, Nick and I truly like each other! I mean...there are times over the past 24 years (19 married) that we may have wanted to push the other one out the window (totally joking...sort of...) and we have certainly had our high and very low points, but we do genuinely enjoy each other's company. We have been together since we were 18 years old and have had to grow up in many ways together. It is hard to find the balance between work and home when both parties work in the same field and when you run a business together. We both also tend to be workaholics and have to consciously make the choice to not have a dinner out have it become all about whatever our next project is. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Actually, the quarantine time kind of helped with that. We had many less projects and more time to just be us without work; A positive spin on the whole thing, I guess.

On the subject of Nicholas, how proud are you of him, branching out into writing with his work as a Broadway World correspondent?

One night we were home (of course) and he said: "I have an idea". Now, that is usually my line and is sometimes answered with an "oh-no-now-what-are-we-going-to-be-doing-look" so I was intrigued. He said that he had this idea about doing an interview based on the things he finds interesting about the performers he admires most using questions he and I often wonder about when having a discussion about these people. He wanted to title it "So Now You Know" and I thought it was a great idea! Where I may have my face buried in a book that includes some kind of fantasy; witches, magic, and the like, Nick has always loved biographies and learning about how people got to where they are. I am so proud! I get to be the first one to read them, (may have offered a couple of questions of my own) and have loved reading these well written, well thought out, conversational articles he has come up with. It's been another cool addition to this "pause" we find ourselves in.

As a teacher, do you think that the New Medium of online teaching is challenging because of any perceived disconnect from not being in the room with the students, or does it help them with their independence and accountability?

I would say it is not optimal, but it has its own unexpected gifts. I also have been learning and expressing to my students that these skills that we have sort of been forced to learn are not going to leave us when we are back to whatever normal is. I think many things will have more of a virtual element, so I have been trying to bridge the gap between virtual and non-virtual in terms of their vocal and acting education. I think many schools will start using these platforms more than they already have been for college auditions and other programs so we are going to try to be the best we can be at all of these skills and the skills needed to be our best selves as performers. Nothing can replace the collective energy that happens when people are creating in the same room. That being said, I am immensely grateful for the connections we have been able to form virtually and I realize that if this would have happened even 5-10 years ago, there may not have been a way to continue to create with them as the technology would not have been there. So, as with all things, there are gifts to be found.

When running your own business out of your home while under quarantine, what ways have you and your family found to create a separation for the two mindsets of home work and home life.

As I said before, it's a bit of a dance for Nick and I. We both love our work and we have to really be conscious of keeping home and work separate. We are not always great at it, but we are getting better. One of the things we will drop work for is spending time with our nephews. It was hard not to see them in person for three and a half months. They have also gained lots of technical skills over this quarantine time and will often FaceTime us many times a day! Sometimes, as is the case with our 5-year-old nephew, it's just to watch him lineup his Pokemon cards or spin a coin or throw a paper airplane, but Uncle Nick and I would not trade those moments for anything!

What are some of the personal projects and forms of relaxation that have helped the time in quarantine to pass more pleasantly?

We have watched more Netflix than I have ever had time to watch before! I have also been taking lots of walks. We have a lovely outdoor patio garden area that we have been spending lots of time in reading and having nightly fireside chats, and there is lots of planning and dreaming for the future. I try to curtail that as much as possible and just be in this moment but working ahead is a hard habit to break.

Corinna, what's the most romantic thing Nicholas has ever done for you?

When we were together for just a year he arranged for a restaurant in Wilkes Barre, PA to close and serve us a 5-course meal to celebrate. There have been many more romantic things but the fact that he did that when we were all of 19 still makes me smile all these years later.

Thanks for chatting with me today - I'm most grateful to you. You folks stay well and safe.

Thank you, Stephen. And...thank you for being such a bright light in this time. You and Broadway World are truly a blessing to all of us in the cabaret and broadway communities and I am grateful to know you.

Photos provided by Corinna Sowers Adler