Review: Lauren Marcus A Tonic In THE DRUGSTORE RESIDENCY at The Laurie Beechman Theatre

There’s a famous saying that shows up on memes and samplers, in speeches and articles that says, “Be yourself.  The world worships the original.”  If you ask Google who said it, the search engine will tell you it is either Ingrid Bergman or Jean Cocteau.    It doesn’t really matter who said it, all that matters is that people hear it, understand it, and learn how to live in it.  There’s no telling if Lauren Marcus was ever exposed to the expression, or if she just knows, instinctively, that it’s the truth.  You see, Lauren Marcus is an original.  She is one of the most original people a person could hope to meet, and, naturally enough, her originality is sprinkled all over her art, and if you want to see just how original she and her art are, you have a chance every month, and you should grab it.  

The Laurie Beechman, under the aegis of The D’Angora’s (and, specifically, Michael D’Angora, who has made The Beechman his baby), has become the home of Diva Residencies.   For over a year, they have been hosting monthly performances by Lorna Luft, Andrea McArdle, Donna McKechnie, and Lillias White, but now they have a new residency, a residency that may stand on its own, or that may be the first of the Indie Residencies.  This new residency is THE DRUGSTORE RESIDENCY and it is blossoming from the brain of that Mistress of Originality herself, Lauren Marcus.

Ms. Marcus, an actress who plays around town and around the country, is also a musical artist who spends her time away from creating characters originating out of other peoples’ words and music engaged in the act of creating characters all her own out of melodies and lyrics that are, also, all her own.  The Drugstore Residency is everyone’s chance to see this true blue original in the act, and although she has presented her solo shows at clubs like Rockwood Music Hall, Joe’s Pub, and 54 Below, it has been a while since Lauren has had a regularly scheduled performance for people to catch.  At her second night out with The Drugstore Residency, on October 15th, she had a healthy crowd in the room, but there were seats available around the room, which kind of surprised this writer, who has been to standing room only Marcus shows.  So, friends, hie thee to The Beechman next time because what everyone will find at the Drugstore is choice, through and through.

In my 2021 review of Lauren Marcus’s 54 Below show, I spent some column space writing about her quirky, ethereal, fascinating, magical qualities, all of which are still in place, but what I want to touch on today is the woman within whom those qualities thrive, because the artist I saw on the 15th was more grounded, more settled, more locked in, and maybe that’s because of some of the things that life has dropped in her lap, all of which she spoke about, openly, with honesty and vulnerability.  This is one of the plusses in having Lauren Marcus in your life, in your eyes, and in your ears - she doesn’t know how to be false, and she doesn’t know how to hide.  She’s always been open about her alopecia.  Sometimes she has hair, sometimes she doesn’t.  Sometimes she wears wigs, sometimes she doesn’t   Right now she has some good lookin’ hair.  She also has an amazing shirt that she bought (at the insistence of husband, Joe Iconis) that refers to the days when she doesn’t have hair, so, instead of going for her usual vintage look, she wore her bald shirt and brought with it a good story.  This year, Lauren had a preventative double mastectomy and had her breasts reconstructed out of fat from her stomach.  She has shared this story on her social media, and what’s good for social media is great for live shows.  She and Joe also have a baby daughter now, Roxie, and Roxie is always good for a story or two during one of Lauren’s shows.  Lauren Marcus has come to share, and to do so frankly, and she does it by keeping it straight with her audience (a segment during which she read, aloud, a list of her fears about the night - “nobody will come” - was heartwarming and hilarious in all its honesty) and by singing the extraordinary songs she has written, some of them older tunes we have heard before, and some of them so new that special guest Joe Iconis needed a hot-off-the-press lead sheet.  And, while Lauren is irresistible, while her monological stories are worth hearing, The Drugstore Residency is a music show, so the music has to be good, which it is not.

The music is great.  

Lauren Marcus has a unique voice as a singer AND as a songwriter.   The compositions she plays range in styles, and there is a generous helping of thoughtful lyrics dressed in slow moving melodies, for the lovers of ballads, but a lot of Lauren’s offerings are in the room to bring joy through rock rhythms that will make you want to dance, and if you can’t actually get up on your feet, you will most certainly be dancing in your chair.   Her 2023 song “Skinny and Blonde” set the tone for the evening, getting the room rocking early in the night, which was especially easy, given her nine piece ensemble, three members of which were a team of back up singers that glowed with happiness as they supported their headliner with exquisite vocals, some of which were duets with Lauren.  “I Got The One That Got Away Back” was another opportunity for Marcus and co. to get the crowd grooving in their seats, though the structure of the song is a little less straightforward than “Skinny” and more cheeky, more like an acting exercise during which Marcus can employ all those whispers and growls and squeaks that, so effectively, convey the character she is portraying.  Like her tangential personality, Marcus’s songs are unpredictable and ever-changing, like “Big Hat” which starts out on the quietly rolling side before the pulsating urgency of the storytelling and arrangement find you, once again, writhing in your chair, wishing you could get up and dance.  But don’t do it.  Don’t do it unless you can dance while paying attention to the lyrics, because Lauren Marcus isn’t writing songs for the sake of going into the studio to record a radio hit; she is writing songs to create musical paintings into which one can look, to make moods and vibes and imagery and people, all of which you can relate to IF you listen to the lyrics.   Observe the narrative nature of residency title track “Drugstore” (which feels like a Beth Henley play or a Carson McCullers story) or the character-driven piece “I Hate Music,” informed by her own experience being disappointed by the musical theater industry.  When Marcus is given the chance, she will draw the listener in with experiences that one might recognize, like “Our Show” (about a long-term love that lasts) or experiences that one hopes don’t resonate within one’s life, like “It’s Happening Again” (about a relationship that seems to have some trust issues), and even when a song is written about her specific journey with alopecia, the message of the lyric can resonate, deeply, with anyone who has experienced any kind of evolution, as observed simply in the chorus of “Funeral” (if the phrase "I'm gonna have a funeral for the old me" doesn't speak to any person over the age of thirty, then they got through life luckier than most).  And, in every instance, in every song, Lauren delivers the story with eyebrow-raising vocals, otherworldly and impressive, and sometimes hard to believe, not to mention (always) invested and informed acting choices that appear less as acting and more as lived experience.  The Drugstore Residency is a music show that is perfect for New Yorkers because we are always on the lookout for a good NYC adventure, we are always on the prowl for quality entertainment, we are always on the way to a new destination, be it the Bronx or the Beechman, and with her indie rocker chick vibe and her decades-reaching sense of style, with one of the best bands you’ve ever heard, and special guests like Mr. Iconis, this hour with Lauren Marcus is one that will send audiences home happy that they live in a city where such options exist.

The Drugstore Residency band is Mike Rosengarten on Guitar, Dennis Michael Keefe on Bass, Jeremy Yaddaw on Drums, Rob Rokicki on Piano, Lindsay Ross on Trumpet, Becca Patterson on Trombone, Zac Zinger on Saxophone.  Lauren’s Ladies are Danielle Gimbal (who was featured on the song “Big Hat”), Morgan Siobhan Green (who was featured on “Happening Again”), and Hana Slevin (who was featured on “Funeral”).

Lauren’s Special Guest on October 15th was Joe Iconis.

The Drugstore Residency plays The Laurie Beechman Theatre every month.  Check the Beechman calendar HERE for the next performance and for other great shows.

Lauren Marcus has a website HERE.

Photos by Stephen Mosher

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