Gregory Toroian Presents HEARTS BE LIGHT featuring singers Jackie Draper, Brenda Liz Henry, Carol Savvas, Geoff Stoner, Carolyn Wells. With musical director Gregory Toroian on piano, Skip Ward on bass, David Silliman on drums. Directed by Geoff Stoner. Christmas time is here! Join us as we celebrate the season with festive holiday tunes - classic and contemporary, comic and profound, spirited and nostalgic!
It wouldn't be the holiday season without performances by musical director Gregory Toroian, aka "Mr. Christmas," and his accomplished musicians and singers. Rob Lester of EdgeMediaNetwork noted of one such show: "Working with bassist Skip Ward and drummer David Silliman, musical director/pianist/arranger Gregory Toroian — a true Christmas song connoisseur/collector/appreciator — creates fond settings that allow all kinds of genres to sparkle...Directed with style and spirit by Geoff Stoner."
Tickets online are $20. Tickets at the door, if available, are $25 (Cash Only). There is a $20 minimum per person (food or beverage). The house opens at 6:00pm for food and beverage service. Please join us for dinner. Seating is first come first served. PLEASE ARRIVE EARLY.
Cast and Creative team for Gregory Toroian Holiday Show: Hearts Be Light at Pangea
Cast
Gregory Toroian
Musical Director/Arranger/Pianist
Gregory Toroian is a musical director, arranger, jazz pianist, vocalist, songwriter, and educator. He has been featured in Cabaret Scenes magazine and was the 2020 Bistro Award winner for Outstanding Collaboration with Sue Matsuki, with whom he had also won a MAC award for Best Duo Production. In addition to working with such artists as Tony Bennett, Jon Hendricks, Cab Calloway, Donna Summer, Melissa Errico, Marilyn Maye, Karen Mason, and Jane Olivor, he has appeared in almost every jazz club and cabaret (major and minor) in New York. He has toured with principal dancers from the New York City Ballet and has made numerous radio and television appearances including the Today Show and Maury Povich. His recording work includes the recent debut CD of Suzanna Ross, the debut CD of award-winning cabaret artist Sue Matsuki, for which he was arranger, producer, and pianist, and seven CDs with cabaret singer Nancy Stearns. Gregory’s vocal arrangements have been featured on a series of albums in the US and Japan, by the vocal group String of Pearls. He currently offers an array of performance workshops.
Skip Ward
Bassist
Skip Ward is a Grammy Award Winning Bassist, Guitarist, Ukulele-ist (is that a word), Lap Steel, Tuba and Penny Whistle. Ward is a classically-trained jazz musician with a penchant for rock n' roll, and fusion, blues and bluegrass. Artists he has played/recorded with include: Tony Trischka, with Steve Martin, Phoebe Snow, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, Cyndi Lauper, Cassandra Wilson, David Sancious (Sting, Eric Clapton), Melissa Manchester, Glenn Miller Orchestra and more! You may have also seen him on David Letterman, SNL or the Ellen DeGeneres Show. You'll hear Skip on many soundtracks, and he has been on national tours with a number of major theatrical productions. In New York City: Shakespeare in the Park (As You Like It), Hands On A Hardbody, Million Dollar Quartet, High School Musical, Jesus Christ Superstar, Song & Dance, A Chorus Line and West Side Story.
David Silliman
Drummer
David Silliman is a drummer and percussionist. David's middle name should be “versatility”. Whether accompanying song stylists such as Mariah Carey, Cassandra Wilson, and Blossom Dearie or playing with Colombian Harpist Edmar Castaneda, David's exciting rhythmic energies add color and mood to any musical performance. He's also comfortable playing in the pit of a Broadway show or with the New Jersey Symphony. David has over 20 years of experience. His performances have taken him to concerts and festivals in Italy, Vienna, Berlin, the North Sea, Monterey, Uruguay and Lithuania. David was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he was exposed to a wide variety of music. David's first studies were in the Classical field, studying snare drum, xylophone and timpani. Later studies exposed him to Jazz, Latin Jazz, Brazilian and Funk music.“ I love living in NY because it gives me the opportunity to play and perform with so many diverse artists, across all styles of music!”
Geoff Stoner
Director/Vocalist
Geoff Stoner is an actor, cabaret performer, and director. As an actor, Stoner most recently appeared in “A Poster Of The Cosmos” and “Breakfast At The Track,” by Lanford Wilson at the 2025 Edinburgh Fringe. Geoff’s cabaret shows include A Short Visit Only, based on the life and songs of Noël Coward; You’re The Top, featuring the songs of Cole Porter; and Words Wit Music, his slice-of-life account of growing up in small-town Connecticut. Stoner studied acting with Uta Hagen and Wynn Handman. He has also directed numerous cabaret group and solo shows around New York City.
Jackie Draper
Vocalist
Jackie Draper has performed 22 different cabaret shows in NYC in venues such as Don’t Tell Mama, Danny’s Skylight Room, and the Laurie Beechman Theatre, her cabaret “home” for the past seventeen years – all with Gregory Toroian as Music Director, and all including dance. Jackie sings a myriad of styles in English, French, Spanish, Italian, German, and Portuguese. This is Jackie’s seventh Christmas show with Gregory and friends – always a delight!
Brenda Liz Henry
Vocalist
From her earliest memories, Brenda Liz Henry has loved music and storytelling. Over the last decade, she has performed in cabaret shows at Don’t Tell Mama, the Duplex, and Pangea, and she is currently working on her first solo show – A Boogie Down Bronx Tale. Set to debut in 2026, A Boogie Down Bronx Tale will tell the story of Brenda's musical journey, with Lina Koutrakos as director, and Gregory Toroian as musical director and arranger.
Carol Savvas
Vocalist
Carol Savvas is a 2004 MAC Award Nominee for her solo debut, Windmills of Your Mind, directed by Lina Koutrakos. The following year, she performed her sophomore show, Let There Be Love, directed by Koutrakos, with musical direction by the late Rick Jensen. Carol' s musical interests are wide-ranging and come from a certain feeling that “if our hearts could speak, they would probably speak in song.” Carol is delighted to be singing this holiday season with Gregory Toroian and friends, and is grateful for dear friends’ suggestions to “Come sing with us!”
Carolyn Wells
Vocalist
Carolyn Wells writes poetry, spends much time in France, and sings to find courage. As a singer, she’s studied with Mary Feinsinger and at Manhattan Cabaret Arts with Eadie Scott and the late Collette Black. She has performed in NYC at Don’t Tell Mama and Pangea. This is Carolyn’s fifth Christmas show directed by Geoff Stoner with musical direction by Gregory Toroian.
SUBMIT UPDATES
Pangea Frequently Asked Questions FAQ
Gregory Toroian Holiday Show: Christmas Dreaming (12/9/25-12/9/25)
Gregory Toroian Holiday Show "Christmas Dreaming" (12/9/25-12/9/25)
Pangea is at 178 2nd Ave, New York, NY.
Gregory Toroian Holiday Show: Christmas Dreaming (12/9/25-12/9/25)
Gregory Toroian Holiday Show "Christmas Dreaming" (12/9/25-12/9/25)
The Elliot & Karen Superfun Holiday Thing! (12/7/25-12/7/25)
Gregory Toroian Holiday Show "Hearts Be Light" (12/2/25-12/2/25)
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