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Lionel R. Shockness: Awakening(s)…Mixologist to Psychologist at Don't Tell Mama
Dates: 9/24/2026
at 7:00 PM
📍 Theatre: Don't Tell Mama
343 W. 46th Street
New York, NY 10036
Phone: (212) 757-0788
Tickets: $20–$25 — $25 Cover / $20 MAC + $20 Minimum (must include 2 drinks) per person Food menu available. CASH ONLY. No credit cards.
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Lionel R. Shockness returns to Don’t Tell Mama with his new solo show Awakening(s)…Mixologist to Psychologist. Featuring the music of Stephen Sondheim, Stephen Schwartz, David Shire, Johnny Mercer and more, Shockness is joined by Musical Director and Arranger Gregory Toroian on piano, Tom Hubbard on bass, and David Silliman on drums. Directed by Lina Koutrakos.
What happens when a 33-year-old bartender returns to college to study law—and instead discovers his life’s calling as a Psychotherapist?
Awakening(s)…Mixologist to Psychologist is an evening of music, storytelling, laughter, and heartfelt reflection inspired by more than three decades of helping people navigate love, loss, conflict, reconciliation, and the lifelong journey of becoming whole. Through unforgettable stories and songs, Shockness shares how counseling hundreds of couples transformed not only the lives of his clients, but his own—making him a better husband, father, and compassionate activist. Along the way, he invites audiences to laugh, reflect, and perhaps recognize pieces of their own lives in his.
Experience an intimate evening with a performer whose rich, soulful voice has been described as a blend of Barry White and Luther Vandross, in a show that reminds us that the most profound relationships are often the ones that awaken us to ourselves.
“Thirty-plus years of counseling couples taught me that love isn’t something we find—it’s something we practice. Join me for an evening of music, laughter, and reflections from a life spent helping people love each other a little better. Relationships transform the people who are willing to learn from them.” ~ Lional R. Shockness
AWAKENINGS(s)…Mixologist to Psychologist
Don’t Tell Mama, 343 W. 46th Street, NYC
Thursday, September 24, 7pm (Doors Open at 6:15pm)
Sunday, September 27, 4pm (Doors Open at 3:15pm)
Wednesday, October 7, 7pm (Doors Open at 6:15pm)
$25 Cover / $20 MAC + $20 Minimum (must include 2 drinks) per person
Food menu available. CASH ONLY. No credit cards.
Cast and Creative Team for Lionel R. Shockness: Awakening(s)…Mixologist to Psychologist at Don't Tell Mama
Cast
Lionel R. Shockness
Vocalist
New York City native Lionel R. Shockness, a longtime fixture on the city's cabaret scene, has appeared at Sweetwater's, The Duplex, Pangea, and Don't Tell Mama, where he presented three solo shows directed by Helen Baldassare with musical direction by Gregory Toroian: Here’s to Life!, Both Sides Now, and Being Here and Keeping It Real.
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 is a Bistro Award-Winner for Outstanding Collaboration with Sue Matsuki, with whom he 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. Recordings include his work as musical director, arranger, and pianist on Love Makes the Changes, the recent debut album of Maria Corsaro; A New Take, the debut album of award-winning cabaret artist Sue Matsuki; and CD’s with Suzanna Ross, Leslee Warren, Lina Koutrakos, Linda Kahn, Meri Ziev, and Lisa Kantor. Gregory’s vocal arrangements have been featured on a series of albums in the US and Japan, by the vocal group String of Pearls. Gregory also wrote the music to the title song of the Boston Red Sox documentary, Joy of Sox. He currently offers an array of performance workshops.
Tom Hubbard
Bassist
Tom Hubbard is a bassist, composer and arranger who lives and works in New York City. He has performed with instrumentalists Kenny Barron, Jay McShann, Charlie Rouse, Dewey Redman, Beaver Harris, Dannie Richmond and Ron Affif among others. Tom has accompanied a long list of singers including Joe Williams, Mose Allison, Freddy Cole, Chris Connor, Sheila Jordan, Liza Minnelli, Marilyn Maye, Michael Feinstein, Stacey Kent and Martha Reeves and the Vandellas. He is a two-time MAC Award winner for best ensemble instrumentalist and has a Bistro Award for best collaboration. His website is tomhubbardbass.com.
David Silliman
Drummer
David Silliman is a drummer and percussionist. Silliman'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, Silliman'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. Silliman 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. Silliman was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he was exposed to a wide variety of music. Silliman'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!”
Creative Team
Lina Koutrakos
Director
Lina Koutrakos is an award-winning singer/songwriter/teacher/director based in New York City. As a singer, she has repeatedly received rave reviews from The New York Times to Billboard Magazine in both rock and roll and cabaret and has been awarded Cabaret’s most prestigious awards for “Best Female Vocalist” and “Entertainer of the Year,” multiple times. For three decades Koutrakos has been a New York City musical fixture - as both soloist and as a director and performance coach. Her directorial nods include being a 4-time winner for “Best Director” from the MAC Association as well as a lifetime Backstage Bistro Award-Winner for “Best Director.”. Koutrakos was on staff as a Master Teacher for years at both the Eugene O'Neill Cabaret Symposium and The Yale Cabaret Conference. She was the first Master Teacher with The St. Louis Cabaret Conference and co-founded NYC’s Summer in the City yearly workshop on weekends. She has since gone on to start her own performance workshop “Performance Connection,” which umbrellas many ongoing and specialty workshops and seminars both online and in person. The Advance Performance Workshop in NYC has produced many award-winning performers and shows over the last 2 decades. Her singing and being the founder of the Midwest Cabaret Conference in Chicago for 10 years won her the “Gold Coast” Award with the Chicago Cabaret Professionals in 2019. She spearheads an annual Advanced Performance Workshop on the island of Mykonos. Due to her performance workshops with full bands to one-on-one clients across the U.S. to her own award-winning original material and one woman shows, Koutrakos has been called a “Walking Master Class” by Billboard Magazine. Website: linasings.com
News About Lionel R. Shockness: Awakening(s)…Mixologist to Psychologist at Don't Tell Mama
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Natasha Castillo: Darin to be Different...The Not So Splish-Splashy Side of Bobby Darin (09/27/26-09/27/26)
Lionel R. Shockness: Awakening(s)…Mixologist to Psychologist (09/27/26-09/27/26)
Timeless: A Tribute to Bernadette Peters (10/04/26-10/04/26)
Lionel R. Shockness: Awakening(s)…Mixologist to Psychologist (10/07/26-10/07/26)
Helane Blumfield: Invisible to Invincible (10/08/26-10/08/26)
Natasha Castillo: Darin to be Different...The Not So Splish-Splashy Side of Bobby Darin (10/11/26-10/11/26)
Project 2026: Blue Tsunami! (10/20/26-10/20/26)
Natasha Castillo: Darin to be Different...The Not So Splish-Splashy Side of Bobby Darin (10/24/26-10/24/26)
Lionel R. Shockness: Awakening(s)…Mixologist to Psychologist (09/27/26-09/27/26)
Timeless: A Tribute to Bernadette Peters (10/04/26-10/04/26)
Lionel R. Shockness: Awakening(s)…Mixologist to Psychologist (10/07/26-10/07/26)
Helane Blumfield: Invisible to Invincible (10/08/26-10/08/26)
Natasha Castillo: Darin to be Different...The Not So Splish-Splashy Side of Bobby Darin (10/11/26-10/11/26)
Project 2026: Blue Tsunami! (10/20/26-10/20/26)
Natasha Castillo: Darin to be Different...The Not So Splish-Splashy Side of Bobby Darin (10/24/26-10/24/26)
Where is Don't Tell Mama located?
Don't Tell Mama is at 343 W. 46th Street, New York, NY.
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