MOTHER AND DAUGHTER OFFER MUSICAL MOTHER’S DAY WEEKEND SHOWS

Mothers don’t only pass down the rules and lessons needed to be successful in life. Mothers also pass down – through very subtle pathways – the influences of their own lives that then have an enormous defining impact on the succeeding generation.

One of those subtle pathways is music. There was a kind of message in every tune your mother hummed as she rocked you to sleep. The child grows up hearing the music of her parents’ lives. Over time, the music of the mother’s generation melds with the music of their children’s lives, and a musical fabric is formed that both find themselves wrapped in. As time progresses, that fabric becomes richer and more colorful, a shared thing that both become defined by.

So it has been with Camille Russo Toler and her daughter Erika Monet Butters. Mother and daughter, both consummate singers and entertainers – the former as an entertainer, the latter in opera, both in musical theatre – have found their shared musical influences to be a most powerful bond between them…a rich river of song they have shared since Erika’s birth.

Camille and Erika will share that river with audiences in a special show, “The Story Goes On”, Sunday through Tuesday, May 8 – 10, at the Red Barn Theatre in Key West. Curtains are at 8 pm. As it happens, May 10th is Mother’s Day, which suits Camille just fine. Perfect for a mother-daughter musical journey.

“I grew up on the Upper East Side of Harlem,” she said. “My mother was a dancer with the Harry James Orchestra, we lived around the corner from the Apollo Theatre. I grew up listening to those singers – Billy Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Lena Horne – heard them all the time. My music was kind of an extension of that: Motown, Philly Soul, the old rock ‘n’ roll, Aretha.”

And all of that was what Erika was hearing as a young child, to which she added her generation’s rock, disco, and divas like Whitney Houston and Celine Dion….a straight line back to her mother’s and grandmother’s strong female singers.

“And Disney,” Erika said. “I always wanted to be a Disney princess. I used to sing and dance to those tunes all the time.” Which could explain why Erika is now the lead singer for Holland America Cruise Lines – the princess in a glamorous floating kingdom.

“The Story Goes On” will touch all of those influences in a unique show that follows Camille and Erika’s musical journey across three generations. Narration will complement the songs, which cover everything from Camille’s Harlem childhood through Erika’s Disney fantasies, all delivered by two of Key West’s best singers, accompanied by Joe Dallas, Skipper Kripitz, Les Dudley, and Ann McFarland, and with special appearances by Jimmy Olson and Chris Toler. Musical direction will be by Larry Smith.

“We’ve always wanted to do a show together,” Camille said, “but schedules didn’t mesh. And I think we’ve created a perfect journey for our audiences to show how influences passed down from those who came before have made us who we are today.”

Tickets are available now at the Red Barn Box Office at 305-296-9911, or online at redbarntheatre.com. The show is sponsored by Island Resort Realty and the Monroe County Tourist Development Council.

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