Two stools sitting on the stage.
It's as if I have come to see Noel Paul Stookey AND Peter Yarrow. Noel Paul
stands for the first part of the show and sits on one stool for the second
part. The other stool has become a table for a bottle of water. But Peter's
memory is here. He and Paul played here many times. Noel Paul is comfortable
here.
It is September 12, 2026, and I
am at The Kate on another beautiful afternoon in Old Saybrook. The area between
the theatre and the Town Hall is covered in American flags displayed in memory
of 9/11. I laugh thinking that this must be my week for tall men in concert.
Tuesday night was Justin Hayward. Saturday afternoon is Noel Paul Stookey.
Let me give you some information
for your success with Noel Paul Stookey. He is very aware of his connection
with Peter, Paul and Mary but he is his own person personally and
professionally. If you see him and you say, "Hi Paul!" he knows that you
see him only as one of a folk trio. If you say, "Hi Noel!" he will
greet you back, knowing that you are aware of him as a single member of the
music community.
In These Times
Noel is 88 years old (young) and
has this magnificent strong voice. He calls this show A Concert of Remembrance
and has chosen songs of personal and societal importance.
Weave Me The Sunshine
State Of The Heart (about Pete
Seeger)
Golf Song - a comical poem
talk/sung without instruments because there are no songs about golf
Right Field - AHA, there IS a
song about baseball
Puff The Magic Dragon
When tuning a guitar, look at
the face. Eyebrows arched means it sounds good. Mouth askew means I don't have
it right.
One And Many
There's an Elephant in the
Living Room
I digress - which is part of the
charm of this concert.
Garden Song
Cue the Moon
The Wedding Song - Was there
ever such a lovely vision in a song?
Jean Claude
Revolution 1x1
Blowin' In The Wind
If I Had A Hammer
As I sit here, pretend that I
have gotten up, left the stage and returned to this stool to sing the encore.
AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL - two new
verses added
This reminds us that no matter
what is going on politically across our country, the ideal of the American
spirit of freedom and equality lives on somewhere in people's hearts. We can be
more together than apart.
Noel Paul Stookey was warm and
so talented. It was a wonderful afternoon that I will cherish.
Shelley J Sweet-Tufano
NE Correspondent
Forgotten Hits
60 YEARS AGO TODAY:
10/28/66 – Comedian Andy Richter is born
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