On Stage: Zan & The Winter Folk w/Tim Leonard & Raya Malcolm, 8/17/18

Troy Foundry Theatre artistic director David Girard hosted the latest in the company's Summer Pop-Up series in his 4th Street home. The backyard was converted into a makeshift tent theatre in anticipation of torrential downpours and thunderstorms. Good thing, too, because Mother Nature just had to have the last word.

Tim Leonard opened the festivities shortly after 7:30 with a short set comprised mostly of Townes Van Zant covers. Leonard's voice falls somewhere in between Arlo Guthrie and Bob Dylan. I'm not all that familiar with Van Zant's work, though I've heard other artists cover him over the years.

The ambience of the "theatre" recalled the late, lamented Rolls Touring Company, which breathed its last nearly 25 years ago after moving from its basement home on 4th Street and into the former Puritan Tea Room on 3rd. That space now houses Capital Cash. Go figure.

Raya Malcolm was up next, with a short set of original numbers, fresh out of the box, if you will. Instead of a guitar, Raya used a ukelele, which is rare in this day and age. The "sad" love songs were balanced by Raya's charm and presence. I think we may see more of her, and soon.

Headliners Zan & The Winter Folk had just played another venue in the city two weeks ago, and will play a couple more gigs in town. They're at the Hangar on The Hudson tomorrow, and return downtown in 2 weeks at the River Street Pub, with a Sunday show in Round Lake in between. Prior to the main event, Girard announced the 2018-9 season for the Foundry Theatre, which will be posted on their website tomorrow morning.

Unfortunately for Zan Strumfeld and her band, they barely got about 2-3 songs into their set, and were ready to queue up a tribute to Aretha Franklin before the leaks in the makeshift tent forced an abrupt end to the evening.

Props to Girard, Emily Curro, and the rest of the Foundry Theatre crew for mounting the show and improvising the tent in the hope they could fill the three hour window scheduled. Improvisation, after all, is in the spirit of theatre.