The day after Monty Singer’s Thomas the Train 2rd birthday bash, he begged his mother for another party. Fortunately his mom is award winning Off- Broadway songwriter Melissa Levis – otherwise known as beloved kiddie rocker, Moey. Inspired by her son’s love of parties, Melissa created a party-themed Mommy & Me music class at the NY Junior League (130 East 80th St.)
Every week is a different party in Moey’s Music Party. Children don sombreros for Fiesta Parties, cowboy hats for Wild West Parties, and tiaras and crowns for Prince & Princess Parties. Kids explore instruments that relate to each theme – rain sticks for Spring Garden Parties, maracas for Fiesta Parties, and lollipop drums for Halloween Parties. Just like a real birthday party, every class features singing, dancing, bubbles, scarves, pompoms – plus give away party favors.
This summer, classes will be held at 10:00 and 11:00 on Wednesday and Thursday mornings from June 29th-August 11th. The class will meet in Central Park at Cedar Hill, East 79th Street near 5th Avenue.
As a mom who went to countless classes with her child, Moey realized that it’s equally as important to engage the caregivers. Moms love Moey’s class because it’s so interactive and in addition to singing kid friendly classics, she sings ‘80s pop hit “I Want Candy” for the Halloween Party, “Crocodile Rock” for the Jungle Party, and “Rockin Robin” for the Spring Party.
A highlight of every class is her original musical puppet shows based on classic fairytales. “I was raised on Free To Be You and Me and want to give modern endings to traditional fairytales.” Instead of being saved by the woodcutter, Moey’s Red Riding Hood gives the wolf a judo kick. Her Sleeping Beauty and Snow White giving themselves a magical wake up kiss.
With the help of 65 children and mommies, Moey turned these songs into Happily Ever Moey! A Fairy Tale Lark in Central Park, CD and DVD collection which will be debuting on July 12th.
Moey has entertained thousands of New York City children at FAO Schwarz, The New York Public Library, The Tribeca Film Festival and more. She earned the moniker “the Pied Piper in Pink” after creating Central Park’s Sandbox Sing-Along series and performing for over 10,000 children in more than 25 concerts in playgrounds throughout Central Park. She co-wrote songs with ‘80s rocker Billy Squire and has written custom songs for 2008 Presidential candidate Bill Richardson, former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and actor Eli Wallach. Additional songwriting credits include Ooh La La Hamptons, a CD released by her tongue-in-cheek band, Melissa & The Moguls. She is a graduate of Brown University and holds an MFA in Musical Theatre Writing from New York University.
Disclosure: I was not compensated for this blog post.
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