As a Jewish woman, it is in my blood to nurture. I was surrounded by nuturing women my entire childhood and my teen years. Some might say, a bit too nurturing leaning towards bossy, at times. Whatever. The intent was/is always to care for those we love. The Yiddish saying Balabusta (Yiddish: בעל־הביתטע) is a Yiddish expression describing a good homemaker. And I was called that by my dad, during his final years on earth. He thought it meant bossy. Yup, I got a bit bossy with my dad (desperate times call for concise measures!) –I wanted to be sure he was comfy during his final years. Love.
I believe I started writing songs out of love, to nuture listeners or to bring a respite from everyday life, to express feelings in a song to those that might not be able to expess themselves as freely. To entertain. That is how I started my singing career, as Baby June in Gypsy, with the famed song “Let Me Entertain You.” Well I guess I took it literally! Thank you Jule Styne (music) Stephen Sondheim (lyrics) for the inspiration.
Now you may be wondering why the title of this blog is Matza Ball Soup, well here we are with the answer. Today I sent a sick friend in Los Angeles, Matza Ball soup, from Canter’s in LA and delivered feverishly by Uber Eats (Odi) and ordered from my West Village apartment. Nurturing has never been easier and if I could, I’d send a quart of Matza Ball soup to allthe people I am close to. It is good for the soul. We all need some nurturing these days!!
And check out my next performance where I share all kinds of stories and songs during the United Solo Theatre Festvial 2021 of THE PASS Musical: https://unitedsolo.org/shows/the-pass-musical/
Time for some soup…
DENISE MARSA 