Huntington Resident Lois Morton Honored

By Michael Kornfeld

Huntington resident Lois Morton was honored last month by the Manhattan Association of Cabarets & Clubs. The trade association that seeks to advance the art and business of live entertainment in New York City presented her with its annual MAC Award for Best Revue in recognition of Twentieth Century Girl: The Lois Morton Songbook,” which was staged at Don’t Tell Mama and the Duplex, with a cast of five, under the direction of Lennie Watts (musical direction by Paul Greenwood).

“It’s so very exciting, particularly since I’ve never won anything since high school,” says Morton, who recently turned 80. That’s not entirely true since she also has secured a coveted juried showcase slot at the 2012 Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) Conference, during which the performing songwriter drew a standing ovation from an audience that was captivated by her abundant charm and thoroughly enchanted with her humorous songs of social commentary on such subjects as cell phones, clutter, diets, medications, psychotherapy, and road rage.

“She’s a plucky, sassy songwriter who writes laugh-out-loud funny material that sparkles with the glow of truth. She can unspool a dense swath of words at a quick clip that would make Gilbert and Sullivan smile with approval and maybe even envy… She zeroes in on observations, situations and irritations that modern life surrounds and confounds us with, but articulates the feelings and pops the balloons of pretentiousness with the sharpest of pins”

Rob Lester, writer – Cabaret Scenes – Nightlife Exchange Pick of the Week

Lois Morton has been delighting audiences throughout the New York metropolitan area for several years. She has been a featured performer for the Folk Music Society of Huntington and the Northport Arts Coalition, as well as performing at a number of public libraries on Long Island and beyond. On Friday afternoon, May 30, she will grace the stage of the Port Washington Public Library yet again.

Reinventing herself in retirement, she has gone from being an educator and therapist to a singer-songwriter with a rapier wit and a surprisingly contemporary approach. Morton’s show As I See It (also the title of her debut CD) highlights her’ original, often hilarious, songs that encourage us to laugh at ourselves. “Don’t be deceived – underneath Lois Morton’s sweet grandmotherly demeanor lurks a wickedly clever songwriter. The legacy of Tom Lehrer lives in Lois,” declares John Platt, host of Sunday Breakfast on WFUV in New York. 

Songs from her debut CD, As I See It, have been spun numerous times on Chicago area folk DJ Rich Warren’s local and nationally syndicated radio program, The Midnight Special, and Morton performed live in May 2013 on his program and concert series, Folkstage. She was the featured artist on Jon Stein’s “Hootenanny Café (WTBQ-FM, Warwick, NY) in April 2013. Her song “The Diet is Cast” received an “Imprint Radio” award from the late upstate New York folk DJ Terry Doyle for Best Live Performance and also was nominated for a 2012 MAC Award for Best Comedy/Novelty Song, while “Side Effects,” also from her NYC revue, was among five nominees in that category this year. Both songs appear on As I See It, which is available for purchase online via her website (www.loismorton.com), as is her 2013 release, 20^th Century Girl, a collection of 16 original songs. Performance videos also are posted on the website.

Photo of Lois Morton by Maryann Lopinto.