The timing is perfect.
Just as the “Buskin & Batteau & Friends: April Fools! Tour” lands in Sellersville, it’ll be time to celebrate the 95th birthday of Tom Lehrer.
A legendary singer-songwriter/satirist/college professor whose killer wit was especially in vogue during the 1960s amid protests of the war in Vietnam, Lehrer stood apart from mere mortals.
He will be five years shy of a centenarian on April 9, when an all-star cast of folkies plays the Sellersville Theater at 24 W. Temple Ave. Showtime is 7:30 p.m. For tickets, call 215-257-5808, or visit st94.com.
With so much doom and gloom in the headlines these days, at home and abroad, the tour leaders — veteran folksinger-songwriters David Buskin and Robin Batteau — know it’s high time for the fun to shine.
“We all do love songs and we all do funny songs,” Batteau said. “We’ve taken it upon ourselves to bear the mantle of comedy throughout the entire month of April. It’ll be fun to focus on the funny stuff. Everybody deserves to laugh a little more.”
Among performers contributing to the fun is John Forster, a Philadelphian by birth who now resides in Nyack, N.Y.
Forster is a sure-fire rib tickler with his song “Entering Marion,” a hilarious accounting of his “tramping all over the state” of Massachusetts. The 351 cities and towns within its confines officially constitute a commonwealth — à la Pennsylvania — but let’s not quibble. It’s beside the point. And besides, many have made the case that Forster, who’ll turn 75 on April 1, is a modern-day equivalent of the great one, Mister Lehrer.
Lehrer himself took note of Forster some time ago by anointing him with “you don’t need me to kick around anymore. Now you have John Forster.”
“I don’t know about that; he’s the master,” Forster bubbled humbly. “I’m just flattered to be compared to him.”
Forster concedes that he has been influenced by Lehrer. He wet his whistle on the humorist at the age of 7, when young John listened to the Lehrer album “Be Prepared.”
“I didn’t understand all the meanings of the words and phrases,” Forster said, “but I memorized it all.”
The April Fools Tour will pay tribute to Lehrer by performing one or more of the old boy’s songs.
The roster of performers guarantees that humor, and lots of it, will let the fun shine in. Buskin and Batteau, notorious for their witty banter which often morphs into lyrics, will be joined by Forster, Christine Lavin and up-and-coming Shanna in a Dress.
Buskin, 79, has entertained audiences since the early 1970s with his ballad, and signature song, “When I Need You Most of All,” with Batteau, 75, now on violin. It always draws huge applause. Ditto for Batteau’s “The Boy with the Violin,” with Buskin on piano.
Lavin, 71, was a can’t-miss choice for the tour. Founder of the Four Bitchin’ Babes in 1990, Lavin personifies humor, in recordings and onstage. She has a vast library of humorous lyrics from which to select.
“I probably have been to a hundred Buskin and Batteau shows over the years,” Lavin said. “They’re my favorite thinking man’s duo. When they asked me to do it, I was like, ‘Wow. I’m going to a Buskin and Batteau show and I don’t have to pay.’”
“I feel the same way,” Buskin cracked.
Up-and-coming Shanna in a Dress will delight listeners with her quirky folk-pop offerings. Having grown up as Shanna Hoar in northern Virginia, she started writing songs 15 years ago while attending the University of Virginia and has been performing for a decade now.
She opened one of her shows for Lavin, of whom Shanna said, “She is just such a master, and is so, so, so kind offstage, too. I hope I’m still helping audiences laugh and as playfully creative as she is at this stage in her career and life.”
Said Lavin of Shanna, riding the success of her debut CD, Robot (2022), “She’s ridiculously talented — funny, smart, quick, a really fast writer — plus she can memorize her songs really quickly, too. She’s also tall and beautiful.”
And this from the Shanna in a Dress website: “A clever millennial who sucks at dating, Shanna in a Dress says what everyone is thinking but doesn’t have the guts to say. She captivates audiences with her fearlessly personal music that draws laughter and tears every time.”
The touring stars will also acknowledge longtime folkie Cheryl Wheeler, who is on hiatus but expected to resume her appearances before year’s end.
Dick Trust is a retired sports reporter at the Patriot Ledger in Quincy, Mass. The Massachusetts resident donated this column to the Herald.
Join our readers whose generous donations are making it possible for you to read our news coverage. Help keep local journalism alive and our community strong. Donate today.
