Cantor Colman guests on ‘Steppin’ Out’ panel

Temple Sinai Cantor Joel Colman joined “Steppin’ Out” host Peggy Scott Laborde as a guest on the arts and entertainment show seen weekly over WYES-TV, Channel 12 on May 30.

Cantor Joel Colman, second from left, joins host Peggy Scott Laborde, center, with his accompanist Milton St. Julien, far left, Poppy Tooker, second from right, and CCJN editor and theatre review Alan Smason. (Photo ©Alan Smason)

Colman, whose magnificent baritone voice and hulking frame have been featured in recent performances of “Fiddler on the Roof” for Summer Lyric at Tulane University and the New Orleans Opera production of “Samson et Dalilah” has also been a longtime member of several operatic choruses.

Colman also was joined on the show with regular panelists Poppy Tooker and CCJN editor Alan Smason to talk about several music programs he has initiated to which the public is invited. He also touched briefly on his career as a cantor and what the function of a cantor is under Jewish worship.

Accompanied by pianist Milton St. Julien from the music faculty at Loyola University, Colman performed the spiritual “Heal Us Now” and closed the show out with Jerome Kern’s”Ol’ Man River” from “Showboat.” St. Julien serves as the organist at Temple Sinai.

Just after Colman’s initial performance and before his own segment, Smason also recognized the cantor’s volunteer work as a chaplain with the New Orleans Fire Department. Laborde also noted that Coleman is a motorcycle enthusiast too.

“Steppin’ Out” is about to embark on its 29th year as the entertainment and arts review program for the city of New Orleans. Laborde, an author and documentarian, created the program at WYES and later moved to WLAE-TV for several years before returning the program to WYES. She still serves as the “Steppin’ Out” producer.

Tooker, a well-known local cook, instructor and “slow” food enthusiast is the host of “Louisiana Eats,” a program now heard statewide over public radio stations. Like Laborde, she is the author of several books including the award-winning “Louisiana Eats” book that recently won the Louisiana Literary Award from the Louisiana Librarian Association.

CCJN editor Smason is now beginning his third year as the theatre critic and reviewer for the program. He is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association and serves on the Big Easy Theatre and Big Easy Opera and Classical Music Committees, which nominate local productions for awards. Smason spoke on “Bent,” the Martin Sherman Holocaust-set play that deals with the mistreatment of homosexuals during the Nazi era as well as a preview of Tony-nominated musicals and musical revivals.

For those who wish to see the show in its entirety, here is the WYES On Demand Link.