Photos by Glenn Triest
Anita Greene has
entertained all over the
United States.
0
AARON HALABE
Special to The Jewish News
11 t's a long way from
Oak Park, Mich., to
42nd Street in New
York. But Broadway-
style singer Anita
Greene's cross-country
career has been bridging the
geographical gap for two
decades.
Ms. Greene began her pro-
fessional singing career
when, in her sophomore year,
she left the theater and music
departments at Wayne State
University for a nightclub job
in Lima, Ohio. Although she
periodically returns to
Detroit, she has spent most of
the past two decades perform-
ing the music of Broadway
shows in small playhouses
and dinner theaters around
the country.
Ms. Greene, whose voice
evokes hints of Ethel Mer-
man, Carol Channing and
Barbra Streisand, sings the
familiar melodies of 42nd
OA Fall native Anita Giffin is
taking the long road to Broadway,
Street and Schubert Alley.
Her credits include Fanny
Brice in Funny Girl, Lucy in
You're a Good Man Charlie
Brown, Agnes Gooch in
Mame and Guinevere in
Camelot.
Her vocal versatility also
allows her to sing jazz and
popular music. She has per-
formed nationally with near-
ly 20 big bands and top-40
groups, including local
engagements with the
Johnny Trudell and Mel Ball
bands.
Other local credits include
commercial voice-overs, radio
work on the Marc Avery and
Dick Purtan shows and a per-
formance of the national an-
them for a nationally televis-
ed Detroit Tigers baseball
game.
During her years on the
road, she developed a one-
woman show called "A 'Mast
To Broadway." In the
miniature musical, she
weaves her favorite Broadway
songs into a lighthearted and
humorous look at many of
life's trials and tribulations.
Ms. Greene says that design-
ing the show took determina-
tion because she had no help
in choreographing, making
sets and costumes and ar-
ranging music.
"There is no help in this
business. • I mean, you can't
depend on somebody else to
help you. So unless you know
you can do it all yourself, it's
tough . . . I'm determined. It's
one of those things where
you've got no money for
charts, you've got no in-
fluence, you've got no connec-
tions — this is an impossible
task — and I said: 'No. I'll find
a way.' "
Show business has not been
easy for Ms. Greene. Her
grueling life on the road has
included countless perfor-
mances in towns from
Barnesville, Pa., to Tarkio,
Mo., to San Francisco. Add
stops in New Jersey, Florida,
Iowa, Nebraska and a five-
year stay in Dallas, and
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
67