By Bart Greenberg***Singers Niki Haris and Donna De Lory’s first careers were as back-up vocalists for Madonna. During the 14 years they spent with the superstar, they developed a deep friendship. Eventually each going their own ways in pursuing music careers (and personal lives), they often reunited for concerts with a mix of their own music and that penned by their patroness. After an absence of five years, they 
returned to The Greenroom 42 for a spirited evening in front of a packed room of devoted fans.
They certainly are terrific performers, creating beautiful harmonies on their duets and proving themselves exciting soloists. Where the show went into troubled waters was in the somewhat undisciplined nature of the evening.
The show kicked off with two gentlemen named Mark Snyder and Kenny Finkle taking the stage. It was obvious that a good part of the audience knew who they were, but for the uninitiated they have a podcast called “All I Want to Do Is Talk About Madonna.” The duo spent several minutes being true to their title and gushing about The Material Girl, with some references to the stars of the evening. As a warm up act they were less than effective, and the best thing that could be said for them was that they were brief. They were also unnecessary.
Finally, the two singers took the stage, and take it they did, with a celebration of their unlikely friendship, coming from very different backgrounds. The delivered a dynamite “I Know You,” then shifting gears, ventured into the world of gospel with “I Am Blessed.” Unfortunately, too much reverb and 
repetitive lyrics blunted the effect of the number. It was also distracting in the early part of the program that both moved around the stage aimlessly. A great deal—which spread out the energy thinly and proved distracting a great deal of the time.
And then Haris settled onto a stool for a torch number that threatened to bring the ceiling down from the scorching heat she gave off. “I Could Have Told You” proved to be the emotional highlight of the evening. It also gave music director/keyboardist Ben Stivers an exciting solo in the middle. The other terrific musicians, who were performing with limited rehearsal time, which made their work even more impressive, were Ben Butler on guitar, Doug Yowell on drums and Richard Hammond on bass.
De Lory had her own solo spot, giving a fine and moving rendition of Bonnie Raitt’s “Nobodies Girl.” “Carefully Taught” allowed the two stars to offer up some gorgeous a 
capella work. They clearly share the very great talent of being able to listen to each other. Another exxcellent song choice that seemed almost written for the duo was “Two Friends.” And Madonna’s own hit, “Rain,” was certainly a pyrotechnic display that got the audience worked up.
A very clever, and quite surprising combination, which brought the show to a close (except for the obligatory encore) was the rocking “Optimistic” introduced by “Optimistic Voices” from The Wizard of Oz—perhaps the most inventive moment of the show. Over all, the evening was a delight with these two tremendously talented women clearly sharing their love with the audience.
To follow these artists and learn about their upcoming engagements, you can find them at @donnadeloy, @nikianddoona and @nikiharisofficial.
Photos by Mark Wallis
