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July 20, 2001/Tamuz 29, 5761, Vol. 53, No.41
Women pursue passion for music
LEISAH NAMM
Assistant Editor
After taking a break from pursuing musical careers to raise their respective children, two Valley women have stepped back behind microphones to follow their musical aspirations.
Last year, Sheri Dobrusin of Scottsdale and Jettie Kootman of Paradise Valley formed Memory Lane Musical Entertainers, a musical duo that strives to bring audiences on a musical trip through different decades.
Since they founded the group, the two have created "Those Fabulous Forties," a show with a song list that includes songs such as "Just the Way You Look Tonight," "I Get a Kick Out of You," and "Sentimental Journey." The 50-minute show includes singing and choreographed dancing.
Their next show, "Broadway Bound" is scheduled to be completed by fall. Other show ideas they've discussed include '50s and '60s music and Jewish and children's music.
They both agree that the response of their audiences is what they enjoy the most.
"When I look at people, they're singing right along and they all have lovely smiles," Kootman says.
After a recent show for the independent living facility at Kivel Campus of Care in Phoenix, Kootman says a woman approached her and said 'I'm going to go to sleep tonight with a smile on my face because you've brought such wonderful memories.'
"I almost started crying," Kootman says.
Roz Goodell, 94, a resident of Kivel, said everybody enjoyed the performance, which included "music that we all are familiar with and enjoy." She also was impressed with the evening-dress elegance Memory Lane presented and said residents have already requested a future performance.
Since Dobrusin and Kootman place a high priority on family life, most of their performances are during the day while their children are at school.
"We had both sung professionally in bands for years and you come home at 2 or 3 in the morning," Kootman says. With Memory Lane, the women perform mainly at retirement communities and luncheons for organizations such as Hadassah, B'nai B'rith and Lion's Club. "Unexpectedly, what's happening is (that) even though we were gearing it to the seniors, a lot of younger people have been inviting us (to do private parties)," Dobrusin notes.
Both women were raised in Pennsylvania, where they started their singing careers, but didn't meet until last year after being introduced by a mutual friend who knew they both loved to sing.
Dobrusin grew up in Philadelphia and by age 15 was performing with a trio that played at community and private functions.
In the early '80s she was the lead vocalist for the Midnight Express Band, a Top-40 band, and traveled the major hotel circuit on the East Coast.
At the same time, she also worked as an independent studio vocalist in Philadelphia, performing on many demo tapes for local performers and songwriters.
She and her husband Richard, a family practice physician, moved to the Valley in 1991 and they live in Scottsdale with their children Adam, 13, and Danielle, 10.
Kootman, a native of Lancaster, Penn., was the featured vocalist with the Bobby Ohler Orchestra in New Orleans for seven years before she moved to Phoenix in 1990 from St. Louis. During her years in New Orleans, she also sang at the Superdome for President Ronald Reagan at the 1983 Republican Convention and opened for Bob Hope at a governor reelection party.
Music was always a passion for Kootman - she studied dance and music and attended the prestigious Carnegie-Mellon University School of Fine Arts in Pittsburgh in 1970 - however, her first love was musical comedy.
In Lancaster, Penn., she was the leading lady in several local shows, including Fanny Brice in "Funny Girl" and Daisy Mae in "Li'l Abner." She also toured the country with the Armstrong Cork Company doing industrial shows.
Kootman lives in Paradise Valley with her husband Rick and their children Michael, 21, Drew, 11, and Brooke, 9.
Both Dobrusin and Kootman are members of Temple Beth Israel in Scottsdale.
Although they both stopped performing after having children, their desire to perform never went away.
Adults often "get older and they get caught up in raising their families, and they get caught up in their jobs and they almost forget to play," Dobrusin says. "I think whatever your 'thing' is, whether its music or art, people just let go of those things.
"I think, in general, it's nice to keep that alive in your life. If that was your passion before, why shouldn't it continue to be your passion?"
Dobrusin adds that her choice in pursuing her dream sets a good example for her children.
Once you find your passion, she says, "even though it takes a lot of work and a lot of juggling, it's something you should pursue."
Contact Memory Lane Musical Entertainers at 480-905-1916 or 480-443-1464.
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