a Chanteuse like no other...
A native New Yorker, Deborah Stone began studying ballet at age eight at the Metropolitan Opera Ballet School. She became smitten by the stage when cast as a supernumerary in Met Opera productions from that time forward into her late teens. While there, she studied with Margaret Craske, Alfredo Corvino, and Antony Tudor.
Upon leaving the Met, she continued her ballet training with Nadine Revene and expanded into the world of jazz dance, studying with Lynn Simonson.
Photo: Helane Blumfield
Ms. Stone went on to perform with The Linea Dance Company and the New Jersey Classic Ballet, and as a show-girl/dancer in several revues, in both New York City and Dallas.
In addition to her dancing, Ms. Stone has always sung, and began playing guitar as a young teen.
In the mid-to-late 1970’s, she sang and played in various restaurants in New York, and also performed at private functions.
Her acting studies were brief but intense, with the wonderful Hal Holden at HB Studios in New York City. The tools she received there have served her well in all of her performing endeavors.
In 1984, Ms. Stone was cast as a swing performer in the Los Angeles production of the Broadway musical, La Cages aux Folles.
Thereafter, during her more than 15 years in California - south and north - she taught jazz dance at the Shawl Anderson Dance Center in Berkeley, and aerobics classes at The Claremont Resort and Spa in Oakland, as well as in several corporate fitness centers, while holding down a full-time “day job.”
Ms. Stone returned home to New York City in 2002, and began studying voice privately with the highly-regarded Ingrid Zeldin. She continued these studies for about eight years, once again receiving tools with which to move forward as a singer.
In 2008, Ms. Stone became a member of The Snarks, Ltd., the venerable women’s theatrical club created in 1909, acting in plays by, among others, A.R. Gurney, Noel Coward, and John Morgan Evans. She is forever grateful for their love and support, and their very high caliber of performance.
In March of 2016, having just completed three performances of her first cabaret show, “The Good, the Bad, and the Lovely” at the Don’t Tell Mama cabaret venue, accompanied by Woody Regan on piano and directed by Ann McCormack, Ms. Stone was now reaching for more.
Throughout 2018, Ms. Stone performed her shows at The Metropolitan Room, The Triad, and returned by popular demand to Don’t Tell Mama, where she extended the run of her critically-acclaimed show, “Siren Song” (Musical Director: Daryl Kojak; Director: Ann McCormack).
Ms. Stone has most recently performed her shows at Pangea and The Beach Café, working with musical directors Daryl Kojak and John M. Cook, and under the direction of Ann McCormack and Lina Koutrakos. She has been a welcome guest artist in shows by Sue Matsuki, Meg Flather, Richard Skipper, and Bobbie Horowitz, and was slated to perform in Ricky Ritzel’s Broadway in March of 2020.
Since COVID-19 put the brakes on in-person performing, Ms. Stone has embraced technology, conducting real-time virtual rehearsals with other musicians. She also set up a recording studio at home, broadcasting and recording over Instagram live and other channels. During the pandemic, she's been a guest artist on virtual shows, including Richard Skipper Celebrates (http://www.richardskipper.com/), Groovin' on a Sunday (hosted by Ann McCormack and Woody Regan), and David Maiocco's Virtual Piano Bar (https://www.facebook.com/david.maiocco). She has also been recording and releasing songs on iTunes and Spotify, and looks forward to several more releases in the months to come,
A proud member of The Lambs, Inc., Ms. Stone has had the great privilege of meeting many fascinating “show biz” people, all lively and with amazing stories to tell. Having the opportunity to sing weekly at their “Low Jinks” events has propelled her into the cabaret world, taking all she knows thus far and putting it to use in yet another realm of performance.
Since the reopening of music venues in the summer of 2021, Deborah has once again presented her solo shows, and been a guest artist in others,' resuming her status as a fixture in the New York cabaret scene.
