"Because I see the world as an absurd place, my songs usually reflect this point of view," Mitchell says. Ruth," a spoof of diminutive sex guru Ruth Westheimer "Onward Jerry Falwell," a sacrilegious satire on televangelism "It's So Nice To Have A Live One On The Table," a cutting commentary about surgeons, and "The Real Estate Lady," based on Mitchell's encounter with an unscrupulous Realtor.
The album contains parodies such as "Dear Dr. It was recorded and became her first album, "Alarums And Excursions," which was released in 1986. That summer she did a concert at Poor David's Pub.
She not only got the part, but also the role of his wife, a long-running engagement that lasted until his death 48 years later. She still recalls the play, "Double Doors," written and directed by a young man named Gene Mitchell. One day she read in the newspaper about an audition for a melodrama being produced by her hometown community theater and decided to try out. As a young woman during World War II, she followed the path of many women of her generation by taking a secretarial job. Tuesday at the Ice House on Sand Island, Bethlehem, expect to hear selections from her soon-to-be-released disc, "Pocketful Of Wry." The recording includes the titles "Come Back Jimmy Swaggart to Tony's Motel," "Call Waiting," "The Mammogram" and "The Viagra Singalong."īorn Lucille Reiser in Bethlehem, the oldest of three children, Mitchell discovered her love of singing at Girl Scout camp. Now, 41 years, nine albums and a song book later, Mitchell is going strong, and her compositions, which she performs on stages from Texas to Pennsylvania, have spawned a cottage industry and loyal following.