A Beautiful Voice on a Rainy Night
Written by Sherry and Ronald Frank
Once again, Anthony Kearns and Patrick Healy gave a great
performance. The concert took place at St. Mary of the Woods Church
on October 21, 2006 a gloomy, rainy night. The church is set back in
a quiet residential area where there are large, quaint, older homes that
look like they could be churches themselves.
When I arrived at the church, with my concert group, the place was
buzzing with people talking, greeting old friends and acquaintances.
Vince was busy unpacking CDs to sell to the eager fans. One of them
was Anthony’s new CD called “Fond Memories”
As I went into the sanctuary, the large stained glass window seemed
very striking to me. There was wood paneling in front and a glass
crucifix hanging from the ceiling. Slightly to the left of the crucifix,
there was a shiny black grand piano where Patrick would be ticking
the ivories!
A few minutes past 7:30 PM, an elderly gentleman, from a wheelchair,
announced Anthony Kearns and Patrick Healy.
They were welcomed with a round of vigorous applause. Anthony
and Patrick looked right at home on the stage. They performed for about
two hours, including intermission. Patrick told some funny stories
while Anthony was taking a break.
Patrick’s first story was the story of an opera gone terribly wrong.
He told of a tenor who was called in as a substitute singer for an opera.
At the end of the opera, in the final scene an interesting occurrence
happened when the tenor discovered he did not have the prop necessary
to complete the opera. This occurrence lead to a hilarious rewrite of the
way the scene should have been done. Patrick’s second story was the
story of a missionary who so put his trust in God that he refused to let
anyone save his life. This story soon proved to be a hilarious metaphor
of not being able to see something even if God places it right in front
of our own eyes. Both of Patrick’s stories were delightfully funny.
After Patrick’s stories Anthony and Patrick sang a wonderful song
about friendship, which told the story of two French tenors. One of
the tenors was young the other old.
Anthony, well of course, he sang beautifully! (even with a cold) He
sang some new songs as well as some old favorites.
One old favorite was “Danny Boy” which brought tears to some people’s
eyes! There has never been a time I’ve seen him sing that he hasn’t
performed well! Way to go Anthony!
At the end of the concert, a priest thanked Anthony and Patrick for
another great concert. Then the priest glanced behind him at the
stained glass windows and said “I hope the stained glass windows
are still intact”. The priest, then, asked for an encore. Anthony
then sang “O Solo Mio”. A big round of applause and a standing
ovation followed. Unfortunately, the concert was not a sell out.
There were many empty pews in back of the church waiting for
someone to sit in them.
After the concert, everyone went to the lower level for a meet and
greet. There was a table on one side of the large room where Anthony
and Patrick was sitting greeting the fans lined up to see them.
Thankfully, the line wasn’t very long. The meet and greet was
catered by Unforgettable Edibles. There was a cheese tray, fruit
tray, and a fancy pastries tray served. To drink, there was coffee
and tea.
It was truly and unforgettable evening. Anthony’s voice was beautiful
on a rainy night! I hope St. Mary of the Woods Church has Anthony
Kearns and Patrick Healy back again!
by Harry Owen
ST. MARY OF THE WOODS
CHICAGO, IL
OCTOBER 21, 2006