“A little Charlotte County plus a little New York times three talented woman - plus one lone man - equaled a whole lot of entertainment on stage Saturday and Sunday at the nearly sold-out Cultural Center of Charlotte County.

Sharing the age, Valerie Sneade and guest star and Broadway performer Jennifer Rae Beck sang many well known and some obscure-but no less entertaining songs in "Broadway State of Mind",

Known for her exuberant stage personality and powerhouse voice, Sneade is also quick to proclaim the talents of other performers. Before introducing Beck, who has had roles in three Broadway shows, Sneade made sure the audience knew how difficult it was to land an acting role on Broadway, stating that an average of 40,000 performing artists compete for about 400 on-stage roles each year.

Beck was more than just another great voice. With familiar numbers like "A Wonderful Guy" and "some Enchanted Evening," she had the ability to bring the audience’s collective mind’s eye to the stage of the musical "South Pacific."

A frequent Starbucks patron, Beck sang of an amusing crush on "Taylor the Latte Boy."  Sharing her personal experience of overcoming cancer and being a mother gave special meaning to her sensitive - yet powerfully strong - performance of "(Nothing’s Going To Harm You)" Not While I’m Around.

More than the outstanding talents and easy give and take between Beck and Sneade gave the show a big-city flavor. Still, there was more that made this show work. Sneade has the gift of ostensibly special relationship between members of the cast and crew with her audience. Also, Turning Leaf Productions gives professional attention to lighting and sound mixing. The added sound effects of Broadway traffic, the projected New York City skyline in silhouette behind the musicians and the variations in lighting pulled off a perfect atmospheric backdrop for the music."

Marilyn Carpenter/Herald Tribune, FL

"Valerie Sneade delivered a one-woman pop concert with a Valentine’s Day theme to a packed house at the Cultural Center of Charlotte County theater on Friday night. Jim Rice accompanied her on the piano.    Her fine vocal performance was accompanied by friendly conversation with the audience and humorous interchanges with her valentine, her husband, who spoke on a mike out of sight. Sneade and her husband co-own Turning Leaf Productions. She said that this was the company’s fifth show at the center, and more are in the
works featuring professional performers and live musicians. The second set contained songs from "Mary Poppins," and from her forthcoming Pops concert with the Boston Symphony in Boston. The show was unique in that it was all Valerie Sneade. She is what the audience came to see, and its members got what they wanted.

Sneade warmed up the audience with two lively songs, "I Love Being Here With You" and "I Get a Kick Out of You." She then demonstrated the Sneade magic in recreating memorable Broadway performances by belting "You Can’t Get a Man With a Gun." Even better, in "They Say That Falling in Love is Wonderful," she displayed her own wonderful voice, perfect timing and her amazing ability to put across to her audience the heart and soul of the music. She amused her listeners by performing "Never Will I Marry," and titillated them with "Bring On the Men." She then sang to her husband "I’m in Love With a Wonderful Guy" in dynamic fashion and "My Funny Valentine" with soul. Switching to comic and lesser-known subjects, she sang "Find a Mediocre Man and Train Him," and about a romance over the telephone, "I’m in Love With a Man, Plaza 03344." Sneade closed the first set in a sweet mood with "Can’t Help Lovin’ That Man of Mine." The first set alone was worth the price of admission. Sneade launched the second set with a wildfire version of "Wherever He Ain’t," then led a singalong to "Bye-Bye Blackbird." Her rendition of "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" was bewitching. Possibly the most romantic song of the evening came next, a smooth lyrical "The Nearness of You." Rice’s jazzy supper club piano playing was appropriate accompaniment, as it was throughout the evening. There was warm applause.

Sneade switched to music from movies and shows with a medley of "Chim Chim Cheree," "Spoonful of Sugar," and "Supercalifragalisticexpialidocious;" "Getting to Know You," "Tonight, Tonight," "I Could Have Danced All Night" and the rarely performed "There Won’t Be Trumpets."

Sneade oozed with showmanship as she performed "Make Someone Happy." Her finale, "People" (Barbra Streisand is her favorite singer) was full of elan, and brought the crowd to its feet. There were no problems with the sound and the lighting was well done. Sneade is one of the top cabaret performers in the country because she has "it" - the ability to project an aura and make each member of the audience believe she is talking directly to him. Charlotte County is fortunate that she lives here and that Turning Leaf Productions is planning future shows here."

Sandy Copperman/The Sun, Port Charlotte, FL

"Valerie Sneade and her Turning Leaf Productions brought a luscious slice of the “Big Apple” to the Cultural Center Theatre last Saturday and Sunday.

True to her mission statement “to present top-notch performances backed by live musicians at affordable prices,” Sneade did just that by bringing in vocalists Angela Scollo and Cami Yankwitt from New York City to perform with her in Turning Leaf Productions first program of its 2005-2006 season.

Opening the show with the prophetic “The Best Is Yet To Come,” Sneade sang as if she were talking to her audience.

Sneade knew what she was doing when she added Yankwitt and Scollo to the program.

From the moment Yankwitt dressed in a classy, sequined black suit and sassy, black fedora, began singing “Take Me Back To Manhattan” you knew she was an entertainer with great stage presence and talent worthy of Broadway. Not only was her voice strong, clear and expressive, her dance-like moves and strut across the stage added visual impact.

She was pure entertainment with numbers like the humorous story/song “You’ve Got To Ring Them Bells,” the soulful “One for My Baby (and One More for the Road,”) and the driving “Blow Gabriel Blow.” Her smooth, mellow scatting in “Blue Skies” was velvet to your ears.

Scollo did get off to a slow start compared to the conversational ease of the others, but before the end of the show her verbal bantering ranked right up there with Sneade and Yankwitt.

As she sat on a stool on the Port Charlotte stage singing the sultry “Come Rain or Come Shine,” you could picture her singing in a New York City nightclub.

Her unique interpretation of “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” was gentle and gave what can be overdone song a new life.

Not only did Sneade emcee and hold the show together, she intermittently wowed the audiences with numbers like “The Rose,” and “Lullabye in Ragtime.”

Known not only for her powerhouse voice but also for her vibrant stage personality, Sneade can be a tease, a comic-sometimes brash-a girlfriend, a cheerleader and a class act all wrapped up in one.

Her performance of “New York, New York” was so much her own that it took a few minute to realize Frank Sinatra made it popular.

When Scollo joined Sneade singing “No More Tears (Enough is Enough),” beginning with the line “It’s raining, it’s pouring/My love life is boring,” their voices and comedy played off each other beautifully.

When Yankwitt sang “Get Happy” as Sneade simultaneously sang “Happy Days are Here Again,” the program hit another high.

Then all three women joined forces for “I Am Woman” and the combination of music and estrogen was potent.

Throughout the program, no matter how great the vocal performance you couldn’t help but notice Kasanofsky’s talented and interpretive piano accompaniment and Ryan’s subtle, yet ever so effective contribution on the drums.

When Sneade asked Kasanofky, an accomplished singer in her own right, to sing a solo near the end of the show, Kasanofsky brought goosebumps to your skin and tears to your eyes with her performance of “America the Beautiful.”

As the audience joined her in the final number, “God Bless America” the goose bumps got even bigger."

Marilyn Carpenter, The Herald Tribune