The Music and Lives of Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen

“Two singer-songwriters sit on the edge of a cliff…”

With these words, we are drawn into the world of Both Sides Now, a theatrical concert that explores the music and lives of long-time friends and one-time lovers, Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen.

Created by, and starring Robbie Schaefer and Danielle Wertz, the cabaret-style performance traverses decades alongside songs such as A Case of You, Hallelujah, Big Yellow Taxi, Suzanne, and many more.

Both Sides Now is at once a piece of the 60’s and 70’s, and of right now -- offering us a story about the messiness of being human, of lives persistently lived at the edge of growth, and of finding the courage to turn toward one another, again and again.

About the Artists

  • Robbie Schaefer

    Robbie is a singer-songwriter, theatre/film artist and current rabbinical student. The guitarist and songwriter for the indie folk band Eddie From Ohio has also recorded several solo albums, including 2017′s Sounds Like Home: Songs From the Musical, Light Years.

    In addition, Robbie is the founder of OneVoice, an international non-profit that unites and empowers youth through music and the creative arts. The organization was active from 2011-2023 and completed projects in Tanzania, Nicaragua, India, Greece, and Israel. Robbie has shared the stage with Jason Mraz, Sara Bareilles, Josh Groban, Keb ‘ Mo, and Emmylou Harris, among others.

    His first work for musical theater, Light Years, saw its world premiere at the Tony Award-winning Signature Theatre in 2018 and is now a feature film entitled Burst The Silence, which is currently on the festival circuit and due for wider release by Rolling Pictures in 2024. His newest work for theatre, The Blue Poppy, is an Irish-Jewish ghost story written in collaboration with Scottish playwright Grace Barnes.

    Also, he likes olives. A lot.

  • Danielle Wertz

    Danielle is a storyteller, collaborator, jazz musician, composer and arranger. Described as, "untarnished by the politics of music" (Jazz Music Archives) and "a masterful ballad interpreter" (New York City Jazz Record) she has rapidly gained national acclaim.

    After being named a 2015 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Vocals Competition semi-finalist, Danielle independently released her debut album, Intertwined, which ranked #4 on Capital Bop's list of "Best DC Jazz Albums of 2017." That same year she placed 2nd in the Ella Fitzgerald Jazz Vocal Competition and 3rd in the Mid-Atlantic Jazz Vocal Competition.

    In 2023 Danielle released her sophomore album, Other Side. With this project she made a quantum leap as a composer and conceptualist. Reimagined and rewritten during the pandemic, the album pairs her original compositions with carefully crafted arrangements of standards from the Great American Songbook. Jazziz called the album “expressive and polished” and Jazz Weekly noticed a “Joni Mitchell’d tenderness to her material.” Danielle continues to be an avid collaborator internationally and as a member of the NYC jazz scene, and is looking forward to headlining her first European tour in 2025.

    Also, she loves chocolate. A lot.