Sunday, February 1, 1998        GREENWICH NEIGHBORSâ       Greenwich Time

Marcia Clay
                                                                  Helen Neafsey / Staff photo
Marcia Clay, who writes musical tributes for people who are
honored at "roasts" and parties, at home in Greenwich.

Resident puts her wit to work in musical tributes

By Marge Muller
Special Correspondent
_______________________

Are you a painfully shy person who needs to speak out at a corporate roast? Would you like to weave magic memories at your parents' 50th wedding anniversary? No problem.

Greenwich resident Marcia Clay sells personalized lyrics, limericks, poems and toasts for all occasions, and she'll even sing them in tails and top hat for those who prefer to avoid the limelight.

The former marketing consultant began "Lyrics Unlimited" in Manhattan 10 years ago, but she said she has been creating toasts for friends and family members for more than 20 years.

"People were embarrassed to ask me for the tenth time," said Clay, "so fhey offered to pay for them. I've had over 300 clients. It's all word-of-mouth."

The average person has at least five major events a year which require some kind of tribute, according to Clay. And in a town like Greenwich, there are constant fetes, such as the Red Cross Ball, Greenwich Symphony soirees, school fund-raisers and church events, as well as numerous private parties.

Within a half-hour conversation with clients, Clay said she can glean all the information she needs to put together a hilarious ditty to mark any occasion. Most of this information can be collected over the phone or by fax; prices range from $250 to $1,000. There's no standard fee for each line or word. Every piece is individual, according to Clay.

 

 

Surprisingly, many clients usually opt to present the toast themselves - after some initial trepidation, she said.

"I've gotten an awful lot of people who initially said 'no way' to actually sing it," she said.

"It doesn't matter that you don't have a great voice. What matters is that you're going to get up in front of a whole room of people and they're going to be so surprised, and you're going to have the words written, and you're going to carry a tune - it's going to be funny and everything, and they're not going to believe it!" said Clay.

She recalled one occasion involving a husband and wife who decided to pull their two teenage sons out of school and travel the world for a year. Their friends from the summer community of Point O'Woods in Fire Island, N.Y., commissioned a bon voyage toast for them.

"Their friends dressed up like hobos with backpacks," she said, "and sang the customized song, 'They're Goin' on a Tour," to Buddy Holly's famous tune,' 'That'll Be the Day that I Die." It was a grand celebration that brought everybody together!"

Other songs that provide the back-drop for Clay's creations include: "Get Me to the Church on Time," "Love and Marriage," "Puff the Magic Dragon," "Blue Moon," "Oh Susannah!" "When I'm 64," and West Side Story tunes, among others.

"I'm not aware of anyone anywhere who does this," said Clay, who moved from New York City to Greenwich a few years ago with her husband, Don, and her daughters, Allie, 12, and Clay, 10, who, like their mother, have a natural ear for music. The girls sometimes assist Clay by offering suggestions while she works on a tribute.

"Music is a part of our lives," said Clay, a self-taught pianist. Don plays the guitar, while Allie plays the flute and Clay sings and plays the piano. In addition to her musical talents, the 40-something entrepreneur said she gains insight into the person being roasted by what her clients tell her about that person.

"Somehow I capture (the person's essence). It's a gift," she said.

While the Wheaten College graduate has written toasts that have been sung at places such as The Breakers in Newport, R.I, in front of 300 people and at The Ritz hotel in New York City, she is especially proud of an elaborate toast that she created for a young girl's Bat Mitzvah at the Pierre Hotel in Manhattan.

"I wound up writing 16 six-line stanzas for this girl to recite for the people who have meant the most to her," Clay recalled.

Depending on the situation Clay said her finished work can motivate or entertain, and it can be tailored to include any specific number of "performers." But most of all, her toasts are a celebration of lives that furnish long-lasting memories for everybody who joins the fun, she said.

For more information on "Lyrics Unlimited," call 861-7103 or send a fax to 861-7101.