by Deb Rabbai

[Editor’s Note: co-artistic director, producer, and performer Deb Rabbai has won dozens of Phony Awards over her time in the company. Here are her Top Five Favorite Phony Winners]

1. “Makin’ Love in the Afternoon with Sebattus”

I love this one bc I’m singing in a lower register of my voice. I remember winning the Phony only to discover that the person who wrote the song title, her name was Sabbatus. It took on a whole new meaning knowing she wrote it. And the audience and I laughed heartily upon discovering it.

2. “Unicorn Tears and Butterfly Hearts”

I loved this fun story in the musical of having to find these 2 ingredients in order to save my love.

3. My Wimbles Still Show

I love the pattern of the melody that I created in this song and the pre chorus. I was proud I was able to sing it consistently and remember what I’d sung. I also misread the title, it was supposed to say my wrinkles but the hand writing was nearly impossible to interpret for that word and to me it look like wimbles. Mistakes really are gifts.

4. The Big Three

I loved this song because I was playing a cowgirl and somehow I was able to still sing this song while riding on Robert’s back. He literally carried me in that show, wink wink. And I like how I didn’t use the title repeatedly but worked up to it with tenacity, robustness and love and the title was the answer to those three words.

5. I Live in My Yoga Pants

This song was fun because it was a discovery of how I was going to get to the title as I was improvising the verses. It was fun to sing and it was very simple. I love a simple Song. The song got clearer as I saying it in terms of how the words and verses were happening.