By Myra Chanin   I arrived a bit early at Don’t Tell Mama a few days ago, notebook in handbag, led by my brain to believe that I would be hearing a comparatively unknown songbird warble classics from the Great American Songbook. Where in the world had I gotten that idea?...

  By Sandi Durell   Everyone’s back in the City. I can already hear the roar of the crowd – – the busy clubs and cabarets. Take a peek at who’s coming and where! October 9-12, the 29th Annual Cabaret Convention takes place at Rose Hall. Tickets on sale now!...

  By Sandi Durell   What more appropriate title for a show than Only From the Heart Can You Touch the Sky from the beautiful soul of Renee Katz? How can one explain the feeling of being wrapped in the tender, caring arms of this lovely soprano whose heart is like an open book? The...

    By Sandi Durell   While the keeper of the flame for Ricky Ritzel’s Broadway, Myra Chanin, is traveling in Hawaii, I couldn’t let this auspicious evening of song pass me by without being part of the BIG anniversary celebration at Don’t Tell Mama that earned Ritzel and his...

      by Myra Chanin   Tuches oifn tisch? That means “Shall we lay our cards on the table?” in the most vernacular Yiddish. OK? OK. Then, immediately select your preferred means of intergalactic communication: iPhone, android, landline, Morse code, tom-toms, smoke-signals...

    The Lad From Upper Hutt Wows Uptown Manhattan with the Coward who Changed His Life   by Myra Chanin   Jason Henderson began his third performance of “Getting to Noel You,” at Don’t Tell Mama at 7:15 pm instead of the advertised 7 pm. Don’t tsk-tsk and gaze askance. He...

  By Myra Chanin   June 29, 2018 was very special. It was the date of the penultimate performance of Ricky Ritzel’s Broadway’s Triple-Consecutive Mac-Award-Winning Series before its Third Anniversary Celebration. Tada! Harrumph to them who said it wouldn’t last! Them couldn’t...

  By Myra Chanin   Everybody whose taste I respect – I believe they number 2-1/2 people at present – told me Sally Darling was wonderful, but I only saw and heard how totally wonderful with my own two eyes and ears when I watched her steal the show during the March 29, 2018 episode...

    By Sandi Durell    Summertime hot! New York City Cabarets and Clubs have talent and more talent. Take a peek at who’s coming and where! This is just a short list!  Always check the club calendars for complete listings and for schedule changes.   Feinstein’s/54 Below 254 West 54 St....

  by Myra Chanin   Margo Brown, with the aid and input of her director, the splendid Jeff Harnar, made her New York debut at Don’t Tell Mama’s in a bold, interesting and exceptionally well-planned show in which Margo, a Boca Raton native, sang her “favorite 700” of the 1400 to 1500...

Spring has sprung and so have the multi talents that fill the cabarets and clubs in New York City. The venues are overflowing with talent. Someone for everyone!       By Sandi Durell   *Always check the club calendars for complete listings and for schedule changes.   Feinstein’s/54...

      By Myra Chanin   Bob O’Hare grew up in New Jersey, attended a Catholic High School and College and then, thought he’d always been interested in musical theater and had starred in regional and summer stock productions including Stop the World, The Roar of Greasepaint,...

    By Myra Chanin   On Monday night, March 27, 2018, Ricky Ritzel stepped up to the microphone at B. B. Kings and gratefully and gracefully accepted the 2018 Manhattan Association of Cabaret Award for Best Recurring Cabaret Series for the THIRD YEAR IN A ROW! Ricky Ritzel’s...

  By Ron Fassler   If a solo cabaret show is to be devoted to a lyricist who came out of what is now lovingly known as “Broadway’s Golden Age” (1943-1959), you can’t do much better than to craft such an evening on the works of Alan Jay Lerner. And when that soloist is a lovely...

    by Matt Smith   “…Every step I take / Those I ventured long ago / Those I’ve yet to make / Things were so much different then / As they’ll never be again.” Such is the emotional center of Renee Katz’s Winter Awakenings, which found the golden-voiced songstress back at...

   By Sandi Durell    Now’s the time to check out some of the tried and true cabaret rooms brimming with talent, and some new spaces that are making a name for themselves. Talent, talent everywhere! And lots of Woman Power! Always check the club calendars for complete listings and for...

    by Lisa Joy Reitman-Dobi   Monday night January 29 was anything but dark at Don’t Tell Mama.  The big room was teeming with talent and camaraderie.  One would expect nothing less when Bobbie Horowitz is the emcee and the show is It’s Just a Number.   Bobbie is in...

    One of the long running and inspiring cabaret series is credited to Bobbie Horowitz who has been honoring people over age 50 thru 80+, those who have created something new and fabulous in their lives. She is the recipient of a MAC Award two years in a row as ‘Best Emcee.’ Bobbie...

    By Sandi Durell   The beginning of another year! Wishing everyone a Happy, Healthy and Peaceful New Year. The clubs and cabarets are brimming with talent. . . something for everyone. Get thee out to nightlife in New York City! Always check the club calendars for complete listings and...

    By Marilyn Lester   Often, when an Irish American returns to the auld sod and discovers ancestral roots, a kind of possession takes place. Such has been the case with singer-actress Moira Danis. A visit to Ireland a decade ago set her on a trail of discovery, with Celtic...

  by Lisa Reitman-Dobi   The lights dimmed, the music rose and Richard Holbrook took the stage. I scribbled the following: “Starry eyed as boy xmas, child’s sense of wonder, look at his face, bottle that!” The latter refers to the way his eyes twinkled, his countenance lit up and...

  By Sandi Durell   On a recent Saturday November 25 early evening, two-time Bistro Award Winner Vickie Phillips was on stage at Don’t Tell Mama plying her art form; something she’s been doing for many years as an actress and singer. As a storyteller, Vickie is at the top of her...

    By Myra Chanin   A more then reasonable facsimile of Liza! with a Z (who in street clothes answers to the name of actor/writer Rick Skye) has returned to Don’t Tell Mama as the host of her monthly variety show, Bazaaz! with three A’s, accompanied by working hips, kneecaps...

    by Susan Hasho   Ruth Carlin’s latest show is Kaleidoscope Eyes at Don’t Tell Mama. Her first song was “Who Will Buy” (Lionel Bart) simply sung, phrased in her own singular fashion, followed by the folksy “Love Song” (Bruce Cockburn), “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”...

    By Sandi Durell   If you’re missing country music and that yahoo and hee haw that make your spine tingle, go no further than to Dean Benner’s next performance at Don’t Tell Mama on November 19 at 6 pm. This is Dean’s fourth show since 2011 and in honor of his latest CD...