PREVIEW: The 37th Annual New York Cabaret Convention- October 13-15

By Alix Cohen

In October 1989, Donald Smith’s four year-old Mabel Mercer Foundation held its first annual New York Cabaret Convention. The New York Times headline read: Cabaret Convention Ponders a Disturbing Future.“Is there a place for it in today’s age of mass entertainment??” Stephen Holden. According to the journalist’s coverage, its debut “…attracted an audience of 6,000, and in its wake, Smith said, he received 900 letters about the problems facing the cabaret industry.”

Let us breathe a deep communal sigh and persevere. Print media, except for the venerable Cabaret Scenes, may refuse to acknowledge us except for an occasional blurb; hotel venues have all but disappeared.Still, the art form continues to pop up in restaurants and clubs and to offer workshops in its distinctive characteristics.

Musical theater actors now gravitate to cabaret stages in so-called down time. Not only do we occasionally see young aspirants, but veterans are returning to the stage after parentheses of civilian lives. What was once the sole territory of Great American Songbook, now offers a vast variety of genres. Where there’s evolution, there’s life.This year’s performer age range is 15-98!

Mark your calendars, arrange places to stay, book other events if traveling here. This is your once a year opportunity to see the familiar and the fresh, to celebrate and support.

October 13, 2026 “Once in a Blue Moon”- A Tribute to Mabel Mercer
Hosts Andrea Marcovicci and Jeff Harnar
The Donald Smith Award will be presented to Phillip Officer, whose salute to Mabel Mercer will open in Las Vegas this August.

Mabel Mercer was one of the most influential cabaret singers of the 20th century, celebrated for her intimate, conversational style and nuanced interpretation of lyrics. Rather than relying on vocal power, she emphasized storytelling and emotional subtlety, shaping the art of cabaret performance and influencing singers such as Frank Sinatra and Bobby

“When I was taken under the wing of Donald Smith in1987, his first and ultimately best guidance was to listen to Mabel Mercer. After digesting this advice and borrowing a great deal of her repertoire, I must admit, she became a mentor to me without ever being in her presence.Eventually, that led to a tribute show and an album in her honor. And now if I were to hand her legacy down to younger performers, I would say: “lyric first, story first “ … as Mabel used to say: “ affairs of the heart, dear, affairs of the heart!” Andrea Marcovicci

“Back in 1989, when Donald became my manager and publicist, I confessed I was unfamiliar with Mabel’s work. Donald gave me her Cole Porter album and I was captivated. Her recording of “It’s Delovely” was the first time I heard all the extra choruses. When he explained that she would simply sit and tell the story, letting those extraordinary lyrics have the spotlight, it was a defining moment for me as a performer

This is the first Convention night solely dedicated to Mabel Mercer.KT (Sullivan), Andrea and I agreed it was time for some in the audience to remember and others to discover her legacy. As such, Andrea and I have “singing storytellers” as our North Star for this very special program. ” Jeff Harnar

New to the Convention is Francesca Amari from Palm Springs.

October 14, 2026 “Sammy: All the Way & Then Some” – The Songs of Sammy Davis Jr. Host Natalie Douglas
Presentation of The Mabel Mercer Award
Presentation of The Iris Williams Award

Sammy Davis Jr. was a groundbreaking entertainer whose talents made him one of the most versatile performers of the 20th century. As a prominent member of the Rat Pack, he helped break racial barriers in American entertainment, using his fame to challenge segregation and expand opportunities for Black performers.

“I can’t remember a time when I didn’t know who Sammy Davis, Jr. was. I believe there is a solid case to be made, that Sammy Davis, Jr. or Mr. D. as he liked to be known was the most talented star of all time.”

“He could sing (Lord could he sing!), dance (several distinct styles), act (both comedic & dramatic), do impressions, play drums, trombone, trumpet, piano, upright bass, guitar, & vibraphone, and even taught himself to be the fastest draw (gun) in Hollywood so he could act in a Western (he could draw & fire a pistol in under a quarter of a second!)”

“We titled this night Sammy Davis, Jr.: All The Way…and Then Some! Partly because it perfectly describes how Davis gave more than an 100% of himself on stage every night to each & every member of his audience. Despite the significant obstacles in his trajectory, many of them born of pure racial animus, he triumphed again & again as a completely undeniable star!” Natalie Douglas

New to the Convention are: Suri Vu, the winner of this year’s Jim and Elizabeth Sullivan scholarship out of Oklahoma; Reed Harris Butts, second place winner in the Adela and Larry Elow High School Competition; MAC winner Anna Anderson; Grammy winner Jonathan Arons; and Danielle Chambers, daughter of the legendary Leslie Uggams.

October 15, 2026 “With a Song in My Heart” – A Cornucopia of Entertainment
Host KT Sullivan
Presentation of The Julie Wilson Award

Artistic Director of the Mabel Mercer Foundation, KT Sullivan, is, as always, eminently positive about cabaret and the 37th New York Convention. She prefers her evening to be a panoply of people, familiar and fresh, and of styles.

New to the Convention on October 15 are: The inimitable Broadway/Concert artist Kate Baldwin; The IMs (Jim Harder and Tim Cahill) – direct from Santa Fe; veteran jazz singer Susan Mack; Mafalda Minnozzi, a Brazilian performer Sullivan discovered at APAP; Dawn Padmore, whose Mabel Mercer tribute Sullivan saw at Pangea; Madeline Joy Travis, winner of this year’s Adela & Larry Elow American Songbook High School Competition, Melodie Wolford, a theater actress “fairly new to cabaret”; and recent immigrant, Can Yasar, also first seen at Pangea.

In familiar matchmaking manner, Sullivan has paired Raissa Katona Bennet with Arbender Robinson and Shana Farr with Craig Rubano (arrangement by Steve Ross) for original duets.

This year invitations have gone out to students at PPHS- Professional Performing Arts High School, Frank Sinatra School of the Arts, La Guardia High School, and Fiorello H. Laguardia High School of Music & Art.

MAC (The Manhattan Association of Cabarets) Members can buy same day rush tickets at the Lincoln Center box office for $15.00 ($10 ticket and Jazz at Lincoln Center surcharge.)

Come to the Cabaret!

Tickets: https://www.mabelmercer.org/events