On January 26th, a press event was held at the Metropolitan Room hosted by Bernie Furshpan, Frank Dain (Cabaret Scenes) and Scott Barbarino as they announced the first International Cabaret Festival by Cabaret Scenes, February 17-21 2016, with dozens of performers at clubs across NYC, coming together to celebrate the unique art of cabaret.
An opening night Gala will be hosted at Metropolitan Room on Feb. 17 2016 at 7pm, to kick off the Festival as well as celebrate the newly-formed Cabaret Hall of Fame, with a ceremony inducting the following performers: Barbara Carroll, Andrea Marcovicci, Marilyn Maye and Steve Ross, as well as the late Nancy LaMott, Bobby Short, Jan Wallman and Julie Wilson. Gala Performers include: Anita Gillette along with Hall of Fame inductees Barbara Carroll, Andrea Marcovicci and Steve Ross.
The opening Gala has a $24 cover charge and two-drink minimum. Metropolitan Room is located at 34 West 22nd Street in NYC between 5th and 6th Avenues. To reserve for the gala, call: 212.206.0440 or reserve online at http://metropolitanroom.com.
Clubs participating in the inaugural 2016 International Cabaret Festival are: Don’t Tell Mama, The Duplex, Feinstein’s/54 Below, Iridium, Joe’s Pub, Metropolitan Room and The Triad. Cabaret Scenes is offering a “Passport” to the International Cabaret Festival, which gives a $5 discount off the cover of every Festival show. It can be purchased through the Cabaret Scenes website at: cabaretscenes.org/2016/01/13/international-cabaret-festival-february-17-21-2016-new-york-city/.
The cost is $10 for one passport; $15 for two. The keepsake Passport is fashioned after a travel passport, and includes the complete Festival schedule, information on all of the participating clubs, and pages for stamps from the clubs one attends. A full schedule of the festival appears below. Without a passport, individual show charges and minimums apply.
The Cabaret Hall of Fame is the brainchild of Bernie Furshpan and Joseph Macchia of the Metropolitan Room. The goal of the Cabaret Hall of Fame is to preserve the history and contributions of those who have established and fulfilled the promise of live entertainment in a cabaret setting, and have brought joy to millions over the many years of its existence. In the works, as well, are the establishment of a cabaret archive at the Library of Congress and a traveling display of memorabilia of all things cabaret.
Below find the 2016 International Cabaret Festival Schedule (performers subject to change). PLEASE NOTE: where multiple performers appear, each performer will take the stage for 25-30 minutes. Each show listed (regardless of the number of performers) is only one ticket price.
Wednesday, February 17 –
Joe’s Pub at 7pm: Echoes of Etta
William Blake and Michael Thomas Murray
$30 cover/2-drink minimum
Thursday, February 18
– Don’t Tell Mama at 7pm: Brian Gari. $10 cover, 2-drink minimum. CASH ONLY
; The Duplex at 7pm: Jason Kravits. $10 cover, 2-drink minimum; Feinstein’s/54Below at 7pm & 9:30pm: 54 Sings ABBA. $30-$75 cover, $25 food/drink minimum; Metropolitan Room at 7pm: JayCee Driesen, Adrienne Haan, T. Oliver Reid. $24 cover, 2-drink minimum;
The Triad at 7pm: Alexandra Foucard & David Sisco. $25 cover, 2-drink minimum
Friday, February 19 – Don’t Tell Mama – CASH ONLY 7pm in Room 1: Amorika Amoroso, Frank Dain & Kathleen Landis, Rick Jensen. $20 cover, 2-drink minimum 7pm in Room 2: Daryl Sherman. $13 cover, 2-drink minimum; Metropolitan Room at 9:30pm: Frans Bloem, Jean Brassard, Oleg Frish. $24 cover, 2-drink minimum;The Triad at 7pm: Alexandra Foucard & David Sisco. $25 cover, 2-drink minimum.
Saturday, February 20 –
Don’t Tell Mama – CASH ONLY
4pm: Vickie Phillips. $18 cover, 2-drink minimum.
5pm: Corinna Sowers Adler, Brian De Lorenzo, Lisa Yaeger. $20 cover and 2-drink minimum.
7pm: Tracy Stark & Marcus Simeone. $15 cover, 2-drink minimum.
8pm: Rick Skye as Liza Minnelli. $20 cover and 2-drink minimum (more); Metropolitan Room
at 9:30pm: Eric Comstock & Barbara Fasano, Baby Jane Dexter, Jason Graae, $24 cover, 2-drink minimum
Sunday, February 21
- Don’t Tell Mama – CASH ONLY
3pm: Ricky Ritzel, Wendy Russell, Karen Wyman at 3pm. $20 cover, 2-drink minimum.
6:30pm: Catherine Dupuis, Gay Marshall, Kim David Smith. $20 cover, 2-drink minimum; Iridium
7pm: Gary Crawford with The Barry Levitt Trio; Colm Reilly & Sean Harkness,
Phyllis Pastore & John McMahon: Terese Genecco & Shaynee Rainbolt; Sharón Clark; Karen Kohler & KT Sullivan. $30 cover, $15 food/drink minimum; Metropolitan Room
7pm: Mira Awad, Jeff Harnar, Ken Slavin. $24 cover, 2-drink minimum
Venue Information:
Don’t Tell Mama
343 W. 46th St., NYC
212.757.0788 (after 4 pm)
donttellmamanyc.com/shows
The Duplex
61 Christopher St., NYC
212.255.5438
– www.theduplex.com
Feinstein’s/54 Below
254 W. 54th St., NYC
646.476.3551
– 54below.com
Iridium
1650 Broadway, NYC
212.582.2121
– theiridium.com
Joe’s Pub
425 Lafayette Street, NYC
212.967.7555 –
joespub.publictheater.org/programs–events/joes-pub/?SiteTheme=JoesPub
MetropolitanRoom
34 W. 22nd St., NYC
212.206.0440
– metropolitanroom.com
The Triad
158 W. 72nd St., NYC
212.362.2590 –
www.triadnyc.com
For additional information about the Cabaret Hall of Fame contact Bernard Furshpan at 212.206.0440 or: Bernie@metropolitanroom.com
For additional information about the 2016 International Cabaret Festival, contact: festival@cabaretscenes.org