The Best of Jerry Herman     by Alix Cohen   I have always been a person who arranges things…begins host Klea Blackhurst in her 7th year as host. “Tonight we celebrate Jerry Herman…who came home from school one day to find his mother making a fruit plate and canapés. What are we...

  by Alix Cohen   “How was your summer?” “How was the trip/flight in?” “Where are you performing?” “I hear you have a new CD.” “You look great.”Buzz, Buzz, Buzz. It’s the 29th Annual New York Cabaret Convention. The crowd is primed to immerse itself in this beloved if beleaguered...

    The American Songbook Association (ASA)  presented its first Annual Gala, The Joint Is Jumpin’!, a joyous celebration of contributions to the American Songbook by Black songwriters and notable singers on September 17 and its first annual Lifetime Achievement Award to...

  Marilyn Maye Will Receive an ASA Lifetime Achievement Award Presented by Bob Mackie!     By Sandi Durell     Cabaret keeps growing because there are enough people and organizations to keep supporting its effort, keeping it alive and growing. The latest on the...

  The Determined Quartet that turned their Third Try at an All-Sondheim Songfest into an Exhilarating Masterpiece #SONDHEIMMONTAGE   By Myra Chanin   As 2014 was drawing to a close, the multiple award-winning theater and cabaret diva-cum-Mabel Mercer Foundation Artistic...

    By Marcina Zaccaria   Attending 54 Sings 1776 was a joyous way to compliment fireworks from the 4th of July. The show got off to a great start with Devin Ilaw (Miss Saigon) as John Adams proclaiming the need for Congress. Performing to a sold-out crowd at Feinstein’s/ 54...

  by Alix Cohen     As a longtime observer, it fascinates me that some career vocalists, having reached a plateau, then achieve better voices later in life. Michael Feinstein, Steve Ross, Karen Akers and now Karen Oberlin come to mind. None of these performers was less than...

  The closing night of the Mabel Mercer Foundation’s Cabaret Convention at Rose Hall hosted by Klea Blackhurst, honored two legendary composers, Hoagy Carmichael and Richard Whiting.   by Linda Amiel Burns   On Thursday, Oct. 19th, a remarkable cast of singers and musicians,...

  by Linda Amiel Burns     The Mabel Mercer Foundation’s 28th Cabaret Convention had its gala opening at Rose Hall on Oct. 16, 2017 emceed by Award Winning Artistic Director, KT Sullivan. The evening could not have had a better opening performer than the legendary Marilyn Maye...

                                           They glittered and made us gay     By Beatrice Williams-Rude   What was it that lit up the sky and held a hurricane at bay Tuesday evening? The bravura performance by Shana Farr singing songs from the repertoire of Barbara Cook....

    By Marilyn Lester   Calling it ‘the best Broadway musical that never was,’ host and producer Will Friedwald presented the extraordinary story of Manhattan Tower at Winter Rhythms-Urban Stages. It’s the tale of an important, groundbreaking album, now pretty...

    by Alix Cohen   Hey, old friend, are you okay/Old friend?/What do you say, old friend/Are we or are we unique?/Time goes by/Everything else keeps changing/You and I/We get continued next week…(Merrily WeRoll Along). On their 5th New York Cabaret Convention collaboration,...

  by Peter Haas   “I’ve always loved Marilyn Monroe,” says Marissa Mulder, who had been taking an acting class with Sondra Lee. “I felt like I was connected to Marilyn. I started reading about her life, reading her diaries and innermost thoughts. I loved her vulnerability. I wanted...

  by Joe Regan Jr. Jazz singer Martha Lorin held court May 18 at Café Noctambulo in a show entitled “Swing Can Really Hang You Up the Most,” with a great trio of jazz musicians:  Saadi Zain, Musical Director and on bass, Jon Weber on piano, and Sean Harkness on guitar.There was very...

  It’s a Good Day – A Tribute to Miss Peggy Lee and On the Air – Songs for Marian McPartland       by Marilyn Lester   Indefatigable Stacy Sullivan performed not one, but two different shows in an evening of music at Birdland Jazz Club, knocking both out of the park....

    by: Linda Amiel Burns     Frances Hill, the Artistic Director of Urban Stages, quotes Nietzsche in the Program saying, “without music life would be a mistake.” Well, there certainly has been many musical presentations going on this past month at the Urban Stages...

    by Linda Amiel Burns   The Broadway Close Up Series at Merkin Concert Hall honored the music of legendary composer Harold Arlen with a first rate cast.   On December 7, 2015, The Broadway Close Up Series at Merkin Hall paid tribute to one of the towering composers of...

      by: Sandi Durell The National Arts Club was filled with supporters, fans and friends of Encompass New Opera Theatre on October 25th as they honored Tony nominated Barbara Cook, legendary soprano and leading Broadway star, on her 88th Birthday, and Lee Adams, a wordsmith...

      By: Sandi Durell   This cleverly developed show “In the Still of the Night” is a tribute to the brilliance of two of our most respected, laudable songwriters – Noel Coward and Cole Porter. It’s clear that Shana Farr is in love with both of them as she uses their...

      By: Sandi Durell             There is nothing as compelling as listening to the poignant sophisticated lyrics and music of Stephen Sondheim – his innate creative bent for writing about realities of emotional life, love and people are a 20th...

    by Joe Regan Jr.             About a year ago KT Sullivan and Jeff Harnar performed an acclaimed Steven Sondheim show. Now Sullivan and Harnar are doing Another Hundred People, Sondheim: ACT II at the Laurie Beechman. The musical director and vocal...

  Making the Rounds with Russ                                 Here’s what Russ Weatherford has to say about Sullivan, Harnar, Weber and Sondheim! KT Sullivan and Jeff Harnar presented the second act of...

                                                                              by Linda Amiel Burns...

    The Muses Behind the Legends of Rock n’ Roll       by: Marilyn Lester   If the term avante garde can be applied to the cabaret genre, Lauren Fox embodies it. Her original shows are not your mother, father, or grandparent’s cabaret. At a Fox show the old...

      Review by Marilyn Lester & Sandi Durell   As brutal winter temperatures continued to plague the city outside, there was plenty of warmth generated indoors, as friends and family gathered to pay tribute to the late, prolific songwriter, Ervin Drake. Produced by T....