committee
Sherry Eaker
Sherry Eaker is the producer of the annual Bistro Awards show and has kept the tradition of the Bistro Awards going since the passing in 1992 of its creator, Bob Harrington, the first "Bistro Bits" columnist. Sherry is the former longtime editor of Back Stage, the performing arts trade weekly that her father, Ira Eaker, founded in 1960. She compiled and edited four editions of the Back Stage Handbook for Performing Artists, and compiled and edited the Cabaret Artists Handbook. Sherry serves on the boards of the National Theatre Conference and the Cabaret Conference at Yale University, and is an adivsor to the Manhattan Association of Cabarets & Clubs, the NY Coalition of Professional Women in the Arts & Media, and Theatre Resources Unlimited. She is also a member of the American Theatre Critics Association, the Drama Desk, the League of Professional Theatre Women, and NY Women in Film & TV.Kevin Scott Hall
As a performer, Kevin Scott Hall started working in theatre and cabaret as soon as he moved to New York in 1985. He had his first solo show at Panache Encore in 1986, and appeared in several Off-Off Broadway and regional productions. He continued to perform steadily in cabaret clubs in New York, Boston, and Philadelphia until 2004. During that time, he released three recordings, including his pop debut, "New Light Dawning" (1998, Cascade Records), which received radio airplay across the nation. Kevin worked at the legendary piano bar Rose’s Turn until it closed in 2007, and is a frequent soloist with the Middle Church Jerriese Johnson Gospel Choir. He has taught cabaret workshops since 1995 and has directed dozens of cabaret shows.
Having earned his MFA in Creative Writing at the City College of New York, Kevin continues to lecture at two City University campuses, teaching writing, speech and literature. He published his first novel, "Off the Charts!" (iUniverse) in 2010, a satire and coming-of-age novel about the music business. Since 2008, he has written dozens of artist profiles and features for Edge Media Network, including his monthly column “Kevin on Kabaret,” and he writes reviews for BistroAwards.com.
Rob Lester
Rob Lester is honored to be part of honoring outstanding talent in New York as a member of the Bistro Awards Committee. He writes reviews and articles for Cabaret Scenes magazine and the websites NiteLifeExchange.com (where he recently became Editor) and TalkinBroadway.com. He has been a judge for the Nightlife Awards and served on various committees for the MAC Awards, and he has been a permanent judge for the Metropolitan Room's MetroStar and Metro Minor Talent Challenge competitions. He spends many nights in the cabarets of his home town, New York City. He has written liner notes for several recordings, including those by past Bistro winners Marilyn Maye, Susan Winter, and Grace Cosgrove. He also works as a dramaturg and lyricist.
Erv Raible
NYC-based director, coach, publicist and consultant. Executive Director / Artistic Director of the International Cabaret Conference at Yale University, and Executive Director of Erv Raible Cabaret & Concert Artists International. Owned and booked the cabarets and piano bars: The Duplex (1978-84), Brandy’s (1980-85), Don't Tell Mama (1982-89) and the legendary Eighty Eight’s (1988-99); and through these venues presented over 4000 performers to the public. Co-founded The Manhattan Association of Cabarets & Clubs (President for 11 years, produced the first 9 MAC Award shows). Has written book and lyrics for Wallis & Edward: The Love Story of the Twentieth Century? and is co-lyricist for Ship of Fools: The Musical. Is directing and developing Hildegard of Bingen and the Living Light. Is developing a music documentary Silent Voices: Words and Music of the Holocaust, Hate, Hope and the Human Spirit for the Simon Wiesenthal Center.
Roy Sander
Roy Sander has been covering cabaret and theatre for twenty-five years. He's written cabaret and theatre reviews, features, and commentary for seven print publications, most notably Back Stage, and for CitySearch on the Internet. He covered cabaret monthly on "New York Theatre Review" on PBS TV, and cabaret and theatre weekly on WLIM-FM radio. He was twice a guest instructor at the London School of Musical Theatre. A critic for BistroAwards.com, he is also the site's Reviews Editor; in addition, he is Chairman of the Advisory Board of MAC.Robert Windeler
Robert Windeler is the author of 15 books, including biographies of Mary Pickford, Julie Andrews, Shirley Temple, and Burt Lancaster. As a West Coast correspondent for The New York Times and Time magazine, he covered movies, television and music, and he was an arts and entertainment critic for National Public Radio. He has contributed to a variety of other publications, including TV Guide, Architectural Digest, The Sondheim Review, and People, for which he wrote 35 cover stories. He is a graduate of Duke University in English literature and holds a masters in journalism from Columbia, where he studied critical writing with Judith Crist. He has been a theatre critic for Back Stage since 1999, writes reviews for BistroAwards.com, and is a member of The Players and the American Theatre Critics Association.
Mark Dundas Wood
Mark Dundas Wood has been a regular contributor to Back Stage since 2001 and has also written for such publications as American Theatre and Ross Reports. His features and news blurbs appear regularly on the entertainment website Simply-Showbiz.com, and he writes reviews for BistroAwards.com. As a dramaturg, Mark has worked for the New Professional Theatre writers festival since 2000 and for the New York Musical Theatre Festival on the shows Marrying Meg (Mark Robertson, 2009), The Great Unknown (William Hauptman/Jim Wann, 2010), Man of Rock (Daniel Heath/Kenneth Flagg, 2011), and Living With Henry (Christopher Wilson, 2012).