To the best of my knowledge, February 26th is not a holiday, but perhaps it should be. That date marked the return to the New York cabaret stage, after a 20-year absence, of singer Lorna Dallas in a beautifully fashioned, exquisitely performed show called Home Again. With the invaluable assistance of director Barry Kleinbort and […]
Early in a recent encore performance of her show Kaleidoscope Eyes at Don’t Tell Mama, singer Ruth Carlin professed her love for words, for poetry, and for lyrics. It was not a necessary profession because it was evident in her very first song, a version of Lionel Bart’s “Who Will Buy?” that was filled with […]
The Emcee in the musical Cabaret, first seen on Broadway in 1966, is an enigmatic figure. Existing entirely in the world of the Kit Kat Klub cabaret in Berlin, he barely qualifies as a “character” in the show at all. One might better call him a “presence.” In the 2001 book Open a New Window, […]
Entering wearing sunglasses—commanding in the way you can be only when you’re about to sing a James Bond theme song—John Lloyd Young began his set at the Café Carlyle on opening night with 1967’s “You Only Live Twice” (John Barry, Leslie Bricusse). Violinist Gokce Erem was featured right away with the catchy string theme, establishing […]
The theme of a revue can be a two-edged sword. When the song and humor work, it can be delightful, but without some thought of variation of story and/or a through line that brings us to some moral or message or climax, there can be too much repetition. While there were funny, and occasionally touching, […]
The husband-and-wife team of Orfeh and Andy Karl have teamed up for Legally Bound (directed by Charles Randolph-Wright), in an engagement at Feinstein’s/54 Below. Married now for 17 years, the two have made names for themselves in musical theatre and have occasionally appeared together in New York productions, most notably in Broadway’s Legally Blonde (2007). […]
Ambition should always be applauded, even when the show that results from that ambition is a mixed success. Such is the case with the task performer Zachary Clause sets himself with Zachary Clause Does Bette Midler at the Continental Baths, 1971, currently in a return engagement at Pangea. He attempts to recreate every word, every […]
Sometimes a large following based on solid television and Broadway musical credits can be enough to assure a successful cabaret stint. No need to name your club show or to provide a thoughtful theme or through-line for it. As Matthew Morrison proved anew in his most recent run at Feinstein’s/54 Below, you can simply name […]
The “project” in the title of this show refers to jazz singer and music teacher Roseanna Vitro’s efforts to generate smart and graceful lyrics for the late Charlie Parker’s bebop compositions. Sing a Song of Bird: The Music of Charlie Parker—staged as a one-nighter at Jazz at Kitano—is clearly a work in progress. Some songs […]
Rachelle Garniez, Amanda Homi, and Terry Radigan are accomplished singers, songwriters, and musicians with thriving solo careers. It was a shared love of the songs of reprobate troubadour Tom Waits that brought the women together to form the trio Vicki Kristina Barcelona. Recently on the intimate stage at Pangea, their show, Yesterday Is Here, proved […]
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