Back in the heyday of New York City cabaret (or at least back in one of the heydays of New York City cabaret) I can remember wandering into a club and hearing Marc Shaiman accompany André De Shields or Ellen Greene or Annie Golden. I would go to see a hot new singer like Annie Hughes […]
In More Than You Know, her Rosemary Clooney tribute show at 53 Above, Teresa Fischer tells us that she has long been drawn to Clooney’s singing because of the warmth and clarity of her voice and her ability to make every lyric understandable. Happily, Fisher is able to replicate those positive qualities herself. It’s not […]
Charles Busch long ago conquered the stages of Off and Off-Off Broadway, often resplendent in gowns recalling the heyday of Hollywood leading ladies and delivering sparkling, campy, stinging, funny, dramatic words of his own devising. On occasion, over the years, he has explored the naked intimacy of the cabaret stage, frequently forgoing his womanly attire—although […]
For some time now, Thomas Honeck and Lisa Moss of the Duplex have been regularly providing a showcase for new and little-known composers and lyricists in a series called In The Works. One pair of songwriters who have taken advantage of this terrific opportunity, Lauren Gundrum and Brandon Lambert, has decided to move on from […]
Within post-Stonewall gay culture, Quentin Crisp has not been universally beloved. And how could he have been, really? The British-born writer and raconteur—who died in 1999 at age 90—was a stubborn contrarian. He advised his readers and listeners to seek happiness by looking inward rather than by seeking true love or taking up causes. Claiming […]
Too often in cabaret, a performer will play it safe when it comes to repertoire, clothes, spoken content, or performance. In his new show, Lady with a Song, singer Jack Bartholet does anything but play it safe as he claims both the stage and his right to be a lady on it for an hour. […]
Spoiler alert: This review of Lindsay Mendez’s show at Feinsteins/54 Below is going to be an unabashed, totally smitten love letter. Her open, unaffected, thrilling performance transports the audience back to a time when “brassy broad” stars like Dorothy Loudon and Karen Morrow delighted audiences. While there are a couple of concessions to 2019 in […]
In her show Glamour in the Dark, Israeli singer-actress Yael Rasooly, joined by accordionist Iliya Magalnyk, offered a glimpse into an almost other-worldly and very international cabaret experience. The evening had a theatrical feel, with Rasooly entering onto the stage slowly singing “La Vie en rose” (Louiguy, Marguerite Monnot, Édith Piaf) to discover—as if for […]
Madelaine Warren’s voice has a lovely warm tone—one could even say burnished. And her musicality and phrasing, as one might expect from a former classical singer, are well thought out and refined. It is with these gifts that she presented Mad for Romance at Don’t Tell Mama, directed by Barry Kleinbort. In large measure it […]
Group cabaret shows can be wonderful, but they can also be tricky. You want to provide variety both in musical content and in terms of who sings what. You want a balance of solos, duets, and ensemble numbers. And you need to make certain that the voices and personalities truly blend well. Being a talented […]
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