By Roy Sander

"Accidental Happiness"

Marnie Klar's new show, "Accidental Happiness," is all about struggling with the hurdles that life throws in our path, and overcoming them. With the exception of her personal account of one such challenge and how she dealt with it, the theme is not stated explicitly. Rather, it's communicated through the musical programming and Klar's interpretations, and on both counts the evening is an artistically commanding and emotionally potent triumph.

By Robert Windeler

"Song Man Dance Man"

Jon Peterson's talent as both singer and tap dancer is impressive. He provides an amiable, riveting stage presence; on top of that, his complete absorption of the work of his deceased double- triple- and even quadruple-threat, iconic showbiz predecessors and his enthusiasm for channeling their careers to his audience are palpable. He's given himself an enormous mission here: to cover George M. Cohan, Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Sammy Davis Jr., Bobby Darin, and Anthony Newley in one 100-minute show on a small stage, with only his piano accompanist, Julian Reeve, for support. But Peterson delivers each of his vaudeville-inspired septet's highlights so wonderfully that occasional misfires in his spoken and musical narrative are easily forgiven.

By Mark Dundas Wood

"If you're easily offended, please get the hell out of here right now," Dallas Dubois tells the audience after the opening number of "Distorted Diznee," a drag show that aims to take your favorite scenarios from classic Disney films and stage shows and stand them on their enchanted heads. Created and directed by Dubois, the show, with varying onstage personnel, has been playing off and on at the Laurie Beechman Theatre for more than a year. Currently it alternates on Friday nights with another entry in the franchise, "Distorted Broadway."

By Roy Sander

"Everything Old Is New Again"

Like figure skaters, cabaret artists can be judged on their technical skills and their artistic merit. Lianne Marie Dobbs has both of these bases covered: Her voice is an attractive and unfailingly sure instrument, and she has considerable acting chops; what's more, she is able to combine these skills to deliver nuanced interpretations across a range of styles with both sensitivity and showbiz savvy. Having all of these virtues is rare, but admittedly it's not unique. However, she has something else, something that distinguishes her from other gifted artists and makes us sense that we are in the presence of someone special.

By Robert Windeler

"One of a Kind"

It takes a certain Gallic chutzpah to call your cabaret show "One of a Kind." Fortunately, Yvonne Constant, the French-born chanteuse who first came to New York as an ingénue in the 1958 Broadway mounting of La Plume de Ma Tante, is a singular talent who can get away with it. Her mantra is "Love gets in the way of your independence," and her anthem could well be "Comme d'habitude," the song that with Paul Anka's English lyrics became "My Way." Constant gives this number (music by Claude François and Jacques Revaux) an expansive treatment mid-set. She quickly dismisses the French lyrics (Gilles Thibaut and Claude François) by talk-singing a literal English translation of their banality, and ends with singing the rather more stirring Anka words. On either side of this centerpiece number, she offers a quixotic, eclectic mix of songs that maybe only she could pull off.

By Mark Dundas Wood

A trio of singers—Julie Reyburn, Shana Farr, and Mark Campbell—teamed up, along with pianist/music director Bill Zeffiro, to perform the music of Mira J. Spektor in this Metropolitan Room revue, directed by Karen Carpenter. All three vocalists were poised and confident, and the hour-long presentation included some stirring and elegant performances. Nevertheless, I'm not sure I came away with a sense of the full range of Spektor's talents.

By Kevin Scott Hall

"mismatch.com"

Any one of us who has been through the New York City dating conundrum—gay or straight, at whatever age—will be able to relate to Daniel Brewer's mismatch.com, his new cabaret offering that recently played at Don't Tell Mama. Playing Benjamin Misstep, Brewer gave us more or less a play with songs inserted rather than a more traditional autobiographical cabaret act. We have all seen shows with this theme before—perhaps too many times—and yet Brewer, a witty writer and charming actor, won over the audience with his heartfelt and often corny show. It's old-fashioned romantic comedy with a gay twist.

By Mark Dundas Wood

"Barzee Sings Bacharach"

When you think Burt Bacharach, it's likely that the upbeat selections he wrote with lyricist Hal David in the 1960s come quickly to mind: the lilting "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" or such popping and crackling songs as "Do You Know the Way to San Jose?" and "Promises, Promises." Bacharach-David songs of that stripe are a bit like high-end gourmet drop candy: sweet and tasty—with a hint of tartness sometimes. But they're not what you reach for when you're in need of a square meal.

By Robert Windeler

"Hip To Be Happy"

A bubbly redhead given to holding a smiley-face umbrella today as surely as she was given to wearing a smiley-face dress when she was eight years old, Teresa Fischer seems terminally happy, and therefore terminally hip. We don't need the title song (by Ann Hampton Callaway) of this largely bouncy set to understand that Teresa Fischer likes to sing on the sunny side of the street and very much likes what she does for a living. Will she ever do a ballad, one wonders, and if so, will she do it well? You have to wait a bit to find out.

By Kevin Scott Hall

"Dwight Thomas Vaughn & The Missouri Statesmen"

A couple of years ago, Tom Vaughn returned to music full-time after frightening, life-threatening bouts with cancer and heart trouble at a young age. Understandably excited about his new lease on life, the cabaret show he did then demonstrated his puppy-dog enthusiasm for the stage and his emerging talent as a songwriter. However—playing armchair psychologist here—he may have still been too close to the tragic events to take the time to examine who he was as an artist. In his show then, he sang show tunes, pop songs, duets with his friend and director Raissa Katona Bennett, and country numbers. Hailing from southern Missouri, it was in the last category that he made the best impression.

By Mark Dundas Wood

"Slender, Tender and Tall: An Evening with the Fabulous Ms. Jo Thompson"

Those who demand an orderly, meticulously crafted cabaret act should probably steer clear of Jo Thompson. They can give up their seats to the rest of us.

As a pianist, this singular performer—who's been appearing in nightclubs since the 1940s—is anything but dainty-fingered. An unapologetic honky-tonker, she wallops the keyboard as though pounding a flank steak with a meat mallet. At one point early in the show I saw—during a particularly boisterous moment—she hollered out, in reference to the piano keys, "Gotta slap 'em!"

By Mark Dundas Wood

"Ricky Ritzel Sings Elaine Stritch"

A sort of barrelhouse raucousness was at play in Ricky Ritzel's tribute show to Elaine Stritch at 54 Below—a brand of spontaneity and sense of fun that I haven't quite felt on previous visits to the club. Maybe it was because Ritzel performed his show, which was directed by Jim Luzar, almost entirely seated at the piano (an arrangement that had a down side, too, but I'll get to that in a bit). Though he most certainly had a set list and itinerary of jokes, it seemed almost as though we were all surrounding Ritzel at a piano bar, listening to him extemporize as he talked about and sang songs associated with the celebrated, infamously grumpy and outspoken star.