Gerry Geddes has conceived and directed a number of musical revues—including the Bistro- and MAC Award-winning Monday in the Dark with George and Put On Your Saturday Suit – Words & Music by Jimmy Webb—and directed many cabaret artists, including André De Shields, Helen Baldassare, Darius de Haas, and drag artist Julia Van Cartier. He directs The David Drumgold Variety Show, currently in residence at Manhattan Movement & Arts Center, and has produced a number of recordings, including two Bistro-winning CDs. He's taught vocal performance at The New School, NYU, and London's Goldsmith's College and continues to conduct private workshops and master classes. As a writer and critic, he has covered New York's performing arts scene for over 40 years in both local and national publications; his lyrics have been sung by several cabaret and recording artists. Gerry is currently completing a memoir about his life in the city.
Wendy Scherl is such an immediately inviting and obviously talented singer, that one wanted to surrender completely to the charms of her new show, Town and Country, which recently had an encore performance at the Laurie Beechman Theatre. There were a number of wonderfully winning moments throughout the show, starting with her opener, a nicely […]
Amy Jo Jackson’s show The Brass Menagerie brings Tennessee Williams to the cabaret stage at the Duplex with astonishing results. While the playwright may not at first glance seem ideal fodder for such a venue, the show pulses with such intelligence, wit, passion, comedy, heart, and musical acumen that any reservations dissolve in seconds. Jackson’s […]
Lately it seems that singer Gretchen Reinhagen’s name pops up most often with the word “director” attached, but in her continuing residency at Pangea the words “host” and “star” are more to the point. Using her most recent night as a celebration of her new CD, Take It With Me, Reinhagen focused on a number […]
Feelin’ Good, singer Lauren Frazza’s remarkably assured cabaret debut at Pangea, is filled with great singing, striking arrangements, good humor and real emotion. Again and again, one forgets that this is her first venture into cabaret. Under Geoff Stoner’s clean, precise direction, Frazza delights the audience with tales of the dogs she has known. She […]
Imagine a universe where sixties music was not dominated by the British Invasion and the rise of the singer/songwriter, a universe in which male pop crooners remained at the forefront of radio play and at the top of the charts. In such a universe, singer Todd Murray would be a part of the pantheon of […]
Jen Fellman has an extraordinary voice, with vaulting highs and creamy lows; if her recent show at Feinstein’s/54 Below were judged solely on the gorgeous sounds that caressed our ears, it would have been an absolute smash. However, there is a lot more to a successful club act—even to a CD release show, as this […]
Imagine for a moment that the Andrews Sisters had been cryogenically frozen in a tube right next to Walt Disney and then thawed out in 2019 and handed sheet music to hit songs by the likes of Kesha, Mariah Carey, Aerosmith, and Prince. This will give you a small glimpse of the wonder that is […]
In One of the Girls – The Words and Music of Jerry Herman at Birdland, singer Klea Blackhurst leaves no doubt about her affection for the famed Broadway composer and his songs. Using a program of mostly familiar material, she takes us on a dual journey through Herman’s career and through her connections to it. Her […]
At Pangea recently, singer-instrumentalist Hannah Reimann reveled in her love of all things Joni in her show, Both Sides Now – The Music of Joni Mitchell 1966-1974. As the title indicates, she focused on the songwriter’s first six albums; this was a wise choice since those recordings contain most of her “hits” and her most accessible, […]
Whenever students or singers that I’m directing adopt a personal-confession format for their performance, I am quick to point out that while there should be truth on stage, there don’t necessarily have to be facts. The best singers allow the audience to experience their own moments of joy, grief, or passion through the storytelling of […]
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