Gerry Geddes

Gerry Geddes, critic for BistroAwards.com, is an award-winning director, writer, teacher, performer, lyricist, and a contributor to the podcast Troubadours and Raconteurs. He conceived and directed the acclaimed musical revues Monday in the Dark with George (Bistro and MAC Award winner), Put on Your Saturday Suit—Words & Music by Jimmy Webb, and Gerry Geddes & Company (in its five-year residency at Pangea). He has directed singers André De Shields, Darius de Haas, Helen Baldassare, and Lisa Viggiano. He has been active in the cabaret world for over five decades and has produced numerous CDs; his lyrics have been performed and recorded here and in Europe. Gerry’s workshop, The Art of Vocal Performance, is regularly offered to singers of all levels. His memoir of life in NYC, Didn’t I Ever Tell You This?, was recently published and is available at barnesandnoble.com. He is currently at work on his first novel.

Karen Mason: “More SPF! The Summer Continues!”

Gerry Geddes
Reviewing Karen Mason’s wonderful new show, More SPF! The Summer Continues! at Don’t Tell Mama was a full-circle moment for me; I first reviewed her as half of the opening night of the venerable cabaret back in 1982; the other half of that evening was Nancy Lamott. Mason was incredible in ’82 and, if possible,...

Tammy McCann in “Legendary Ladies of Jazz—Ella, Sarah, Dinah, & Billie”

Gerry Geddes
Jazz/blues singer Tammy McCann paid a visit from her home in Chicago to 54 Below in NYC to celebrate The Legendary Ladies of Jazz—Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, and Dinah Washington. There was nothing edgy or adventurous about the choice of singers, or songs, but I suppose that was to be expected.  It did...

Amy Jo Jackson— “Laugh It Up”

Gerry Geddes
If one were to look up the meaning of the phrase “explosively talented,” one might very well find a picture of Amy Jo Jackson.  She is a blast of TNT talent in a genre often lacking in excitement and solid entertainment and laughs.  She not only raises the roof—she lowers the floor, she destroys the...

Club Review: James Jackson, Jr. Celebrates a Debut Album Release, “Birth”

Gerry Geddes
Some may know singer-actor and Obie-winner James Jackson, Jr. from his acclaimed theatre work, including the Pulitzer- and Tony-winning A Strange Loop, or most recently White Girl in Danger which played at the Vineyard Theatre. While he has been extending his exemplary theatrical career, he has also steadily developed into a first-rate cabaret performer, culminating in...

Matthew Brookshire Sings The Wedding Album

Gerry Geddes
Singer/songwriter/pianist Matthew Brookshire opened the new singer-songwriter series at Pangea with Matthew Brookshire Sings The Wedding Album, a show filled with memorable originals, smartly chosen covers, and loads of charm and surprising emotional depth. It recounted the adventures of a gay man facilitating the weddings of heterosexual couples.  Matthew Brookshire (Photo: Erika Capin) Brookshire had...

“Josh Johnson’s Garden Variety Show”

Gerry Geddes
Josh Johnson, one of the freshest, funniest young comics around, is familiar to many from his regular contributions to The Daily Show and his frequent on-line posts, including weekly full-length concerts. When I first came across a hilarious clip on YouTube, I subscribed immediately and have been following him (and laughing) ever since. I recently got...

“I Wish You Love: The French Songbook with David Marino”

Gerry Geddes
I Wish You Love: The French Songbook with David Marino is a beautifully crafted, wonderfully performed showcase for a remarkable young singer from Canada named David Marino. His youth and his homeland and his song choices might lead the uninformed to place Marino in the Michael Bublé school of new residents in the world of the...

A Grab Bag of Cabaret Shows in a Wide Array of Styles

Gerry Geddes
It seems each year the holiday season starts earlier and gets here quicker, and inevitably leaves me with a backlog of reviews to shows I have seen over the past few months in danger of not seeing the light of print before the new year arrives.  Here’s what I have, in no particular order.  Josephine...

A Tale of Two Tributes: One Hit, One Miss

Gerry Geddes
The concept of a tribute show in cabaret is appealing to performers for a number of reasons.  First, and most obvious, would be love for the honoree and the wish to pay homage to them. It could be to shine a spotlight on elements of the life or works of the honoree that are not as...

Club Review: Peter Calo & Anne Carpenter—”Timeless Singer-Songwriters”

Gerry Geddes
A soft blanket on a snowy night. A cool lemonade on a summer afternoon.  Mac and cheese on a cool October Saturday.  They all spell “comfort.”  Add to that list an evening spent listening to singer-guitarist Peter Calo and vocalist Anne Carpenter singing the songs of Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon, Paul Simon, James Taylor, and...