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.

I Sort Of Enjoyed It

Gerry Geddes
When one comes across a show entitled I Sort Of Enjoyed It, which played recently at the Metropolitan Room, a lot of things come to mind before the show actually begins. Are the creators providing the first or last line of a potential review? Are they setting themselves up for a fall? Are they trying...

Jeff Macauley

Gerry Geddes
In Le Grand Tour, which debuted recently at the Metropolitan Room, singer Jeff Macauley completes his trilogy of shows about classic Hollywood songwriters. Having previously paid tribute to Henry Mancini and Norman Gimbel, he focused this time on Michel Legrand, a true master of film music, with over 200 film and TV scores to his...

Lindsey Brett Carothers

Gerry Geddes
Lindsey Brett Carothers has been in a number of musicals, among them the off-Broadway hit Mad Libs, and she has guest-starred in a number of cabaret reviews and tributes. (I first saw her at the Duplex in the ongoing series Madame Mathieu's Soirée; she was one of the reasons I liked that show so much.)...

BenDeLaCreme

Gerry Geddes
There has been a lot of talk recently about living in a "post-racial" time (by those who refuse to acknowledge the persistent, systemic racism in American society) or in a "post-gay" time (by those who consider marriage equality to be the end of the civil rights battle). I have noticed in a number of shows in...

Matt Alber

Gerry Geddes
Singer-songwriter Matt Alber's "The End of the World" has become a staple in New York cabaret, which is not surprising considering its soaring melody and dramatic, poetic lyrics charting the break-up of a love affair. But as Alber showed in his recent show at Joe's Pub, he is far from a "one hit wonder." He...

Lady Rizo

Gerry Geddes
Since her early days of "diva-dom" at the legendary Continental Baths, to her triumphs on Broadway and in Vegas, to her decades of touring and recording and filming, Bette Midler has influenced generations of performers hoping to capture her uniquely entertaining combination of broad, risqué humor, solid musicianship, and consummate showmanship. Often, particularly in the...

Matthew Holloway

Gerry Geddes
It's always great to be surprised in cabaret. Sometimes it's one song, one story, one character that can shake you out of your club-going assumptions and expectations and genuinely enthrall you. More rare is an entire show that surprises you. That's just what we have in Matthew Holloway's remarkable "Mother Always Said!", which just returned...

Martin C. Hurt

Gerry Geddes
With his new show, "You Inspire Me," singer/actor Martin C. Hurt wanted to pay tribute to songwriters Fran Landesman and Tommy Wolf. He had heard "Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most" and fallen in love with their best-known song, as did many of us upon our first exposure to it. Musical legend has...

Kurt Phelan

Gerry Geddes
In his native Australia, Kurt Phelan is a theatre star; among his credits are the original Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Dirty Dancing, Singin' in the Rain, and various and sundry Disney princes through the years. With his good looks and strong voice, it is easy to believe that. He has also done cabaret "down...

Lena Hall

Gerry Geddes
Before I get into my review of Tony-winner/rocker Lena Hall's new show, "Oh! You Pretty Things," at the Café Carlyle, I think I need to present a few personal bona fides. I saw the first New York performance of Janis Joplin (with Big Brother and the Holding Company) at Fillmore East and attended many Bruce...