Mark Dundas Wood

Mark Dundas Wood is an arts/entertainment journalist and dramaturg. He began writing for BistroAwards.com in 2011. Currently, he writes the "Bistro Bits" column for the site. Other reviews and articles have appeared at theaterscene.net and talkinbroadway.com, as well as in American Theatre and Back Stage. As a dramaturg, he has worked with New Professional Theatre and the New York Musical Theatre Festival. He is currently literary manager for Broad Horizons Theatre Company.

Paolo Szot

Mark Dundas Wood
54 Below – August 5-11 Having appreciated Brazilian-born operatic bass-baritone Paulo Szot's Tony-winning performance as Emile de Becque in the New York revival of South Pacific several seasons ago, I anticipated his engagement at 54 Below with enthusiasm. I hoped he would use his celebrated vocal prowess in a sensitive manner in the intimacy of...

Cynthia Farrell

Mark Dundas Wood
"Cynthia Farrell for Real" Don't Tell Mama – July 23, 25, 31 With her smooth, controlled, powerful voice, her deep concentration, and her diligent attention to enunciation and phrasing, Cynthia Farrell, now making her cabaret debut at Don't Tell Mama, is a talent to keep a sharp eye on. The emotional intensity she can bring...

Julie Budd

Mark Dundas Wood
An Evening with Julie Budd" Metropolitan Room – June 12, 13 Talk about your elephant in the room. I suppose it is possible to write about a Julie Budd performance without mentioning the name Barbra Streisand. But it's sort of like describing Colby cheese without using the word "cheddar." Why give yourself the aggravation? The...
Julie Budd

Annie Kozuch

Mark Dundas Wood
"Mostly Jobim" Stage 72 – May 29, June 6 Bossa nova music has always ambled gently along the line in the sand between jazz and pop, like some tall, tanned girl sauntering down an Ipanema beach. In his 1979 book The Latin Tinge, music critic John Storm Roberts identified bossa nova as a "fusion of...

Distorted Diznee

Mark Dundas Wood
Laurie Beechman Theatre  – ongoing, every other Friday "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...

Take Me Home Tonight: The Songs of Mira Spektor

Mark Dundas Wood
Metropolitan Room  –  Aprll 15, 22, 29 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...

Anastasia Barzee

Mark Dundas Wood
"Barzee Sings Bacharach" Metropolitan Room  –  April 18, 19, 20, 24 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...

Jo Thompson

Mark Dundas Wood
"Slender, Tender and Tall: An Evening with the Fabulous Ms. Jo Thompson" Café Carlyle  –  March 21, 22, 23, 28, 30 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...

Ricky Ritzel

Mark Dundas Wood
"Ricky Ritzel Sings Elaine Stritch" 54 Below: March 15, 22;  Don't Tell Mama: April 26, May 6 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...

Debby Boone

Mark Dundas Wood
"Swing This" Café Carlyle  –  March 19-30 "I'll be a devil till I'm an angel," Debby Boone sings in "I'm Gonna Live Till I Die" (Al Hoffman, Walter Kent, Manny Curtis), her opening number at the Café Carlyle. Did Boone choose this particular song so that she could ruffle her public image a bit? After...