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.

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...

Gail Nelson-Holgate

Mark Dundas Wood
"It's About Time" Stage 72  –  March 10 Gail Nelson-Holgate has a regal, elegant bearing and a gracious rapport with her listeners. At this one-off performance, she approached her largely jazz-inflected repertoire (featuring arrangements by Danny Holgate) with seriousness, but leavened the proceedings with dashes of fun. Her patter was obviously scripted, and a little...

John Gabriel

Mark Dundas Wood
Metropolitan Room  –  March 3 John Gabriel is at least as well known as an actor (the daytime drama Ryan's Hope) and TV producer (Charles Grodin's talk shows) as he is as a singer. Grodin, himself, showed up at the Metropolitan Room to introduce Gabriel at this one-nighter, sharing with the audience a long, not-especially-amusing...

Pia Zadora

Mark Dundas Wood
"Pia Zadora – Back Again and Standing Tall" The Metropolitan Room  –  February 7-10 Pia Zadora is a trouper. On the eve of the recent snowstorm, playing to a small audience, she kept her energy level high, as though playing to a packed house. She gave special attention to each occupied table—at one point circulating...

Sharón Clark

Mark Dundas Wood
"Blame It on My Youth" Metropolitan Room  –  January 22, 28, 30, February 1, 2 "So, you're diggin' the Afro?" D.C.-based vocalist Sharón Clark asked the audience upon stepping onto the stage on the first night of her Metropolitan Room engagement. Her retro hairstyle is part of the packaging for her show "Blame It On...

Jeff Harnar

Mark Dundas Wood
"Does This Song Make Me Look Fat?" Laurie Beechman Theatre  –  January 14, 21, 28, February 8 Some cabaret performers choose to pack a show with languid ballads. Sure, they may feature the odd up-tempo number and perhaps a comic turn or two: bones thrown to the notion of variety. But mostly these singers go...

The Wonderful Wizard of Song: The Music of Harold Arlen

Mark Dundas Wood
St. Luke's Theatre  –  Mondays at 7pm, Wednesdays at 2pm, Thursdays at 8pm The songs of composer Harold Arlen—with their sophistication and mix of Jewish and African-American melodic elements—need to be approached with intelligence, care, and taste. One of Arlen's standards (co-written with Ted Koehler) famously touts the "right to sing the blues." Perhaps the...