Judy Kuhn
Mark Dundas Wood
Feinstein's at Loews Regency – March 6, 8, 9 and 10 Poised and serene, actor-singer Judy Kuhn exhibited a regal demeanor from the first moment she stepped onto the Feinstein's stage. She moved her arms—her whole body, in fact—gracefully yet assertively. At a passionate moment, her hand fluttered to her throat as if to cool...
Michael Kirk Lane
Mark Dundas Wood
"Songs from the Rock, the Street, and the Hood" Don't Tell Mama – February 7, 9, and 16 It took me a while to warm up to Michael Kirk Lane in this return of his debut show featuring songs from classic children's television programs. But halfway through the set, in the final part of a...
Eric Michael Gillett and La Tanya Hall
Mark Dundas Wood
"Nothing to Lose But Your Heart – The Songs of Lynn Ahrens & Stephen Flaherty" Feinstein's at Loews Regency – February 21-25 The songwriting team of composer Stephen Flaherty and lyricist Lynn Ahrens often writes songs for musicals with a show-business setting. That's something the audience learns early on in this program featuring the duo's...
Alec Mapa
Mark Dundas Wood
"Baby Daddy" Laurie Beechman Theatre – February 9, 10, 11 At the top of his show at the Laurie Beechman Theatre, actor-comedian Alec Mapa told the audience about his recent Las Vegas engagement. He said he had been asked by management to watch his language. Mapa assured the largely gay and gay-friendly Beechman crowd that...
Noah’s Very Unusual Insight
Mark Dundas Wood
The Duplex – January 27, 28 The premise of Noah's Very Unusual Insight (directed by Stephanie Fittro) is pleasingly silly. Patient "Noah A." (Michael Hanko, who also wrote the script), a gay man living in New York, is introduced to the audience by his longtime psychotherapist, Dr. Lorna Gallo (Peter Lappin). Noah suffers from ABD...
Charles West
Mark Dundas Wood
"Feeling Good" Don't Tell Mama – November 16, 17, 23, December 8, 15 When Charles West steps onto the Don't Tell Mama stage and delivers his first song, you may think: Geez, isn't he just a little too much? West is suave and self-possessed. He has chiseled good looks and he's full of sexy growls....
The Bobs
Mark Dundas Wood
"The Bobs Return to the Duplex—with Angie Bob! The Duplex – November 11 Celebrating 30 years of performing, the Bobs still pack a punch with their clever a cappella stylings, which were dubbed "New Wave a cappella" back when the group started out. Their approach to songs is fairly consistent: One member of the quartet will take...
Colleen McHugh
Mark Dundas Wood
"More Songs of Self-Delusion" Birdland – October 24 You can't fake the sheer love of performing that Colleen McHugh demonstrated at her birthday show at Birdland. Or if you can, you're the Meryl Streep of cabaret. The birthday girl clearly worked hard that night, but she made it all look like a spirited round of...
Craig Pomranz
Mark Dundas Wood
"Love and the Weather" Metropolitan Room – October 5, 9, 12 Craig Pomranz is the cabaret singer of the people. He calls to mind a working-class politician—a populist candidate trying to earn my vote down at the general store. On the afternoon I saw him, Pomranz didn't bother with a grand entrance from the lobby,...
Donald Wayne
Mark Dundas Wood
"Lost in the 40's" Don't Tell Mama – August 28, September 8, 10, 11, 13 With "Lost in the Forties," Donald Wayne provided a highly personal look- and listen-back at the music consumed by 1940s Americans—a generation wounded and scarred by the Second World War. Early on in the show, which was directed by Spider...