Roy Sander

Roy Sander has been covering cabaret and theatre for over thirty years. He’s written cabaret and theatre reviews, features, and commentary for seven print publications, most notably Back Stage, and for CitySearch on the Internet. He covered cabaret monthly on “New York Theatre Review” on PBS TV, and cabaret and theatre weekly on WLIM-FM radio. He was twice a guest instructor at the London School of Musical Theatre. A critic for BistroAwards.com, he is also the site’s Reviews Editor; in addition, he is Chairman of the Advisory Board of MAC.

Nicolas King

Roy Sander
Don't Tell Mama  –  June 4 - 7 The first time I heard Nicolas King sing was when I played his CD, "Nineteen"—which, not coincidentally, is his age. I could say that I was quite impressed, but that would be like describing the Empire State Building as rather tall. To use a term I don't...

The Best Is Yet to Come: The Music of Cy Coleman

Roy Sander
59E59 Theaters  –  May 25 – July 3 That Cy Coleman was one of America's great composers is not up for debate. His contributions to the Broadway stage and his catalogue of individual songs are prodigious, not only in quantity, but also in quality and stylistic variety. His Broadway shows include Sweet Charity, Little Me,...

Elaine St. George

Roy Sander
"InspiRAYtion: The Musical Legacy of Ray Charles" Metropolitan Room  –  April 27, May 3, 4, 9 Elaine St. George may not have done many shows in the fourteen years since I first saw her sing, but to paraphrase a remark Spencer Tracy made about Katharine Hepburn in Pat and Mike, what she's done has been "cherce"....

Jim Van Slyke

Roy Sander
"The Sedaka Show" Feinstein's at Loews Regency  –  April 4, 11, 18, 25 I first saw Jim Van Slyke's Neil Sedaka show in March 2009, when it was in its infancy. Indeed, as I recall that engagement was the show's maiden voyage, at least in New York waters. Since then, he has performed it any number...

Sigali Hamberger

Roy Sander
"A Toast to Ava Gardner"  Metropolitan Room  –  March 19, 25,  April 5, 6 In her new show, Sigali Hamberger takes us on a journey through Ava Gardner's personal life and professional career—her background, desires, ambitions, marriages, love affairs, film roles, and leading men—en route, singing songs that illuminate significant events and relationships. How fitting...

Shirley Jones

Roy Sander
"An Evening of Story and Song" Feinstein's at Loews Regency -  March 15 - 19 A sizable segment of the general public probably knows Shirley Jones primarily as the mother on the hit TV series The Partridge Family, but the rest of us may be more familiar with her film work (over thirty movies, among...

Kim Smith

Roy Sander
"Misfit" Laurie Beechman Theatre  -  March 2, 9, 16 I'd bet that Kim Smith could sing the dictionary and turn it into a dramatic musical theatre piece, keeping the audience spellbound from aardvark straight through to zymurgy. To every song he brings a commitment and focus that are intense and hypnotic. His delivery, in a...

Maude Maggart

Roy Sander
"Everybody's Doin' It" Oak Room at the Algonquin  -  February 15 – March 12 As the King of Siam is famously alleged to have said, "Is a puzzlement." The last two shows Maude Maggart did at the Algonquin were very good, indeed. Now we have this new show. How could things have gone so wrong?...

Amy Beth Williams

Roy Sander
"Once in Love with Amy" Metropolitan Room  -  February 2, 24, March 2, 23 Amy Beth Williams made a very strong impression competing in the 2010 MetroStar Talent Challenge, where she was one of the two runners-up. Her bearing was regal (an adjective I don't think I've had occasion to use since I last saw...

The Follow Spot

Roy Sander
Iridium  -   Tuesdays, from 11:00 PM There's a new open mic in town: "The Follow Spot," every Tuesday evening starting at 11:00PM at Iridium. Each of the city's open mics has qualities and attributes that set it apart from the others, and each is likely to appeal to a particular subset of the musical community (performers...