Robert Windeler

Robert Windeler is the author of 18 books, including biographies of Mary Pickford, Julie Andrews, Shirley Temple, and Burt Lancaster. As a West Coast correspondent for The New York Times and Time magazine, he covered movies, television and music, and he was an arts and entertainment critic for National Public Radio. He has contributed to a variety of other publications, including TV Guide, Architectural Digest, The Sondheim Review, and People, for which he wrote 35 cover stories. He is a graduate of Duke University in English literature and holds a masters in journalism from Columbia, where he studied critical writing with Judith Crist. He has been a theatre critic for Back Stage since 1999, writes reviews for BistroAwards.com, and is a member of The Players and the American Theatre Critics Association.

Floanne

Robert Windeler
A set of French (or Frenchified) love songs is a nice, if fairly obvious, idea for a one-off on Bastille Day. The Franco-American singer Floanne (full name Flo Ankah) was happy to comply with the concept—if not exactly fully engage with fashioning a tight, full-fledged set. At one point in her loosey-goosey presentation at Joe's...

Clark Warren

Robert Windeler
A self-described member of "the geezerhood," Clark Warren surely deserves a nicer-sounding appellation. After all, this gentleman of a certain age evinces many of the admirable qualities of advanced years: self-confidence, curiosity, a firm grasp on his field of endeavor, a spirit of adventure, and no-nonsense delivery of whatever he wants to say or sing,...

Alexa Ray Joel

Robert Windeler
Make no mistake about it, from the moment she takes the stage, she takes the stage. Her voice is strong and her musicality is secure. Her crisp eleven-song, fifty-minute set goes beyond eclectic, and she somehow seems to know that her audience is ready to make the journey with her. At age 28, Alexa Ray...

Jennylind Parris

Robert Windeler
Doing a tribute show to a beloved performer who is not only very much alive, but still working, can be tricky. Who needs the tribute maker, no matter how talented or sincere, when the real thing is metaphorically so close at hand? Jennylind Parris has neatly sidestepped this issue by concentrating on the music associated...

Anita Gillette

Robert Windeler
She has been in show business for 55 years, but made her cabaret debut (with this show) only last year. Yet it seems as if Anita Gillette has been preparing for this act her entire professional life. The result is a seamless, exuberant, humorous, and touching look back at her biography that also provides a...

Sierra Boggess

Robert Windeler
In so many important ways, Sierra Boggess is my kind of cabaret entertainer. She possesses a solid, well-schooled soprano voice that ranges up to a high E. She is willing to embrace—and is very adept at delivering—musical outliers to the traditional cabaret canon, from Puccini opera to contemporary country/folk Her warm and direct rapport with...
Sierra Boggess

On the Record: A Tribute to the Great Vocal Groups of the 20th Century

Robert Windeler
Stage 72 at The Triad - Saturdays and Sundays through December 15 Songs recorded and performed live by the last century's vocal groups (trios and quartets, mostly), whether storied or obscure, certainly provide a rich aggregate of material for this welcome and original compendium. Four singers of remarkable cross-gender versatility, who blend beautifully in harmonies...

Joanne Tatham

Robert Windeler
"Soundtrack New York" Café Carlyle  -  October 3, 4, 10, 11 The Los Angeles-based Joanne Tatham is not so well known in New York, but that could change quickly as a result of this satisfying set at the storied Café Carlyle. Tatham's voice is both pleasant and powerful, and she is passionately committed to her...

Kathryn Allyn and Frank Ponzio

Robert Windeler
"V is for Victory Disc: Doing It for Defense" Stage 72 at the Triad - July 25, August 1 Those of us who don't remember World War II, which is most of us, are even less likely to know about V-Discs, a U.S. government program to send the best popular music of the day to...

Tales from the Jazz Age: An F. Scott Fitzgerald Songbook

Robert Windeler
Café Carlyle  -  June 13, 20, 21 This revue of songs truly linked to the life and works of F. Scott Fitzgerald is a good idea, if only to provide a cleansing antidote to the late, unlamented, musically anachronistic Baz Luhrman movie version of The Great Gatsby. Co-creators Will Friedwald, who conceived the show, and...