Bistro Awards

Sherry Eaker has been the producer of the annual Bistro Awards since the awards’ inception in 1985. She is the former editor of "Back Stage" and, during her 30-year run, produced panel discussions and workshop events on an ongoing basis, including the programming for Back Stage’s annual Actorfest. She compiled and edited four editions of the "Back Stage Handbook for Performing Artists," and compiled and edited "The Cabaret Artists Handbook." Sherry is on the Board of the League of Professional Theatre Women, a member of the National Theatre Conference and the American Theatre Critics Association (and produced eight of ATCA’s New York weekend conferences). She is an advisor to the boards of both the Manhattan Association of Cabarets and the Women in the Arts & Media Coalition.

2023 Award Winner – Brandon James Gwinn

Bistro Awards
Ira Eaker Special Achievement Award Brandon James Gwinn (he/they) is a Drama League nominated and Richard Rodgers Award winning composer-lyricist, performer, pianist and producer. A LiveNation artist, Brandon opened for Trixie Mattel’s North American Tour and appears in Moving Parts on Netflix. Solo albums: Bullit (Queer Global Arts Festival Winner), Not Too Late. Music producer: Two...

Remembering Rita Gardner— Actor, Singer, Teacher, and the Original “Girl” in “The Fantasticks”

Bistro Awards
Rita Gardner had so many friends who loved her, and I was lucky to be one of them.  Rita Gardner holds up a photo of her younger self as Luisa, with Lee Roy Reams. All photos courtesy of Alex Rybeck. Rita's name is quickly associated as the actor who played 'The...

Francesca Blumenthal—From Ad Agency Copywriter to Award-winning Songwriter, Maybe Her Life *Was* Just Like the Movies

Bistro Awards
Songwriter Francesca Blumenthal had the uncanny ability to write lyrics that so many of us could easily relate to. Her well-chosen words that told a story would either make us laugh out loud or touch our hearts, and sometimes both. Francesca Blumenthal This past December, we lost Francesca who, aside from...

Ricky Ritzel Uncut!

Bistro Awards
Multi-Bistro Award-winning cabaret artist, Ricky Ritzel, shares with a friend his best memories of the Bistro Awards evenings.      

We are Nominated for a BroadwayWorld.com Award!

Bistro Awards
We don't usually like to flaunt ourselves..... For the past 36 years, the "Bistro Bits" column in Back Stage, the Bistro Awards annual event, and BistroAwards.com, has always put the spotlight on you, and we pride ourselves on that. But, how nice it is that some of you would like to now place the spotlight...

“Machiavelli Was Right”

Bistro Awards
Click on the arrow on the left above to listen to "Machiavelli Was Right" from the musical The American Foxe, book and lyrics by Karen Gottlieb, music by Michele Brourman.  (Lyrics below.) "Machiavelli Was Right" is sung by George Ball, vocal recorded by Rob Trow, and engineered and mixed by Stephan Oberhoff. In the mid...

“Turn It All Around”

Bistro Awards
Click here to listen to Turn It All Around Words and music by Debra Barsha and Sheilah Rae (lyrics below) Sung by Wonu Ogunfowora Harris M. Turner and Wonu Ogunfowora, backup singers Accompanied and produced by Taylor Peckham Debra Barsha and Sheilah Rae recently wrote this empowering and inspirational song, "Turn It All Around," not...

Highlights from the 2018 Bistro Award Show

Bistro Awards
Watch highlights from our 33rd annual Bistro Awards show (2018) that features André De Shields (Lifetime Achievement), Sheila Jordan (Outstanding Contributions to the Art of Jazz), Marta Sanders (Consummate Cabaret Artistry), Shemekia Copeland (Producer's Award), among 19 other individual artists. Bistro Award house band includes Daryl Kojak (piano), Ritt Henn (bass), and Rex Benincasa (drums)....

The 2020 Honoree Roll Call: Charles Busch

Bistro Awards
Charles Busch is a playwright, actor, director, drag icon, and singer, and for his combined talents he received the 2020 Bistro Award for Creative Artistry. Listen for yourself just how creative he can be as he gives new relevancy to “Those Were the Days” (Gene Raskin, English lyric based on Boris Fomin music, Konstantin Podrevsky...

The 2020 Honoree Roll Call: Elizabeth Ward Land

Bistro Awards
New to cabaret, Elizabeth Ward Land impressed us with her tribute to Linda Ronstadt in her show Still Within the Sound of My Voice: The Songs of Linda Ronstadt. See for yourself how remarkable she is as she sings Ronstadt’s “Someone to Lay Down Beside Me.”