Simi Horwitz

Simi Horwitz is an award-winning feature writer/film reviewer who has been honored by The Newswomen’s Club of New York, The Los Angeles Press Club, The Society for Feature Journalism, the American Jewish Press Association, and the New York Press Club (among others). She received an Honorable Mention from Folio: Eddie and Ozzie Awards for her two drag stories (May 22, 2020, August 4, 2020) published here on BistroAwards.com. More recently, she was the recipient of the 2023 New York Press Club Award and won three 2023 L.A. Press Club Awards, including first prize for film criticism (for reviews published in the Forward). The publications that have printed her work include The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Hollywood Reporter, Film Journal International, and American Theatre. She was an on-staff feature writer at Backstage for fifteen years (1997-2012).   

Six Authors Talk About Publishing Books on the Great American Songbook and Its Artists in Today’s Market

Simi Horwitz
So, you want to publish a book about your favorite composers or singers right out of the Great American Songbook? Or, iconic Broadway musicals, for that matter? Think again, assert authors I interviewed, all of whom boast impressive track records. It’s more challenging than ever, they agree. Ken Bloom “Big publishers like Knopf or Simon...

Crowdfunding: The Do’s, the Don’ts, the Virtues, the Liabilities

Simi Horwitz
Doing What You Have to Do to Get Your Work Out There When James Beaman decided to return to cabaret after a 20-year absence, and in the wake of the pandemic, he admits frankly, he was short of cash. “I wanted to put on a show and needed money. I had to get past my...

The Reinvented (and Always Reinventing) Stand-Up Comic

Simi Horwitz
In a song snippet, dubbed “Denial,” filmed at New York's Comedy Cellar more than a decade ago, stand-up comic Rick Crom slyly alluded to people kidding themselves when “when they dress in spandex and weigh 300 pounds.” The audience laughed with recognition and appreciation. Rick Crom Now sporting many hats, not least Guru Teacher of...

From Logistics to Aesthetics: The Varying Roles of the Cabaret Director

Simi Horwitz
BistroAwards.com's critic Gerry Geddes, also a cabaret director, has worn many hats that include writer, lyricist, teacher, and theatre director. He has no doubt about the major challenge cabaret directors face today.  Put simply: it’s the diminished values of the culture at large. More specifically, it's what’s viewed and promoted as musical entertainment on such...

NY Cabaret Rooms: What Are the Subtle and Not-So-Subtle Differences Among Them?

Simi Horwitz
Isn’t it obvious that an evening at Don’t Tell Mama is qualitatively different from, say, 54 Below or Pangea? Sidney Myer Yes and no, says Sidney Myer, veteran cabaret performer and long-term booker at Don’t Tell Mama (DTM). “While each venue has its individual style, pluses and minuses, there’s overlap today.” The fabulous entertainer is...

Paying Tribute: Various Approaches One Can Take When Celebrating the Work of an Artist

Simi Horwitz
Performers paying tribute to a singing icon or big name writing-composing team usually work within a clearly defined genre. They belt or croon the tunes identified with the anointed artist(s) in their best voices.  But sometimes other ingredients are added to the mix—from unexpected interpretations to political implications to using the songs as a vehicle...

Meet Four Performers Who Faced A Different Kind of Challenge, and Triumphed!

Simi Horwitz
Anita Hollander (Photo: Kia Michelle Benbow) ANITA HOLLANDER, whose double bout with cancer led to a full leg amputation, has no problem with the words “disability."  The preferred term today is “challenge,” she knows and understands those who choose it, especially if they can “pass” and enjoy more casting opportunities. But...

Cabaret Singers: Did Their Virtual Performing Experiences Have Any Effect on Their Long-Awaited Return to the Stage?

Simi Horwitz
We began this article with the hypothesis that cabaret artists must have learned at least something from their virtual presentations that they were then able to bring bring back to their new and live performances. So, we reached out to six cabaret performers—Eric Comstock, Carole Demas, Barbara Fasano, Ann Kittredge, Michael McAssey, and Billy Stritch—to find out...

Seven Artists Discuss Performing in Cabaret and in Musical Theatre

Simi Horwitz
What Are the Differences? Do They Prefer One Over the Other? Does Each Serve the Artist in Different Ways? Some cabaret-cum-musical theatre performers equivocate, but most, at least among those I interviewed, suggest that any performer who does cabaret can do musical theatre whereas the reverse may not true. In fact, cabaret hones your acting...

Drag Kings Just Want to Have Fun and Get Their Due

Simi Horwitz
Article #2 of Simi Horwitz's ongoing series on alt-cabaret. Drag King Mo B. Dick (aka Mo Fischer), best known for his self-defining quip, “Instead of being an angry woman I became a funny man,” reluctantly admits it’s never been a better time for drag kings. Thanks to the shuttering of live venues, drag kings—performing artists...