Cabaret Setlist: “What About Today?” – Music and Lyrics by David Shire

Mark Dundas Wood
Repertoire for the Once and Future American Songbook Article #22 in this ongoing series. This April 24 marks the 80th birthday of Barbra Streisand, a performer who has been an immense influence on and inspiration to those of us who work in and care about cabaret. There will always be some outliers—occasionally, vociferous ones—who don’t...

Club Review: Salty Brine’s Living Record Collection—”How Strange It Is”

Gerry Geddes
The album In the Aeroplane Over the Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel, was released on February 10, 1998. The group was the brainchild of singer/songwriter Jeff Magnum, whose lyrics were in some instances inspired by the writings of Anne Frank. The amalgam of indie rock and art folk has given rise to much acclaim, both...

Club Review: Kati Neiheisel’s “Yesterday… Once More”

Betsyann Faiella
Kati Neiheisel (Photo: Eric Stephen Jacobs)  Kati Neiheisel’s absolutely charming show, Yesterday...Once More, is a love letter to the Carpenters, the brother and sister duo from Southern California (born in Connecticut) who were known for Karen Carpenter’s unfailing, soothing contralto and a brand of pop—arranged, often written, and masterminded by brother...

Club Review: “To Steve with Love: Liz Callaway Celebrates Sondheim”

Charles Nelson
Ever feel like you’re Sondheimed-out?  Perhaps, but if it’s Liz Callaway singing the late great master’s songs, as she did recently at Feinstein’s/54 Below in her newest show, To Steve with Love: Liz Callaway Celebrates Sondheim, I guarantee you that she'll leave you wanting for more. You may already be aware of the personal, professional,...

Club Review: Karen Mack & Elliot Roth

Gerry Geddes
The front lounge at Pangea has become a relaxed, friendly hybrid of cabaret and piano bar with no cover and no minimum.  The talented duo of Karen Mack and Elliot Roth fits the room and the feel to a proverbial “T.”  They are both seasoned pros but here, liberated from the restrictions and familiarity of...

Club Review: Meg Flather’s “Rodgers & Hammerstein 2021+”

Penelope Thomas
If you ever get stuck in thinking that the Rodgers & Hammerstein songbook can be dated and dusty, you haven’t yet heard Meg Flather sing from it. With multiple albums as a singer-songwriter, her legit sound is sweet, easy, and perfectly blended—and personal. That’s a tricky thing to do, to sing standards as if you...

Film and Stage Actor and Musical Comedian, Susie Mosher, Set to Host the 37th Annual Bistro Awards on Monday, May 16

BistroAwards
Susie Mosher  (Photo: Gene Reed) Susie Mosher, film and stage actor and musical comedian, star of her own weekly variety show, The Lineup with Susie Mosher, is set to host the 37th annual Bistro Awards that takes place on Monday, May 16.  Mosher has been performing professionally since age 16, when she...

Jimmy Webb to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 37th Annual Bistro Awards on May 16

BistroAwards
(New York, March 21, 2022)—Three-time Grammy Award winner and iconic songwriter-performer Jimmy Webb will be honored at the 37th Annual Bistro Awards on Monday, May 16, where he will be receiving the ASCAP–Bob Harrington Lifetime Achievement Award, the Bistro Awards’ highest honor, for musical and storytelling accomplishments over his five decades-plus career. Young Webb saw...

Critical Thoughts: You’ve Rehearsed and Rehearsed….Now What?

Gerry Geddes
For the purposes of this column, I will be wearing both a director’s hat and a critic’s hat, with the former being a bit larger than the latter.  You will see why as we go—  1) Patter, Patter, Patter Sometimes even the most seasoned of performers will find patter (talking between songs) the most difficult...

Cabaret Setlist: “I’d Be Surprisingly Good for You” – Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Lyrics by Tim Rice

Mark Dundas Wood
Repertoire for the Once and Future American Songbook Article #21 in this ongoing series. When BistroAwards.com started the Cabaret Setlist series, we subtitled it “Repertoire for the Once and Future American Songbook.” And we’ve stuck pretty closely with purely American titles so far. We’ve stretched the definition occasionally—including songs cowritten by non-Americans. There was British...