Sally Morgan took the stage at Don’t Tell Mama looking great, with a twinkle in her eye that foretold a funny and mischievous streak. She was accompanied by pianist Frank Ponzio (except when she sat at the 88s herself); he played exquisitely throughout. She opened her show, Sally Rides Again, with an original song, “Peace […]
The title of Lianne Marie Dobbs’s recent show at The Green Room 42—Why Can’t a Woman Be More Like a Man…?—is a loaded question. Rather than tackling the question head-on, Dobbs left it open, approaching a few possible angles as she considered female identity, offering a few of her own thoughts along with those of […]
Why do we hold on to souvenirs of childhood and adolescence, even when these artifacts are highly embarrassing? Pictures from the junior prom that look like Clearasil commercials, notebooks crammed with first attempts at becoming a haiku master, macaroni sculptures created in day camp that appear to have traveled through a world war or two—these […]
Wendy Scherl is such an immediately inviting and obviously talented singer, that one wanted to surrender completely to the charms of her new show, Town and Country, which recently had an encore performance at the Laurie Beechman Theatre. There were a number of wonderfully winning moments throughout the show, starting with her opener, a nicely […]
Amy Jo Jackson’s show The Brass Menagerie brings Tennessee Williams to the cabaret stage at the Duplex with astonishing results. While the playwright may not at first glance seem ideal fodder for such a venue, the show pulses with such intelligence, wit, passion, comedy, heart, and musical acumen that any reservations dissolve in seconds. Jackson’s […]
I was happy to see the debut nightclub act of a phenomenal singer-actress, Elizabeth Ward Land, who recently brought the show back to The Green Room 42, where it premiered last year. Land is clearly an experienced stage and screen performer, having worked on- and off-Broadway, in regional theatre and tours of City of Angels, […]
The first version of writer/director Gerard Alessandrini’s Forbidden Broadway was staged 38 years ago, and the hardy satirical revue has gone through various permutations over the decades. The latest version—Forbidden Broadway: The Next Generation!—is now running at The York Theatre Company. As with past installments, this one lacerates the pretensions and outright follies of Broadway […]
With her lilting voice and sunny stage presence, Maureen Taylor puts the cabaret listener in a receptive frame of mind, whatever she is singing. In her recent show at Don’t Tell Mama, Cosmic Connections: The Lyrics of Michael Colby (directed by Frank Galgano), she performed songs with varying colors and moods, but with an overarching […]
A friend of mine enjoys musical theatre and songs from the American Songbook, but cannot abide anyone singing such music who has an “operatic” voice. Even someone like Audra McDonald or Kelli O’Hara is a no-go for him. I thought about this friend during the opening sequence of Regina Zona’s cabaret act at the Triad, […]
Editor’s note: This review has been updated to correct factual errors in the original version published on December 10. We apologize for the errors and sincerely regret any misunderstanding they caused. At the beginning of A Celebration of Jewish Broadway (directed by Lina Koutrakos), which he recently brought back to Birdland Theater, Ari Axelrod cheerfully […]