Seth Sikes

Mark Dundas Wood
More than enough words have been spent remarking on gay men's fascination with Judy Garland. But though Garland herself left the world nearly a half century ago, enthusiasm for her among this particular demographic seems to be stubbornly alive—that is, if the predominantly male turnout at 54 Below for an encore presentation of "Seth Sikes Is...

Lauren Stanford

Mark Dundas Wood
When Lauren Stanford was developing her portrayal of Helen Morgan for her cabaret show "More Than You Know," she must have paid special attention to lyrics from Louis Alter and Arthur Swanstrom's song "(I've Got) Sand in My Shoes." The song's verse begins with the line "You see me smiling, but it's not with my...

Donna Hayes

Robert Windeler
In her show "Ordinary Miracles," at the Metropolitan Room, Donna Hayes makes a strong case for her title's seeming to be an oxymoron. In her view, it's those unexpected miracles that matter most, and they are to be found all around us, not so much the major ones we pray or long for. These minor...

Stacie Koby

Mark Dundas Wood
In "Committed," her new show at The Duplex, Stacie Koby ignores the old show-business warning about the dangers of being upstaged when working with animals or children. There are no critters in the act, but Koby is visibly pregnant with her second child, scheduled to arrive several weeks from now. Maybe she figured that because...

Delphi Harrington and Woody Regan

Robert Windeler
In their current show at the Metropolitan Room, Delphi Harrington and Woody Regan, two pleasantly seasoned performers of a certain age, with help from director Ann McCormack, have managed to create the feel of performing ad hoc at a party in someone's living room. This is mostly a good thing, as "Cowardly Swann," their awkwardly...

Maureen McGovern

Robert Windeler
In her current show at 54 Below, based on the work of an eclectic and worthy group of female singers and songwriters, Maureen McGovern evinces no diminution in her vocal and dramatic warmth and power. She may be, as she says on stage, "slouching toward 66" and suffering from "CRSS (Can't Remember Shit Syndrome)," but...

William TN Hall

Mark Dundas Wood
A photo advertising "Other People's Parties"—the recent solo cabaret debut of William TN Hall, at The Duplex—shows a hangdog Hall slumped at a bar, nursing a drink with one hand and propping up a cigarette with the other. His expression is that of a man resigned to the shabbiness of the world. But after you see...

Tim Realbuto

Mark Dundas Wood
Earlier this winter the Metropolitan Room generated much publicity for setting the Guinness record for longest variety show ever. With Tim Realbuto's "Bookseller in the Rain: A Tribute to the Music of Maury Yeston," the club may well have quietly attained another superlative achievement: the most singers and musicians to simultaneously perform on (and around)...

Diane Schuur and the DIVA Jazz Orchestra

Robert Windeler
"With Love from Deeds and DIVA," the Valentine's weekend show at the Iridium, paired West Coast contemporary jazz singer Diane Schuur with the New York City-based DIVA Jazz Orchestra (15 strong for this booking) on songs about love, appropriately to the occasion. This upbeat collaboration (the first for diva and Diva in several years) provided...

Raissa Katona Bennett & Kenneth Gartman

Mark Dundas Wood
One of the most appealing things about "3 Decades in the Dark—Raissa and Kenneth Go to the Movies" (at the Laurie Beechman Theatre) is the easy camaraderie that performers Raissa Katona Bennett and Kenneth Gartman have with each other. The longtime friends explain at one point that they'd wanted for years to work together on a...