Picture Perfect: The Songs of Scott Evan Davis

Kevin Scott Hall
The Duplex  –  March 9, 17, 24, April 8 In the new revue "Picture Perfect" at The Duplex, a cast of five presents the songs of composer-lyricist Scott Evan Davis. Early in the proceedings, it is clear that Davis's music has been heavily influenced by Stephen Sondheim. Those atonal intervals and chord structures make for...

Debby Boone

Mark Dundas Wood
"Swing This" Café Carlyle  –  March 19-30 "I'll be a devil till I'm an angel," Debby Boone sings in "I'm Gonna Live Till I Die" (Al Hoffman, Walter Kent, Manny Curtis), her opening number at the Café Carlyle. Did Boone choose this particular song so that she could ruffle her public image a bit? After...

Gail Nelson-Holgate

Mark Dundas Wood
"It's About Time" Stage 72  –  March 10 Gail Nelson-Holgate has a regal, elegant bearing and a gracious rapport with her listeners. At this one-off performance, she approached her largely jazz-inflected repertoire (featuring arrangements by Danny Holgate) with seriousness, but leavened the proceedings with dashes of fun. Her patter was obviously scripted, and a little...

Janet Planet

Kevin Scott Hall
"Janet Planet Sings" The Metropolitan Room  –  March 11-16 Rodgers & Hammerstein's "Happy Talk" is an apt opening song for Janet Planet's latest engagement at the Metropolitan Room. If there is another singer who exudes such unpretentious playfulness and joy with music and lyrics, I'm not sure who it might be. Add to that her...

John Gabriel

Mark Dundas Wood
Metropolitan Room  –  March 3 John Gabriel is at least as well known as an actor (the daytime drama Ryan's Hope) and TV producer (Charles Grodin's talk shows) as he is as a singer. Grodin, himself, showed up at the Metropolitan Room to introduce Gabriel at this one-nighter, sharing with the audience a long, not-especially-amusing...

Tom Wopat

Robert Windeler
54 Below  -  February 25 He claimed, on stage, to be "as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs." If he really was, it didn't show. Throughout this generous one-night stand, Tom Wopat was assured in his choice of material, vocal delivery and lyric sensibility. And his use of that...

Amy Wolk

Kevin Scott Hall
"A Wolk On The Wild Side" The Duplex – October 21, November 25, December 9, 17, February 17 The small Duplex stage burst into bubble gum fun as soon as Amy Wolk and her cohorts took to it in her recent candy-coated cabaret confection, "A Wolk on the Wilde Side." Wolk and musical director Steven...

Rosemary Loar

Robert Windeler
"When Harry Met the Duke" Metropolitan Room - January 19, 27, 30, February 22 It must be getting harder to come up with titles, or even themes, for cabaret shows. Rosemary Loar has certainly tried hard with this one. The title refers to the show's running theme: when and whether Harold Arlen and Duke Ellington...

Pia Zadora

Mark Dundas Wood
"Pia Zadora – Back Again and Standing Tall" The Metropolitan Room  –  February 7-10 Pia Zadora is a trouper. On the eve of the recent snowstorm, playing to a small audience, she kept her energy level high, as though playing to a packed house. She gave special attention to each occupied table—at one point circulating...

Eric Michael Gillett

Kevin Scott Hall
"Careless Rhapsody: An Evening Dedicated to the Lyrics of Lorenz Hart" 54 Below  –  February 4, 7, 26, 27 Cabaret favorite and multitasker Eric Michael Gillett has come up with yet another new show, this time celebrating the lyrics of Lorenz Hart. Gillett and his director, Arthur Masella, succeed in encompassing as much of the...