Simon Green

D4vidFinkle
"Traveling Light" 59E59 Theaters  -  December 15 - January 3 There's a theory I've come up with about Simon Green that isn't really borne out by the facts included in the program notes for his "Traveling Light," at 59E59 Theaters for the holiday season. This theory's concocted from the mention of his having sung the...

Marquee Five

D4vidFinkle
"We Can Make It: The Songs of Kander and Ebb" The Metropolitan Room  -  December 7, 9, 12, 14 When I heard Marquee Five had been formed and was about to appear at the Metropolitan Room, I got all warm and toasty at the prospect of a five-part harmony infusion. It's not something you get...

Cynthia Crane

Roy Sander
"John Denver, Bernie Madoff & Me" Don't Tell Mama  -  November 30, December 6, 8, 9 It's an intriguing title for a cabaret show—isn’t it?—"John Denver, Bernie Madoff & Me." Reading backwards: the "me" is singer Cynthia Crane; Bernie Madoff is, well, Bernie Madoff, among whose victims, alas, was Cynthia Crane; and singer/songwriter John Denver,...

Susan Winter

Roy Sander
"Susan Sings Van Heusen" Metropolitan Room  -  December 13, 15, 20, 22 From time to time I've used the term "nightclub singing" to refer to an artistic approach that focuses on presentation rather than interpretation, an approach in which style and arrangement take precedence over nuance and exploration of the lyric. Though such a performance...

Gretchen Reinhagen

Roy Sander
"Special Kaye: A Tribute to the Incomparable Kaye Ballard" Metropolitan Room  -  December 3, 6, 10, 19, January 17, 24, February 4 Some ideas seem so obvious and so right, that one is astonished to discover that no one had previously thought of them. A cabaret homage to Kaye Ballard is a perfect example. Considering...

Michael Feinstein and David Hyde Pierce

Elizabeth Ahlfors
Feinstein's at Loews Regency  -  December 1 - 30 Michael Feinstein knows how to pick his singing partners. Last June, he illustrated "The Power of Two" with Cheyenne Jackson, that theater hunk with polished vocals. In September, he joined with the ever-delightful Christine Ebersole. For the month of December, Feinstein has invited pal David Hyde...

Baby Jane Dexter

D4vidFinkle
"All About Love" Metropolitan Room  -  November 20-21, 27-28, December 4-5, 11-12, 18-19 For some time now, Baby Jane Dexter has made the Michael Stipe-Peter Buck-Bill Berry-Mike Mills anthem "Everybody Hurts" her signature song. Not only did she include it as the beg-off number when I saw her in the second week of a five-week...

Carole J. Bufford

Roy Sander
"intro" Metropolitan Room  -  November 19, 21 The small "i" in the title of her show, "intro," is the only thing lower-case about Carole J. Bufford. When she is on stage, SHE IS ON STAGE! She can deliver a song with more force and drive than a speeding locomotive, and she enlists the aid of...

Andrea Marcovicci

D4vidFinkle
"Skylark: Marcovicci Sings Mercer" Oak Room at the Algonquin  -  November 17 - December 26 As we go into the last weeks of Johnny Mercer's centennial year, here comes The Oak Room at the Algonquin's own Andrea Marcovicci with "Skylark: Marcovicci Sings Mercer" to toast the songwriting-and-several-other-things icon. For anyone drawing a deep breath and...

Joshua Warr

Roy Sander
"Sing No Evil" Laurie Beechman Theatre  -  November 12, 14, December 4, 12 In his debut cabaret show, "Sing No Evil," which was directed by Miles Phillips, Joshua Warr has sin on his mind—sin in general and the seven deadly ones in particular. Evidently Warr takes this as a very serious, somber subject—or at least...