Jen Fellman

Gerry Geddes
Jen Fellman has an extraordinary voice, with vaulting highs and creamy lows; if her recent show at Feinstein's/54 Below were judged solely on the gorgeous sounds that caressed our ears, it would have been an absolute smash. However, there is a lot more to a successful club act—even to a CD release show, as this...

Mark Arthur Miller

Penelope Thomas
Mark Arthur Miller comes by his love of soul honestly. Growing up in Chicago without his Dad present, he later found out that his father was Motown songwriter Ron Miller. Adventures ensued as he and his sister moved to L.A. and got to know their father and his place in the industry. So, while Soul...

The 30th New York Cabaret Convention

Bistro Awards
The 30th edition of the New York Cabaret Convention, presented by the Mabel Mercer Foundation, took place October 28-31 at the Rose Theater at Jazz at Lincoln Center. Penelope Thomas, Robert Windeler, Gerry Geddes, and Mark Dundas Wood covered the four nights for us. Following are their thoughts.     The Sunny Side of the...

Todd Murray

Gerry Geddes
Imagine a universe where sixties music was not dominated by the British Invasion and the rise of the singer/songwriter, a universe in which male pop crooners remained at the forefront of radio play and at the top of the charts. In such a universe, singer Todd Murray would be a part of the pantheon of...

Robin Westle

Mark Dundas Wood
1969 was famous as a year full of political tumult and social upheaval. Richard Nixon began what would be a troubled presidency in January. A draft lottery was instituted to conscript American men to fight in the prolonged conflict in Vietnam. And the Stonewall riots put the nascent Gay Liberation movement in the spotlight that...

Scott Raneri

Mark Dundas Wood
The Marvelous Mr. Marzo (written by Joey Virgo and directed by Mark Copron) is one of those cabaret shows that is also a confessional monodrama. But instead of telling and singing of a troubled romantic relationship or a battle with personal demons, singer and actor Scott Raneri relates the tale of a family secret that...

Maureen Taylor

Mark Dundas Wood
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...

Katharine Mehrling

Penelope Thomas
While it is a delicious thing to hear a real Berliner singing from the Weimar Cabaret tradition, Katharine Mehrling seems to have a soul that is equally inspired by the streets of Paris. Her trio of muses for Streets of Berlin, her recent offering at Joe's Pub, were Marlene Dietrich, Judy Garland, and Édith Piaf....

Elizabeth Parrish

Robert Windeler
If there's such a thing as a carefully crafted stream-of-consciousness approach to cabaret, Elizabeth Parrish is surely the queen of it. In her recent show at Pangea, Every Soul's a Cabaret (directed by Paola Styron), "Betsy," as she was introduced, made a most convincing case for her own life as a cabaret and a largely...

Lauren Frazza

Gerry Geddes
Feelin' Good, singer Lauren Frazza's remarkably assured cabaret debut at Pangea, is filled with great singing, striking arrangements, good humor and real emotion. Again and again, one forgets that this is her first venture into cabaret. Under Geoff Stoner's clean, precise direction, Frazza delights the audience with tales of the dogs she has known. She...