CABARET LIFE NYC: Conklin and Dotson Shows Highlight Six Reviews From a Cabaret Fall

Cabaret Reviews and Commentary by Stephen Hanks

It is hardly a secret in New York cabaret--and also an unfortunate dynamic (when it comes to the bottom line of performers and clubs)--that the large majority of non-celebrity cabaret shows draw their audiences primarily from four categories: Family, friends, work colleagues, and other cabaret performers. Now that sounds like a large well to draw from, but performers for whom cabaret is more than just an occasional vanity production or the living out of a fantasy, can find that the well runs dry in a hurry. Perhaps this will change some day when a person or persons comes up with a creative way to spread the New York cabaret message to a wider audience (like to tourists and the people who live in the vicinity of the clubs), but for now, for lack of a cleverer phrase, it is what it is.

But whether a room is packed or less than half full, the audience for most shows is already predisposed to be incredibly supportive, the maximum energy level not only based on the number of fannies in the seats, but also on that particular performer's personal popularity with his or her "fan base." This can be a double-edge sword for a reviewer. While I'm sure even the hardest-edged critic wants to attend shows packed with supportive and responsive audiences, said critic must maintain an almost poker-faced semblance of objectivity and can't be caught up in the enthusiasm of a crowd that might offer a standing ovation if their beloved performer just cleared their throat. There have been any number of shows that I felt were already toast one-third of the way into the set, but the audience around me was eating it up. In such instances, I find myself suffering creeping "Am I missing somethingitis," but usually manage to maintain my composure. Of course, the flip side of that equation is not penalizing a good-to-great performance because of a small crowd where the energy level is low.

Most of the shows reviewed in this latest quarterly cabaret compilation/procrastination column--Fall 2013 edition--were lucky enough to have had solid audience numbers, and even the ones that didn't exactly fill the room could boast extremely supportive audiences that hung on their every note. Whether their performances deserved such adulation is up to hopefully unswayable critics to judge. Of course, whether the "fans" agree with these judgments is a whole other story.

Mary Foster Conklin, Life Is a Bitch: The Lyrics of Fran Landesman, Metropolitan Room, September 27

Well-respected nightclub veteran Mary Foster Conklin was recently nominated for two 2013 BroadwayWorld.com New York Cabaret Awards--one for Best Female Jazz Singer and the other for Best Tribute Show--and for good reason. Her homage to the songbook of lyricist Fran Landesman was one of the year's most compelling shows, and was especially timely given that "the Dorothy Parker of the Jazz World," as Landesman was called, died in July 2011 at age 83. Conklin's tribute (introduced at last December's Urban Stages "Winter Rhythms" Festival and then staged for runs at the Metropolitan Room this past March and September) was respectful, loving and a perfect fit for the singer's smoky and sensual sound and her beat-poet temperament.

On Landesman's website, she is described as "the poet laureate of lovers and losers; her songs are the secret diaries of the desperate and the decadent. No one could convey the bittersweet joys of melancholy or the exhilaration of living on the edge like Fran." Vocally, Conklin comes close to expressing the same qualities. On Landesman's classic "Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most" (music by Tommy Wolf), Conklin captured the wistful, emotional sense of longing of a mature woman who is craving a meaningful relationship after so many have fallen apart. She brought a cool, bluesy flavor to "Small Day Tomorrow" (music by Bob Dorough), and you can definitely imagine sidling up to Conklin at a Village bar and hearing her whisper in your ear, "We can swing until broad daylight, cause we got a small day tomorrow." (Please click on Page 2 below to continue.)

John diMartino on piano and Ed Howard on bass gave the set a smooth, retro sound. On "In a New York Minute" (music Simon Wallace), diMartino followed Conklin's sexy FM radio deejay patter with riffs that sounded similar to Van Morrison's "Moondance." Landesman's poem "Life is a Bitch" (which Conklin revealed was a favorite of actress Bette Davis) was the lead-in to diMartino's swinging keyboard work on "It Isn't So Good, It Couldn't Get Better" (music Tommy Wolf). While Conklin certainly isn't a "power" vocalist, and occasionally struggles sustaining upper register notes, she's got more than enough voice for intimate lounges and her jazzy interpretations of standards are warm and accessible. Conveying the meaning of the lyrics rather than dazzling an audience with random scatting was never clearer than on her encore, "Photographs" (music Alec Wilder), which she sang as if she identified with the words even more than the woman to whom she paid tribute: "There they are, the days of jazz and joy-rides . . . Snaps of magic moments lit by laughs . . . If you ever find my house on fire . . . Leave the silver . . . Save the photographs." Mary Foster Conklin's performance was a sublime snapshot of a great lyricist's life and art.

Gary Crawford, In Love With Love, Metropolitan Room, October 15

Before Dana Lorge's Variety Show made its way to the Metropolitan Room earlier this year, Lorge hosted a weekly open mic show upstairs at the Iguana Restaurant on West 54th Street. I attended many of these soirees and a little more than three years ago I met a middle-aged, cherub-faced Gary Crawford, who wore a perpetual smile and his love for cabaret on his sleeve. Week after week Gary would show up strictly as a friendly voyeur, never bringing any charts to take his shot at momentary glory.

I wasn't at the Iguana on the evening in 2012 when Lorge and her Musical Director Barry Levitt finally persuaded Crawford to get up and sing, but believe me I heard about it. And when I eventually witnessed Gary singing live, my jaw dropped--literally. It wasn't that Crawford was the second coming of Tony Bennett or anything, it was just a pleasant surprise to hear such a smooth, Mel Torme-esque baritone emanating from someone who had been so stage-shy. Gary was GOOD.

Levitt obviously thought Crawford was a good enough candidate for a debut solo cabaret show, which they staged this past October at the Metropolitan Room. Since Crawford is a ubiquitous presence at cabarets all over town and engenders a mountain of good will, the Met Room was packed with an audience jazzed about Crawford's opening night. And while the show had its flaws (a contrived story line which had Crawford reading personal diary passages from a music stand, a few overly jazzy arrangements, and the four-piece band--including Jon Burr on bass, Ray Marchica on drums and Bob Magnuson on sax--overpowering Crawford on a few songs), Crawford vocals were solid, his stage presence engaging, and his joy for performing was palpable. Among the highlights were a lovely rendition of Bart Howards' "I'll Be Easy to Find," a languid and luscious medley connecting Barry Manilow's "Could It Be Magic," with the Sammy Cahn/Jule Styne classic "It's Magic," and showing that a ballad such as "Now That We're Sure (for which Levitt wrote the music to Johnny Burke lyrics) was a great fit for his voice. Crawford and the entire band shined on the bluesy "No One Ever Tells You."

Gary Crawford may be "in love with love," but his audiences certainly fell in love with him. His entertaining, heartfelt show was a solid debut worthy of a MAC Nomination in the category.

Bernard Dotson, Live at the Metropolitan Room, November 10

Of all the shows I attended this past year, the audience at Bernard Dotson's one-off show at the room where he serves as a host (it will become a two-off when he appears at the Met Room again on February 3 at 7pm) might win the prize for the being the largest and most enthusiastic. In the past decade and a half, Dotson has appeared in the ensemble of six Broadway Musicals, including Chicago (and he once stood in for Usher as Billy Flynn), and he has cut a wide swath in the friendship department. It felt like every one of them was there for this show and they were cheering raucously the moment his name was announced and he bounced and boogied through the audience singing a few bars of Barry Manilow's "You Could Show Me How."

Dotson showed them how all right, proving throughout an energetic and entertaining show that the audience ardor was justified. With his warm personality, infectious smile, strong baritone, and obvious love for performing, Dotson displayed the potential that could make him one of New York's strongest male cabaret performers during a time when there is a definite dearth in that category. While the theme of his show was simply an autobiographical journey recounting his experiences in the entertainment biz thus far (born in LA, he traveled the world early in his career singing Walt Disney film and show tunes), Dotson's ease at on-stage storytelling and keen sense of humor made it an enjoyable trip.

With a terrific band featuring Tracy Stark as Musical Director/Pianist, Skip Ward on bass, Peter Calo on guitar, and Dave Silliman on drums, Dotson delivered the goods the entire set. "It's truly a miracle I'm here, because I've been waiting to do this a long time," he admitted after belting Manilow's "It's a Miracle," getting cool backup singing from theater friends Jeanne Montano and Marya Grandy. His Disney section featured a medley that included singing part of "Zip A Dee Doo Dah" in Japanese, doing a playful rap on oodles of Disney character names, and turning "Part of Your World," from The Little Mermaid into a fun parody: "I want to be part of Black world." His audience ate it up. Dotson's strongest work during the rest of the show came on a soaring version of "Make Them Hear You," from Ragtime, and on a powerful duet with Eric Michael Gillett on The Righteous Brothers' hit "You Got That Lovin' Feeling."

But the show's stunning highlight was the number that Dotson aced during the 2012 Rat Pack revue, Boys Night Out (with Tom Gamblin and Danny Bolero), a superb take on a fine arrangement of "Mr. Bojangles" that would have made Sammy Davis, Jr.'s glass eye pop out. Starting the song with a huge smile of remembrance, Dotson grew wistful and melancholy, while also conveying through languid movement and heartfelt vocals the joy and love he felt for the character he was singing about. If Mr. Dotson decides to offer this show more than once in 2014, we could have a MAC Award nominee--if not a winner--in our future.

Alison Nusbaum & Jackie Kristel, Together Again . . . For the Last Time!, Don't Tell Mama, November 15

I get a kick out of networking--the bringing people together kind--even when it's unintentional. At last February's first BroadwayWorld New York Cabaret Awards Show (for which I served as host), two of the nominees for Best Female Debut--Alison Nusbaum and Jackie Kristel--ended up sitting next to each other. As they commiserated over neither of them winning the award (Alison did win for Best Musical Comedy Show for her tribute to Mel Brooks), they became instant friends and nine months later staged a duo show at Don't Tell Mama. I'm sure they never thought that the show's title, Together Again . . . For the Last Time!, might be prophetic.

It's not that the show didn't have its fun and entertaining moments. Both women are strong vocalists with solid alto to mezzo ranges that blend well, both possess a sense of humor that can be adorably self-deprecating, and both are confident on stage. When the spotlight was on their singing--whether solo or together--they were delicious. But a humor-based duo show feigning conflict between the performers is tough to pull off and the comedy segments--which included faux jealousies, fighting for space on stage, complaints about being high maintenance, storming off over some perceived slight--came off as contrived and not believable. Whatever on-stage chemistry exists between these newly formed BFFs, Director Collette Black and Musical Director Ricky Ritzel didn't quite capture it.

Nusbaum has a Carol Burnett-like quality, only with a harder edge. She brought back the Young Frankenstein song "He Vas My Boyfriend" from her Mel Brooks show, but it wasn't as cheeky in this context, especially since she decided not to layer on the faux Transylvanian accent. Nusbaum's acting was fine on songs such as "I'd Rather Wake Up Myself," and the lesbian relationship tale, "Old Fashioned Love Story," but she pushed the vocals on both a bit too much when a softer sound might have been more engaging. And while Nusbaum is the better comic, Kristel got the funnier songs and nailed Amanda McBroom's lyric on "The Dieter's Prayer" and Marilyn Miller and Cheryl Hardwick's clever ode to masturbation, "Making Love Alone."

Ironically, the vocal duets were the most effective numbers. The ladies were delightfully fun on Tom Lehrer's "I Got It From Agnes," about passing around STDs, and on a Ritzel penned parody of Kander and Ebb's "The Grass is Always Greener" (from the 1981 musical Woman of the Year), which became a back and forth between a shiksa (Nusbaum) and a Jewish princess (Kristel). They followed "Greener" with perhaps the show's highlight, a "Guilty Pleasures Medley" that included almost every pop song you'd be embarrassed to have anyone hear you sing, even in karaoke. The girls should get a BroadwayWorld Award just for not dropping a lyric in this number.

Overall, these newly formed "Bosom Buddies" (Jerry Herman's song from Mame, which was their finale) deserve kudos for the effort, but they are much stronger as solo acts and this is one reviewer looking forward to seeing what--individually--they come up with next.

Lauren Glazer, Life Begins At . . . , The Duplex, November 23

Almost a year after this recently turned 40-year-old staged a one-shot birthday party show for an audience of friends, family, and work colleagues at Don't Tell Mama (after 10 years away from performing), Lauren Glazer returned for another "one-off," this time at The Duplex. I had attended Glazer's 2012 show, mainly as a favor to an old friend who happened to be her uncle, but the set was so surprisingly entertaining I gave her a big thumbs up in a review for Cabaret Scenes Magazine. I subsequently--and here's a FDA (Full Disclosure Alert)--cast her in a variety show I produced at the Iridium called Stephen's Angels. With Life Begins At . . . this attractive and engaging blonde raised her personal performance bar.

While this show included six songs from the earlier set, the new numbers turned out to be savvy choices and made this revised production (Directed by Maria Gentile, with solid Musical Direction by Gerry Dieffenbach) an even more cohesive and thematic performance. The show traces the New York-born, Yale musical theater student's life from post-grad career searches, a pit stop in Oregon during her 20s and 30s where she worked various jobs and went through a number of relationships ("You can get your heart broken just as easily on the opposite coast" and "When you've made out with seven of the guys you see at a Oregon bar, it's time to hit the road," were among her self-deprecating quips.), her bouts with internet and speed dating, and how she ultimately connected with her current career (with an advertising agency) and boyfriend.

There's a Bette Midler-esque quality in Glazer's performing personality, which she combines with a strong, confident power alto to mezzo that can shine on songs such as Shire and Maltbie's "What About Today?" and "A Piece of Sky" from the film Yentl. She can also ratchet the vocal down nicely on a soft ballad like Jerry Herman's "Time Heals Everything," nail a mid-tempo pop song such as Sarah Bareilles' "Uncharted," and take over the room like she did on a raucously fun 1970s disco medley. Glazer certainly possesses the "Five Ss of Cabaret" one needs to ascend the performing ladder--stage presence, smart scripting, show structure, showmanship and, of course, a singing voice. In fact, had she staged two more shows this year, she would have surely been a "Best Female Debut" MAC Award candidate.

Patricia Fitzpatrick, Songs My Mother Wouldn't Let Me Sing, Don't Tell Mama, November 21

Although as a reviewer I have to be as objective as possible, I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for Patricia Fitzpatrick. When I began writing cabaret critiques in November 2010, her naughty and entertaining, "Cougars on the Prowl," was one of my first reviews. It was a kick hearing this attractive, flame-haired, statuesque lady in her late 60s sing about being there and doing that, and about having a still racing libido and an interest in younger men. Then a year later (with Dana Lorge and Helena Grenot as co-stars) Fitzpatrick and the "Cougar" show picked up a MAC Award nomination for "Best Revue/Special Production."

It took Fitzpatrick (who lives in Cape Cod, MA) almost two years to get back to New York with a new show and she almost didn't make it. Besides one of her sons struggling through life-threatening illnesses, Fitzpatrick herself had suffered a couple of mild strokes that put her down but certainly not out. Her new show was basically about being a Catholic girl who started much too late, but who certainly made up for lost time. Like the "Cougar" show, Fitzpatrick's set was filled with sophisticated ballads that maximized what's left of an alto that sounds like it has experienced more than its share of cigarettes, scotch, and scoundrels. Whatever Fitzpatrick lacks in vocal strength, she more than makes up for with her experience, stage presence, sense of humor and her peerless ability as a raconteur. Basically, Patricia Fitzpatrick is a total pro.

With ubiquitous Musical Director Barry Levitt at the piano, Fitzpatrick went for broke right from the outset with a smoky, sensual take on "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man Of Mine," from Show Boat, followed by Cole Porter's "Love for Sale." She kept the Porter theme going with "Let's Do It," matter-of-factly admitting that thanks to her straight-laced mother she "didn't know what 'it' was" until she was into her teens. Given Patricia ended up having six children, she obviously learned. The highlight of the show came midway through when Fitzpatrick delivered two songs about desire and unattainable love. The plaintive Vernon Duke/Ira Gershwin tune "I Can't Get Started With You," was followed by one she also delivered in the "Cougar" show, a touching take on Bob Levy's (who was in the audience) tender ballad, "Why Can't You Fall in Love With Me." Not to worry, Patricia. We love you.

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