T. Oliver Reid Visits Vintage Harlem and Eric Michael Gillett Explores the Lyrics of Lorenz Hart at 54 Below Shows
At last year's Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs (MAC) Awards, two of the big winners were T. Oliver Reid (photo left) for Male Debut and Eric Michael Gillett for Major Artist, Male (and both could very likely be MAC nominees again this year). Almost a year later, two of New York cabaret's leading men performed new shows one night apart at 54 Below; Reid on February 6 with Drop Me Off in Harlem, and Gillett the next night with Careless Rhapsody: An Evening Dedicated to the Lyrics of Lorenz Hart. Ironically, what the shows had in common--besides being a fairly good fit of material to singer--was that the majority of their sets featured songs written in the 1930s but in very different styles. With Reid it was the jazz, swing and blues of Harlem; with Gillette it was the romantic Broadway musical sensibility of Hart's lyrics (paired with the timeless melodies of Richard Rodgers). While neither Reid's 'Harlem,' nor Gillett's 'Hart' were stirring or spectacular shows, they were both solid and entertaining enough that both could be nominated for BroadwayWorld.com Awards in 2013.
New York Festival of Song to feature Darius de Haas
The New York Festival of Song (NYFOS) will continue its season with a program titled At Harlem's Height on Wednesday, February 23 at 8:00pm as part of Lincoln Center's American Songbook in the Rose Theatre at Jazz at Lincoln Center. The featured soloists will be soprano Dana Hanchard, tenor Darius de Haas, and baritone James Martin, with Steven Blier at the piano.
