Harold Arlen News

Even her biggest fans among the opening night crowd were likely befuddled, slightly bothered, and even a tad bewildered when they heard that Christine Andreas' first cabaret show at 54 Below was called "Bemused," and not exactly sure what that meant. But they would ultimately end up being thoroughly bewitched by a wonderfully engaging show by this totally entertaining pro. While most current or former Broadway stars who are staging shows at 54 Below are performing what amounts to mini-concerts, the lady who first became a Broadway audience favorite as Eliza Doolittle in the 20th anniversary production of My Fair Lady (and is two-time Tony Award nominee) knows her way around cabaret and developed a charmingly creative conceit for this run (continuing on Jan. 29, Feb. 1, 2 at 8:30 pm and Jan. 30, 31 at 7 pm), which included songs from Broadway, pop, the Great American Songbook, and even Edith Piaf.

With her tribute show to the music of Harold Arlen and Duke Allington, 'When Harry Met The Duke' is Rosemary Loar's creative foray back into the caressing arms of the Great American Songbook. If you consider that the contemporary cabaret scene in New York is 30 years on (since the opening of Don't Tell Mama in 1982 and the start of MAC in 1983), there have been likely been thousands of cabaret shows with GAS themes and the interesting new ideas may be down to a precious few. And Loar, who has been performing cabaret shows during that same time frame, has managed to come up with yet another variation and her erudite and accessibly sophisticated show goes down like a delicious vodka martini topped with a skewer of blue cheese stuffed olives.

On February 23, 24 and 25 Lyrics & Lyricists tours Miss Peggy Lee's hip musical landscape with guest artistic director Billy Stritch and vocalists Barbara Fasano, La Tanya Hall and Gabrielle Stravelli. Cabaret legend Marilyn Maye, who frequently includes Peggy Lee classics in her shows, joins the show as a special guest.

New York City all-female group Red Molly returns to The Barns At Wolf Trap to deliver their polished covers and original arrangements, featuring bluegrass harmonies, crooning lullabies, and a Western twang.

Broadway's "Golden Couple", husband and wife team Marin Mazzie and Jason Danieley, will bring their newest show 'He Said/She Said' to The Annenberg Theatre for one very special performance on February 23 at 8:00 pm. He Said/She Said is a musical conversation that features brand new arrangements by many of the Great American Songbook's leading composers including Fats Waller, Johnny Mercer, Cole Porter, Harold Arlen and Sammy Cahn. Program highlights will be ballads such as 'Something's Gotta Give,' 'Too Close for Comfort,' 'Come Back to Me,' and 'Love Me or Leave Me.' The couple most recently performed together on Broadway in the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical NEXT TO NORMAL.

A total of 35 established and emerging writers, composers and lyricists will converge on the Goodspeed campus this month to participate in the first-ever Johnny Mercer Writers Colony at Goodspeed Musicals. The writing teams, representing more than twenty new musicals, will populate the campus, creating a truly exciting environment for discovery and inspiration.

Tonight, January 19th, 2013, Rosemary Loar unveils her newest cabaret creation: a show that showcases the genius of songwriting legends, Harold Arlen and Duke Elliington. An inventive force in the cabaret world for over 30 years, last year Rosemary Loar was honored with the 2012 MAC Hanson Award for continuing excellence.

A total of 35 established and emerging writers, composers and lyricists will converge on the Goodspeed campus this month to participate in the first-ever Johnny Mercer Writers Colony at Goodspeed Musicals. The writing teams, representing more than twenty new musicals, will populate the campus, creating a truly exciting environment for discovery and inspiration.

A total of 35 established and emerging writers, composers and lyricists will converge on the Goodspeed campus this month to participate in the first-ever Johnny Mercer Writers Colony at Goodspeed Musicals. The writing teams, representing more than twenty new musicals, will populate the campus, creating a truly exciting environment for discovery and inspiration.

On Saturday January 12 and Sunday January 13 internationally renowned Cabaret pianist/singer Steve Ross, who has been called the 'Crown Prince of Cabaret', brought one of his many evenings of song The Music of Fred Astaire called Puttin' On the Ritz to Vitello's Upstairs in Studio City. Ross began his career, some forty years ago, primarily as a pianist, at Ted Hook's Backstage in New York. With no singing experience, he thrust himself into the spotlight singing at the piano, developing his unmatched, uncanny style of song and repartee... and the rest is history.

The Encores! 20th Anniversary season opens on January 30, and Encores! alums have been sending in their best wishes. Below, check out a video of Stephen Wallem, Victoria Clark, Mylinda Hull, Chuck Cooper, Elizabeth Stanley, Judy Kaye, Mayor Bloomberg and more riffing on their Encores! experiences!

Segerstrom Center's Cabaret Series welcomes the return of beloved Broadway duo and leading vocalists, Marin Mazzie and Jason Danieley, as they join in a special new program He Said/She Said February 14 - 16 in Samueli Theater.

Producers Alan D. Marks, Barbara Marks, Wade Turnbull, Steve Hendel, Ruth Hendel, and Tom Kirdahy have just announced that COTTON CLUB PARADE, the Encores! Special event that played two acclaimed runs at New York City Center, will arrive on Broadway this fall.

It may be more than 50 years since the 72-year-old Donna McKechnie made her Broadway debut in 'How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,' but she seemed as nervous as an ingenue--in a good way--on the opening night of her new cabaret show Same Place-Another Time. Entering in a sparkly black blouse over a black skirt, and boogieing to the classic disco strains of "Do the Hustle," McKechnie and Musical Director/Pianist John McDaniel (leading a five-piece band) turned her opening number into a mashup with Rodgers and Hart's "Where or When" and a few bars of "Native New Yorker" thrown in just to keep up the funky disco flavor.

Would you like to get married Somewhere Over The Rainbow? Well now you can! For little more than the cost of two orchestra seats at a Broadway show, you can have the experience of a life-time as you and your loved one are joined in marriage; live on a New York stage, during the new musical revue, THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF SONG.

By the last August, I had fallen so far behind on writing reviews of cabaret shows from the spring and early summer (I guess it's a positive when there are more performers and shows in New York than days in the week) that I decided to play catch up by combining a bunch of critiques into one big column. I hadn't planned on doing that again, but this fall there were so many shows that once again I couldn't keep up. but at least I've beaten my self-imposed deadline New Year's Eve deadline of posting these reviews of 12 shows, all staged between September-December by lovely, attractive women (okay, so one is a gender-bender) of varying talents and levels on the cabaret depth chart, from established stars to MAC and Bistro Award-winners to comeback 'kids' to interesting beginners and occasional performers who are in the game to follow their bliss. Whether their performances were rave-worthy, earning of qualified praise, or not quite up to snuff, they all deserve kudos for taking the plunge.

The debut of 'The Phat Pack' to Las Vegas this month signified a wonderful gift to the city.

Acclaimed New York jazz pop singer-songwriter MARCUS GOLDHABER will be back at Fabio's, NYC, for his 6th Annual NEW YEAR'S EVE CONCERT (9:30 and 11 p.m.). It's his last concert before opening Off-Broadway (Jan. 10) as one of the stars of 'The Wonderful Wizard of Song,' a musical salute to legendary composer Harold Arlen.