Joseph Macchia News

Help Is On The Way Today will hold its annual fundraising Gala on Sunday, May 17th, at Metropolitan Room.  Help Is On The Way Today is a 501c3 non-profit organization founded in 2005 by MAC AWARD winning producer, Joseph Macchia, to assist children and youth living with HIV and AIDS. The full lineup of incredible talent has been confirmed. Solo performers include:

On Monday, April 27th, the Metropolitan Room was packed with Broadway & Aspiring artists who shared new works and cheered each other on at the Broadway Artists & Friends Open Mic & Mingle. Hosted by JERSEY BOYS' Peter Gregus, audiences were treated to an up close look at singers trying out new songs & sharing their stories. The evening was intimate, joyful and full of opportunities for everyone involved to make invaluable industry connections. Scroll down for photos!

Cabaret Cares/Help Is On The Way Today will hold its annual fundraising Gala on Sunday, May 17th, at Metropolitan Room in the fashionable Flatiron District at 34 West 22nd Street (between 5th and 6th Avenues). Help Is On The Way Today is a 501c3 non-profit organization founded in 2005 by MAC AWARD winning producer, Joseph Macchia, to assist children and youth living with HIV and AIDS.

The sparkles are already flying as ten hard-working cross-dressers are going stiletto to stiletto in the 2nd annual "New York's Next Top Drag Queen Contest." The six-week juried affair, hosted by the Metropolitan Room begins on Monday 30 March. Through sheer talent and hopefully not a cat fight, NY's Top Drag Queen will be crowned on the finale show on May 4 when the series will come to its ultimate climax.

Stacy Sullivan brought her new show, "Since You've Asked' to The Metropolitan Room last night and broadwayworld was there. Whether you're a fan of The Great American Songbook or VH1, you'll find something to love within this eclectic evening of music and story. With musical director Troy Fannin on guitar, Matthew Watanabe on piano, and Jaime Mohamdein on bass, Sullivan has created her most personal, thought-provoking evening to date. With music by Randy Newman, Nina Simone, Ray LaMontagne, Hoagy Carmichael, Judy Collins, Ed Sheeran, Woodie Guthrie, Stevie Nicks, Cole Porter, George Harrison, Noel Coward, David Hajdu, Fred Hersch, Jonsi, Stephen Schwartz...and others.

At a ceremony held last night in New York, the Manhattan Association of Cabarets & Clubs announced the winners of the 2015 MAC Awards. The show was hosted by Karen Mason, with musical direction by Barry Levitt, and was produced by Julie Miller and directed by Lennie Watts.

Metropolitan Room's Joseph Macchia and Bernard Furshpan are excited to announce the formation of the Cabaret Hall of Fame (CHOF), as well as the Inaugural Induction Black Tie Gala on January 16th, 2016 at Metropolitan Room, named New York's Best Cabaret by New York Magazine.

The Manhattan Association of Cabarets & Clubs will present the 29th Annual MAC Awards on Thursday, March 26st, at 7:30pm, at B.B King Blues Club & Grill in New York City.

In just three years since the inception of the BroadwayWorld New York Cabaret Awards, the ceremony has evolved into one of the community's most-anticipated events. And this year's festivities, the second one at Joe's Pub, proved to be the most glittering and energetic assemblage to date. In fact, there couldn't have been a more promising start to the annual cabaret awards season, which continues with the Bistro Awards at Gotham Comedy Club on March 4, and culminates with the MAC Awards (Manhattan Association of Cabarets & Clubs) at BB King's on March 26. The 3rd Annual BWW Awards Show was just the right spark to get this season's prizes off to a veritable fireworks display.

During World War ll actors were among the very few who were left untouched to do their craft in Germany. There was a women named Eleonore who started in theatre at age 12, acting on stage with her father, Heinrich Schroth. Eleonore was one of the last generations of the most famous acting family in Germany, dating back 5-6 generations (like our Barrymores). One branch of the family was French, and one of it's members was an actor and famous rebel in the French Revolution under Robespierre. His name was Collot d'Herbois. Eleonore later recalled of "touring" as an actor and having to travel to the next town in the back of a potato cart for the next show. Her father had to walk behind the cart because there wasn't room for him. It was the middle of winter and his shoes had worn out so he was almost barefoot. Her cousin, Hannelore Schroth, became the first famous movie star after the war, the German version of Elizabeth Taylor. Her Uncle, Carl-Heinz Schroth also became famous on film, and is known as one of the most famous historic German comic geniuses, actors, and directors. He had the longest running comedy series called"Karschunke und Sohn, which was an exact parallel to "Sanford and Son". Eleonore moved to the United States with her family in 1971.

Broadway's 40 theatres aren't the only places to catch performances from your favorite stars! Well after Broadway orchestra's begin their overtures, ensemble members take their dance breaks, and performers belt out their eleven- o'clock numbers, the party continues at various cabaret venues throughout New York City. Below, BroadwayWorld brings you some cabaret highlights for this week as picked by our theatre editors, including: Alysha Umphress & Joshua Henry: Romantic Duets; If It Only Even Runs a Minute: 14th Edition; The Lost Boys: Live!; A Very Broadway Valentine's Day: Featuring Alysha Umphress & Santino Fontana; and It's Only Love: An Evening of Broadway Love Songs.

The 2014 BWW New York Cabaret Awards will celebrate the best cabaret performers and shows of last year as voted on by 7,500 fans in December after a one-month preliminary ballot process. Produced, directed, and hosted for the third straight year by BWW Cabaret Editor Stephen Hanks, the BWW Awards show will feature performances by many of the winners, many of whom are among the cream of the crop in the art of cabaret. Joining a star-studded cast (see below) will be two-time 2014 BWW Cabaret Award nominee and Broadway Musical star Len Cariou, who will perform a special tribute to the late songwriter Ervin Drake.

As the days dwindled down to a precious few in 2014, a few cabaret goers and performers in what is affectionately but also self-mockingly called the “cabaret community” would sidle up and ask if I was planning my annual end-of-the year “Best Of” column, similar to the “Top 20 Bests and Favorites” piece over the first half of the year I posted back in early July. I would respond in the negative with very reasonable and believable excuses, but the truth is I didn't want to reveal my “Bests” of the year until the voting for the 2014 BroadwayWorld New York Cabaret Awards had ended. There's enough baggage and backstage whispering that comes with administering the BWW Awards, so I wasn't about to publish any opinions that might influence the vote while it was in process. I may be crazy but I'm not masochistic. But now all bets are off. You want lists? I'll give you lists.

After eight years of terrifically entertaining, monthly fundraisers at The Laurie Beechman Theater, Cabaret Cares/Help Is On The Way Today is on the move! The 501c non-profit organization that assists children and youth living with HIV/AIDS is relocating to new digs. The first event of 2015 will be held on January 25th at Metropolitan Room, where the charity's founder, Joseph Macchia, is the co-booking manager with owner Bernie Furshpan. Cabaret entertainer Gretchen Reinhagen will host "Lovely Ladies Of Cabaret" with Jennylind Parris, Karen Mason, Tracy Stark, and Joanna Morton Gary. Gretchen will also perform. Metropolitan Room is in the fashionable Flatiron District at 34 West 22nd Street between 5th and 6th Avenues.

After an extensive search, the Broadway Artists Connectionn (BAC) welcomes cabaret powerhouse Joseph Macchia into the role of Producing Director for the 2015 NYC Season. With 20 years of industry experience, Joseph's producing has earned him four MAC awards and one Bistro Award. Joseph is the Booking Manager of of the Metropolitan Room that just days ago broke the Guinness book of world records for longest variety show ever. Joseph has received a BWW award for best variety show or recurring series for Cabaret Cares, a series he spearheaded benefiting BCEFA and nitelifeexhange.com listed him as one of the top 25 people to watch out for in cabaret in 2015.

BroadwayWorld has called Ann Hampton Callaway the current “Queen of Cabaret” and apparently much of the cabaret audience agrees. The votes for the 2014 BroadwayWorld New York Cabaret Awards are official and Callaway is the “Performer of the Year,” having garnered 2,194 votes (the most of any nominee) out of the 66,179 votes cast by approximately 7,500 voters for 148 nominees in 17 categories. Here are your 2014 BWW New York Cabaret Award Winners.

New York's Metropolitan Room will shock the entertainment world with an unprecedented, pull-out-the-stops programming initiative to kick off 2015. For three days -- tonight, January 1 at 7pm to Sunday January 4 at 7am -- the intimate concert venue will stage its first 'Marathon Variety Show,' with continuous entertainment for 60 hours straight. The marathon, which is eligible to become a Guinness World Records record-holder for longest variety show ever, will feature up to 100 Metropolitan Room artists -- from its most prominent stars to its most promising emerging talents.

It's your last week to vote for the 2014 BroadwayWorld Cabaret Regional Awards! Check out the latest live stats as of December 26th. Voting closes at the end of the year, in under one week!

With the end of the voting period for the 2014 BroadwayWorld New York Cabaret Awards just eight days away (voting will close at Noon on December 31, 2014), BroadwayWorld.com is pleased to announce that the 3rd Annual BWW NY Cabaret Awards Show will take place for the second successive year at Joe's Pub (The Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Street, NYC) at 6:30 pm. Once again, this Award presenting extravaganza will feature performances by the Award winners (whose schedules make them available), and BWW's New York Cabaret Editor Stephen Hanks will once again host the festivities.

Broadway's 40 theatres aren't the only places to catch performances from your favorite stars! Well after Broadway orchestra's begin their overtures, ensemble members take their dance breaks, and performers belt out their eleven- o'clock numbers, the party continues at various cabaret venues throughout New York City. Below, BroadwayWorld brings you some cabaret highlights for this week as picked by our theatre editors, including: Liz Callaway's Celebrate!, A Charlie Brown Christmas in Concert, Christine Pedi: Snow Bizness, An Evening of Garland, and Sondheim Unplugged 2014.