Kathleen France News

Hot off her 2015 MAC Award win The Sexy Sass Coloratura is laughing  like Adele from ' Die Fledermaus,' 'its so funny ha ha ha,' and it will be funny and glorious when she recreates that famous aria and many more in her critically acclaimed show LEGIT (A Classical Cabaret) Directed by Lina Koutrakos, with Music Direction by Mark Janas with Special Guest Operatic Tenor Christopher Yoon and multi-Award winning songstress Celia Berk.

From the Oscars to the Tonys, the Grammys to Emmys, awards ceremonies are always a hit-or-miss situation. Either the event is absolutely excellent or ends with spectators saying, 'Well, they'll do a better job with it next year.' The 2015 MAC Awards, presented by the Manhattan Association of Cabarets & Clubs, and held once again this year at BB King's on West 42nd Street, absolutely fell into the former category. It was a splendid affair (albeit it's usual 3-plus hours) that was expertly directed by MAC President Lennie Watts.

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.

At a ceremony held Thursday 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. BroadwayWorld brings you photos of the evening below!

On March 15th Check out MAC Award Nominees Kathleen France and Dawn Derow in Revolution. You have one more shot to see the show critics are raving about.

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.

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.

For 60 continuous hours, from 7pm on Thursday January 1 to 7am on Sunday January 4, New York's Metropolitan Room is staging what it is billing as "The Longest Variety Show Ever." Featuring approximately 160 performers and 15 emcees, the entertainment will span music, burlesque, comedy, drag, theatre/opera, magic and puppetry.

If you've been a regular reader of this particular reviewer's musings, you know that every year there are long stretches of time where I just haven't been able to critique all the shows I've seen that deserve commentary. So I end up playing what they call in sports, 'Catch-up ball,' and post a mash up of belated reviews from past shows. It's kind of like a critic's version of the song 'Six Months Out of Every Year,' from Damn Yankees. Give or take a month or two, that's usually the time period during which I store unpublished reviews in my fevered brain and then unload them all in one seemingly endless column-like this one is going to be. If my cabaret-show reviewing days will be over (as chronicled here), I might as well go out with a bang-and relieve my procrastination guilt during holiday season. Now I can scratch one New Year's resolution off the list.

The month of December has always been an emotional time of the year, especially for our military families; a period to deeply reflect on family and country. Over the past few months in New York cabaret, a few performers have offered up musical testimony on wars, patriotism, and US military veterans. Recently, two singers fairly new to the cabaret scene--Anna Marie Sell and Kim Sutton--staged shows saluting the brave men and women who serve our country now and in the past.

Based on the promotion of their new duo show, Revolution (a four-show run that ends at the Duplex tonight at 6:30), you might have gotten the impression that Dawn Derow and Kathleen France would be engaging in a zany bit of fluff poking fun at American military politics in a Bob Hope USO Show kinda way. But while there is definitely some frivolity and even some biting satire along the way, the women also convey a serious sense of patriotism and reverence for those who have fought and died in America's many wars. In fact, a portion of the audience cover charge is being donated to the Wounded Warrior Project (www.woundedwarriourproject.org).

MAC Award nominees and besties, KATHLEEN FRANCE and DAWN DEROW, team up for a special evening.

Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs (MAC), dedicated to advancing the art and business of live entertainment, held their 28th Annual MAC Awards celebration last evening at BB King's Blues club in Times Square. Winners in twenty-five categories were announced. The show was hosted by the vivacious singer, band leader, multiple MAC Award winner and 2014 Nominee, Terese Genecco. The gala was produced by Julie Miller and directed by Lennie Watts, the current MAC President. Don Rebic served as Musical Director. Presenters included Will Friedwald of the Wall Street Journal and designer Bob Mackie. CLICK HERE for a full list of winners.

Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs (MAC), dedicated to advancing the art and business of live entertainment, held their 28th Annual MAC Awards celebration last evening at BB King's Blues club in Times Square. Winners in twenty-five categories were announced. The show was hosted by the vivacious singer, band leader, multiple MAC Award winner and 2014 Nominee, Terese Genecco. The gala was produced by Julie Miller and directed by Lennie Watts, the current MAC President. Don Rebic served as Musical Director. Presenters included Will Friedwald of the Wall Street Journal and designer Bob Mackie. CLICK HERE for a full list of winners.

Back on April 1, when he posted his third compilation of delayed cabaret reviews from shows staged during the winter, BroadwayWorld.com's lead New York cabaret reviewer promised Number 4 would come with arrival of summer. Okay, so he missed his self-imposed deadline by a couple of weeks. but here's yet another catch-up column with critiques of a half dozen spring shows performed by Bryan Batt, Dawn Derow, Lynly Forrest, Dennis McNeil, Anastasia Barzee, and Nina Hennessey.

Cover charges vary by performer. Most shows range from $15 to $35, with some exceptions. Each show's cover charge is listed in the show information on the calendar page. Feel free to call the Metropolitan Room with any questions regarding cover charges.

Cover charges vary by performer. Most shows range from $15 to $35, with some exceptions. Each show's cover charge is listed in the show information on the calendar page. Feel free to call the Metropolitan Room with any questions regarding cover charges.

The Iridium gets bluesy this June, when North Mississippi Allstars, Robert Randolph, Elvin Bishop, and more all hit the historic Manhattan music destination.