Liam Forde News

There's no 'Tomorrow' for this years four day 27th New York Cabaret Convention but there certainly was a thrilling performance of that song by host Kela Blackhurst and the Broadway by the Year Chorus.  The composer and lyricist were in attendance as their songs were performed by a wonderful group of cabaret artists. The convention even produced a 12 year old to recreate the emotions of seeing 'Annie' as Zoe Gelman sang Maybe & NYC to the Rose Theater audience. Luckily there will be a 'tomorrow' for the Mabel Mercer Foundations Cabaret Convention and mark your calendars for the 28th New York Cabaret Convention in 2017.

the 2016 Cabaret Convention returns to the Rose Theater, Jazz at Lincoln Center's Frederick P. Rose Hall, from Tuesday, October 18th through Friday, October 21st  to present four different music programs. More than seventy singers are scheduled to appear, and the productions include specific tributes to the songs of Stephen Sondheim, the lyrics of Sheldon Harnick, the melodies of Charles Strouse, and the repertoire of legendary jazz artist Sylvia Syms.

Lynn University and Jan McArt, producer and director of theatre arts program development, today announced that both season subscriptions and individual show tickets are now available for the popular Mabel Mercer Foundation's Cabaret at Lincoln Center comes to Live at Lynn series. Starting in January 2017, five of Manhattan's leading cabaret shows will be presented in Lynn's Amarnick-Goldstein Concert Hall. Season tickets are $150.

The long ride up the elevator to Studio Theater's Stage 4 is certainly rewarded in the regional premiere of Robert Askins' Broadway hit Hand to God.

Tonight, before a gathering of theatre artists and patrons, theatreWashington announced the winners of the 2016 Helen Hayes Awards, drawn from 202 eligible productions presented in the 2015 calendar year. Scroll down for the full list of nominees and winners!

Questionable life advice, musical theatre tunes, a few boxes of wine and approximately seven to ten belly laughs delighted a sold out crowd at The Duplex Cabaret Theatre on January 6th, when actress and blogger Bligh Voth starred in a live taping of her new podcast. Avocados Are For Rich People: Live At the Duplex will air in two parts, Part One on March 30th and Part Two on April 6th.

Songs in the Key of: 'I Don't Give a F***!' (A Concert to Benefit the World Premiere of Troll by Ken Greller) is set for Monday, Feburary 29, 2016 at 9:00 pm at The Duplex, located at 61 Christopher Street (at 7th Ave).

Tonight, before a gathering of theatre artists and patrons, theatreWashington announced the nominees for the 2016 Helen Hayes Awards, drawn from 202 eligible productions presented in the 2015 calendar year. Scroll down for the full list of nominees!

Questionable life advice, musical theatre tunes, a few boxes of wine and approximately seven to ten belly laughs await audiences at The Duplex Cabaret Theatre tonight, January 6th, when actress and blogger Bligh Voth hosts a launch party and live taping of her new podcast, AVOCADOS ARE FOR RICH PEOPLE.

Questionable life advice, musical theatre tunes, a few boxes of wine and approximately seven to ten belly laughs await audiences at The Duplex Cabaret Theatre on January 6th, when actress and blogger Bligh Voth hosts a launch party and live taping of her new podcast, AVOCADOS ARE FOR RICH PEOPLE.

The Meeting* hosted by Justin Sayre, the acclaimed comedy/variety show, will return to JOE'S PUB at The Public Theater for two shows -- Sunday, December 20 at 9:30 PM and Monday, December 21 at 7:00 PM -- for the Seventh Annual Holiday Spectacular. Sunday's 9:30 PM show will feature Cole Escola, Molly Pope, Aaron Jackson, Liam Forde and Dane Terry. The Monday 7:00 PM show will feature Shaina Taub, Aaron Weinstein, Mark Nadler, Molly Pope, Dane Terry, and Rob Maitner.  Tracy Stark serves as the show's Music Director.

The final night of this year's estimable Cabaret Convention, What I Did for Love/Taking a Chance on Love, hosted by Klea Blackhurst, saluted composer/songwriter Vernon Duke in Act I and composer/conductor Marvin Hamlisch during Act II. It was a curious pairing, indeed.

The final night of The Mabel Mercer Foundation's New York Cabaret Convention was hosted by Klea Blackhurst. It featured the music of Marvin Hamlisch and Vernon Duke. Terri Blair the widow of Marvin was in the audience and was obviously touched by some thrilling performances of her husbands music. Check out photos from the event below!

It's an undeniable, outstanding, and extraordinary musical milestone, to be sure: 2015 marks the thirtieth anniversary of The Mabel Mercer Foundation! Not only has the organization survived the ongoing and vastly fluctuating public tastes in music, lyrics, and performers, it has proliferated and burgeoned in its three decades of commitment to the classic, "Great Popular Songbook" -- both past and present.

Studio Theatre's latest production depicts an admirably affable band of losers in a script that is well balanced, and a show that is extremely well acted.

Singer and actress Julie Wilson, arguably one of the greatest cabaret chanteuses to grace a stage, died early this morning at the age of 90, according to her long time accompanist and friend Christopher Denny, who posted the news on his Facebook page. As of 8:45 this morning, the news of Wilson's death had not yet broken through major news outlets. Denny reported that Wilson 'died peacefully, surrounded by people who loved her, after having sustained two strokes over the last several days.' Up until the past couple of months of her life, the energetic Wilson was still being seen at various cabaret shows around town and supporting the new breed of stars, recently having the time of her life at a Mark Nadler show at the York Theatre.

Tyler Hinton's Picks: 1. PETER AND THE STARCATCHER at Pioneer Theatre Company

This past Thursday night, a group of die-hard music enthusiasts, vocalists, and musicians packed a private home in Chelsea for the latest iteration of Will Friedwald's Clip Joint. The monthly series, which was launched in the summer of 2013 by the Wall Street Journal columnist, night crawler, and music historian who has authored of eight books on music and popular culture, screens highly curated musical performance on film and video with every third session promoted as an “extravaganza,” additionally featuring live performers.

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.

Pioneer Theatre Company's production of the Tony-winning hit Broadway play PETER AND THE STARCATCHER takes audiences on a touching, magical journey filled with rich drama, witty humor, and all the wonder of live stagecraft. It is hands-down one of the best pieces of theatre to be produced in Utah this year.