Mary Liz McNamara News

This October and November 54 BELOW presents a lineup of the brightest talent from Broadway and beyond. Located just below the legendary Studio 54 at 254 West 54thStreet. For a detailed schedule of upcoming performances at 54 Below and to purchase tickets, visit www.54Below.com.

Since I attended more than 50 shows over the past eight months (a few more than once)--the large majority of which were reviewed on these web pages—I felt I had more than enough cabaret show inventory to present my second-annual “Mid-Year Cabaret Review” citing the “20 Best Cabaret Shows and Performances” for the first half of 2014. Since the eligibility period for 2014 BroadwayWorld New York Cabaret Award consideration begins with shows staged since last November (late October if it was the first of a run), I've included a few of those late 2013 shows in this group. And with the announcement of the BWW Award nominees just four months away, I've offered some projections on the Award categories for which these shows very well might receive consideration.

Lauren Fox, one of the more multifaceted and ambitious young stars of the New York cabaret scene, seems intent on redefining what is already a pretty open-ended art form. The recent run of her new duo show at Stage 72 with bass player Ritt Henn, Ghosts of Love: Songs from the Reel World of David Lynch (January 9, 18, 23, and 24) was the most recent example of Ms. Fox's unconventional approach to a 70-80 minute nightclub show and the result was operatic film noir--cabaret style.

The BMI-Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop will present its autumn Smoker, a semiannual showcase of new songs from Workshop writers, on Thursday, November 21 in BMI's New York office.

It turns out that when it came to Tanya Moberly cabaret shows and this reviewer, the third time was the charm. After being blown away by Moberly's powerful voice and stage presence when I first caught her one-song performances at the Sunday Salon Open Mics three years ago, I wasn't crazy about either of her full-blown cabaret shows the past two years (Tanya Moberly Sings Di Franco/Tanya Moberly Sings Jonatha Brooke in 2011 and Tanya Lorraine Moberly Sings Barbra Joan Streisand in 2012—in spite of her receiving MAC and BroadwayWorld.com Best Female Vocalist nominations for the latter). But her new show that opened this past Friday and Saturday nights at Don't Tell Mama, I Love New York Songwriters, pressed many of my cabaret buttons—in a good way. While there were still some minor flaws—owing to a certain stubbornness in her approach to a cabaret show—this eclectic set of original songs written by some of the city's best “unknown” composers was consistently entertaining. In this particular show, Ms. Moberly was Tanya Terrific.

On Sunday, July 21, Sterling's Upstairs at the Federal in North Hollywood presented Gregg Marx and Sharon McNight, Together Again for the First Time. Gregg, a former Emmy-winning soap-opera star turned singer and Sharon, a thirty-five-year show-biz veteran, including Broadway, provided definite contrasts in style and material. That's not always a successful combination for a cabaret show, but in this case it worked.

4@15: Four New Fifteen-Minute Musicals, performed in conjunction with University of California, Irvine, will commence performances Friday, April 19 and Saturday, April 20, for three performances only at the Playroom Theater. Tammy Holder serves as Music Director; Brian Blythe directs.

It's April 1st. Do you know when your Spring is coming? During another longggggg New York winter, the good news is that there were a ton of warming cabaret shows. The bad news is that there were so many, even during this seemingly endless winter our intrepid reviewer Stephen Hanks didn't have enough time to review them all right after the performances. So in what is becoming a seasonal ritual, here he offers yet another compilation of 13 'catch-up' cabaret show reviews.

The 28th Annual Bistro Awards gala took place on March 4, 2013. Unlike most other awards shows, the Bistro Awards is an evening filled with great performances from the winners - stars as well as talented newcomers - who represent a wide variety of styles from the worlds of cabaret, comedy, and jazz. BroadwayWorld has photos from the ceremony below!

The 28th Annual Bistro Awards gala, set to take place tonight, March 4, has announced some of its main presenters. Unlike most other awards show, the Bistro Awards is an evening filled with great performances from the winners - stars as well as talented newcomers - who represent a wide variety of styles from the worlds of cabaret, comedy, and jazz.

The 28th Annual Bistro Awards gala, set to take place on Monday, March 4, has announced some of its main presenters. Unlike most other awards show, the Bistro Awards is an evening filled with great performances from the winners - stars as well as talented newcomers - who represent a wide variety of styles from the worlds of cabaret, comedy, and jazz.

Who would have ever thought that the New York Cabaret scene would end up having almost as many awards shows as the film industry? The Nightlife Awards Show at Town Hall was presented on January 14, and the newly established BroadwayWorld.com New York Cabaret Awards Show filled the Metropolitan Room on February 21. The Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs (MAC) will hold it's 27th Annual MAC Awards Show on March 21 at B.B. King's Blues Club. But next up is the 28th Annual Bistro Awards Gala, which recognizes outstanding achievement in New York cabaret, jazz, and comedy, on March 4 at 6:30pm at the Gotham Comedy Club (208 West 23rd Street, Between 7th & 8th Ave). The evening, under the direction of Shellen Lubin, will once again be co-hosted by comedian and actor Jim David, and will feature performances from most of this year's Bistro-winning artists.

The Manhattan Association of Cabarets & Clubs will present the 27th Annual MAC Awards on Thursday, March 21st, at B.B King Blues Club & Grill in New York City.

Legendary singer-actress Lainie Kazan and versatile performer Maurice Hines will be honored, along with 16 others, at the 28th Annual Bistro Awards gala, which recognizes outstanding achievement in New York cabaret, jazz, and comedy. The celebration will take place on Monday, March 4 at Gotham Comedy Club, 208 West 23rd Street (between 7th & 8th avenues).

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.

2012 was indeed a very good year for the art of Cabaret in New York City. Here, BroadwayWorld.com Cabaret Reviewer and Columnist Stephen Hanks offers up his exclusive 'Best New York Cabaret Performers of the Year' for 2012, plus some surprising honorable mentions. Let the debates begin!

Urban Stages (Frances Hill, Founding Artistic Director), in association with producer/director/lyricist Peter Napolitano announces a series of musical evenings entitled WINTER RHYTHMS 2012, beginning on Tuesday, December 4 and running through Friday, December 15, 2012 at Urban Stages Theatre (259 West 30th Street). Tickets are $25 per show (both shows in one night, $40). Beer and wine will be available for a $3 donation. Tickets may be purchased on www.smarttix.com or 212 868-4444.