The Mabel Mercer Foundation Celebrates The 30th Annual New York Cabaret Convention

In a combined triumph for the Classic Popular Songbook, its purveyors and adherents, and the professionalism and perseverance of THE Mabel Mercer FOUNDATION, the unique organization presents its 30th Annual New York Cabaret Convention at The Rose Theater, Jazz at Lincoln Center, beginning Monday, October 28th and running through Thursday, October 31st. The four individual concerts will be offered at 6:00 PM each evening, and more than seventy-five vocalists and musicians are scheduled to perform. Tickets are now on sale at the Jazz at Lincoln Center box office and www.jazz.org.

For the third year THE Mabel Mercer FOUNDATION offer a "Rush" ticket policy. According to artistic director KT Sullivan, "The Mabel Mercer Foundation is using this opportunity to provide students -- and other performers and musicians -- an affordable opportunity to enjoy the great popular songbook, both traditional and contemporary." The discounted admissions will be made available only to those holding either a valid Student ID or a membership card from MAC (the Manhattan Association of Cabarets & Clubs). Same-day Rush tickets will be sold ONLY at the box office, beginning at 10:00 AM on the date of each performance. Tickets must be purchased in person, and there is a limit of two tickets per valid Student ID or MAC Member Card. The offer is good for any remaining seats in the $100, $50, and $25 tiers of the theater, and each ticket is priced at $13.50: $10 for the ticket, plus a $3.50 JALC Facility Fee.

Three of the October shows will honor individuals whose remarkable gifts categorize them as major components of the Classic Popular Songbook legacy. Judy! A Garland of Song includes music and lyrics unforgettably offered on film, stage, and recordings by the legendary Judy Garland. The show will be emceed by CabCon favorite Klea Blackhurst and award-winning Garland documentarian John Fricke. Deborah Grace Winer returns to herald the output of exceptional female songwriters, specifically Dorothy Fields but also including (among others) Betty Comden, Carolyn Leigh, and Peggy Lee in the program The Sunny Side of the Street. Jeff Harnar and Andrea Marcovicci - arguably the Foundation's most resoundingly popular cohosts - salute the Broadway, Hollywood, and Hit Parade contributions created by Frank Loesser, with an evening entitled Heart and Soul. Finally, KT Sullivan takes stage to present a thrilling and affectionate look-back with Thanks for the Memory: Celebrating 30 Years of Cabaret Conventions as well as forward with fresh new discoveries. Finally, and in addition to "surprise" presentations of the annual Julie Wilson and Donald F. Smith Awards, the Foundation specifically honors Sandy Stewart with this year's Mabel Mercer Award.

A complete roster for the thirtieth New York Cabaret Convention is provided below. Jazz at Lincoln Center's Frederick P. Rose Hall is located at Broadway and 60th Street. Prices are $100, $50, and $25, and Premium Patron Seating is also available at $500 ($350 of which is tax-deductible). Those holding Patron Seating tickets are invited to a post-show cocktail reception with the evening's artists; be advised, please, that Patron Seating is limited to fifty seats per performance. The box office is located at Broadway at 60th Street at the Time Warner Center, ground floor (Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.); or via CenterCharge: 212-721-6500.

KT Sullivan, artistic director of THE Mabel Mercer FOUNDATION, is exultant about this thirtieth anniversary cavalcade. "As founder of this organization, Donald Smith ceaselessly championed what he knew to be the 'fragile world of cabaret.' He would be delighted that we're stronger than ever, three decades later, and fulfilling our charter in both necessary and new approaches to the entertainment. This year's performers range in age and experience from the incomparable, ninety-one-year old Marilyn Maye to Anais Reno, who - at fifteen - won our Adela & Larry Elow American Songbook High School Competition Award just a few months ago. Vocalists are coming in from Chicago, Palm Beach, Colorado, and London to participate in the concerts, and we have fifteen singers making their Cabaret Convention debuts in 2019."