Billie Roe - Page 2

One of the joys of reviewing cabaret is being fortunate enough to discover a remarkable talent. I experienced that feeling this past Saturday night at Don't Tell Mama where Christy Frye debuted her New York cabaret show, Christy Frye: Feels Like the First Time – Things I Learned From the Car Radio. Considering Frye is native of the Washington, D.C. area, and has been commuting weekly to New York for more than two years to study and participate in the New York cabaret scene, one might get the impression that Frye spends a good deal of her time in the car listening to the “oldies but goodies,” thereby supporting the first rule of cabaret performance--make the subject matter organic to the performer. 

It takes a woman of considerable wit, style, and maturity to tackle (let alone celebrate) the subject matter of men. In her new show, Celebrating Men (Bless Their Hearts), seen last Thursday night at the Metropolitan Room, happily, Charlotte Patton possesses all those traits as she leads us on her guided tour of all the various male idiosyncrasies that can drive a woman wild--or mad.

These days at Birdland, trying to channel Dolly Parton's bigger-than-life-persona is the sultry Natalie Douglas, a seven-time MAC Award, Nightlife, and Backstage Bistro Award winner, who (on April 20) brought her own hip, quick-witted, earth-mother persona--along with her smokin' hot vocals--in a joyful tribute show to the country music icon, Hello Dolly: The Music of Dolly Parton, as part of the Jim Caruso's Broadway at Birdland Series.

Mark McCombs is one of those madcap Thespians offering one of the best examples of “character work” on the current New York cabaret scene. Having studied and performed with the New York Gotham City Improv Company, it's little wonder McCombs's first solo show, Ten Jumps Ahead of a Fit, earned him a 2002 Bistro Award, while his second show, Bottomfeeders, brought him a Nightlife Award. His most recent show on April 10 at the Metropolitan Room, The Mark McCombs Progr'um, was a hilarious romp into the ridiculous world of five characters that no doubt originated from McCombs' Florida panhandle origins.

Songwriter, performer, producer, and now activist, Bobby Horowitz, has put yet another spin on the series/variety show, with her refreshing take on the subject of 'ageism' in America. Called It's Just a Number (starting with six dates running from April to October at The Metropolitan Room), Horowitz's show theme champions the notion that age truly is just a number. Featuring a different group of cabaret's best performers for each show, the series honors a person who after the age of 50 either began a new career, resumed a career, is attempting to attain knowledge in a new field, or established a new organization with the purpose of helping people. This past Saturday afternoon, Alice Fisher, who presently serves as Director of Community Outreach in the Office of NYS Senator, Liz Krueger, was the first honoree.

It was more than fitting that the New York cabaret community should honor the late Jerry Scott last Saturday night at Parnell's--the last piano bar that Jerry played before he died in April, 2013 at 67. To honor Jerry's memory and his lifetime of achievements, three devoted friends, cabaret reviewer John Hoglund, Allan Armour, and Geri Malino produced The First Annual Jerry Scott Memorial Award Show. This yearly event will not only pay tribute to Jerry's extraordinary talent, but the award will be presented to an exceptional entertainer/performer in the Manhattan Piano Bar/Lounge/Restaurant scene. The first recipient of the aptly named “Bronze Piano” was Bobby Peaco, a well-respected member of the New York cabaret community for more than 20 years.

When Cole Porter wrote, 'Anything Goes,' he could have easily been referring to New York cabaret circa the 2000-sies. One of the joys of attending and reviewing cabaret shows in the Big Apple these days is that every performing style, show theme, cultural perspective, political point of view, race, gender, and sexual preference is represented on a stage. Some cabaret purists may not agree, but the genre seems to have no boundaries in terms of what is acceptable and what is not. And as long as a show is entertaining, who cares about boundaries and strict definitions of what works in the art form? Here are reviews of three recent shows from Barbara Malley, Robin Kradles, and Donna Hayes that reflect the delicious diversity that is cabaret.

In a two-reviews-in-one column critiquing shows from last March, my esteemed editor, Stephen Hanks quoted the poet Robert Browning: “A man's reach should exceed his grasp. Or what's a heaven for?” Hanks pointed out that Browning's famous line is about setting goals, striving, and ambition, all of which are commendable desires. But, alas, in this particular review he felt the two singers in question “fell short.” One of those singers was Shana Farr and the show she has been performing throughout the past year, In The Still of the Night: Music of Noel Coward and Cole Porter. So here we are a year later, immersed in the revelry of the 2015 award season celebrating excellence in cabaret, and Farr's uniquely theatrical homage to Coward and Porter has recently won her the 2015 Bistro Award for “Outstanding Concept Show.” In spite of my editor's previous reservations about this show, he was open to hearing another perspective—whether positive or negative—so off to the Laurie Beechman Theatre I ventured on the last day of February to find out for myself whether Shana's show was truly award-worthy. Sorry, oh editor of mine, but you might have missed the boat on this one.

“March is Cabaret Month” in New York gives us the opportunity to examine where we are, and, most importantly, where we have come from with this most magical of all art forms--Cabaret. So how very fortunate we are to see and hear veteran Broadway actress and cabaret performer, Karen Mason return to her roots to lovingly take us down memory lane with her new show Mason at Mama's In March at Don't Tell Mama (which opened on March 1st).

A successful duo act is like a good marriage. When it really works there's a certain stage chemistry between two performers that's so obvious yet so hard to define. Magically, voices musically blend as one. Stage personas complement each other yet remain individual. There's a charming give and take, a generous sharing the spotlight, and an obvious mutual respect, sometimes bordering on love. Lorinda Lisitza and Ted Stafford have a very good on-stage marriage.

At The Laurie Beechman Theatre last Thursday night, the new dynamic duo of Carole J. Bufford and Eric Yves Garcia performed their fun holiday show, A Christmas Carole & New Year's Yves, to a full house of adoring family, friends, and fans. They were the very picture of the perfect holiday host and hostess.

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.

Stacy Sullivan tells the audience she became interested in Marian McPartland when she was asked to sing at her memorial in 2013. With her show last Saturday night at Don't Tell Mama, On The Air: Songs for Marian McPartland (which enjoyed a late September run of four shows at the York Theatre), the multi MAC-award winning Sullivan has created a beautifully crafted, biographically-driven show featuring the original music, the history, and the life of a jazz icon, who was best known for hosting Piano Jazz on National Public Radio from 1978-2011. Now Stacy Sullivan has made us all interested in the amazing Marian McPartland.

According to mythology, the 'Phoenix' was a bird of great beauty, said to have lived 1,000 years in the Arabian wilderness. The Phoenix burns itself to ashes on an ancient funeral pyre, only to rise again from those ashes with the renewed exuberance of youth. Its renewed life cycle symbolizes the immortality of the spirit, the rebirth of idealism, the essence of creativity, and the aura of eternal hope. With her new show at the Laurie Beechman, Visible Phoenix (which opened October 17 and returned last Friday night), multi-award winner Carolyn Montgomery-Forant has returned to the cabaret stage (after a 14-year hiatus to raise her son and run a cafe business) as the very personification of that rare beautiful bird.

Every year, despite a litany of warnings they come to the Big Apple with big dreams. Warnings like: “You have to pay your dues.” “It's a tough business, kid.” “How are you going to survive?” There's no such thing as an overnight success, yet still they come to be at “the top of the heap,” as Kander and Ebb so eloquently put it. The four young performers featured here haven't yet vaulted to the top of the cabaret heap, but they've certainly made their marks with excellent shows during 2014, while exhibiting the potential to get there. The spotlight is already shining on Chrysten Peddie, Angela Dirksen, Rembert Block, and Kristoffer Lowe.

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).

The expression “Man About Town”--commonly defined as a socially active, sophisticated man devoted to the pursuit of pleasure by frequenting fashionable nightclubs, theaters, and restaurants--might perfectly describe the persona of Sir Noel Coward. Known for his acerbic wit, flamboyance, and savoir-faire, Sir Noel is an icon in theatrical history as a celebrated playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer. Could there be a better subject to explore during an evening of cabaret? In his recent run of five shows at the Laurie Beechman Theatre, Man About Town: The Wit and Wisdom of Noel Coward, veteran singer/actor/director Eric Michael Gillett proved he was more than up to the task of paying tribute to the legendary Coward.

It was the 1980's. The time of ray bans, head bands, and the start of cable television, where music videos on MTV would skyrocket to stardom future pop icons Madonna, Michael Jackson, and, of course, The Artist Formerly Known as . . . Prince. Celebrated early on for his sexually charged lyrics and for experimentally combining various genres of music (funk, R&B, new wave to pop and pop rock), Prince was and still is a one-man musical revolution. He has sold more than 100 million records worldwide, making him one of the best selling artists of all time. For a cabaret performer to take on Prince's challenging discography is not only ambitious, it's extremely BOLD. It would require a singer to have amazing vocal flexibility and power, smoldering sensuality, and strong emotional connections to the lyrics. Rain Collazo displayed all those qualities--and more--in her performance this past Saturday night at Don't Tell Mama.