David Clarke - Page 22

Well-Strung, the celebrated boy band string quartet, are gleefully following in the footsteps of their predecessors. With A Well-Strung Christmas, the charming foursome gives plenty of reasons for us all to put aside our copies of New Kids on the Block's Merry, Merry Christmas and 'N SYNC's Home For Christmas. They also leave us asking Santa to turn this show into an album in time for Christmas 2016 too.

Lea DeLaria, the television, stage, and music star who is currently best known as Carrie 'Big Boo' Black in the hit Netflix series ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK, recently released HOUSE OF DAVID: DELARIA + BOWIE = JAZZ. The innovative album earned strong reviews, and she has been treating New York audiences to live performances of the record. To get the inside scoop on the record and concerts, I recently chatted with DeLaria.

For Telly Leung's sophomore album, SONGS FOR YOU, the acclaimed Broadway performer decided to make an album where each song is dedicated to the important people in his life. According to the liner notes that is where each of the classic tunes that compose the track listing found their breath of life, allowing Leung to "focus on the sentiment and energy of the song." Thus, audiences are presented with an album that almost sounds like a cabaret act, except it's clearly recorded in a studio.

Fresh from her stint as Roxie Hart in the Broadway production of Chicago, Rumer Willis and her "nonsexual life partner" Tye Blue took Feinstein's/54 Below by storm with Homage, their soulful and decidedly jazzy cabaret show. Thoroughly enjoying their New York City cabaret debuts, the talented duo had no high concept for the evening. "We're not trying to reinvent cabaret," Blue said. They sang the songs they love to sing in the car when driving around Los Angeles together. As eye rolling and groan inducing as this concept may sound, it must be noted that this simplicity ensured that each and every number had the enthusiastic audience energized and left them applauding and cheering with abandon.

A musical comedy where the first act climaxes in a dramatic representation of the collapse of The Twin Towers on September 11, 2001 may not be the easiest ticket to sell, especially in New York City. Yet, the Off-Broadway musical WHO'S YOUR BAGHDADDY? OR HOW I STARTED THE IRAQ WAR by Marshall Pailet and A.D. Penedo, based on a screenplay by J.T. Allen, has found an audience with material that is both challenging and truly funny.

Well-Strung, the popular string quartet that is also a boy band, launched their second album POPssical with a CD Release Concert at Feinstein's/54 Below. The show was a reworked version of their cabaret revue titled POPssical, and included new surprises mixed in with the familiar favorites. As always with the gifted group, the guys played their instruments with virtuosic integrity and provided stirring vocals, especially during melodious harmonies.

The boys of Well-Strung are back with their thrilling sophomore album, POPssical. With a track listing inspired by their acclaimed cabaret show by the same title, this follow-up to their self-titled debut album avoids the treacherous waters of the dreaded sophomore slump and gifts fans and newcomers with a vibrantly bodacious new record that improves on their original and alluring concept.

Tony Award nominated Beth Malone, currently starring in the Tony Award winning musical Fun Home on Broadway, returned to Joe's Pub this past Monday and took it by storm with her adorable and heartwarming solo cabaret show Beth Malone: So Far. Through songs and often hilarious vignettes about her life, she took audiences on an inspiring journey of discovering her sexuality and proudly owning her true self.

Music director, Broadway producer, and skilled musician Michael J. Moritz Jr. will be spending this fall traveling the United States with one purpose in mind: teaching. To get the inside scoop on his US coaching tour, I sat down with Michael J. Moritz Jr., and we discussed his multifaceted career, teaching, and music.

Hilarious and critically lauded Israeli sketch comedy troupe Tziporela is starting their last two weeks of ODD BIRDZ in New York City today at The Players Theatre. With Tziporela garnering international attention for being so funny, BroadwayWorld sat down with Ben Perry, Dana Ivgy, and Efrat Aviv to learn more about this group of deft comedians.

Lea DeLaria's HOUSE OF DAVID serves as a jazz tribute to David Bowie. Each of the twelve tracks has been pristinely arranged by Lea DeLaria. Across the recording, Lea DeLaria pays fascinating homage to David Bowie's original genius while creating wholly original and spellbinding versions of these well-known and beloved tunes.

At the top of her show, SEE JANE SING!, Jane Lynch jokes that she always wanted to be the kind of TV celebrity that held an audience hostage for an hour as she dabbled in the art of cabaret. Luckily for us, deft comedienne Lynch surprises the audience by being a fantastic singer, leaving the audience begging her for more encores.

Earlier in 2015, the final musical from legendary musical creative team John Kander and Fred Ebb opened at the Lyceum Theatre on Broadway. THE VISIT captivated audiences despite its brief run and lack of Tony Award wins. Now, the unique and devastatingly beautiful score is available from Broadway Records and Yellow Sound Label on THE VISIT (Original Broadway Cast Recording).

Pretty much all of New York is absolutely in love with SOMETHING ROTTEN!, a new musical comedy with music and lyrics by Wayne Kirkpatrick and Karey Kirkpatrick and a book by Karey Kirkpatrick and John O'Farrell. Now, Ghostlight Records release of the cheerful SOMETHING ROTTEN! (Original Broadway Cast Recording) shares the merriment with the world.

New York based theatre company Ego Actus is staging the world premiere of award-winning playwright Penny Jackson's I KNOW WHAT BOYS WANT. The play is a thought provoking cautionary tale that explores the seedy underbelly of cell phone camera surveillance and how once something is shared online, it never truly goes away.

When I think of NYMF, I typically think of quirky musicals that would otherwise slip through the cracks of mainstream theatre. HELD MOMENTARILY: A NEW MUSICAL, with book, music, and lyrics by Oliver Houser, fits perfectly into this box, and given its previous performance history at 2014's New York International Fringe Festival, that is no surprise.

My favorite thing about attending NYMF is the fact that I truly never know what to expect from the works I see there. Walking into SINGLE WIDE, I was expecting a completely irreverent musical soiree along the lines of David Nehls and Betsy Kelso's THE GREAT AMERICAN TRAILER PARK MUSICAL. Instead, I was treated to a nearly complete project with a heartwarming story that was as wholesome as it was entertaining.

The Birdz are back by popular demand, and they're as funny as ever. Last October, I had the pleasure of reviewing Tziporela's ODD BIRDZ, when the hilarious sketch comedy troupe made their US Debut at New York City's The Player's Theatre. While back with the same show, some bits have been tweaked and expanded. Whether you saw them in 2014 or not, Tziporela's ODD BIRDZ is sure to have you bowled over with laughter.

Having appeared on many of New York City's cabaret stages, Gregory Nalbone returns to the Metropolitan Room with The Sounds of My Heart. Directed by Lennie Watts and music direction by Kenneth Gartman, this show showcases Nalbone's baritone register and Pop-Broadway instrument and allows him to bare his soul as he sings some of his and our favorite tunes.

Sutton Foster is currently wowing audiences as Queenie in City Center's Encores! Off-Center concert production of Andrew Lippa's The Wild Party. Her beguiling and sweet debut album WISH was released in 2008 by Ghostlight Records, In 2011 they also released her radiant sophomore album, AN EVENING WITH SUTTON FOSTER - LIVE AT THE CAFE CARLYLE.