Feature: Stephen Mosher's Pandemic Playlist Number Twenty-Three

Today's Pandemic Playlist brings us back to the boys and girls who get up on the stages of the nightclubs to share an intimate moment with their audiences. One of them is an artist who has seen all his idols perform, and one is an artist who is an idol. There are singing artists on this list who are also visual artists, there are people who are relatively bew to cabaret and others who came up through the ranks. Whatever their individual stories, they fill the clubs with music and they fill hearts with love.

1. Renee Katz is one of cabaret's most endearing and charming performers. Always leading with a kindness and genteel demeanor, Ms. Katz brings her dreamy, airy soprano to shows that tribute the best in music, and in messages, for Renee always has a message about the power of survival and of embracing life, whether on the stage, in the recording studio, or in her book of poetry, Never Been Gone. Find Renee Katz online HERE

2. Constantine Maroulis is the kind of star so big that one would expect him to stick to the big concert venues, but Mr. Maroulis wants to get close to the fans, so he loves the intimacy of the cabaret rooms of NYC. The twice Tony award nominated Maroulis can often be found at Birdland, singing everything from Broadway to rock and roll to his own compositions, like the ones on his new CD UNTIL I'M WANTED. Constantine's website is RIGHT HERE

3. Mary Lahti is an actor who is comfortable in any medium. With credits ranging from film and television to voiceovers work, Mary spends much of her time on the stages of regional theaters doing musicals like ANNIE (Hello, Miss Hannigan) and plays like A LIE OF THE MIND, proving her versatility. Mary proved herself on the cabaret stages for the first time in 2014, winning a MAC Award for best female debut, and she has been a member of the cabaret community ever since. Read all about Mary online HERE

4. Sidney Myer is a legend in the club scene of New York. People use the word legend a lot, probably too much, but in the case of Sidney Myer, the appellation is not only appropriate, it is well-earned. Starting his career in cabaret some four decades (ish) ago, Sidney has not only seen it all, he has done it all. The MAC Award winner has an inimitable, irreplaceable presence on the stage, where he is always welcome. Best described as a true-blue Vaudevillian, Sidney can be found most days at Don't Tell Mama, where he is the talent booker and frequent guest at the piano in the bar. Sidney has no website because he doesn't need one. People just call Don't Tell Mama and ask for Sidney.

5. Helane Blumfield is in a club every night of the week. With a lifetime and a few successful careers in the fashion/magazine industry behind her, Helane brought her camera to the cabaret world, where she has photographed almost everyone. As comfortable with a microphone in her hand as a camera, Helane is also a respected musical storyteller, performing in her own sold-out solo shows and group shows that garner great praise. Usually seen in a black turtleneck with her hair pulled back, Helane is quite a sex bomb in black sequins and big hair. Find Helane online HERE

6. Donny Most is well-known for his role on the classic TV show Happy Days, but in recent years, Don took his lifelong passion for swing music into the studio and into the clubs and now the crooner spends his days and nghts singing the music of Sinatra, Martin, Davis and his favorite, Bobby Darin. Donny has his own band, CD, and a WEBSITE where he and his merch can be found, and he is worth looking for.

7. Jessica Hendy is a Broadway actor who has proven she can sing anything but who seems to have a proclivity for musicals written for women with rock-singer voices. With roles in Aida, Dance of the Vampires, and Next To Normal, Jessica has wowed audiences, but the distinction her resume shows is that she has played Grizabella in Cats on Broadway in the original production, the only revival production, and the first National Tour. In the clubs, Jessica still sings Memory... but she still has a lot of fun showing her range with a lot of other material as well. HERE is Jessica's website.

8. Justin Squigs Robertson is a visul artist and one of the beloved treasures of the community of performing arts community. Mr. Robertson follows the path set forth by the great Al Hirschfeld, creating caricature illustrations of the actors who fill the stages of Broadway, off-Broadway, cabaret, and more. Loved and respected by the community and the press, Squigs is also a singer, a surprising fact unveiled to the audience at an episode of The Lineup With Susie Mosher. See Justin in the video above and check out his WEBSITE.

9. Diane D'Angelo is a classically trained singer who has sung around the world and in The White House, twice (for past Presidents, not the current administration). Ms. D'Angelo makes the switch from the classical stage to the cabaret stage with ease and humor, and a helluva pretty voice, usually preferring to perform The Great American Songbook. If her pedigree and two Presidents hasn't impressed you, then get a load of this tidbit: dudes, Diane has performed at Burning Man. 'Nuff said. Diane can be found on Facebook.

10. Christopher Brassfield is coming up through the ranks with a resume that is longerthanyourarm and filled with impressive credits like The Book of Mormon, Smokey Joe's Cafe and In The Heights. Cabaret audiences have seen Christopher on stage at 54 Below where his performances always leave them howling and always wanting more. This writer would like to see Christopher on one of those television singing competitions but he seems to have his sights, firmly, set on Broadway. And, frankly, Broadway should be calling him, not the other way around. See Christopher's online presence HERE

Dear readers, be sure to check back for a new Pandemic Playlist in the upcoming days to learn more about the artists who make cabaret the great theatrical, musical art form that it is. In the meantime, stay safe, stay sane, stay healthy, stay home!

NamaSTE