Best Cabaret in October 2025: Maria Bamford, Tony Danza, Marilyn Maye & More
See some of the biggest names performing at cabaret venues this month - at a range of budget points
By: Rebecca Kaplan Oct. 01, 2025
See some of the biggest names performing at cabaret venues this month, at a range of budget points. We've put together a list of some of the biggest stars of the stage and screen and the biggest names in jazz, cabaret, comedy and Broadway with shows in NYC. Now's your chance to see these stars live, in-person and in an intimate venue. Tickets to these shows are limited and they are likely to sell out, so make sure to check this list when you plan out your month!
Tony Danza: Sinatra & Stories at Café Carlyle
October 1 & 2 @ 8:45 pm
Following a sold-out three-week residency last fall, and a sold out run this past June, Danza is back by popular demand with his show that pays homage to the music of the legendary Frank Sinatra, whom Danza had a personal relationship with. In this special engagement, Danza, accompanied by his four-piece band, will bring his trademark wit, charm, storytelling, and a touch of soft shoe and ukulele performances to a selection of Sinatra’s timeless classics.
Read a review of the show here.
Tickets: Remaining tickets start at $195. There is a $95 two-course menu requirement for all guests. The Thursday performance is almost sold out.
Maria Bamford at The Bell House
October 4 @ 10 pm
Maria Bamford is a stand-up comedian, actor, and New York Times Bestselling Author with her memoir “Sure, I'll Join Your Cult.” See her at the Bell House. Don’t know who Bamford is? See a teaser where she warns you not to see her show.
Tickets: Tickets are $43.80. She’s playing three shows, but tickets are sold out to all but one performance – 10/4 at 10 pm.
Randy Rainbow: National Freakin’ Treasure at Town Hall
October 4 @ 7:30 pm
Randy Rainbow is a four-time EMMY® and GRAMMY®-nominated American comedian, producer, actor, singer, writer, satirist, host, and New York Times bestselling author whose song parodies (especially those satirizing the Trump administration) draw millions of views. His debut memoir, Playing with Myself received rave reviews by such venerable outlets as The LA TIMES, which noted that Rainbow "vividly recollects the alienation so many LGBTQ+ youth experience." Musical theater was an escape for Rainbow that ultimately helped catapult his career. His musical parodies and political spoofs have garnered him worldwide acclaim and four consecutive EMMY® nominations for Outstanding Short-Form Variety Series.
Tickets: Tickets start at $62.10 for balcony seats.
Molière in the Park's OneLove OneTheater Gala 2025 at Littlefield
Mon. October 6 @ 7 pm
This special evening hosted by Broadway sensation Sierra Boggess includes live theater and music, the chance to mingle with fellow community members and fabulous artists in an intimate setting, and the presentation of our annual Shoulder-to-Shoulder Award. It’s like going to an MIP performance but + Broadway tunes, drinks and fancy outfits. How could you miss it?? The evening will feature fabulous dance, music, and theater performances performed by MIP alumna artists, including hilarious Molière excerpts but also, Broadway hit songs, and sneak peaks at new material developed by friends of MIP, a silent auction including destination getaways in the Alps and more, and a post-show DJ and dancing.
Tickets: Tickets start at $125 and include food and drinks courtesy of Night Kitchen BK. There are only 12 general admission tickets left so snag yours now.
Jeff Harnar Sings the 1959 Broadway Songbook at Birdland Jazz Club
October 6 @ 7 pm
The 1959 Broadway Songbook is a musical collage of the 21 musicals that were playing in New York in 1959. Gypsy, The Sound of Music, Fiorello, West Side Story, My Fair Lady, The Music Man, Flower Drum Song, Bells are Ringing, and Once Upon a Mattress are among the shows in this tribute to an era some have called the twilight of The Golden Age of Broadway. Songwriters represented include Jule Styne, Stephen Sondheim, Rodgers & Hammerstein, Harold Arlen & Yip Harburgh, Leonard Bernstein, Comden & Green, and Lerner & Loewe. Over 40 songs are woven together including “Tonight,” “On The Street Where You Live,” “Climb Ev’ry Mountain,” “Til There Was You,” “The Party’s Over,” and “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” in a show that also pays homage to the very structure of a Broadway Musical, including an “Overture,” “Entr’Acte” and an “Intermission,” the latter featuring a humorous nod to pop and Hollywood music and current events of 1959.
Tickets: Tickets start at $30. There is a $20 minimum on food or drinks per person
Nicole Scherzinger at Carnegie Hall
Weds. October 8 @ 8 pm
Winner of the 2025 Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical, Nicole Scherzinger is “an astonishing force of nature” (The Washington Post) in Broadway’s smash hit Sunset Boulevard. Its composer Andrew Lloyd Webber calls Scherzinger “one of the most gifted singer-actresses I have seen perform my work … Nicole is fearless musically and dramatically” (The New York Times). The former lead singer of The Pussycat Dolls, Scherzinger is joined by a live band as she performs hits from the worlds of Broadway and pop in her highly anticipated Carnegie Hall debut.
Tickets: Tickets start at $196. This just went on sale and there are already only a handful of tickets left – snap them up before they’re gone.
Christine Andreas: S’ WONDERFUL… at 54 Below
October 17 & 18 @ 7 pm
S’ WONDERFUL… is just that! Christine Andreas reflects on the finest qualities of being a human over 2,000 plus years, (ok… just a small portion thereof :), as she performs the very best of the American Songbook, old and nrew. From Berlin to Bacharach, Gershwin to Billy Joel, not to mention a taste of Rodgers with Hammerstein, Lerner with Lane, Mancini with Mercer, a little Silvestri with Higgins, and much more! If you need a little ‘pick me up’ … S’ Wonderful is the musical elixir that will brace your spirit and bolster your heart.
Tickets: Tickets start at $57. There is a $25 Food & Beverage Minimum.
Lea Salonga: Stage, Screen & Everything in Between at Town Hall
Mon. October 20 @ 7:30 pm
Musical theatre royalty and official Disney Legend Lea Salonga is bringing her acclaimed Stage, Screen & Everything In Between tour to North America in 2025 with a stop at Town Hall on October 20.
In Stage, Screen & Everything In Between, musical theatre fans will experience stage and screen classics from Lea’s iconic roles including songs from Miss Saigon, Les Misérables, Aladdin and Mulan, new-found favorites from the critically acclaimed Broadway and West End hit Old Friends, Broadway blockbusters, pop classics, and much more from her celebrated career and beyond
Tickets: Tickets start at $98.95. Much of the orchestra is sold out, but there’s still good availability in the balcony section.
THE DROWSY CHAPERONE in Concert at Carnegie Hall
Mon. October 20 @ 8 pm
Breaking the Binary Theatre presents a one-night-only concert performance of The Drowsy Chaperone. Tony Award nominee L Morgan Lee directs an all-transgender, non-binary, and Two-Spirit+ (TNB2S+) cast, including Alex Newell, Betty Who, Jonathan Van Ness, Joslyn DeFreece, Laverne Cox, Peppermint, and more. This concert marks The Drowsy Chaperone's first major New York presentation since its original 2006 Tony Award-winning Broadway production and kicks off the fourth annual Breaking the Binary Theatre Festival.
Tickets: Tickets available Thursday, August 21 at 11 AM.
The New York Pops: From Stage to Screen at Carnegie Hall
Mon. October 20 @ 8 pm
Join vocal powerhouses Hugh Panaro and Elizabeth Stanley in a dazzling concert that features unforgettable songs from Broadway musicals inspired by iconic films, alongside beloved tunes from movie adaptations of Broadway’s greatest hits.
Tickets: Tickets start at $31.50.
Marilyn Maye at 54 Below
Sun. October 26 to Thurs. November 6; Thurs. November 27 & Fri. November 28 @ 7 pm
Marilyn Maye makes a shining return to Broadway’s Living Room. A theatrical legend with the power to “melt the heart of the most hardened cynics” (The New York Times), Maye will show audiences why she’s been crowned Manhattan’s Queen of Cabaret.
Following her recent sold-out shows, Marilyn returns with an all new show. Her previous engagements at 54 Below have been critically acclaimed, with rave reviews calling her concerts “a master class in singing conducted by a polished pro” (The New York Observer), who bowls audiences over “in the hippest, most swinging way imaginable” (The Wall Street Journal). Put simply, “no entertainer gives you more in terms of great music, great theater, and great comedy” (Opera News).
Tickets: Tickets start at $95.50. There is a $25 Food & Beverage Minimum. The Thanksgiving performance on Thursday, November 27 has a mandatory $95 Prix Fixe.
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