Cabaret Photographers: THE LINEUP Documentarians

The photographers of the world are the unsung heroes of art and history.  Thanks to iPhone cameras and filters, everyone thinks they are a photographer, and there are many making their name in the world as artists with a lens who have had no formal training (or, frankly, informal).  But the people out there working behind the camera to help the performing artists of the planet deserve their fair share of acknowledgment, they deserve their moment in the light, they deserve to be seen.

It has been this editor's great joy to work with a handful of photographers who document and present the art form of cabaret and concert, placing into articles the children that they create from the darkened arena of a nightclub audience.  Each time I am honored enough to study the photographic images that these artists email me, deciding which will go into an article and be seen by the public, I feel like a curator of their endeavors and the art.  In the upcoming week, I would like to showcase some of my favorite works of art made by some of the photographers who have been generous enough to share that work with Broadway World Cabaret and our readers. 

Once a week Broadway World Cabaret runs a photo essay (sometimes called a Photo Flash) of the previous week's installment of the variety show THE LINEUP WITH Susie Mosher. From the beginning of the series Susie has engaged a photographer to document the proceedings at Birdland Theater, and in the days after the pandemic I asked Susie if we might display those in-performance portraits.  At that time her documentarian was Stewart Green, whose work always impressed me, for Stewart gets right to the heart of each moment, capturing it in that split-second that it is alive before the moment becomes a new one.  Eventually, Stewart moved on to new moments, too, and Matt Baker took the main spot of Mosher documentarian (Matt will be featured in a separate article, tomorrow).  When Matt is not available (he has a thriving music career), Susie Mosher will call on Gene Reed, who looks for unexplored angles from which to view the performers, Chris Ruetten, who has an uncanny knack for capturing the audience enjoying the show in the dimly lit restaurant, and Birdland's full-time photographer, Kevin Alvey, who will hang from a chandelier or lie in traffic if he has to, to get the shot.  Susie has even employed Broadway World Cabaret's own Conor Weiss in a pinch.

Please enjoy this collection of my personal favorites from the photos these fine artists have captured during my tenure at Broadway World.  Please note that the sets of photos curated have been chosen from only the photos the artists have made and sent to my desk - for instance, I've only handled photos by Kevin Alvey from one performance of THE LINEUP WITH Susie Mosher, so the Kevin Alvey section is significantly smaller than the Stewart Green section since I worked off of twenty-eight shows with Stewart.  However, the number is irrelevant.  What is important is the quality of the work, and, in each of these situations, the work speaks not only for itself, it speaks for the artist who gave it life.

The photos in this article are all my personal favorites by the artists.  --- SM

THE LINEUP WITH Susie Mosher plays Birdland Theater every Tuesday Night at 8:30 pm.  Visit the Birdland website HERE for information and reservations.

Kevin Alvey

The artists appearing in this Kevin Alvey photo essay are as follows, in order of appearance:
Benny Benack III with Susie Mosher, Lon Hoyt, Marissa Licata, Susie Mosher.

Stewart Green

The artists appearing in this Stewart Green photo essay are as follows, in order of appearance:  Aaron Lee Battle with Susie Mosher, Alex Newell, Ari Axelrod, Billy Stritch, Christina Bianco, Darius de Haas, Darnell White, The Drinkwater Brothers, Elizabeth Ward Land with Sean Harkness, Farah Alvin, Gabrielle Stravelli, Georga Osborne, Jessica Hendy with Susie Mosher and Brad Simmons and John Miller, Joe Iconis, Julie Halston with Susie Mosher, KEVIN SPIRTAS with Susie Mosher, Lauren Molina, Marilu Henner with Michael Orland and John Miller, Marilyn Maye and Brad Simmons, Marilyn Maye with Susie Mosher, Marissa Licata with John Miller, Michael West (AKA Kenn Boisinger) with Susie Mosher, Michelle Dowdy, Robbie Rozelle, Sally Mayes, Susie Mosher, Susie Mosher and Brad Simmons, Tim Connell, Tim Connell, Tracy Stark, Zoe Van Tieghem.

Gene Reed

The artists appearing in this Gene Reed photo essay are as follows, in order of appearance:
Aisha de Haas, Benny Benack III, Benny Benack III, Darien Crago and Daniel Plimpton with Susie Mosher, Farah Alvin, Jon Arons, Leslie Carrara-Rudolph, Miss Maybell, Victor Valdez.

Chris Ruetten

The artists appearing in this Chris Ruetten photo essay are as follows, in order of appearance:  Adam B. Shapiro, Amy Irving with Susie Mosher, Corinna Sowers Adler with Ari Axelrod and Leo, Brooke Adams and Tony Shalhoub, Marilyn Maye, Michelle Dowdy with Susie Mosher, Moipei with Christian Maxwell, Nicolas King with Susie Mosher, Nicolas King with Lorna Dallas, Sean Harkness, Susie Mosher and Lon Hoyt, Tony Shalhoub and Amy Irving with Susie Mosher.

Conor Weiss

The artists appearing in this Conor Weiss photo essay are as follows, in order of appearance: Bryce Edwards, Christine Lavin, Meaghan Sands, Mishti, Susie Mosher.

Visit these social media and internet connections for the artists.

Kevin Alvey HERE.

Stewart Green HERE.

Gene Reed HERE.

Chris Ruetten HERE.

Conor Weiss HERE.

Susie Mosher HERE.

Birdland HERE.