Cabaret Roundup: August 4-10, 2025- Isaac Mizrahi, Julie Benko, Dez Duron, and More
Some of our top picks for live cabaret shows and events to see in NYC this week
By: Rebecca Kaplan Aug. 04, 2025
Are you trying to plan your entertainment for the week or looking for a fun show to see this weekend? We have you covered with jazz, cabaret, comedy, and more! NYC has so many incredible events, but here are a few top picks to consider this week including free outdoor summer concerts and stars of Broadway and film/TV doing solo shows.
Julie Benko: MY FANNY VALENTINE at Birdland
Mon. August 4 @ 7 pm
Step into the golden age of American song as Broadway sensation Julie Benko (Funny Girl, Harmony) returns to Birdland for a one-night-only celebration of the timeless music of Richard Rodgers. With new arrangements by pianist Jason Yeager, Benko brings fresh interpretations to beloved songs from Rodgers’ legendary partnerships with Lorenz Hart, Oscar Hammerstein II, and beyond. Don’t miss this unforgettable evening of sophisticated swing, heartfelt storytelling, and musical artistry at its finest—“a lovely night” indeed!
Benko is a masterful jazz singer and true comedic talent with a phenomenal band helmed by her husband. Read a review of her annual Mardi Gras show here.
Tickets: Tickets are $45.76 with a $20 minimum on food or drinks per person.
Sue Matsuki & THE Gregory Toroian TRIO at The Cutting Room
Thurs. August 7 @ 7 pm
Bistro, Julie Wilson and multi-MAC Award winning Cabar-Jazz performing artist, Sue Matsuki performs in a bon voyage party and show with her band, the Gregory Toroian Trio, before she leaves New York. This show will be a mixed bag of the band’s pick on all the amazing arrangements that Toroian has written spanning 30 years from jazz to blues to American Songbook to Cabaret favorites and more.
Read an interview with Sue about the show here.
Tickets: Tickets start at $27.83 ($30 if purchased the day of the show). There is a $25 food & beverage minimum per person.
Dez Duron at Bryant Park
Fri. August 8 @ 7 pm
Singer-songwriter Dez Duron brings his signature blend of classic crooner charm and modern pop sensibility to the park stage. After appearing on NBC’s The Voice and making his Broadway debut in Maybe Happy Ending, Duron captivates audiences with his smooth vocals, effortless charisma, and magnetic presence. Whether delivering a timeless standard or offering a heartfelt original, Duron’s performance promises a night of soulful storytelling and timeless melodies.
Tickets: Free show. Seating is first-come, first-serve.
Kim Changwan Band and TOUCHED at Damrosch Park (Lincoln Center)
Weds. August 6 @ 7:30 pm
Free show; reservations available here.
Celebrate the final week of Lincoln Center’s Summer for the City with a showcase of Seoul superstars, featuring a golden legend of Korean pop and a group of K-rock's newest standard bearers. The night kicks off with the American debut of the co-ed quintet TOUCHED. The band's guitar heavy and emotionally expansive songs have propelled them to success on both international festival stages and music competition programs, with lead singer Yunmin winning a record number of victories on the influential reality show, King of Mask Singer. We continue with a Lincoln Center debut from the Kim Changwan Band, a pivotal figure in pioneering K-funk rock. A radio veteran who established himself with a string of successful albums through the 1970s and 1980s with his band Sanulrim, Changwan has since become one of the most famous faces in his home country as a prolific actor and author. His latest release includes duets with Changbin of Stray Kids and Lim Kim. The concert will also showcase Korean rock band Monday Feeling's vocalist/songwriter, IAN. The band has firmly established itself in Korea’s rock scene, performing at numerous major rock festivals and concerts nationwide.
Tickets: General Admission is first-come first-served. Just show up! Fast Track opens the Monday before the event at noon for all. Or, become a Member and get a Fast Track pass for priority entry all summer long.
Isaac Mizrahi SURVIVES DEMOCRACY at 54 Below
Weds. August 6 to Sat. August 9 @ 7 pm
Entertainer, fashion designer and producer Isaac Mizrahi brings his six-piece jazz band with music ranging from Billie Eilish to Cole Porter, leaving the audience with a cultural whiplash. Subjects ranging from social media to politics and a good deal of insider tea, The New York Times applauds Mizrahi’s performances noting, “he qualifies as a founding father of genre that fuses performance, art, music and stand-up comedy.”
Isaac Mizrahi has worked extensively in the entertainment industry as a performer, host, writer, designer and producer for over 30 years. With an annual residency at Cafe Carlyle in New York City, Isaac has taken his cabaret performances across the country and this past year made his Broadway debut in Chicago, starring as Amos Hart.
Tickets: Tickets start at $84. There is a $25 Food & Beverage Minimum.
Karen Mason: MORE SPF! THE SUMMER CONTINUES at Don’t Tell Mama
Weds. August 6 & Fri. August 8 @ 7 pm
Celebrate summer with legendary musical theater performer and cabaret star Karen Mason. Performances will take place August 3, 6, and 8 at 7 PM at the iconic cabaret club.
Blending classic tunes with heartfelt storytelling, MORE SPF! features summer-themed selections including “Faraway Places,” “When in Rome,” “Downtown/I Know a Place,” and “59th Street Bridge Song.” The evening promises sass, warmth, and signature Mason charm—delivered in the same venue where she was the premiere headline act in 1983.
A Broadway veteran, Mason’s credits include Mamma Mia! (Drama Desk nomination), Sunset Boulevard, Wonderland, Hairspray, Jerome Robbins’ Broadway, and Love Never Dies. She is also a 14-time MAC Award winner and the recipient of the 2019 MAC Lifetime Achievement Award.
Tickets: Tickets are $45 with a $20 food/drink minimum (cash only).
CELIA CRUZ CELEBRATION: Isaac Delgado / Aymee Nuviola/ Brenda Navarrete & Guests (SummerStage) in Central Park
Sat. August 9 from 7 to 10 pm
Free show; details available here.
For this centennial celebration of the Cuban “Queen of Salsa” Celia Cruz, three contemporary Cuban artists assemble in Central Park to channel her spirit and honor her legacy. Issac Delgado is a salsa singer from Havana who’s performed with Orquesta de Pacho Alonso and NG La Banda. The latter group—which he helped found—helped to popularize the then-nascent Cuban genre of timba, a sound that blends with salsa, American funk, R&B, and Afro-Cuban folkloric music. He’s recorded as a solo artist and bandleader since the ‘90s; his latest album Lluvia Y Fuego comprises original tunes as well as tributes to Benny Moré and Cheo Feliciano. The singer, pianist, composer, and actress Aymee Nuviola—aka “La Sonera del Mundo”—is a decorated artist with multiple GRAMMYs and Latin GRAMMYs under her belt. She’s also connected with Celia Cruz in a more literal sense, having played her in the Colombian telenovela Celia. Cuban singer and multi-instrumentalist Brenda Navarrete is an accomplished percussionist, distinguishing herself as an expert on the Bata. A long-standing member of Interactivo, a Havana-based musical collective led by the pianist Roberto Carcassés, she has also worked with the Afro-Cuban percussion troupe Obini Bata, a woman-founded group first formed in the early 1990s.
(Join at 7 pm for a free salsa class with Talia Productions dancers Adriel Flete & Jordyn Lurie.)
Tickets: Free. Seating is first come, first served
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