New York Cabaret Convention Returns in October

 How many classic songs have they shared? How many extraordinary talents have they presented? How many tens of thousands of emotionally exhilarated and grateful patrons have they delighted? Such questions are (perhaps!) unanswerable, but there’s no denying one incontrovertible fact: The Mabel Mercer Foundation will once again increase those numbers in all three categories by presenting, for the 34th time, their annual New York Cabaret Convention. Across Tuesday, October 17th through Thursday, October 19th – each evening at 6 o’clock -- more than 60 spectacular entertainers will “take stage” at the spectacular Rose Theater at Jazz At Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall, Broadway at West 60th Street. And in a concentrated effort to celebrate as many as possible examples of the Great Popular Songbook, there’ll be a different theme, repertoire, and cast for each performance. 

This year’s roster encompasses legendary “names,” cherished favorites, and eminently worthy newcomers, with more than a dozen vocalists making a NY Cabaret Convention debut. Additionally, the three concerts are hosted by preeminent entertainers who once again produce their shows specifically for this Mabel Mercer Foundation event. On Tuesday the 17th, the always welcome team of Jeff Harnar and Andrea Marcovicci present the anticipated Speak Low: The Music of Kurt Weill, saluting the genius whose theater music alone includes the scores to Lady in the Dark, One Touch of Venus, Knickerbocker Holiday, and The Threepenny Opera. Wednesday the 18th offers esteemed arts journalist Rex Reed and Sentimental Journey: A Tribute to Doris Day. One of Ms. Day’s cherished friends, Rex has assembled a cast of personal favorites -- with the incomparable Tedd Firth at the Steinway throughout the show -- to melodically recall songs from an exemplary recording and motion picture career. Will they include melodies from Romance On the High Seas? On Moonlight Bay? Love Me Or Leave Me? Pillow Talk? (Que sera sera; whatever will be!) Finally, for a triumphal final jamboree on Thursday the 19th, Foundation Artistic Director KT Sullivan opens up an “anything goes!” repertoire for As Time Goes By: Timeless Tunes, in which an extraordinary array of talent covers a score of the greatest popular numbers of a dozen decades. 

A list of those “on the bill” for 2023 may be found below. As always, though . . . there’s more! Tuesday’s show will reveal the surprise recipient of this year’s Julie Wilson Award, once again graciously underwritten by Peter & Linda Hanson. The same evening includes presentation of the Mabel Mercer Award itself to Sidney Myer -- quite possibly the most beloved mainstay/champion of the Manhattan cabaret circuit and its purveyors. Finally, on Thursday, the 2023 Donald F. Smith Award (underwritten by Adela & Larry Elow) will be bestowed upon the man who epitomizes class and style in wildly diverse songs, accompaniments, and arrangements: the ebullient and ceaselessly versatile Billy Stritch. 

Tickets for all three evenings are priced at $100 (prime orchestra), $50 (orchestra and mezzanine) and $25 (balcony); they go on sale via Jazz At Lincoln Center on Tuesday, September 5th, and are available in three different ways:  In Person: Jazz At Lincoln Center Box Office, located within the Shops at Columbus Circle, Broadway at 60th Street, on the ground floor. Hours: Monday -- Saturday, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., and Sunday, 12 p.m. – 6 p.m.  (During ticketed performances, the Box Office will remain open an additional half-hour after the scheduled start time of the show.) Online: Tickets may be purchased online 24-hours a day, seven-days a week, from the website: www.jazz.org. Or by Phone: 212 721-6500 CenterCharge (Open daily, 10 a.m. – 9 p.m.) All times above listed are EDT. On the day of the performance, tickets are available via jazz.org and by phone until 3 p.m. Thereafter, please visit the Box Office.

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