Photos: Backstage at the 36TH NEW YORK CABARET CONVENTION at Jazz at Lincoln Center

The year was 2008 and we had booked a theme cruise: “Sail with Cabaret Performers,” hosted by Donald F. Smith the founder of the Mable Mercer Foundation.  Photography being a hobby,  I had a camera along to document all the sights along the way and the world-class architecture of Barcelona. I also snapped lots of photos of performers relaxing and socializing during our days at sea.  When I showed them to Donald Smith he remarked, “These are so great, you should come to the Cabaret Convention and do this backstage”.  Backstage! For as long as I can remember I was always fascinated by being backstage, so I happily gave up my seat out front to go behind the scenes, and have been doing it ever since.

For me, it has always been to witness and observe “how the magic happens.”  Backstage, rehearsals, sound checks, invited dress rehearsals, active dressing rooms and hallways … all of it! Those are the activities that excite me. It probably started when my piano teacher, Dave Roberts, who was a staff musician at CBS & NBC had me, his 13-year-old student, tag along to watch some TV musical show rehearsals during the ‘50s.

At 16, I got a summer job (remember “working papers”?) at ABC delivering teletype messages to the executives, which also allowed me to sneak into, and witness, some rehearsals. Being a pianist in the Borscht Belt during summers of the ‘60’s found me living in a room “backstage”.  The touring entertainers usually asked if they could use my small quarters to get dressed in. There were no fancy dressing rooms in these hotels back then.  Conversations with major stars of the day while they dressed and prepared to take the stage, supplied young me with endless excitement. Billy Eckstine even borrowed my tie.

Prior to this time, I had no camera and reflect on all the photos I missed capturing during those formative years in the presence of all those greats. But today, and many cameras later, I am thrilled and proud to be able to share with you some photos of this year's magic being made at the 36th New York Cabaret Convention.

Learn more about the Cabaret Convention and its host, the Mabel Mercer Foundation, on their website at www.mabelmercer.org.

Below, see a set of photos from the October 21 to 23, 2025 convention.