The Cabaret Chronicles: Maude Maggart, The Nunziata Brothers, and More!

Well, here we are on Saturday again, which means it's time for a new edition of The Cabaret Chronicles!  It was another busy week for me, but luckily for me, busy usually means fun - and that was definitely the case this week!  I kicked things off by seeing the lovely and talented Maude Maggart last Saturday night at The Oak Room at The Algonquin Hotel.  Ms. Maggart has been delighting audiences there for the past several years, and this year she has returned with another winning show entitled Three Little Words.  Early on in her patter, Ms. Maggart explained that, although most of us think "I love you" when we thing of three little words, there are plenty of other things that can be expressed with three words, so she had created a show that would explore all aspects of love through songs with three-word titles!  So, from the opening of "Love, I Hear" to "I Said No" to "Not Getting Married" to "My Old Flame" and her encore of "Make Someone Happy," she stuck to her promise and took the audience on an engaging journey through a surprisingly well-rounded set of three-word-titled songs.  Ms. Maggart is simply enchanting onstage, and exudes a simple, old-fashioned sweetness that still manages to be fresh and young.  Musical director John Boswell provided stellar piano accompaniment, and together, the two created a truly lovely evening in the legendary Oak Room. 

On Monday evening, it was off to The Metropolitan Room for my own show, Jenna Esposito Sings Connie Francis.  I've been performing this tribute on and off for the past year, and have had the time of my life doing so.  Monday night was another fun show, with great energy and an enthusiastic audience - who could ask for anything more?  After the show, a few members of my band joined me to head over to Birdland for Jim Caruso's Cast Party, where we continued the festivities!  As usual, Birdland was full of all kinds of talented performers, including Broadway's Zach James (currently appearing as Lurch in The Addams Family), singer/trombonist Sean Mahoney, "Funny Jazz Chick" Joan Crowe, singer/songwriter Richard Eisenberg, and visiting San Franciscan Lua Hadar!  Jim Caruso, as always, was the host with the most, and the Cast Party Symphony Orchestra was simply top-notch! 

Tuesday night found me at Feinstein's at Loews Regency to catch Anthony and Will Nunziata in their show, "From Pelham To Park Avenue."  These charming identical twins first appeared at Feinstein's last fall, and after two sold out shows, were invited back to perform for a longer run.  Accompanied by musical director Ben Toth on piano and Jered Egan on bass and featuring direction by Richard Jay-Alexander, this engaging, upbeat show kept me with a smile on my face for nearly the entire evening.  Full of lots of easy banter between the brothers, who often ended up finishing each other's sentences, the show featured mostly duets, with each of the brothers taking a few solo turns.  The Nunziatas took care to answer the typical "twin questions" they get asked ("Who's older?" "Are you competitive?" "When did you decide you wanted to perform?" and "Were you always dressed identically?") fairly early on in the evening, so that audience members weren't distracted by wondering.  And there was plenty of humor injected into the show - for instance, they explained at the top of the performance that, to make things easy for the crowd, they had NOT dressed identically...at which point, I did a double take (and I was sitting in the front row)!  But sure enough, even though they were wearing identical jackets, black pants, and black shoes, with identical patterns on their dark-colored shirts...sure enough, there were a few differences.  Anthony's shirt was a dark, dark blue; Will's was a dark, dark grey.  Will had a zipper on the pocket of his pants.  And Anthony's shoes were shiny.  Phew!  At least after having the differences pointed out, I could feel fairly confident addressing them by name after the show!  The evening's song selection was quite enjoyable, including a number of well-known favorites ("I Believe In You," "Teach Me Tonight," "Willow Weep For Me" and "Pretty Women") as well as some terrific lesser-known songs (such as the Michael Feinstein/Ray Jessel & Cynthia Thompson opener, "Swing Is Back In Style" and "Ray Of Hope" by '70s singer/songwriter Don Paul Yowell).   And for a closer, they did the famous Barbra Streisand/Judy Garland duet of "Happy Days Are Here Again" and "Get Happy."  It was a thoroughly enjoyable night, and I look forward to seeing more from the Nunziata brothers! 

Wednesday night (well, technically Thursday morning, since it was a midnight show!), I ventured down to the lower East side to catch singer/songwriter/guitarist Jerry Cherry with his band, The Mayhem at Rockwood Music Hall...and boy, am I glad I did!  It had been a while since I'd gone out to hear rock, and I was definitely ready for it.  Formed as a rock cover band, this was the Mayhem's first time of doing all original songs, and it was really fantastic.  About half of the songs were written by Jerry Cherry himself, and the rest were a combination of songs written by the other three members of The Mayhem: Adam Paul Leach on guitar, Drew Mortali on bass, and Aaron Brooks on drums.  The songs were outstanding, as was the collective musicianship.  The only downside to the night was that, late as it was, it seemed to end too early - I could have gone on listening for a while longer! 

That's about all for this week, but check back next week for a new article!

Where I'm Going This Week... 

Monday, April 26^th: 9:30  p.m. - Allan Harris at The Metropolitan Room.  The winner of three New York Nightlife Awards, Mr. Harris has been wowing critics and audiences alike with his smooth song stylings and charming onstage presence - and I'm finally going to get a chance to go see him!  

10:00 p.m. - Jim Caruso's Cast Party at Birdland.  This fantastic weekly open mic runs from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. but make sure to arrive early to sign up if you want to sing! 

Tuesday, April 27^th: Lend Me a Tenor on Broadway!  Yes, this cabaret gal is crossing over to the other side and going to take in a Broadway show for a change - can't wait!

Friday, April 30^th: Lush & Lively at the Time Out New York Lounge.  DJ Dan Fortune spins retro-lounge obscurities on the last Friday of every month from 9 p.m. - midnight.  I haven't been there in a while, and I'm very much looking forward to this coming Friday!

Pictured: Maude Maggart