CABARET THEATER REVIEWS

On Sunday December 22 the amazing Cortes Alexander presented his Thou Swell Noel to a packed house at Sterling's Upstairs at the Federal. Alexander has such frenetic energy and charm that, and I've said this before, you just want to wrap him up. What a joyous Christmas present...and with his two glo...

In 1969, at age 16, Bronx-born Karen Wyman became a singing sensation appearing on TV with Dean Martin, The Ed Sullivan Show, and The Tonight Show, and cutting two albums. A few years later she suddenly quit singing professionally to raise a family. Now, she's back and as she proved with her new sho...

On Tuesday December 3 sublime singer Spider Saloff appeared at Rockwell Table and Stage for an evening of Cool Yule accompanied by electric jazz pianist Richard Eames. I say sublime, as there are a rare few like Saloff who can really sing, wrapping their heart around the lyrics of a song and then ...

On Sunday, December 1 Kritzerland Records presented its 40th show and annual Christmas presentation entitled A Kritzerland Christmas III at Sterling's Upstairs at the Federal with special guest star Terri White. It was a beautiful evening of mostly familiar Christmas music with a few lesser known bu...

While it was billed as a presentation celebrating the release of his 13-song CD, Tales From the Bonus Round, and his 60th birthday, Steven Schalchlin's recent show at the Metropolitan Room was so much more than that. It was also one about fear, fortitude, anxiety, anguish, compassion, courage, and l...

It turns out that when it came to Tanya Moberly cabaret shows and this reviewer, the third time was the charm. After being blown away by Moberly's powerful voice and stage presence when I first caught her one-song performances at the Sunday Salon Open Mics three years ago, I wasn't crazy about eithe...

There were several empty seats at TexARTS last night as Broadway veteran Darcie Roberts took the stage for her first cabaret performance ever. I'm guessing the empty seats were partly because theater lovers in Austin proper may not know of the Lakeway based TexARTS and because Austinites may not be...

With her most recent show at Stage 72, 'Let Me Sing and I'm Happy,' the New York cabaret community should realize that talented singer Corinna Sowers-Adler has indeed “catapulted” herself into the elite group of young performers and landed very comfortably in the mix....

Some people, especially some cabaret reviewers and cabaret fans, might think it's lazy or a copout or both for a performer to keep recycling previous shows. But when the Café Carlyle comes a'callin' you: A) May not have enough time to create a totally new show or B) Want to pitch the big game with ...

Two years ago I heard the relatively new “Marquee Five” perform a show at the Laurie Beechman Theatre called “8-Track Throwback,” which was a five part harmony homage to the music of the 1960s and '70s. They hadn't gotten even halfway through their set when I realized that in Marquee Five I'...

Upon exiting Sterling's Upstairs at the Federal on Sunday October 20, I overheard someone say 'There are no cabaret shows like this anymore.' Sad, but true! Dominic Morra, at 80 years young, proves that he is vocally every bit as good as he was some 50 years ago. With a face like Anthony Quinn and a...

Norm Lewis' amiable charm immediately makes him the best friend, next-door neighbor type. As he opened an evening of song at Sunday's Bay Area Cabaret concert, the Tony Award nominated performer endeared himself to his audience with appropriate selections of "The Best is Yet To Come" and "I Left My ...

On Saturday October 19 the inimitable Patti LuPone brought her exquisite talent, intelligence and sense of humor to the Broad stage in Broadway @ the Broad: Patti LuPone featuring Seth Rudetsky as pianist/host. Rudetsky, best known as the afternoon host on Sirius/XM Satellite Radio's On Broadway and...

Over the last 20 or so years, there have been three nightclubs in New York that have been considered the venue Holy Grail for cabaret singers. Two of them--the Oak Room at the Algonquin Hotel and Feinstein's at the Loews Regency--have in the past year or so sadly died a corporate death, leaving the ...

Liza Minnelli's musical performance thrilled a capacity crowd on Saturday at Caesars in Atlantic City....

This past weekend, I had the distinct pleasure of discovering the Greater Houston Area's best kept secret. Ever since The Masquerade Theatre announced they were permanently closing on April 27, 2012, I have been going through Masquerade withdrawals. Other theatre groups, namely Michael J. Ross' Musi...

Cabarets allow the audience to get better acquainted with a performer. But for Heidi Blickenstaff, that's a unique challenge because she has already been involved in two semi-autobiographical musicals: Title of Show and Now. Here. This. However, for anyone to think that those two musicals are all ...

Sutton Foster may be a Tony-Award winning Broadway Musical Theatre darling, but if her opening-night show this past Wednesday at Café Carlyle (which launched her current three-week run until September 28) is the best she can do, she's far from also being considered a nightclub/cabaret diva....

In a Canadian town like Stratford, Ontario that is known for formally presenting incredible live talent on a daily basis, it's always fun when some of those talented people involved (as well as their talented friends) come together for a less-formal celebration of all kinds of music (and even some d...

On Sunday evening September 1, Kritzerland celebrated its third anniversary and 37th show at Sterling's Upstairs at the Federal. Entitled The Songs That Got Away II, it featured a batch of songs from various composers/musicals that Bruce Kimmel considers great but that over time have received far le...

In mid-August, the news website Bloomberg.com reported that 54 Below, the popular new nightclub that opened last June in the basement of the old Studio 54, needed a major cash infusion in the six-figure range if it was going to survive. Perhaps if they just book Liz and Ann Hampton Callaway on a reg...

In cabaret, there are variety shows and there are VARIETY shows. Going on close to three years as a reviewer and attending a myriad of these affairs that can range in feel from Ed Sullivan to the Gong Show, I no longer have much patience for the lower case version. But every once in a while there's ...

Given the insular and in-clubby world that is the New York cabaret scene (by nature, not by design), it can be a struggle for non-celebrity, out-of-town performers to generate an audience when they mount shows in Manhattan. One singer facing that dilemma is lovely, Boston-based Lynda D'Amour, a terr...

Since we're living in Houston, I promise I won't be upset with you if you tell me you don't know who Mary Testa is. What you first need to understand is that the theatrical gods divinely intervened in her creation. Imagine if Bette Midler and Patti LuPone had a child and named her Mary. Got it? Good...

Singer/actress Joan Ryan made a rare appearance with a brand new show An Evening with Joan Ryan at Sterling's Upstairs at the Federal on Sunday, July 28 prior to a cross country tour which includes 54 Below in New York. This lady, who has an entire comedic medley labeling herself a belta-holic, rema...