Our Cabaret Critics
View All »
CABARET LIFE NYC: Steven Schalchlin Isn't Saccharine During Emotionally Enriching Show at the Metropolitan Room
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...
BWW Reviews: TANYA MOBERLY is Terrific Tackling Tunes of New York Songwriters at Don't Tell Mama
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...
BWW Reviews: Darcie Roberts Brings Broadway Class to TexARTS
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...
CABARET LIFE NYC: Corinna Sowers-Adler 'Catapults' Herself Into Cabaret's Young Singer Elite
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....
BWW Reviews: Rising Cabaret Star JENNIFER SHEEHAN Makes Audience Love Her in Cafe Carlyle Debut
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 ...
BWW Reviews: MARQUEE FIVE Earns An A-Plus With Beautiful 'Broadway By the Letter' Harmonies at 54 Below
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'...
BWW Reviews: Octogenarian Singer Dominick Morra Debuts at Sterling's Upstairs at the Federal
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...
BWW Reviews: NORM LEWIS in Concert at Bay Area Cabaret
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 ...
BWW Reviews: Patti LuPone & Seth Rudetsky Ignite at the Broad
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...
BWW Reviews: NATALIE DOUGLAS Is a Dazzling Diva in Her Debut at Cafe Carlyle
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 ...
BWW Reviews: Liza Minnelli Dazzles at Caesars in Atlantic City
Liza Minnelli's musical performance thrilled a capacity crowd on Saturday at Caesars in Atlantic City....
BWW Reviews: Zack's Mac Shack's SONGS FOR A NEW WORLD Is Electrifying
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...
BWW Reviews: AN EVENING WITH HEIDI BLICKENSTAFF Excels at Signature
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's Singing Soars but Her New Show Falls Flat at Café Carlyle
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....
BWW Reviews: KAT'S CABARET is Rockin' and Eclectic and Fun...and I want more!
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...
BWW Reviews: Kritzerland Celebrates Third Anniversary with The Songs That Got Away Part II
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...
BWW Reviews: Audiences Once Again Revel in Liz and Ann Hampton Callaway's SIBLING REVELRY at 54 Below
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...
FAR OUT! Lauren Fox and Friends Rock & Roll at 54 Below with a Reverential and Remarkable Woodstock Tribute Show
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 ...
CABARET LIFE NYC: Boston's LYNDA D'AMOUR Deserves Move Love From the New York Cabaret Crowd
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...
BWW Reviews: Mary Testa's ON BROADWAY ...AND A LITTLE OFF! is an Exquisite Experience
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...
BWW Reviews: Singer Joan Ryan Blows the Roof Off the Federal
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...
BWW Reviews: Bada BING! New Kid On the Jazz Block Shakes and Stirs the Metropolitan Room
Devin Bing's show last Thursday night (the fourth of five dates at the Metropolitan Room over this spring and summer, with the next one on August 15) may have been performed in a cabaret club, but it was more a contemporary jazz/pop concert than it was a 'cabaret show.' The story theme on this occas...
BWW Reviews: Jim Brochu's CHARACTER MAN is a Triumphant, Tour de Force Tribute To Iconic Musical Theater Stars
About halfway through Jim Brochu's Saturday, June 29 performance at the Metropolitan Room of his new show Character Man, I realized I was witnessing what was probably the best cabaret show I'd seen this year, and perhaps was one of the best in my almost three years of reviewing cabaret. By the time ...
BWW Reviews: The Apollo Amateur Night 'Soul Night'
The Apollo Theater had a 'Soul Night' event for one of their weekly Wednesday Amateur Nights and the audience was enthusiastic about the talented performers....
BWW Reviews: Kritzerland Does Classy 35th Show to Honor the British Invasion of '60s & '70s Musicals
On Sunday July 7, Kritzerland presented its 35th show The British Invasion, music from UK musicals of the 60s and 70s, at Sterling's Upstairs at the Federal. I can only say to Bruce Kimmel, 'good show, ole' boy'!...
Videos
|
Finding Their Voice: Broadway Stars Unite to Support Israel's Youth The Jerry Orbach Theatre (6/15-6/15) |
|
The Golden Age of Broadway 54 Below (5/26-5/26) |
|
It's All A Swindle Don't Tell Mama (6/16-6/16) |
|
Black, Bold & Beautiful 54 Below (7/23-7/23) |
|
Treston J. Henderson: The Living Room Session Vol. 2 54 Below (6/15-6/15) |
|
Ann Hampton Callaway and Liz Callaway: BOOM! 15th Anniversary Concert 54 Below (7/16-7/16) |
|
Madame X- The Musical! by Gerard Alessandrini and Robert Hetzel 54 Below (6/22-6/22) |
|
Samantha Stratton: After One 54 Below (8/20-8/20) |
|
Blood Moon Manor by Benjamin Balatbat and Kaleb Sells 54 Below (6/04-6/04) |
|
|
Ann Hampton Callaway and Liz Callaway: BOOM! 15th Anniversary Concert 54 Below (7/15-7/15) |
| VIEW ALL SHOWS ADD A SHOW | |
Get Cabaret's #1 Theatre Newsletter
Get the best news & discounts for Cabaret Shows & beyond.
