FRANK SINGS FRANK at Dont Tell Mama

Ricky Ritzel

Ricky Ritzel (Musical Director) has been a fixture on the nightclub and cabaret scene in NYC for over 35 years and, as Will Friedwald in the Wall Street Journal said, ‘He is the embodiment of the tradition.’ Ricky was recently named one of the 50 Most Influential People in Cabaret by Nightlife Exchange. His latest venture, RICKY RITZEL’S BROADWAY, received the 2016, 2017 & 2018 MAC Award for Outstanding Recurring Series. He debuted his show, ‘Ricky Ritzel Sings Elaine Stritch’ at 54 Below and has received 18 Manhattan Association of Cabarets & Clubs Awards in10 different categories. Ricky was named Outstanding Person in the Arts in New Jersey by State Senator, Brian Stack and has performed all over the United States as well as London and Paris. An accomplished solo performer, Ricky has also accompanied such greats as Vivian Blaine, Ruth Warrick, Arthur Prysock, Varla Jean Merman, Julie Wilson, Lenora Nemetz , Nanette Fabray and Miss Coco. Ricky was featured musician/sidekick on MTV's '15 Minutes with Andy Warhol', Sandra Bernhard's Radio Show on SIRIUS Satellite network and was musical director for the Sally Rand Tribute at Town Hall featuring Bebe Neuwirth, Donna McKechnie, Julie Wilson, Carleton Carpenter, Marge Champion, Karen Mason and directed by Tony Stevens. With famed Chicago jazz vocalist Spider Saloff, Ricky created several award winning revues such as "1938", which was recorded on the Kopathetics label, "Porgy & Bess: a Cabaret Concert" and "Ira and Others".His performance as Jimmy Durante in "Schnozzola!" earned him critical raves and numerous awards. Ricky is half of the kooky "Lounge does Top 40" duo, THE LOUNGEOLEERS with 5 CD's on the Emenar label. Ricky has been seen in Las Vegas as Jimmy Durante in "Stop the Music!' with Sharon McNight as Sophie Tucker and toured with Leslie Anderson for 5 years performing every known work they could find by Johnny Mercer in 4 different revues. He is also proud to have served as the first Artistic Director for cabaret at the premiere season of the Gettysburg Festival , is on the Advisory Board of Directors for the Manhattan Association of Cabarets, of which he was President from 2006- 2009. ​

Mary Ellen Ryan

A great Cabaret Singer !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tanya Moberly

Photo: Stephen Mosher Tanya Moberly, with her clarion voice and the clarity of her every lyric, a command of the stage (and a fine director of other people), took over Don’t Tell Mama for her first evening exclusively devoted to standards from the Great American Songbook. As with most of her shows, she kept the patter to an absolute minimum and the offered music to a maximum. In a bit over an hour, she sang 30 numbers—a few in medleys, but most were complete. It says a great deal about her versatility that the program was never weighed down by its size, and she never showed any wear from the energy and physicality required of her. Music director/pianist Ian Herman and bassist Ritt Henn kept pace with her and while provided their own expert musicianship to the charts. Moberly began with the novelty number “Sam, You Made the Pants Too Long” (Fred Whitehouse/Milton Berle), as sung by Barbra Streisand, which she discovered in her father’s record collection. The songs covered the years 1923 to 1962, from Irving Berlin to Dory Langdon, and from bright comedy to deepest despair. The program showcased her talent, and it revealed the wide range of the Great American Songbook without ever making it feel like a dull course. Among the highlights of the evening were a beautiful blending of “In the Still of the Night” and “I Concentrate on You” (both Cole Porter) and a moody mini-song cycle of “I Get Along Without You Very Well (Except Sometimes)” (Hoagy Carmichael), “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning” (David Mann/Bob Hilliard) and “It Never Entered My Mind” (Richard Rodgers/Lorenz Hart) that showed what an expressive actor Moberly can be. She also showed she could be bouncy with “I Didn’t Know About You” (Duke Ellington/Bob Russell) and jazzy with “Straighten Up and Fly Right” (Nat King Cole/Irving Mills), which delighted the audience with her versatility.What was also fun was some totally obscure material, such as the very witty “Mister Sears and Roebuck” (Ray Gilbert/William Okie & Al Gannay) and the moving “The Morning After” (Harold Arlen/Dory Langdon). Moberly also brought freshness to the often-performed standards such as “Cry Me a River” (Arthur Hamilton) and “Makin’ Whoopie” (Gus Kahn/Walter Donaldson); she presented them as though the audience had never heard them before. To quote a phrase she sang in “Something’s Got to Give” (Johnny Mercer), she was indeed an irresistible force. Tags: Bob Hilliard, The Morning After, Milton Berle, Bart Greenberg, I Concentrate on You, In the Still of the Night, Cry Me a River, Ray Gilbert, I Get Along Without You Very Well (Except Sometimes), It Never Entered My Mind, In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning, composer, Arthur Hamilton, Clubs, Tanya Moberly, CD Reviews, Cabaret Reviews, Walter Donaldson, Music Director, Something’s Got to Give, Makin’ Whoopie, Al Gannay, William Okie, Mister Sears and Roebuck, Dory Langdon, Sam You Made the Pants Too Long, bassist, Gus Kahn, Don’t Tell Mama, Fred Whitehouse, ASA, American Songbook Association, Stephen Mosher, Straighten Up and Fly Right, I Didn’t Know About You, Ian Herman, Ritt Henn, Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers, Johnny Mercer, Barbra Streisand, Irving Berlin, Broadway Musicals, Standards, Cabaret, Harold Arlen, Hoagy Carmichael, Broadway, Great American Songbook, Cole Porter, Cabaret Scenes, Irving Mills, Singer, CD, Vocalists, David Mann, songwriter, Pianist, NYC, Lyricist, Musicals, Nightclubs, Nat King Cole, American Songbook, Bob Russell, Duke Ellington SHARE THIS ARTICLEShare this content Opens in a new window Opens in a new window Opens in a new window Opens in a new window Opens in a new window Opens in a new window Opens in a new window Read more articles Previous Post You Will Be Found: A Benefit for NAMI GLAC Next Post Carol Sue Gershman: Something New, Just for You Post author avatar Bart Greenberg Bart Greenberg first discovered cabaret a few weeks after arriving in New York City by seeing Julie Wilson and William Roy performing Stephen Sondheim and Cole Porter outdoors at Rockefeller Center. It was instant love for both Ms. Wilson and the art form. Some years later, he was given the opportunity to create his own series of cabaret shows while working at Tower Records. "Any Wednesday" was born, a weekly half-hour performance by a singer promoting a new CD release. Ann Hampton Callaway launched the series. When Tower shut down, Bart was lucky to move the program across the street to Barnes & Noble, where it thrived under the generous support of the company. The series received both The MAC Board of Directors Award and The Bistro Award. Some of the performers who took part in "Any Wednesday" include Barbara Fasano and Eric Comstock, Tony Desare, Andrea Marcovicci, Carole Bufford, the Karens, Akers, Mason and Oberlin, and Julie Wilson. Privately, Greenberg is happily married to writer/photographer Mark Wallis, who as a performance artist in his native England gathered a major following as "I Am Cereal Killer."