BROADWAY THEATER REVIEWS

It's not exactly a secret that cabaret has for decades been a world dominated by female entertainers. Sylvia Syms, Julie Wilson, Margaret Whiting, Karen Akers, KT Sullivan, Karen Mason and myriad others have assumed the top notches of the art form. But, perhaps, men might be taking their place among...

While the frat boys parked their boozy asses in the bar car (aka the couch) for the long road to the NCAA's Final Four over the past few weeks, NYC's village cabaret club The Duplex offered an alternative "March Madness": Cabaret shows about being crazy. As a devotee of time on a different sort of c...

Fresh off of her Tony Award-winning run as Yitzhak in the Broadway revival of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Lena Hall makes her Cafe Carlyle debut with SIN AND SALVATION. With her rocker sensibilities, she is turning the intimate venue on its head with a show that features a fascinating blend of rock, ...

Grammy nominated artist Seth Glier released his latest studio album, IF I COULD CHANGE ONE THING, on April 7, 2014. On the record, the 26 year old singer-songwriter brings a charming pop sensibility to these mostly mellow tunes. Crafting an album that reminds listeners of artists like Ed Sheeran and...

Monday night found me back at Zeb's on the West Side for another of Will Friedwald's iconoclastic 'Clip Joints'--this one in honor of the Billie Holiday Centennial. During a year that is already producing a glut of celebratory events (given that it's also the Frank Sinatra Centennial year), leave it...

Taken from the writings of Rachel Corrie and edited by Alan Rickman and journalist Katharine Viner, the play MY NAME IS RACHEL CORRIE is known for being controversial. At its heart, it is a play that exposes the atrocities that occurred during the Second Intifada. The politics surrounding the Gaza S...

Scott Siegel's Town Hall series explores the changes a quarter century can make....

With very few exceptions since the beginning of cultural history, the sweet sand passage of time marches across the vocal cords of the greatest singers of all during their time in cabaret and nightlife circles....

Patti LuPone, living Broadway legend and Two-time Tony winner, returns to 54 Below with her acclaimed solo show THE LADY WITH THE TORCH. Showcasing her breathy alto and stunning belt, Patti LuPone 'belly ache[s]' (her words) her way through an inspired evening of well-known torch songs. And once the...

Imagine that ska-era No Doubt had a baby with the soulful divas of 70s disco and their horn sections. That is what Amy Lynn & The Gunshow sounds like. After being blown away by a live performance at 54 Below, I knew I had to get my hands on their album DON'T TRIP ON THE GLITTER, which is just as imp...

New York City based string quartet Well-Strung returned to 54 Below on Friday, March 27, 2015. Performing to a sold-out house, the always charming and handsome performers delighted audiences with an encore engagement of their entertaining hit show POPssical. While reprising much of what they perform...

The new Rockettes showcase takes audiences to the Met Museum, Central Park, Times Square and Yankee Stadium....

Lillian Walker-Moss, Ronnie Giles, and others entertained the BAS member crowd at Solas...

Wednesday night, Michael Feinstein's estimable series Standard Time once again held forth in Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall, this time celebrating lyricist E.Y. “Yip” Harburg. Feinstein was joined by guest vocalists Catherine Russell, Nancy Anderson and Malcom Gets. The evening was beautifully put ...

Celebrating the release of SING YOU TO SLEEP, Anika Larsen made her solo concert debut at Birdland on Monday, March 23. Joined by her BEAUTIFUL castmates Jessie Mueller and Jarrod Spector and her XANADU castmate Kenita Miller, Larsen's set featured songs from her album and thematically appropriate s...

Just when one thinks Carole J. Bufford has thoroughly plumbed the genre for which she has so much affinity, the artist comes up with an audacious new show whose distinct focus, original format, and unblushing presentation delivers a fresh take. Heart of Gold: A Portrait of the Oldest Profession (thi...

Lauren Stanford (who won the MetroStar Singing Competition at the Metropolitan Room in 2013) has convincingly done herself up to look like the legendary Helen Morgan in her new show, More Than You Know, which she introduced at the Laurie Beechman Theatre in late October and brought to 54 Below this ...

Simply hearing the name Ben Vereen uttered invokes the magic and allure of Broadway. From originating key roles in JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR and PIPPIN, Vereen has called the stages of Broadway home for years. Therefore, it is no surprise that he commands an audience with charm and pizzazz, easily ente...

Tony Yazbeck returned to 54 Below with The Floor Above Me, his tap filled cabaret show. Co-written and Co-directed by Yazbeck and Howard Emanuel, it explores the charismatic performers love for dance, his road to Broadway, and his career. Yazbeck unleashes his larger-than-life charm and talent, gift...

Based on the 1994 Albert Finney film, the musical A Man of No Importance played at New York's Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater, Lincoln Center in 2002, then earned 2003's Outer Circle Critics Award for authors Lynn Ahrens (Lyrics), Stephen Flaherty (music), and Terrance McNally (Book.) This past Sunday (fo...

Sutton Foster displays the fine craft of musical theatre song performance....

Cabaret has never suffered a dearth of French female singers. In the 1970s and 1980s and well into the 90s, Jeanne Beauvais, Baronne, and Greta were among the very masters/mistresses of the art form. Yvonne Constant has completely and utterly established herself among them....

When Cole Porter wrote, 'Anything Goes,' he could have easily been referring to New York cabaret circa the 2000-sies. One of the joys of attending and reviewing cabaret shows in the Big Apple these days is that every performing style, show theme, cultural perspective, political point of view, race, ...

Emerging as a pop diva in the 1970s, Maureen McGovern has been somewhere on the scene for decades. She still has a powerful, well-honed instrument, sufficient to perform confident acapella. However, It's difficult to tell from her new 54 Below show, Sing, My Sisters, Sing! Celebrating Women Singer/S...

Music icon Billy Joel is no stranger to Madison Square Garden. Joel has performed there monthly since January 2014 and, as MSG's fourth franchise (joining the Knicks, Rangers, and Liberty), his monthly residency will continue indefinitely providing the demand exists....