Lennie Watts

Review: MAMA’S NEXT BIG ACT Crowns a Winner at Don't Tell Mama
by Nicole Spano - Sep 3, 2026

While I always mourn the end of summer as we flip the calendar to September, there is one tradition that softens the blow: the finale of Mama’s Next Big Act at Don’t Tell Mama, now in its ninth year.

Manhattan Association Of Cabarets Will Host MAC TO SCHOOL
by Stephi Wild - Sep 2, 2026

The Manhattan Association of Cabarets will host its annual MAC TO SCHOOL symposium at Don't Tell Mama and Open Jar Studios, featuring master classes, workshops and panel discussions on creating cabaret shows.

INVISIBLE TO INVINCIBLE Encore to Return to Don't Tell Mama With Helane Blumfield
by Stephi Wild - Aug 31, 2026

Helane Blumfield will present an encore of her cabaret show INVISIBLE TO INVINCIBLE at Don't Tell Mama, exploring reinvention, resilience, and self-discovery through storytelling and song.

Gerrilyn Sohn to Return to Don't Tell Mama with TIMELESS: A Tribute to Bernadette Peters
by Stephi Wild - Aug 25, 2026

Gerrilyn Sohn will perform her cabaret tribute to Bernadette Peters at Don't Tell Mama, directed by Lennie Watts with musical direction by Tracy Stark.

Natasha Castillo to Bring DARIN TO BE DIFFERENT to Don't Tell Mama
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Aug 18, 2026

Natasha Castillo will explore the lesser-known life and music of Bobby Darin in a new show directed by Lennie Watts at Don't Tell Mama in New York City.

Review: Singers Compete at MAMA'S NEXT BIG ACT at Don't Tell Mama
by Nicole Spano - Aug 12, 2026

What do a kazoo, a 10-year-old, and a wooden spoon have in common? They could all be seen at Don't Tell Mama during Mama's Next Big Act last Monday. The multi-MAC Award-winning competition, co-produced by Lennie Watts and Don't Tell Mama, is now in its ninth season and remains one of the highlights of the summer cabaret scene. Over the course of eight weeks, more than twenty hopefuls compete for the title, gradually narrowing down week by week. The final winner receives $1,500 toward their solo show at Don't Tell Mama, along with a professionally designed poster by Frank Dain, an appearance at The Lineup with Susie Mosher, a feature in Cabaret Scenes Magazine- and perhaps the most coveted prize of all: a panini press.

Helane Blumfield Will Bring INVISIBLE TO INVINCIBLE Back to Don't Tell Mama
by Stephi Wild - Aug 11, 2026

Helane Blumfield will bring an encore performance of her cabaret show INVISIBLE TO INVINCIBLE to Don't Tell Mama, exploring reinvention, identity, and self-visibility through music and storytelling.

Photos: See Highlights of Trudy Carmichael's NYC Cabaret Debut at Don't Tell Mama
by Rebecca Kaplan - Jul 18, 2026

Las Vegas lounge diva Trudy Carmichael made her NYC cabaret debut with the premiere of her explosive musical tell-all. Catch the final performance of TRUDY CARMICHAEL: JUST WHO DOES SHE THINK SHE IS? at 4 pm on Sunday July 19.

Photos: See Highlights from THE LINEUP WITH SUSIE MOSHER June 30 at the Green Room 42
by Rebecca Kaplan - Jul 8, 2026

THE LINEUP WITH SUSIE MOSHER is a wild, anything-goes variety show featuring artists from the Broadway, cabaret, music and comedy scenes. See photos from the June 30 edition snapped by photographer Conor Weiss and catch their return on July 14.

Review: AMERICAN POPULAR SONG SOCIETY PRESENTS SIDNEY MYER at The Cutting Room
by Andrew Poretz - Jun 18, 2026

Sidney Myer was feted by Marilyn Maye, Charles Busch, Nicolas King and dozens more at a joyous sold-out American Popular Song Society Lifetime Achievement Award gala on June 15.

Trudy Carmichael To Make NYC Cabaret Debut At Don’t Tell Mama This July
by A.A. Cristi - Jun 11, 2026

Robin Rothman brings her Las Vegas lounge alter ego Trudy Carmichael to Don't Tell Mama in NYC for a limited two-performance run of mashed-up show tunes, 80s pop, and audience-inspired improvisation.

Review: Marcia Roney's THE WAY I SEE IT at Don't Tell Mama Worth Seeing
by Stephen Mosher - Jun 4, 2026

The affable and amusing Marcia Roney is laying them in the aisles at Don't Tell Mama.

DON'T CRY FOR ME, MY YESHIVA Will Come to 92nd Street Y
by Stephi Wild - May 13, 2026

The 92nd Street Y will present DON'T CRY FOR ME, MY YESHIVA, an award-winning musical memoir written and performed by Joe Fox, exploring identity, faith, and sexuality as the son of an Orthodox Rabbi.

Review: Love Will Keep Audiences Going To Don't Tell Mama For CAMILLE SINGS TENNILLE
by Stephen Mosher - May 7, 2026

A night of perfect cabaret doesn't come along every day, and when it does, it needs to be acknowledged. This is it.

Review: Linda Jackson Finds Her Place Onstage at Don't Tell Mama in TEMPORARILY LOST
by Analisa Bell - Apr 28, 2026

With a strong narrative voice, and a gift for connection, Jackson has firmly found her place on New York’s cabaret scene. She returns to Don't Tell Mama May 3 and 13

Grace Peña to Present UNDER THE INFLUENCE at Laurie Beechman Theatre
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Apr 27, 2026

Grace Peña, a MAC Award-nominated cabaret performer, will present her new show Under the Influence at Laurie Beechman Theatre in NYC, with music director Analise Levesque.

Photos: Gerrilyn Sohn's TIMELESS: A TRIBUTE TO BERNADETTE PETERS at Don't Tell Mama
by Rebecca Kaplan - Apr 21, 2026

See highlights from the 4/19 Bernadette Peters tribute show by photographer Conor Weiss. Sohn returns to DTM with a sold-out show on 5/2 at 4 pm and another on 5/11 at 7 pm (snag the few remaining tickets now).

Review: Gerrilyn Sohn Debuts TIMELESS: A TRIBUTE TO BERNADETTE PETERS at Don't Tell Mama
by Stephen Mosher - Apr 20, 2026

Ms. Peters has inspired a tribute show that has inspired Ms. Sohn to bring all her acting skills to the party.

Photos: Helane Blumfeld's INVISIBLE TO INVINCIBLE at Don't Tell Mama
by Rebecca Kaplan - Apr 19, 2026

See photos from the cabaret singer's April 15 performance at Don't Tell Mama with her new show INVISIBLE TO INVINCIBLE, photographed by Conor Weiss. Blumfeld will next take the show to Sarasota, FL.

2025 MAMA'S NEXT BIG ACT Winner Aaron Valentine to Make Solo Cabaret Debut at Don't Tell mama
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Apr 16, 2026

Aaron Valentine, winner of the 2025 Mama's Next Big Act competition, will make his solo cabaret debut in Who Are You Again? Learning to Sing Through Life at Don't Tell Mama in New York City.