Alex Rybeck News

Dress Circle Publishing will celebrate their new book THE UNTOLD STORIES OF BROADWAY, VOLUME 3 - the latest in a series by acclaimed historian and producer Jennifer Ashley Tepper - with a special event at The Drama Book Shop (250 West 4oth Street in Manhattan) on Thursday, December 1 at 5:30 PM.

The Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs (MAC) announces the 2016 winners of the Dottie Burman and John Wallowitch Awards. This year's celebrity judge was Broadway and Cabaret star KAREN MASON.

Urban Stages has announced the line-up for this year's Award Winning series, WINTER RHYTHMS 2016, which will begin Thursday, December 1 and will feature some of New York's best musical performances through Sunday, December 11, 2016 at Urban Stages Theatre (259 West 30th Street, just East of 8th Avenue).

As BroadwayWorld previously reported,  two-time Tony Award winner Tammy Grimes passed away on Sunday in Englewood, N.J. She was 82-years-old.

The Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs (MAC) announces its 5th Annual THEY WRITE THE SONGS show.

There's no 'Tomorrow' for this years four day 27th New York Cabaret Convention but there certainly was a thrilling performance of that song by host Kela Blackhurst and the Broadway by the Year Chorus.  The composer and lyricist were in attendance as their songs were performed by a wonderful group of cabaret artists. The convention even produced a 12 year old to recreate the emotions of seeing 'Annie' as Zoe Gelman sang Maybe & NYC to the Rose Theater audience. Luckily there will be a 'tomorrow' for the Mabel Mercer Foundations Cabaret Convention and mark your calendars for the 28th New York Cabaret Convention in 2017.

Hold your hats and hallelujah. After an electrifying opening night, the Mabel Mercer Foundation's 27th Annual Cabaret Convention continued Wednesday night in a packed Rose Theater at Jazz at Lincoln Center. Hosted by Jeff Harnar and Andrea Marcovicci, the cabaret community gathered to salute the music of Stephen Sondheim, the EGOT-winning composer/lyricist whose oeuvre has been simultaneously catapulting and tripping up artists for decades. Despite 30 performances on the evening, you'd be hard-pressed to find a weak spot in Wednesday night's lineup, hosting what is arguably the best rotation of the four nights, featuring cabaret giants, up-and-comers, expert arrangers (plus the talents of Jered Egan on bass and Dan Gross on drums), and Sondheim role originators.

Ask Celia Berk what she loves about New York and she'll give you a list. Or, better yet, an album. Corporate executive by day, cabaret chanteuse by night (and a damn good one), Berk has won a MAC Award (New York Debut – Female), a Bistro Award (Vocalist), a BWW Award (NY Cabaret Debut), and The Margaret Whiting Award from The Mabel Mercer Foundation since her 2014 debut album You Can't Rush Spring. Her latest, Manhattan Serenade, is an eclectic collection of New York and New York-esque songs steeped in nostalgia and romance, complete with arrangements by Alex Rybeck and a stunning orchestra. Extended by popular demand, Berk will celebrate its release once more at the Metropolitan Room this Friday, October 14 at 7:00 pm. Before the show, we sat down for a discussion on her love note to New York, carving out a space for yourself in the city, and typical New York resilience.

SALLY MAYES  (Tony Nominee 'She Loves Me,' 'Closer Than Ever,' 'Urban Cowboy' and JEFF HARNAR finished their September run at The Laurie Beechman Theatre with an audience that included TOVAH FELDSHUH (Tony Nominee 'Golda's Balcony'), PENNY FULLER (Tony Nominee 'Applause'), Anita Gillette (Tony Nominee 'Chapter Two'), KAREN AKERS (Tony Nominee 'Grand Hotel' and 'Nine'), BILL HUTTON (the original Joseph 'Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat'), Mark Waldrop (Director 'When Pigs Fly'), songwriter Tom Toce and award-winning singer JULIE BUDD.

Feinstein's/54 Below, Broadway's Supper Club, presents Stacy Sullivan & Todd Murray in "Separate Ways" today, October 4th, Wednesday, October 5th and Today, November 22nd at 7:00pm.

 Tony nominee SALLY MAYES ('She Loves Me') and award-winning JEFF HARNAR (Broadway World Cabaret Award) continue their run of DOUBLE TAKE at The Laurie Beechman Theatre.  At Wednesday night's performance the audience included LORETTA SWITT ('Mash'), RITA GARDNER ('The Fantasticks'), JOHN McDANIEL ('The Rosie O'Donnel Show'), MICHAEL ALDEN ('Pippin'), REX REED ('Myra Breckinridge'),and more.  The September performances conclude on Wednesday September 28 at 7pm at The Laurie Beechman Theatre followed by a special Cabaret Convention week matinee on Thursday October 20th at 2pm.  Music Director Alex Rybeck ('Grand Hotel') leads the trio featuring Bob Renino (bass) and Dan Gross (drums).  'A  swell evening of prime, solidly-anchored entertainment.  SALLY MAYES and JEFF HARNAR have created a show full of charm, schtick and creativity, not to mention a fresh song list and well-honed singing chops.  Their distinctive, individual voices work quite well as one.  In addition the show has been cannily crafted to make the most of what each can bring to the act.'  Marilyn Lester THEATRE PIZZAZZ

Donna McKechnie and Teri Ralston were among the good 'Company' at the second night of DOUBLE TAKE, Sally Mayes & Jeff Harnar's show at The Laurie Beechman Theatre.

Last night Sally Mayes and Jeff Harnar opened the further performances of their cabaret show, Double Take: Sally Mayes and Jeff Harnar at the same time! The pair will perform the show on Wednesdays September 21 & 28 at 7pm and again on Thursday 20 October at 2pm, as part of a special cabaret convention week. All performances will take place at the Laurie Beechman Theatre.

Feinstein's/54 Below, Broadway's Supper Club, presents Stacy Sullivan & Todd Murray in "Separate Ways" on Tuesday, October 4th, Wednesday, October 5th and Tuesday, November 22nd at 7:00pm.

Sally Mayes and Jeff Harnar announce further performances of their cabaret show, Double Take: Sally Mayes and Jeff Harnar at the same time! The pair will perform the show on Wednesdays September 7, 14, 21 & 28 at 7pm and again on Thursday 20 October at 2pm, as part of a special cabaret convention week. All performances will take place at the Laurie Beechman Theatre.

2016 is one of Broadway's most diverse seasons, so much so it spawned a Twitter trending hashtag #TonysSoDiverse following the nominations for this past weekend's awards ceremony. 12 Black and non-Black actors of color were nominated for a Tony Award. For the first time in the Tonys' history, all four musical acting categories were won by Black actors, and if you walk down 45th Street, as soprano Paula Dione Ingram has, the block is lit up by 'Black Broadway.' It's a laudable moment in a theatre history that has not always been so and still continues to have a long way to go, the subject of Ingram's Dark Legacy: Bright Lights of Black Broadway, her debut show at Feinstein's/54 Below on June 4.

When a show at the Metropolitan Room starts over thirty minutes late because the staff is frantically trying to find chairs and room for the better part of New York's cabaret community, you know you're in store for something truly special. And unless there's a chair thief on the loose in Flatiron who doesn't like Broadway, someone clearly oversold this show and/or lost track of comps; this was extremely vexing with a heat advisory in effect. Still, the mood was festive in anticipation of Jeff Harnar's 1959 Broadway Songbook, the 12th installment in Stephen Hanks' impressive (and increasingly well-known) New York Cabaret's Greatest Hits series. Harnar's show premiered 25 years ago at the Algonquin's Oak Room. Two years later, PBS filmed the collaboration with musical director Alex Rybeck, whose arrangements honor the original compositions but reimagine them in sometimes astonishing ways, making them genuinely creative acts.

Praised as "Impeccable, "and "a confident singer…the real deal,' by Stephen Holden of the New York Times and winner of two BroadwayWorld.com Awards  (Best Show Male and  Best Male Vocalist)  Todd Murray performs his acclaimed CROON: When A Whisper Became A Song at The Triad,  158 West 72nd Street, New York, for four nights on Tuesday August 16 & 23 and Thursday August 18 and 25, at 7pm. There is a $25.00 cover charge.  Due to the high demand for this special event, advance tickets are available and highly recommended by visiting www.TriadNYC.com and calling 212-581-06-0440.  

Tony award winner FAITH PRINCE in concert to benefit Hudson Stage Company. All proceeds directly benefit the upcoming season of Hudson Stage Company - a non-profit professional theatre dedicated to producing provocative, affordable and transformative theatre to its audiences.

Tony-nominee and Emmy Award-winning artist Liz Callaway will star in the inaugural cabaret of the Empire Arts Center's new program, The 1919 Lounge. This Broadway legend is best known for her starring roles in Baby, Miss Saigon, and Cats, in addition to being the singing voice of Anya in the animated feature film Anastasia.