Alex Rybeck News

Brought back by popular demand, 2015 Bistro Award winner CELIA BERK returned to the Metropolitan Room with her warmly received first solo New York engagement. Directed by Jeff Harnar, with Musical Direction by Alex Rybeck, it featured songs from her debut album YOU CAN'T RUSH SPRING and what Celia calls her 'hidden gems: lesser-known songs from great songwriters.' Rex Reed has called Celia "one of the best singers I've heard in a long time".

The four-night Mabel Mercer Foundation's annual Cabaret Convention at Lincoln's Center's Rose Hall in late October has become arguably the most important cabaret event of the year. For the most part, it is a star-studded affair featuring celebrated veteran performers and exciting young newcomers. Night four of this year's 25th Convention featured a 'Songs of Irving Berlin' theme hosted by the popular Klea Blackhurst, and starring acclaimed cabaret entertainers such as Anita Gillette, Karen Mason, Sidney Myer, Karen Oberlin, and Stacy Sullivan. Also in the lineup was a relatively unknown vocalist named Celia Berk.

If you've been a regular reader of this particular reviewer's musings, you know that every year there are long stretches of time where I just haven't been able to critique all the shows I've seen that deserve commentary. So I end up playing what they call in sports, 'Catch-up ball,' and post a mash up of belated reviews from past shows. It's kind of like a critic's version of the song 'Six Months Out of Every Year,' from Damn Yankees. Give or take a month or two, that's usually the time period during which I store unpublished reviews in my fevered brain and then unload them all in one seemingly endless column-like this one is going to be. If my cabaret-show reviewing days will be over (as chronicled here), I might as well go out with a bang-and relieve my procrastination guilt during holiday season. Now I can scratch one New Year's resolution off the list.

'The Story Goes On', and Richard Maltby, Jr. and David Shire were in the audience as Liz Callaway ended her Christmas show with one of their songwriting masterpieces.

Tony Award nominee and Emmy Award-winning actress Liz Callaway's latest offering at 54 Below, Celebrate!, will send you into the cold night feeling better about everything. Callaway celebrates the holidays, family, and personal milestones with Disney-like buoyancy that never becomes cloying. Hallmarks of natural stage authority, vibrant vocal clarity and theatrical investment in lyrics can be counted on with this empathetic artist.

Watching a singer like Celia Berk, who brings a heartwarming balance, a subtle good humor, originality, and a lot of affection to everything she sings, makes one realize the crucial role good instincts play in the self-conscious, self-absorbed world of cabaret. Right at the top of her recent debut run of shows titled You Can't Rush Spring (the title of her recently released excellent debut CD) at the Metropolitan Room, this New Yorker from the business world ingratiated herself with the audience by admitting she was fulfilling a lifelong dream. Berk had already built a following with a few excellent guest performances (most notably at this past October's Cabaret Convention at Lincoln Center) and in this auspicious debut she proved she easily puts her personal stamp on an eclectic mix of songs. Such ability springs directly from who she is and not from someone's idea of who she should be.

Karen Mason brought her show 'Secrets of The Ancient Divas to the Iridium last night. Ancient Divas is a whimsical titled look at a very serious subject: the singer who have influenced Mason, including July Garland, Peggy Lee, Shirley Bassey and Barbar Streisand, among others. Mason took on the repertoire of each in songs such as 'The Man That Got Away, a Garland Classic. Check out photos from the special night below!

NiCori Studios and Productions and Irvington Town Hall Theater announce the second performance in the Cabaret on the Hudson series. The performance will be held on Monday, December 8 at 8pm. Cabaret on the Hudson is a series that features three outstanding cabaret performers or small groups, each bringing a 25 minute sampling of their New York City cabaret shows to Westchester, NY. Many of the performers are Broadway veterans and have performed in New York City venues such as 54 BELOW, the Oak Room at the Algonquin, Birdland, Feinstein's at Loews Regency, Iridium, the Metropolitan Room and Jazz at Lincoln Center to name a few. Cabaret on the Hudson will be hosted by multi-nominated Cabaret singer and host of the Music at the Mansion series, Corinna Sowers Adler and will feature Benet Braun on piano.

The day is finally here! After one month of voting on preliminary nominees in 17 categories, the results of more than 5,000 ballots were considered along with the selections of BroadwayWorld's cabaret section editors to determine the final nominees for the 2014 BroadwayWorld.com New York Cabaret Awards. Joining cabaret icon Marilyn Maye with four nominations is budding star Carole J. Bufford, who made the final ballot for two different shows during 2014 and as 'Best Female Vocalist' and 'Performer of the Year.' Among Maye's nominations were 'Performer of the Year,' two shows in the 'Best Celebrity Show' category, and a 'Best Director' nomination for her work with jazz singer Gabrielle Stravelli (who received two nominations). In addition to her usual nod for 'Best Jazz Vocalist,' jazz star Jane Monheit received two other nominations as 'Performer of the Year,' and as 'Best Host' for her new variety show at Birdland, Jane Monheit's Jazz Party (Monheit also co-starred with Clint Holmes in another nominated show, Frank Wildhorn and Friends in the 'Best Revue' category.) Eric Michael Gillett also earned three nominations for 'Best Show, Male,' 'Best Male Vocalist,' and 'Best Director.'

The multi-faceted musical director/arranger/accompanist/composer Alex Rybeck flexed his talent this past Sunday night, sharing songs of every ilk with an appreciatively packed 54 Below. 'Tonight is proof positive that dreams come true, just not how you imagine. I always thought you had to have a hit song to headline an evening here…' Delivered by many of his celebrated singer friends he's worked with often (including the Callaway Sisters, Liz and Ann), entertaining selections from the writer's canon included bossa nova, ballads, musical theater numbers, pop, comic turns, seasonal songs, and 'Serenade,' a haunting piece of music the author composed for his mother which seemed like portraiture: strong, proud, thoughtful, warm, light.

To celebrate the publication of The Untold Stories of Broadway, Volume 2 on November 18 by Dress Circle Publishing, Jennifer Ashley Tepper will be sharing three short excerpts about each of the Broadway theaters featured in the book-countdown style! Today: The Nederlander Theatre

Coming up this week, 54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz and beyond. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.54Below.com or call (646) 476-3551.

Hottest Articles on BroadwayWorld.com from this weekend Sunday, November 9, 2014 - Sunday, November 9, 2014.

Broadway's 40 theatres aren't the only places to catch performances from your favorite stars! Well after Broadway orchestra's begin their overtures, ensemble members take their dance breaks, and performers belt out their eleven- o'clock numbers, the party continues at various cabaret venues throughout New York City. Below, BroadwayWorld brings you some cabaret highlights for this week as picked by our theatre editors, including: Broadway on 22nd Street, Ryan Scott Oliver and Lindsay Mendez's ACTOR THERAPY, The Songs of Adam Wachter: Just Come to This, A Night Like This Live in Concert, and The Music of Alex Rybeck.

Polished and engaging, this cabaret proved one to remember.

This November and December 54 BELOW presents an exciting lineup of the brightest talent from Broadway and beyond. Located just below the legendary Studio 54 at 254 West 54thStreet. For a detailed schedule of upcoming performances at 54 Below and to purchase tickets, visit www.54Below.com.

The Kennedy Center presents a one night only performance with Tony Award winner Faith Prince on Friday, October 31, 2014 at 7:30 p.m. in the Terrace Theater. The evening is part of Barbara Cook's Spotlight, which features theater cabaret performances throughout the 2014-2015 season by Broadway artists chosen by Barbara Cook. Faith Prince's performance Have a Little Faith will feature piano accompaniment by music director Alex Rybeck.

The 25th New York Cabaret Convention continues and BroadwayWorld was once again there! The 3rd segment featured hosted by Andrea Marcovicci and Jeff Harnar featured performances by Andrea Marcovicci, Jeff Harnar, Gabrielli, Anthony Nunziata, Rita Gardner, Brent Barrett, Anna Bergman, Richard Holbrook, Jeffifer Sheehan, Carole J. Bufford, Christine Andreas, Billy Stritch, Jim Caruso, Sally Mayes, Iris Williams, Eric Comstock, Barbara Fasano, Karen Akers, and Natalie Douglas.

Coming up this week, 54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz and beyond. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.54Below.com or call (646) 476-3551.

NiCori Studios and Productions in association with the Oakeside Bloomfield Cultural Center announces a new installment of the monthly concert series, Music at the Mansion, on Sunday, August 31, at 3pm. Performers include Jamie Hartmann, Celia Berk and Craig Pomranz. The featured performer in the 'Young Musician Moment' will be Talia Wynzel.