One of the joys of reviewing cabaret is being fortunate enough to discover a remarkable talent. I experienced that feeling this past Saturday night at Don't Tell Mama where Christy Frye debuted her New York cabaret show, Christy Frye: Feels Like the First Time – Things I Learned From the Car Radio. Considering Frye is native of the Washington, D.C. area, and has been commuting weekly to New York for more than two years to study and participate in the New York cabaret scene, one might get the impression that Frye spends a good deal of her time in the car listening to the “oldies but goodies,” thereby supporting the first rule of cabaret performance--make the subject matter organic to the performer.
Bistro Award winning and MAC Award nominated singer-songwriter Nathan Chang returns to the cabaret scene with a brand new show, NAILING IT! (SONGS AND STORIES OF NAILS AND FAILS) which will premiere at the Laurie Beechman Theatre on June 16th at 7pm. Tickets are $20 ($15 for MAC Members) and can be purchased at www.westbankcafe.com.
This July Orbiter 3 will produce the world premiere of four-time Barrymore Award Winner James Ijames's Moon Man Walk. This production reunites Ijames with renown director Edward Sobel, who collaborated on last summer's smash-hit The Most Spectacularly Lamentable Trial of Miz Martha Washington.
Hot off her 2015 MAC Award win The Sexy Sass Coloratura is laughing like Adele from ' Die Fledermaus,' 'its so funny ha ha ha,' and it will be funny and glorious when she recreates that famous aria and many more in her critically acclaimed show LEGIT (A Classical Cabaret) Directed by Lina Koutrakos, with Music Direction by Mark Janas with Special Guest Operatic Tenor Christopher Yoon and multi-Award winning songstress Celia Berk.
Four recent shows at Don't Tell Mama featured performers either making their debuts on the New York cabaret scene (Evelyn Sullivan and Erin McCracken) or who returned this spring in hopeful anticipation of sharing their artistic vision with audiences (Rob Sutton and Eve Eaton). They no doubt experienced the usual anxiety, trials and tribulations before ultimately taking the stage. And they've come out on the other side relatively unscathed.
At a ceremony held last night in New York, the Manhattan Association of Cabarets & Clubs announced the winners of the 2015 MAC Awards. The show was hosted by Karen Mason, with musical direction by Barry Levitt, and was produced by Julie Miller and directed by Lennie Watts.
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, gender, and sexual preference is represented on a stage. Some cabaret purists may not agree, but the genre seems to have no boundaries in terms of what is acceptable and what is not. And as long as a show is entertaining, who cares about boundaries and strict definitions of what works in the art form? Here are reviews of three recent shows from Barbara Malley, Robin Kradles, and Donna Hayes that reflect the delicious diversity that is cabaret.
The Manhattan Association of Cabarets & Clubs will present the 29th Annual MAC Awards on Thursday, March 26st, at 7:30pm, at B.B King Blues Club & Grill in New York City.
1812 Productions is thrilled to present the ninth annual production of its smash political comedy This Is The Week That Is. This Is The Week That Is is a trademark 1812 production, presenting all the news that's fit to skewer. A stylistic marriage between The Carol Burnett Show and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, This Is The Week That Is continues to keep Philadelphians up to speed on all things political by revealing the truth behind the headlines.
One single most-telling elements of multi-award-nominated cabaret chanteuse Kim Grogg, and her latest show Go Where the Love Is (which makes further appearances at Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues on Tuesday, November 18th and Friday, December 5th at 7:00 PM, as well as Sunday, December 7th at 5:30 PM), is that she along with band and technical crew manage to create a seamlessly-fine line between casual presentation and sophisticated elegance; this show easily could have taken its place among the acts at the now-legendary downtown clubs Reno Sweeney and The Bottom Line in the 1970s. As if that wasn't enough, Grogg manages to spin a glorious yarn on the hazards of love and dating, and does so with absolutely top-notch song selections.
Based on the promotion of their new duo show, Revolution (a four-show run that ends at the Duplex tonight at 6:30), you might have gotten the impression that Dawn Derow and Kathleen France would be engaging in a zany bit of fluff poking fun at American military politics in a Bob Hope USO Show kinda way. But while there is definitely some frivolity and even some biting satire along the way, the women also convey a serious sense of patriotism and reverence for those who have fought and died in America's many wars. In fact, a portion of the audience cover charge is being donated to the Wounded Warrior Project (www.woundedwarriourproject.org).
It was the 1980's. The time of ray bans, head bands, and the start of cable television, where music videos on MTV would skyrocket to stardom future pop icons Madonna, Michael Jackson, and, of course, The Artist Formerly Known as . . . Prince. Celebrated early on for his sexually charged lyrics and for experimentally combining various genres of music (funk, R&B, new wave to pop and pop rock), Prince was and still is a one-man musical revolution. He has sold more than 100 million records worldwide, making him one of the best selling artists of all time. For a cabaret performer to take on Prince's challenging discography is not only ambitious, it's extremely BOLD. It would require a singer to have amazing vocal flexibility and power, smoldering sensuality, and strong emotional connections to the lyrics. Rain Collazo displayed all those qualities--and more--in her performance this past Saturday night at Don't Tell Mama.
1812 Productions is thrilled to present the ninth annual production of its smash political comedy This Is The Week That Is. This Is The Week That Is is a trademark 1812 production, presenting all the news that's fit to skewer. A stylistic marriage between The Carol Burnett Show and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, This Is The Week That Is continues to keep Philadelphians up to speed on all things political by revealing the truth behind the headlines.
On October 27, 2014, the following nominees and award recipients were honored at the 2014 Barrymore Awards Ceremony at The Merriam Thater, produced by Theatre Philadelphia.
Sexy Coloratura, MAC Award Nominee Dawn Derow, the New England song bird, serves it up again, at New York's Metropolitan Room in an Opera Cabaret entitled 'LEGIT,' tonight, September 26.
Sexy Coloratura, MAC Award Nominee Dawn Derow, the New England song bird, serves it up again, at New York's Metropolitan Room in an Opera Cabaret entitled 'LEGIT,' on September 26.
Theatre Philadelphia is thrilled to announce the nominees for the 2014 Barrymore Awards for Excellence in Theatre, including over 140 total nominations spanning 26 categories. The all-new Barrymore Awards Ceremony will be held Monday, October 27 at 7:00 p.m. at The Merriam Theater at 250 S. Broad Street, immediately followed by an After-Party in the Commonwealth Plaza at The Kimmel Center.
Concert meets immersive performance where every audience member has a backstage pass. Inspired by Russian feminist group Pussy Riot, Applied Mechanics is engaging its signature choose-your-own-adventure style to create a piece about feminism, protest art, and activism in our contemporary world.
Concert meets immersive performance where every audience member has a backstage pass. Inspired by Russian feminist group Pussy Riot, Applied Mechanics is engaging its signature choose-your-own-adventure style to create a piece about feminism, protest art, and activism in our contemporary world.
