Joshua Dixon News

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.

Show Choir! - The Musical is a melodious mockumentary about America's favorite teen pastime...with jazz hands. This original musical comedy by Mark McDaniels and Donald Garverick has been developing in New York City since 2006, including an award winning production at the 2007 New York International Fringe Festival and a sold out run at the 2010 New York Musical Theatre Festival. Show Choir! also received acclaimed productions at the 2011 Edinburgh Fringe Festival and The American Conservatory Theatre - San Francisco in 2012.

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.

Singer/ actor Joshua Dixon, having received the Bistro Award for Debut, the Broadway World Cabaret Award for Best Male Debut, and the Theater Scenes Cabaret Honors List for Outstanding Male Debut, as well as a MAC(Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs) nomination in the same category, returns to the Duplex stage in his acclaimed triumph, FLY UP!, for two special performances on Sunday, March 8th at 7:00 PM and Saturday, March 14th at 9:30 PM. Here is a chance for those who haven't seen this delightful show to find out what they've been missing, and for those who have seen it to come again.

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.

In just three years since the inception of the BroadwayWorld New York Cabaret Awards, the ceremony has evolved into one of the community's most-anticipated events. And this year's festivities, the second one at Joe's Pub, proved to be the most glittering and energetic assemblage to date. In fact, there couldn't have been a more promising start to the annual cabaret awards season, which continues with the Bistro Awards at Gotham Comedy Club on March 4, and culminates with the MAC Awards (Manhattan Association of Cabarets & Clubs) at BB King's on March 26. The 3rd Annual BWW Awards Show was just the right spark to get this season's prizes off to a veritable fireworks display.

The 2014 BWW New York Cabaret Awards will celebrate the best cabaret performers and shows of last year as voted on by 7,500 fans in December after a one-month preliminary ballot process. Produced, directed, and hosted for the third straight year by BWW Cabaret Editor Stephen Hanks, the BWW Awards show will feature performances by many of the winners, many of whom are among the cream of the crop in the art of cabaret. Joining a star-studded cast (see below) will be two-time 2014 BWW Cabaret Award nominee and Broadway Musical star Len Cariou, who will perform a special tribute to the late songwriter Ervin Drake.

Jazz headliner Carol Fredette and Tony Award-winning actress and singer Lillias White will be among the eleven performers honored at the 30th Annual Bistro Awards gala, which recognizes outstanding achievement in New York cabaret, jazz, and comedy. The celebration will take place on Wednesday, March 4, at 6:30pm at Gotham Comedy Club, 208 W. 23rd Street.

As the days dwindled down to a precious few in 2014, a few cabaret goers and performers in what is affectionately but also self-mockingly called the “cabaret community” would sidle up and ask if I was planning my annual end-of-the year “Best Of” column, similar to the “Top 20 Bests and Favorites” piece over the first half of the year I posted back in early July. I would respond in the negative with very reasonable and believable excuses, but the truth is I didn't want to reveal my “Bests” of the year until the voting for the 2014 BroadwayWorld New York Cabaret Awards had ended. There's enough baggage and backstage whispering that comes with administering the BWW Awards, so I wasn't about to publish any opinions that might influence the vote while it was in process. I may be crazy but I'm not masochistic. But now all bets are off. You want lists? I'll give you lists.

Mama Drama will play The Duplex on January 23 at 6:30 and February 9 at 6:30. The Duplex is located at 61 Christopher St. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased online at www.purplepass.com.

BroadwayWorld has called Ann Hampton Callaway the current “Queen of Cabaret” and apparently much of the cabaret audience agrees. The votes for the 2014 BroadwayWorld New York Cabaret Awards are official and Callaway is the “Performer of the Year,” having garnered 2,194 votes (the most of any nominee) out of the 66,179 votes cast by approximately 7,500 voters for 148 nominees in 17 categories. Here are your 2014 BWW New York Cabaret Award Winners.

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.

It's your last week to vote for the 2014 BroadwayWorld Cabaret Regional Awards! Check out the latest live stats as of December 26th. Voting closes at the end of the year, in under one week!

With the end of the voting period for the 2014 BroadwayWorld New York Cabaret Awards just eight days away (voting will close at Noon on December 31, 2014), BroadwayWorld.com is pleased to announce that the 3rd Annual BWW NY Cabaret Awards Show will take place for the second successive year at Joe's Pub (The Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Street, NYC) at 6:30 pm. Once again, this Award presenting extravaganza will feature performances by the Award winners (whose schedules make them available), and BWW's New York Cabaret Editor Stephen Hanks will once again host the festivities.

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.'

Following the great success of the 'Connecting Creativity' project in 2013, the Break-Away Project is delighted to announce the creation of 'Connecting Musicality'.

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.

Singer/ actor Joshua Dixon follows his acclaimed cabaret debut with a return engagement of FLY UP! at The Duplex on Thursday, November 20th at 7:00PM and Thursday, December 18th at 7:00PM. Using an eclectic mix of songs from Broadway, The Great American Songbook and contemporary music, FLY UP! will give us a glimpse into Joshua's life so far - from his Mormon childhood to his college years to becoming a man in music and theater. Stephen Sondheim, Jimmy Webb, Andrew Lippa, Jerry Herman, Scott Evan Davis, Cole Porter, and Bastille, among others, provide a backdrop to his fascinating, funny and freeing tale of growing up and letting go.

Following the great success of the 'Connecting Creativity' project in 2013, the Break-Away Project is delighted to announce the creation of 'Connecting Musicality'.

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.