Karen Oberlin News

With her new show His Aim Is True: The Singular Songs of Elvis Costello at Stage 72 (second show last night), you'll meet the new Karen Oberlin. Gone are the controlled vibrato, upper range, emotional translucence, femininity, and the playfulness of a purveyor of American Songbook/pop. Prepare for a terse, tensile, alto-voiced, punk chick (including shag hairdo) with a foot in rudderless jazz. There's nothing tentative in this raw, almost tone poem-like performance. Oberlin commits herself to her choices.

It takes a woman of considerable wit, style, and maturity to tackle (let alone celebrate) the subject matter of men. In her new show, Celebrating Men (Bless Their Hearts), seen last Thursday night at the Metropolitan Room, happily, Charlotte Patton possesses all those traits as she leads us on her guided tour of all the various male idiosyncrasies that can drive a woman wild--or mad.

Charlotte Patton has been married and not. She's had serious relationships, flings, and romances with men of all ages (but mostly younger). She's experienced all the charms, foibles, and idiosyncrasies of the opposite sex--and loves them anyway. Now the actress and comedian will bring all of that worldly wisdom to her sensual, provocative, and playful new cabaret show . . . 'Celebrating Men (Bless Their Hearts),' opening at New York's Metropolitan Room (34 West 22nd Street) tonight, May 28 at 9:30 pm. Patton's show is Directed by Award-winning cabaret performer Karen Oberlin with Musical Direction by MAC Award winner Barry Levitt. Recent MAC Award winner Tom Hubbard is on bass. Peter Napolitano contributes as Creative Consultant.

Stars of New York's Cabaret and theatre worlds will perform the songs of renowned composer/arranger Larry Kerchner in the fourth edition of 'Hidden Treasures: Songs of Larry Kerchner.'

The latest rendering, "Hidden Treasures IV," debuts at Birdland on SUNDAY, MAY 31st, 6 p.m. featuring the best of the best of Broadway and Cabaret performers, including Klea Blackhurst (host), Mark Nadler, Alexis Cole, Jim Brochu, Carol J. Bufford, Natalie Douglas, Eric Michael Gillett, Marissa Mulder, Stacy Sullivan, Shana Farr, Karen Oberlin and many more. Tex Arnold musical directs.

New York Cabaret Community Honors Actor/Director/Photographer RUSS WEATHERFORD With All-Star Show at Metropolitan Room.

54 Below, Broadway's Supper Club, presents TV stars Emily Bergl, Holt MaCallany, Broadway stars Rita Gardner, Anita Gillette, Amy Spanger, Lee Roy Reams, Raissa Katona Bennett and Cabaret stars Steve Ross, Baby Jane Dexter, Sidney Myer and Mark Nadler in 54 celebrates Julie Wilson tonight, May 9, 2015 and Thursday, May 14, 2015, both shows at 7pm.

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.

This May and June, 54 BELOW presents an exciting lineup of the brightest talent from Broadway and beyond. Located just below the legendary Studio 54 at 254 West 54th Street.

54 Below, Broadway's Supper Club, presents TV stars Emily Bergl, Holt MaCallany, Broadway stars Rita Gardner, Anita Gillette, Amy Spanger, Lee Roy Reams, Raissa Katona Bennett and Cabaret stars Steve Ross, Baby Jane Dexter, Sidney Myer and Mark Nadler in 54 celebrates Julie Wilson on Saturday, May 9, 2015 and Thursday, May 14, 2015, both shows at 7pm.

Charlotte Patton has been married and not. She's had serious relationships, flings, and romances with men of all ages (but mostly younger). She's experienced all the charms, foibles, and idiosyncrasies of the opposite sex--and loves them anyway. Now the actress and comedian will bring all of that worldly wisdom to her sensual, provocative, and playful new cabaret show . . . 'Celebrating Men (Bless Their Hearts),' opening at New York's Metropolitan Room (34 West 22nd Street) on May 28 at 9:30 pm. Patton's show is Directed by Award-winning cabaret performer Karen Oberlin with Musical Direction by MAC Award winner Barry Levitt. Recent MAC Award winner Tom Hubbard is on bass. Peter Napolitano contributes as Creative Consultant.

The latest edition covered 1941 to 1965, featuring songs from Oklahoma, Carousel, Finian's Rainbow, Kiss Me Kate, The Pajama Game, My Fair Lady, West Side Story, Oliver!, Hello Dolly, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and more. BroadwayWorld brings you highlights from the evening below!

The critically acclaimed Broadway by the Year series fifteenth season will bring 100 years of Broadway history in four incredible evenings.

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.

Scott Siegel, creator/writer/host of Town Hall's (123 West 43 Street and 6th Avenue) Broadway by the Year, continues the critically acclaimed series that has been lovingly hailed as a success by Variety,Time Out New York and virtually every other theatrical paper, magazine and internet site in New York City. Over four concerts this season, Broadway by the Year will cover a century of Broadway history with over one hundred musical stars singing (and often dancing!) the songs that made the Great White Way great.

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.

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.

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.