Kenneth Gartman News

Kenneth Gartman returns to Don't Tell Mama on Monday, December 16th to host his 5th Annual Holiday Open Mic - A BALLSY CHRISTMAS WITH KENNETH.

There's a new Open Mic Night in town, and it's quite the place to be! Kenneth Gartman hosts the monthly Open Mic Night on the 3rd Saturday of every month at Unity Center in Norwalk, CT. The next concert is set for Saturday, December 21 from 7 to 9 p.m. $10 cover. The Unity Center is located at 3 Main Street, 2nd Floor, Norwalk, Conn.

The 6th Season of The Concerts for City Greens, free outdoor concert series, concludes tonight, September 11th at 6:30 pm (Rain date: Thursday, September 12th at 6:30pm.) at Tudor City Greens, with a very special tribute concert: 'I HEAR AMERICA SINGING - Songs of Hope, Joy & Inspiration,' and will feature professional performers from Broadway and the New York City cabaret, and jazz scene.

Multiple award winning recording and performance artist, Rev Roger Anthony Yolanda Mapes, brings his gender bending celebration of old time Southern gospel and country gospel music to Unity Center, 3 Main Street, 2nd Floor, Norwalk, CT 06851, tonight, September 7th at 8:00 pm.

Multiple award winning recording and performance artist, Rev Roger Anthony Yolanda Mapes, brings his gender bending celebration of old time Southern gospel and country gospel music to Unity Center, 3 Main Street, 2nd Floor, Norwalk, CT 06851, on Saturday, September 7th at 8:00 pm.

The 6th Season of The Concerts for City Greens, free outdoor concert series, concludes on Wednesday, September 11th at 6:30 pm (Rain date: Thursday, September 12th at 6:30pm.) at Tudor City Greens, with a very special tribute concert: 'I HEAR AMERICA SINGING - Songs of Hope, Joy & Inspiration,' and will feature professional performers from Broadway and the New York City cabaret, and jazz scene.

Unless the host is particularly warm, funny, and charismatic (think Dana Lorge and her new monthly vehicle at the Metropolitan Room) or the show is a way to champion a good cause (like Joseph Macchia's Cabaret Cares events), for the most part cabaret variety shows are clunky affairs which can be too long, too rambling, give too much time to average talent or not enough of a showcase to outstanding talent. I ran into one of the rare exceptions last month (April 23) in the form of the The Concerts for City Greens' First Annual Gala & 2012 Songwriting Contest Finale, a variety show at the Laurie Beechman Theatre that served as a fund raiser for the launch of a new non-profit called Music and Art for Green which will incorporate Concerts for City Greens within its umbrella.

Paulette Haupt, Artistic Director of the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's National Music Theater Conference, today announced directors of the three projects selected for development at the 2013 Conference, as well as a Composer in Residence.

The Concerts for City Greens may be a Spring and Summer music extravaganza held in the lovely early evening air of Manhattan's East Side, but Broadway actress and cabaret headliner Raissa Katona Bennett, who is the concert series' founder and producer, is launching the 2013 season indoors-with a gala benefit concert featuring a star-studded lineup of performers, including quadruple-platinum songwriter and Today Show regular David Friedman as a special guest performer (with Bennett in photo, left). A celebratory retrospective of the program's first five seasons will be staged at The Laurie Beechman Theatre, 407 West 42nd Street, tonight April 23 at 7pm.

The Concerts for City Greens may be a Spring and Summer music extravaganza held in the lovely early evening air of Manhattan's East Side, but Broadway actress and cabaret headliner Raissa Katona Bennett, who is the concert series' founder and producer, is launching the 2013 season indoors-with a gala benefit concert featuring a star-studded lineup of performers, including quadruple-platinum songwriter and Today Show regular David Friedman as a special guest performer (with Bennett in photo, left). A celebratory retrospective of the program's first five seasons will be staged at The Laurie Beechman Theatre, 407 West 42nd Street, on Tuesday April 23 at 7pm.

It's April 1st. Do you know when your Spring is coming? During another longggggg New York winter, the good news is that there were a ton of warming cabaret shows. The bad news is that there were so many, even during this seemingly endless winter our intrepid reviewer Stephen Hanks didn't have enough time to review them all right after the performances. So in what is becoming a seasonal ritual, here he offers yet another compilation of 13 'catch-up' cabaret show reviews.

JOSHING AROUND, starring Joshua Warr & Joshua Desjardins, resh from an amazing fall run, is back at the legendary Duplex.

JOSHING AROUND, starring Joshua Warr & Joshua Desjardins, resh from an amazing fall run, is back at the legendary Duplex.

By the last August, I had fallen so far behind on writing reviews of cabaret shows from the spring and early summer (I guess it's a positive when there are more performers and shows in New York than days in the week) that I decided to play catch up by combining a bunch of critiques into one big column. I hadn't planned on doing that again, but this fall there were so many shows that once again I couldn't keep up. but at least I've beaten my self-imposed deadline New Year's Eve deadline of posting these reviews of 12 shows, all staged between September-December by lovely, attractive women (okay, so one is a gender-bender) of varying talents and levels on the cabaret depth chart, from established stars to MAC and Bistro Award-winners to comeback 'kids' to interesting beginners and occasional performers who are in the game to follow their bliss. Whether their performances were rave-worthy, earning of qualified praise, or not quite up to snuff, they all deserve kudos for taking the plunge.

Wow, talk about a thumbs up! BroadwayWorld.com Cabaret Reviewer/Columnist Stephen Hanks received such a positive reaction to his '2012 Best of New York Cabaret' piece posted yesterday that we thought it would be fun for him to add to his original 13 "honorable mentions" list. So, here for your holiday week reading pleasure is Part 2 of his "Best" and "Most" Honorable Mentions in Cabaret for 2012 with 21 new listings (because an even 20 would be trite). Enjoy!

Kenneth Gartman returns to Don't Tell Mama tonight, December 23rd to host his 4th Annual Holiday Open Mic - A BALLSY CHRISTMAS WITH KENNETH. This 90 minute holiday open mic aspires to be one of the funniest and possibly most offensive shows of the holiday season featuring some of Cabaret and Broadway's great talents. You'll hear some of your favorite traditional tunes and enjoy a holiday sing-along as well. In addition to hosting, Gartman will be tickling the ivories with Matt Vander Ende on Drums and John Convertino on Bass.

Kenneth Gartman returns to Don't Tell Mama on Sunday, December 23rd to host his 4th Annual Holiday Open Mic - A BALLSY CHRISTMAS WITH KENNETH. This 90 minute holiday open mic aspires to be one of the funniest and possibly most offensive shows of the holiday season featuring some of Cabaret and Broadway's great talents. You'll hear some of your favorite traditional tunes and enjoy a holiday sing-along as well. In addition to hosting, Gartman will be tickling the ivories with Matt Vander Ende on Drums and John Convertino on Bass.

Premieres Artistic Director Paulette Haupt has announced that the company will present Inner Voices, an evening of three one-act solo musicals beginning tonight, November 10 at 8pm, at 30th Street Theater, 259 West 30th Street. The opening is scheduled for Sunday, November 18 at 3pm.

After receiving more than 3,000 nominations once BroadwayWorld.com announced it's first-ever New York Cabaret Awards in early October, BWW is now pleased to announce it's final nominations ballot in 20 categories. Now it's time for all you cabaret performers and fans to vote for the best singers, musicians and shows of the year. Voting will continue until December 31 and winners will be announced in early January.

Premieres Artistic Director Paulette Haupt will present Inner Voices, an evening of three one-act solo musicals beginning Saturday, November 10 at 8pm, at 30th Street Theater, 259 West 30th Street. The opening is scheduled for Sunday, November 18 at 3pm. Check out photos from rehearsals of Arlington below!