Mabel Mercer News

The brainchild of Metropolitan Room managing partner Bernie Furshpan, his General Manager Joseph Macchia, and Cabaret Scenes Magazine Publisher Peter Leavy, New York's first International Cabaret Festival (February 17-21) debuted Wednesday night at the Met Room with performances and inductions into the newly established Cabaret Hall of Fame (an actual location for Hall and its memorabilia to be determined at a later date). Clubs hosting this year's festival include The Metropolitan Room, Don't Tell Mama, The Duplex, Feinstein's/54 Below, Iridium, Joe's Pub, and Stage 72 (formerly The Triad).

Carole J. Bufford opened her show in The Royal Room of The Colony Hotel in Palm Beach last night and BroadwayWorld was there.  Check out the photos below.

The Manhattan Transfer performed at Jan McArts Live at Lynn Series in Boca Raton last night and BroadwayWorld was there. Check out the photos below. The legendary vocal group founded by Tim Hauser in 1969 has won 10 Grammy Awards and 20 nominations.  The audiences at the groups two sold out concerts were treated to many famous arrangements from the groups storied song book. Among others the Boca audience heard, Candy, Operator, Birdland, (for which Janis Siegel won a Grammy Award for best arrangement), and Route 66.  Alan Paul, Janis Siegel, Cheryl Bentyne, and Trist Curless also displayed their vocal expertise in some great solos.  

Cabaret on the Hudson Music Series Comes to the Irvington Town Hall Theater in February

Urban Stages (Frances Hill, Founding Artistic Director; Peter Napolitano, Associate Producer) continues its 32nd season with the World Premiere of Mabel Madness, the dramatic story with music about the life of the famous cabaret chanteuse, Mabel Mercer, written and performed by Tony Award Winner Trezana Beverley (For Colored Girls...).  Co-directed by Frances Hill and Peter Napolitano with musical direction by Tuffus Zimbabwe, Mabel Madness begins its Off-Broadway run at Urban Stages Theatre (259 West 30th Street) beginning February 19, opening on Thursday, February 25 and running through March 20, 2016. Tickets are $40 ($25 during previews; Students are $15) and are available at www.urbanstages.org or by calling 1-866-811-4111.

NJTV, New Jersey's public television network, and the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) announced that the 3rd Season of the award-winning American Songbook at NJPAC series will be broadcast on NJTV beginning tonight, January 6, 2016 (check local listings).

Lynn University and Producer Jan McArt, producer and director of theatre arts program development, are launching the popular Mabel Mercer Foundation's Cabaret at Lincoln Center comes to Live at Lynn Series early next year. From January through May five of Manhattan's leading cabaret headliners will appear in concert in Lynn's Amarnick-Goldstein Concert Hall.

NJTV, New Jersey's public television network, and the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) announced that the 3rd Season of the award-winning American Songbook at NJPAC series will be broadcast on NJTV beginning January 6, 2016 (check local listings).

Stephen Hanks' Cabaret Life Productions and Associate Producer Fr. Jeffrey Hamblin, MD, are bringing back Karen Oberlin's 2010 Frank Loesser Tribute Show (with original Musical Director Jon Weber and bass player Sean Smith) as the first 2016 installment of the 'New York Cabaret's Greatest Hits' series at the Metropolitan Room on January 13 at 7 pm. 'I entered the cabaret world as a reviewer in late 2010 so I never saw this show,' says Hanks. 'I'm thrilled Karen Oberlin agreed to bring it back so those like me who didn't experience it will get a chance now.'

On Thanksgiving Day, BroadwayWorld announced the nominees in 14 categories for the 2015 BWW New York Cabaret Awards. BroadwayWorld's cabaret editors and reviewers congratulate all the deserving nominees and everyone who performs in the great art of cabaret in New York. But today, as you munch on the leftovers from last night's dinner, it's time to actually vote for that one performer who you think is the absolute best in each category. Voting ends on December 31 and after a review of the ballots, winners will be announced officially early the week of January 4, 2016. (Note: There will not be a BWW Awards Show this year.)

Happy Thanksgiving Day, Cabaret Fans! Here's some breaking news you can discuss and debate in between courses at tonight's dinner: It's the final nominees for the 2015 BroadwayWorld New York Cabaret Awards. This year, the cabaret editors and writers at BWW have cited 116 nominees (including duos and variety show/recurring series producers) in 14 categories. In addition, this year six performers or musicians have been cited for special “Editor's Choice Awards,” led by veteran New York cabaret stars Karen Mason and Mark Nadler who have been named “Performers of the Year.”

Ann Hampton Callaway's new Thanksgiving week show at Feinstein's/54 Below (what has become an annual holiday appearance), Feminine Persuasion, celebrates women songwriters who excel at the craft, one of the few creative sectors where men have not held them back. Covering the waterfront, her selection includes, in part, Peggy Lee, whom she calls “the first singer/songwriter” (perhaps the first highly visible and successful one), Carolyn Lee “a secretary who didn't know how to take dictation,” “optimistic” Dorothy Fields--the first woman to win an Oscar for a song--and baby boomers Carole King and Joni Mitchell, and current pop star, Adele. “These women were/are trailblazers who broke through with their own voices.”

Tamara Tunie  celebrated a variety of composers and singers at Feinstein's/54 Below last night and Broadwayworld was there. The 'MASH UP', included her favorites fromLEGENDS from the BURGH and her debut cabaret performance YES, I SING!, that not even hurricane Sandy could prevent from being a huge success! If you missed it, it's a MUST SEE! One critic wrote: 'Tunie not only entertained, she helped restore the sparkle to a city known for its resiliency.'

Lynn University and Producer Jan McArt, producer and director of theatre arts program development, are launching the popular Mabel Mercer Foundation's Cabaret at Lincoln Center comes to Live at Lynn Series early next year. From January through May five of Manhattan's leading cabaret headliners will appear in concert in Lynn's Amarnick-Goldstein Concert Hall.

This week Feinstein's/54 Below, Broadway's Supper Club, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz and beyond. Scroll down for details!

Music at the Mansion Features Multi Award Winning Recording Artist, Sterns Mathews 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, November 29, at 3pm. Performers include Randie Levine-Miller, Frank Dain and Stearns Matthews.

Broadway's 40 theatres aren't the only places to catch performances from your favorite stars! Well after Broadway orchestras 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: Sally Mayes & Jeff Harnar in 'Double Take'; Andrea Burns at 54 Below; Tamara Tunie: Mash Up!; Matt Doyle & Bonnie Milligan at 54 Below; and Daisy and Jordan: Rejected Bond Girls.

Acclaimed New York City cabaret singer and actress Klea Blackhurst will bring her signature show 'An Evening with Klea Blackhurst' to the Milford Center for the Arts as part of it's Nite Spot Nights series produced in conjunction with Pantochino Productions Inc. tonight, November 7th at 8 p.m.

After critically lauded shows in New York, London and Paris, award-winning performer Eric Yves Garcia (Margaret Whiting Award; Bistro Award for Singing Instrumentalist) debuts his new show, 'Pour Spirits', tonight, November 5th at The Metropolitan Room.