Maryann Lopinto News

I could tell you that KT Sullivan and Jeff Harnar have done it again, but the truth is that they've done it even better. Their first foray into the Stephen Sondheim songbook last summer, Our Time, consisted of she sings, he sings--each watching the other perform then offering duets. This iteration titled Another Hundred People: Sullivan and Harnar Sing Sondheim—Act II (both at the Laurie Beechman Theatre), beautifully directed by Sondra Lee, considers both characters theatrically, not just vocally, but visually.

Scott Siegel's Broadway Rising Stars 9th Edition at Town Hall featured 19 'Stars of Tomorrow' showcasing their performing talents.

As she wends her way towards the stage at the opening of her new show at the Metropolitan Room (performances were on June 15 and 20), Corinna Sowers Adler sings the Jerome Kern/Oscar Hammerstein II classic “All The Things You Are” with warm, legato phrases that surround the club like a hug. Sowers Adler achieves this not only with her singing, but also the friendly and personal nature of her bridging dialogue. In High Standards, she manages to make us feel privy to an authentic self without a lot of in-jokes intended for attending friends and family. The standards to which this show's title refers are not only those evergreen numbers collected in The Great American Song Book, but also yardsticks by which we measure quality and value in life.

On Tuesday, June 16, 2015, Randie Levine-Miller presented and hosted Showstopper Divas --'The Broadway Songbook' at Stage 72/Triad (158 West 72nd Street) to benefit The Actors Fund*. Critically acclaimed theater and cabaret 'divas', Ivy Austin, Edna Kaufmann, Jennifer Sheehan, and Corinna Sowers-Adler entertained. Scroll down for photos from the concert!

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

“March is Cabaret Month” in New York gives us the opportunity to examine where we are, and, most importantly, where we have come from with this most magical of all art forms--Cabaret. So how very fortunate we are to see and hear veteran Broadway actress and cabaret performer, Karen Mason return to her roots to lovingly take us down memory lane with her new show Mason at Mama's In March at Don't Tell Mama (which opened on March 1st).

The former pop star and Broadway headliner brings her tribute to female singer-songwriters to 54 Below.

The 'Tomatoes Got Talent' show took place, Tuesday, February10 at Stage 72/Triad. Randie Levine-Miller emceed and co-produced the talent show competition featuring women over 40, with Cheryl Benton of The Three Tomatoes.

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.

The New York Pops - a symphonic orchestra known for presenting popular programs of exceptional quality - continues its 32nd season in a series at Carnegie Hall celebrating the diversity of some of popular music's greatest icons. Music Director Steven Reineke leads the orchestra in a festive holiday concert featuring Kelli O'Hara and Matthew Morrison last night and tonight, December 20, 2014. Check out photos from the performance below!

Elton John. Carole King. Joni Mitchell. Carly Simon. Paul Simon. Stevie Wonder. They were six superstar singer/songwriters in a constellation of such stars during the early 1970s, who could be considered the composers of the 'New Great American Songbook. Tonight, December 13 at 7 pm, as part of its annual 12-day 'Winter Rhythms' Festival, Urban Stages will present a star-studded variety show celebrating these great talents of the Golden Age of the Pop Singer/Songwriter.

Elton John. Carole King. Joni Mitchell. Carly Simon. Paul Simon. Stevie Wonder. They were six superstar singer/songwriters in a constellation of such stars during the early 1970s, who could be considered the composers of the 'New Great American Songbook. On Saturday, December 13 at 7 pm, as part of its annual 12-day 'Winter Rhythms' Festival, Urban Stages will present a star-studded variety show celebrating these great talents of the Golden Age of the Pop Singer/Songwriter.

Harry Lillis 'Bing' Crosby, Jr., who died in 1977 at age 74, was one of the most popular American singers and actors of the first half of the 20th-century, garnering millions of fans with recordings, radio, film, and live performance. The artist used his microphone as a route to intimacy, rather than volume, and was known for phrasing shaped to lyrical intention. Crosby's seemingly casual, bass/baritone style has often been imitated but never duplicated. On the same night that PBS was premiering a new American Masters documentary on the iconic singer, Bing Crosby Rediscovered, the venerable Urban Stages opened its 6th Annual and widely varied Winter Rhythms series with A Tribute to Bing Crosby, curated, hosted, and mostly performed by Musical Director Bill Zeffiro.

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.

On Monday, September 15, Randie Levine-Miller presented and hosted Broadway Showstopper Divos --'A Swell Party' at the Metropolitan Room, 34 West 22nd Street.

A star-studded musical celebration, the 4th Annual Best of Broadway & Cabaret to benefit the Actors' Temple [339 West 47th Street, between Eighth and Ninth Avenue], the historic theater district landmark that has been a welcoming home to show business Jews, their family, and friends, took place on November 18. BroadwayWorld has photos from the event below!

This Week's Highlights include a new Spidey on the block, a look at the If/Then Cast, and Opening Night of ROMEO AND JULIET.

On Monday, September 16, Randie Levine-Miller presented and hosted Broadway Showstopper Divos --'A Swell Party' at the Metropolitan Room (34 West 22nd Street). The evening's theme was 'The Broadway Songbook' and starred some of the most talented performers in theater. Scroll down for photos from the concert!

On Sunday, April 14, Randie Levine-Miller presented and hosted Broadway Showstopper Divas --'A Swell Party' at the Metropolitan Room (34 West 22nd Street) as an Actors Fund Benefit. The evening's theme was 'The Vets and the Yets!'-- starring the best of the best -- Broadway star and Tony nominated Anita Gillette, and Broadway actress/singer and cabaret comedienne Jackie Hoffman. Scroll down for photos from the concert!