After performing two sold-out shows in mid-January that garnered rave reviews from New York cabaret critics, Pamela Lewis (a.k.a. Champagne Pam), again brings her unique interpretation of Long Island icon Billy Joel's songbook to the New York's Metropolitan Room (34 West 22nd Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues) on Saturday, March 7 at 7 pm. In New York State of Mind: The Songs of Billy Joel, you'll hear the 2013 BroadwayWorld New York Cabaret Award Winner for 'Best Female Vocalist' deliver unique and stirring interpretations of classic Joel songs such as, 'The Stranger,' 'My Life,' 'A Matter of Trust,' 'Just the Way You Are,' 'New York State of Mine,' and many more beloved Joel hits.
Pamela Lewis (a.k.a. Champagne Pam), the 2013 BroadwayWorld New York Cabaret Award winner for "Best Female Vocalist" (for her show Daddy's Little Girl), performed her new solo cabaret show, New York State of Mind: The Songs of Billy Joel, in front of a rowdy, revved-up, packed house at the Metropolitan Room on Friday and Saturday, January 16 and 17. The singer with champagne-colored streaks in her long brown hair, Lewis embodies cool. And hot. She's a brassy chick from Long Island who knows who she is and she wants to party with you. In this show, she celebrates her roots, singing the songs of another Long Islander she grew up loving, first for his tuneful pop melodies and later for his words. It's cool when a woman sings an entire show of songs written by a man, doesn't fear using the "wrong" pronouns, and puts her own spin on them by changing the feel, the tempo, and the arrangements. Pamela Lewis does all that with verve and then some in this show.
When Barb Jungr takes the stage tonight for her debut at 54 Below (she also be at the club tomorrow night and Sunday night; all shows at 7pm), the acclaimed British chanteuse will have conquered another major New York nightclub venue, having in past years performed critically acclaimed shows at the Café Carlyle, Joe's Pub, the Metropolitan Room. She even knocked them dead at the 59E59 theater twice in less than a year, with her show Dancing the Dark (read my review here) in December 2013 and Hard Rain (review here) this past November. While Jungr is still performing the latter--amazing interpretations of some of the most intensely political Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen songs—throughout Europe and has earned enormous praise for the CD of the same name, her 54 Below show, Mad About the Boy and No Regrets, will be an amalgam of Jungr's greatest hits from past shows and CD, plus some songs she'll be doing for the first time.
Pamela Lewis (a.k.a. 'Champagne Pam'), winner of the 2013 BroadwayWorld.com New York Cabaret Award as 'Best Female Vocalist,' has announced that her new show, New York State of Mind: The Songs of Billy Joel, will open at the Metropolitan Room (34 West 22nd Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues) on January 16 and 17, with both shows at 7 pm.
The star-studded list of Broadway stars and A-list cabaret performers keeps growing for the 2013 BroadwayWorld New York Cabaret Awards Show, to be staged at Joe's Pub (425 Lafayette Street near Astor Place in Manhattan) on February 23 from 6:30-8:40 pm. Added to a stellar group that includes Ann Hampton Callaway, Liz Callaway, Terri White, Jane Monheit and Jason Robert Brown, are Tony Award Winner (now also a cabaret performer) Alice Ripley (photo left), who will perform representing Sondheim Unplugged at 54 Below, which won the BWW Cabaret Award for Best Variety Show or Recurring Series. Broadway favorite Jackie Hoffman (Hairspray, Xanadu, Adams Family) will appear to perform and accept her BWW Award for Best Musical Comedy Performance for her show at 54 Below.
Laura Benanti, Terri White, Jane Monheit, Jason Robert Brown, and the Callaway Sisters Among First Wave of Performers Slated for BroadwayWorld Awards NY Cabaret Show, 2/23
It's finally official. After more than a month of voting--following a month-long nomination process--approximately 7,000 voters have selected the winners of the BroadwayWorld.com New York Cabaret Awards for 2013. Self-proclaimed cabaret “Diva” Ann Hampton Callaway and her Broadway baby sister Liz Callaway are either the principals or connected to four awards out of this year's 18 categories, including “Best Duo or Group Show” for the return after 18 years of their critically-acclaimed sister act Sibling Revelry, and “Best Tribute Show” to Ann for her exciting homage to Sarah Vaughan, From Sassy to Divine. Ann's musicians for her Sarah Vaughan show at Dizzy's Jazz Club at Lincoln Center took the Award for “Best Band or Orchestra,” and Alex Rybeck received the most votes as “Best Musical Director” for Sibling Revelry, which was staged in August at 54 Below.
Last December, after I posted my list of the Best Cabaret Performers of 2012, I followed up my original 'listmania' with a column that served as a way to include some 'honorable mentions,' basically a recognition of other memorable shows and performances of songs that were striking, unique, and/or original that year. The column received a positive response so I thought I'd wheel it out again this year. So as the hours tick away on 2013 and we anticipate the coming of a new year, here is an addendum to the 2013 New York Cabaret Performers of the Year--a totally random list of 30 Honorable Mentions of the 'Best' and 'Most' in Cabaret for 2013 . . . mainly because I can and it's fun. Enjoy and Happy New Year!
"Champagne Pam" (Pamela Lewis) brings her new show to THE LAURIE BEECHMAN THEATRE. She offers an entertaining inventory of song and story as she checks off the list of a life well lived and loved. Bubbling with a spectrum of sound from contemporary music to jazz, this show is intended to pop with music lovers everywhere and of course, the cabaret devotee. Under the direction of the award-winning Susan Winter, Pamela's sultry, silky voice will be accompanied by a full band including guitarist husband, John Hurley.
The Major League Baseball All-Star break (the game is on Tuesday night) has always been considered the midpoint of the season and as a lifelong fan I've always enjoyed reading those analyses from writers that assess the best performances of the first half. Since July is also the middle of the calendar year, I thought it might be fun to present a cabaret equivalent of a baseball midseason report. So . . . (drum roll) . . . presenting the Best (and My Favorite) 20 New York Cabaret Shows and Performances of (the first half) of 2013.
Two years ago, in my generally favorable review of Pamela Lewis' quirky, if flawed, cabaret show Dog Walking Diva, I went a little bit out on the limb with . . . “She has the potential to be a major cabaret star.” Well, as Lewis (who given her bubbly and bold personality performs under the totally appropriate moniker of “Champagne Pam”) remarked often in her newest show, during which she assessed whether she had yet achieved a list of life goals, that particular observation would have to get a “check.” Because with Daddy's Little Girl, Champagne Pam--who proudly admitted to having reached the Big 4-0--is all grown up as a cabaret performer and should be a member of that rarified group who even a reviewer on a press comp should pay to see and hear.
'Champagne Pam' (Pamela Lewis) brings her new show to The Laurie Beechman Theatre. She offers an entertaining inventory of song and story as she checks off the list of a life well lived and loved. Bubbling with a spectrum of sound from contemporary music to jazz, this show is intended to pop with music lovers everywhere and of course, the cabaret devotee. Under the direction of the award-winning Susan Winter, Pamela's sultry, silky voice will be accompanied by a full band including guitarist husband, John Hurley.
'Champagne Pam' (Pamela Lewis) brings her new show to The Laurie Beechman Theatre. She offers an entertaining inventory of song and story as she checks off the list of a life well lived and loved. Bubbling with a spectrum of sound from contemporary music to jazz, this show is intended to pop with music lovers everywhere and of course, the cabaret devotee. Under the direction of the award-winning Susan Winter, Pamela's sultry, silky voice will be accompanied by a full band including guitarist husband, John Hurley.
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!
"Champagne Pam" (Pamela Lewis) uncorks a rare and complex blend of sweet, slightly tart and full-bodied cabaret that seeks to attract new audiences to the art form. Pamela's sultry, silky voice will be accompanied by guitarist John Hurley (Pamela's husband), and renowned pianist John Colianni (Les Paul Trio). Bubbling with a spectrum of music, from Chaka Khan to Sondheim, this show is intended to pop with the cabaret devotee as well as those new to the genre. The premiere will be in the beautiful, intimate setting of The Metropolitan Room, 34 West 22nd Street, NY, NY on Thur. and Fri., Apr. 29 and 30, 2010, at 9:30 p.m.
'Champagne Pam' (Pamela Lewis) uncorks a rare and complex blend of sweet, slightly tart and full-bodied cabaret that seeks to attract new audiences to the art form. Pamela's sultry, silky voice will be accompanied by guitarist John Hurley (Pamela's husband), and renowned pianist John Colianni (Les Paul Trio). Bubbling with a spectrum of music, from Chaka Khan to Sondheim, this show is intended to pop with the cabaret devotee as well as those new to the genre. The premiere will be in the beautiful, intimate setting of The Metropolitan Room, 34 West 22nd Street, NY, NY on Thur. and Fri., Apr. 29 and 30, 2010, at 9:30 p.m.
"Champagne Pam" (Pamela Lewis) uncorks a rare and complex blend of sweet, slightly tart and full-bodied cabaret that seeks to attract new audiences to the art form. Pamela's sultry, silky voice will be accompanied by guitarist John Hurley (Pamela's husband), and renowned pianist John Colianni (Les Paul Trio). Bubbling with a spectrum of music, from Chaka Khan to Sondheim, this show is intended to pop with the cabaret devotee as well as those new to the genre. The premiere will be in the beautiful, intimate setting of The Metropolitan Room, 34 West 22nd Street, NY, NY on Thur. and Fri., Apr. 29 and 30, 2010, at 9:30 p.m.
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