Paul Greenwood News

On the evening of March 21, veteran vocalist and stage actress Anna Bergman presented a program called Falling In Love With Love, featuring the romantic songs of Richard Rodgers to support the Actors' Temple (339 West 47th Street) at its 3rd Annual Fundraising Gala, one year shy of Congregation Ezrath Israel's centennial (that's the official name of the synagogue). Prior to Bergman's show (produced by recently elected Temple Board President Carol Ostrow), Rabbi Jill Hausman and outgoing Temple Board President Robert Reicher, both of whom received awards, gave warm and funny speeches, making eminently clear why the Actors' Temple is known as “the Cool Shul.”

In a follow-up to their 2013 presentation Sin Twisters, on Wednesday night at Feinstein's/54 Below, show biz veterans Anita Gillette and Penny Fuller offered stories from the Broadway trenches, songs from their musical history, and affectionate one-upmanship, again deftly directed by Barry Kleinbort.

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

Next week, FEINSTEIN'S/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/Feinsteins or call (646) 476-3551.

Last night was the world premiere of Anita Gillette and Penny Fuller's new show SIN TWISTERS, TOO! at Feinstein's 54 Below. It attracted a celebrity audience and BroadwayWorld was there TOO.

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: Show Biz After Hours with Frank DiLella and Special Guests; Turn the Beat Around - 54 Below Celebrates Studio 54; Anita Gillette & Penny Fuller in Sin Twisters, Too!; Michael Zahler & Will Van Dyke in Still It's True; and Josh Young Sings Andrew Lloyd Webber. 

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).

Next week, FEINSTEIN'S/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/Feinsteins or call (646) 476-3551.

Anita Gillette and Penny Fuller's new show, set for Feinstein's/54 Below for two performances, February 24th and March 2nd (both at 7 p.m.), is a sequel to their critically acclaimed SIN TWISTERS!

On December 13, Meg Flather revived her 1993 solo show Portraits as part of Stephen Hanks' Metropolitan Room series NEW YORK CABARET'S GREATEST HITS. Backed by Paul Greenwood on piano and John Mettam on drums, and with Lennie Watts on board as Director to tweak the former show, Meg mesmerized the Metropolitan Room audience with what has been hailed as a critically acclaimed performance, perhaps one of her best ever. Now Flather is bringing Portraits to Don't Tell Mama for three shows on Mondays--February 1, March 7 and April 4, all at 7 pm.

Ruth Carlin has been a full-time mom, ushering her two children through childhood. Now, she's ushering in a new cabaret career, entertaining audiences in some of the best venues in NYC, including the likes of The Laurie Beechman Theater, The Duplex, Don't Tell Mama, and Metropolitan Room.  Singing is not a new concept for Carlin as she returns to the stage after a long hiatus raising a family away from the brilliant lights and stage of the theater, which she grew to love when she was in her 20s.  

For the third night of this year's Cabaret Convention at Town Hall, the uber-enthusiastic Karen Mason hosted Life Is a Cabaret (Directed by Barry Kleinbort) in celebration of long time collaborators, composer John Kander and lyricist Fred Ebb. Introduced to each other by their mutual music publisher in 1962, the team's first Broadway show was 1965's Flora the Red Menace in which Liza Minnelli made her Broadway debut and with which the three began a long association. Their last together (Kander is alive and hopefully writing), was 2015's The Visit starring Chita Rivera, a production Ebb (who died in 2004) unfortunately didn't live to see. Kander and Ebb's best known musicals are Cabaret and Chicago, both of which seem to run forever on popular appeal, but they wrote many others, a wide selection of which were represented at Thursday night's show.

The Broadway at Birdland concert series was proud to present the return of actress/singer Anita Gillette to her musical home on Monday, September 28 with her show, "So, As I Was Saying…" 

Ninety percent of the way into her ebullient show last night at Birdland, So, As I Was Saying, Anita Gillette quotes a 1977 review of her performance in Neil Simon's Chapter Two that stated the warmth she exudes could melt glaciers. (The artist wasn't bragging, but was referring to her then difficulty in finding any glaciers, i.e., men to melt.) The description applies today. A packed audience comprised both of devoted civilian fans and theatrical luminaries cheered on the latest iteration of Gillette's dramatized life. Once again directed by Barry Kleinbort with musically directed by Paul Greenwood (who also appealingly sings duets), with Ritt Henn on bass and John Redsecker on drums, the show is as sincere and bubbly as the lady herself.

Back in January, BroadwayWorld's lead cabaret reviewer Stephen Hanks announced he was giving up critiquing shows to start his own company, Cabaret Life Productions, through which he would publicize, promote, and help book cabaret performers, and also produce cabaret shows. Hanks' first major production out of the box is a monthly series at the Metropolitan Room called New York Cabaret's Greatest Hits, that features talented artists recreating award-winning or highly-praised shows we wish we'd seen--a really good idea. Hanks' series launched Wednesday night with Mark Nadler's award-winning 2003 show Tschaikowsky (And Other Russians). The Metropolitan Room was filled to the gills and abuzz with anticipation, as most of the audience was only familiar with the show's second-hand praise and/or the CD version of Nadler's performance.

The sin twisters are back at 54 Below!

Artists in Partnership (AIP), a non-profit cultural arts organization, will host its 13th Annual Cabaret Festival May 13-17 at the Long Beach Public Library, 111 West Park Avenue, Long Beach, NY. The festival will be a celebration of the cabaret genre honoring the Great American Songbook.

The Broadway at Birdland concert series is proud to announce that On The Town star Elizabeth Stanley will be celebrating the show's creators Betty Comden and Adolph Green in concert in 'Carried Away' on Monday, April 6 at 7pm. Elizabeth's very special guest will be Television/Broadway star Andrew Rannells.

The Bush Theatre will host the premiere of Arthur's World, produced by Kensal House-based charity SPID Theatre, from 27 January to 14 February 2015, in its upstairs theatre space the Bush Attic. Arthur's World is written by SPID Theatre Artistic Director Helena Thompson and directed by Mel Cook.