'A man's reach should exceed his grasp. Or what's a heaven for?' once wrote the poet Robert Browning. The line is about setting goals, striving, and ambition, all of which can be commendable desires. But sometimes in the world of cabaret, the desire to achieve the next level or to raise one's personal bar can be an overreach and overly ambitious. Such was the case with two shows staged this past week by two accomplished singers-Shana Farr and Jillian Laurain--who over the past couple of years have garnered mucho kudos for their vocal prowess and solid shows. Nobody could fault these lovely ladies for pushing their performance envelopes, but in both cases they fell short of their goals.
This spring the L.A.-based Joanne Tatham gives New York another whirl as she returns to the Metropolitan Room with her critically acclaimed cabaret concert 'Soundtrack New York.' Tatham's fast-paced guided tour of songs from films shot on the streets of Manhattan plays four nights -- Tuesday May 13 at 7pm, Saturday May 17 at 4pm, Sunday May 18 at 9:30pm and Sunday June 1 at 7pm.
Sometimes you can stumble into stirring, soul-enriching cabaret in the unlikeliest places. Like at an Episcopal Church in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, for example. On March 1 at Christ Church (Ridge Boulevard between 73rd and 74th Streets), one of New York cabaret's best and most-respected female singers Julie Reyburn, and her Musical Director Mark Janas (producer of the award-winning SALON, the open-mic held on Sunday nights at Manhattan's Etcetera, Etcetera Restaurant), resurrected Fate Is Kind, Reyburn's 2000 debut cabaret show, which earned her MAC and Bistro awards for “Best Female Debut,' and which is a magical work of cabaret art.
Last month, BroadwayWorld was privileged to present not one, but two exceptional entertainment experiences to continue the year-long celebration of our 10th anniversary begun with the simply spectacular BROADWAYWORLD.COM VISITS OZ in January, first with the 2013 BroadwayWorld Cabaret Awards on Sunday, February 23, and next with FLY: A TRIBUTE TO DAMON INTRABARTOLO on Monday, February 24. Today we recount the Cabaret Awards.
Barb Jungr has been called the UK's finest interpreter of song, especially the songs of singer/songwriting icons Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen. Jungr has also taken the New York cabaret scene by storm the last few years, having performed her celebrated Dylan tribute show, Man In the Long Black Coat (also available as a CD and called "the most significant vocal album of the 21st century thus far," by the Wall Street Journal) at the Metropolitan Room in 2011 and 2012. Now, Barb Jungr returns to the songs of Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen with the release on March 24 of her new CD, Hard Rain (from Kristalyn Records and distributed by Absolute via Universal), which will also be available for download.
This past Tuesday evening Maude Maggart, a celebrated young veteran of the cabaret scene, started her debut run at the Cafe Carlyle (which ends tonight with shows at 8:45 pm and 10:45 pm) and her new show certainly didn't disappoint, at least not in the singing department. Throughout a 16-song set, this attractive and willowy brunette from a performing family that now spans three generations was a delightfully dreamy enchantress conveying retro-romantic songs she delivered with the ethereal mezzo soprano style of an early Disney movie heroine of pre-Little Mermaid vintage, only one more worldly wise and seductive.
On Sunday February 23 at Joe's Pub, BroadwayWorld.com celebrated the best New York cabaret performers, performances and shows during 2013 as voted on by more than 7,500 fans at the end of last year. With BroadwayWorld's lead New York cabaret columnist and reviewer Stephen Hanks as the host, many of the Award winners appeared to perform, and as you'll see in these videos they put on an amazingly entertaining show.
Whether you've been living under a rock for the past week or you're just in the mood for a recap, BroadwayWorld's 'This Week in Pictures' is here to satisfy your end-of-the-week fix! Take a look below to catch up on the latest happenings from the Great White Way to The West End (and everywhere in between) with coverage of press events, rehearsals, opening nights and more. Highlights this week include a first look at the cast of THE REALISTIC JONESES, a peek backstage with Saturday Intermission Pics, a peek into rehearsals for THE THREEPENNY OPERA, coverage of ALL THE WAY on Broadway, and more!
Just last night, February 23, BroadwayWorld celebrated the Best in Cabaret for 2013 at Joe's Pub. The star-studded event was hosted by BroadwayWorld.com's lead cabaret columnist and reviewer Stephen Hanks for the second successive year, with BroadwayWorld Award Best Musical Director nominee Bill Zeffiro as the show's Musical Director/Pianist and Jon Burr on bass.
We are excited to bring you more photos from inside the big event below. Click here to check out Part One!
Just last night, February 23, BroadwayWorld celebrated the Best in Cabaret for 2013 at Joe's Pub. The star-studded event was hosted by BroadwayWorld.com's lead cabaret columnist and reviewer Stephen Hanks for the second successive year, with BroadwayWorld Award Best Musical Director nominee Bill Zeffiro as the show's Musical Director/Pianist and Jon Burr on bass.
We are excited to bring you photos from inside the big event below. Be sure to check back later for complete coverage!
This week at Joe's Pub at The Public, February 17-26, will feature performances by: Soledad Barrio & Noche Flamenca, Cabaret Awards, Erin Markey, Fly: A Musical Tribute to Damon Intrabartolo, The Return of Radiant Baby, Stephanie McKay, Bridget Everett, Dom La Nena & Piers Faccini and Dawn Landes. Scroll down for details!
At the St. Luke's Theatre (until March 23), Billy Hayes relives his full range of emotions and psychological traumas in this taut, tense, and terrific re-telling of his escape from a Turkish prison, first revealed in his 1977 book Midnight Express, and then in 1978 through the Oliver Stone film version.
With just over a week to go before the star-studded BroadwayWorld Awards Show to celebrate the Best in Cabaret for 2013, reservations for this event at Joe's Pub on February 23 are going fast. Tickets for what should be an exciting night of cabaret will be $35 and $25 with a $12 food minimum or two-drink minimum per person. (Reservations are now made when tickets are purchased; it is no longer necessary to call Joe's Pub for reservations.) We recommend arriving no later than 30 minutes before show time.
http://tickets.joespub.com/production/?perf=23792
'Champagne Pam' - Winner of the BROADWAY WORLD AWARD for BEST FEMALE VOCALIST 2013 brings her show to DON'T TELL MAMA'S. Pam 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. Reviewer Stephen Hanks of BWW.com notes 'everything an entertaining cabaret show should be - warm, funny, intimate, engaging, well-structured, and occasionally surprising'
BroadwayWorld would be nothing without its team of talented Regional Editors who work tirelessly, offering countless opinions, reviews, interviews, special features and more. It truly takes a village. While all 260+ of our Regional Editors have helped make BroadwayWorld go 'round, this year, we'd like to recognize our Top 10 standouts who have gone above and beyond the call of duty, and who have been an integral part of the success of BroadwayWorld. This was a tough decision that was based on number of articles, traffic, consistency, and other factors. We will also be recognizing several others throughout the year in our 'Meet the BWW Team' series and otherwise, so stay tuned for more!
Before the finale of Tuesday night's Café Carlyle show celebrating the varied compositions of Frank Wildhorn, the Grammy and Tony Award-winning composer quoted his frequent collaborator, lyricist Jack Murphy, as once offering that “Great singers are a songwriter's best friends.” Even though Murphy's thought is hardly original, no words could be more true after listening to the scintillating songstress Jane Monheit and the performing powerhouse Clint Holmes deliver 16 solid songs that but wouldn't exactly be called classic examples of what passes for the late 20th century Great American Songbook.
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.
Frank Wildhorn with Jane Monheit & Clint Holmes continues 'At the Piano in Song and Story', featuring Wildhorn's pop, jazz, and theatre songbook at Cafe Carlyle, through February 1st, 2014. Check out phtos from the concert below!
Syracuse native Marissa Mulder returns for TWO NIGHTS ONLY to perform her hit cabaret show 'Illusions.' A current NYC resident, Marissa has taken the cabaret scene by storm. Her show was voted one of the top 10 cabaret shows of 2011 by the Times Square Chronicles, and TimeOut NYC magazine listed her as one of the best cabaret shows of 2013.
Lauren Fox, one of the more multifaceted and ambitious young stars of the New York cabaret scene, seems intent on redefining what is already a pretty open-ended art form. The recent run of her new duo show at Stage 72 with bass player Ritt Henn, Ghosts of Love: Songs from the Reel World of David Lynch (January 9, 18, 23, and 24) was the most recent example of Ms. Fox's unconventional approach to a 70-80 minute nightclub show and the result was operatic film noir--cabaret style.
