Manhattan Musical Theatre Lab's Co-Producing Artistic Directors Frank Evans and Stephen Hanks are proud to announce that the final production of the 2013-14 season from the not-for-profit musical theater development is CURIOUS & RARE, written by Broadway, film, and TV actress and playwright Tracy Sallows (who has also appeared in previous MMTL productions). The presentation will be on Thursday, February 20 at 6:30 PM at The Snapple Theatre Center on Broadway and 50th Street. 3rd Floor, Jerry Orbach Theatre. Reservations at 212-989-6706 or MusicalMondays@aol.com. Regular Admission: $18. Students/Seniors $13.
As a cabaret reviewer, my role is to observe, muse, opine, critique, judge, and otherwise hobnob with all the thoughts in my fevered brain during and after a show. I don't believe it's appropriate for reviewers to promote specific shows—especially before they've reviewed them—so I don't write a “Pick of the Week or Month” column or advise readers on what or whom they should see. But here I'll break my own policy and urge you to go to the Metropolitan Room on Wednesday night, January 15 to see the shows of Steve Schalchlin (7pm) and Jim Brochu (9pm). Believe me, you'll thank me.
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.
It seemed only natural that the bodacious British cabaret chanteuse Barb Jungr would bring a new show to New York that could be staged in the small theater environment of 59E59 (December 22-29). While Ms. Jungr's forays definitely are in the cabaret mold, they are also part theater-style performance art. In fact, Jungr is a crossover artist and genre hybrid on a number of levels. She's a jazzy and sultry-voice singer with a healthy dose of a pop sound. She's not a comedian but can be a cheeky raconteur bordering on stream of consciousness. She's a creative interpreter of song lyrics who can also honor the original intent of the songwriter at the same time. Barb Jungr has become an internationally-known performer who is also the quintessential cabaret artist.
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!
n this space back in mid-July, BroadwayWorld.com New York cabaret reviewer Stephen Hanks offered up his list of the Best New York Cabaret Performances for the first half of 2013. Now, here is his list of the performers he feels were the best and most exciting in cabaret this year.
In 1969, at age 16, Bronx-born Karen Wyman became a singing sensation appearing on TV with Dean Martin, The Ed Sullivan Show, and The Tonight Show, and cutting two albums. A few years later she suddenly quit singing professionally to raise a family. Now, she's back and as she proved with her new show at the Metropolitan Room, she's as good as ever.
Our intrepid cabaret columnist/reviewer Stephen Hanks catches up on some reviews of fall 2013 shows, including Mary Foster Conklin's BroadwayWorld.com Award nominated tribute to Fran Landesman, solo shows from Bernard Dotson, Gary Crawford, and Lauren Glazer, and a duo show from Alison Nusbaum and Jackie Kristel.
Having written a plethora of words about Marissa Mulder over the past couple of years, I had planned on relegating a review of her mid-November, two-show run at the Cafe Carlyle to a relatively short critique in my seasonal compilation column (due to post a day or two or three before Santa arrives, for those keeping score at home). But once I got started I went way over my self-imposed word count for such things and decided it should be broken out into this stand-alone review. Speaking of 'breakout,' although the first known use of the phrase 'breakout year' came 35 years ago, it has become the standard expression in sports or entertainment when referring to someone who has become a sudden or smashing success, especially in comparison to past efforts. If anyone in the world of New York cabaret could be said to have had a 'breakout year' in 2013, it would have to be Marissa Mulder. And this angelic young woman-in voice, looks, and personality-hasn't even hit 30 yet.
Cabaret Singer, Corinna Sowers-Adler, brings her new cabaret show entitled, 'Let Me Sing and I'm Happy' to the Metropolitan Room in New York City on Saturday, January 4, 2014 at 4pm.
Ann Hampton Callaway's latest show in late November at 54 Below—her new home away from home—was another one of those slam dunk entertainments she's produced in the past year or so that clearly have put her near the top, if not at the very top, of the female cabaret performer depth chart. Listen, not counting the Broadway stars like Patti LuPone (who are now doing cabaret, mainly at 54 Below), or the top-notch jazz singers like Jane Monheit, you be hard-pressed to think of any major veteran cabaret singer in the country—and that includes Barbara Cook, Marilyn Maye, Andrea Marcovicci, and Amanda McBroom—who are plying the trade better these days than Ann Hampton Callaway.
Urban Stages, in association with producer/director/lyricist Peter Napolitano have announced additions to WINTER RHYTHMS 2013 performer line-up now running throughSunday, December 15, 2013 at Urban Stages Theatre (259 West 30th Street). Tickets are $30 per show (unless otherwise noted).Tickets may be purchased on www.smarttix.com or 212 868-4444.
If you're wondering whether or not 2013 was a fantastic year for the cabaret art form in New York, all you have to do is scan the amazing list of nominees for this year's BroadwayWorld New York Cabaret Awards and you'll know it was one of the best ever. So now it's time for all you cabaret performers and fans to vote for the best singers, musicians, songs, and shows of the year. Voting will continue until Sunday night January 5 and the winners will be announced later that week. We hope that all the winners will be able to perform in the Award show on Sunday night February 23 at Joe's Pub.
It may not be like getting a gift on every one of the 12 Days of Christmas, but for cabaret and musical theater lovers, the 5th Annual Urban Stages Winter Rhythms series--presented over a dozen nights at the not-for-profit Off-Broadway theatre on 259 West 30th Street--could be the closest thing to opening a daily present by the tree. From December 3-15, dozens of singers and musicians will perform in an eclectic mix of a dozen shows plus late night and matinee 'extras,' with all the proceeds from ticket sales dedicated to the Urban Stages 'On Tour Outreach Program that brings more than 200 free multicultural theater and music programs to elementary and middle school age children and their families in libraries and schools throughout NYC five boroughs. Three years ago, Urban Stages Artistic Director Frances Hill brought in MAC and Bistro award-winning director, lyricist and producer Peter Napolitano to produce the Winter Rhythms program and broaden its scope.BroadwayWorld.com Cabaret Columnist Stephen Hanks recently caught up with the Sol Hurok of Urban Stages to learn how Napolitano has helped Winter Rhythms evolve and to get some insights into this year's program.
Urban Stages (Frances Hill, Founding Artistic Director), in association with producer/director/lyricist Peter Napolitano announces a series of musical evenings entitled WINTER RHYTHMS 2013, beginning on Tuesday, December 3 and running through Sunday, December 15, 2013 at Urban Stages Theatre (259 West 30th Street). Tickets are $30 per show (unless otherwise noted).Tickets may be purchased on www.smarttix.com or 212 868-4444.
While it was billed as a presentation celebrating the release of his 13-song CD, Tales From the Bonus Round, and his 60th birthday, Steven Schalchlin's recent show at the Metropolitan Room was so much more than that. It was also one about fear, fortitude, anxiety, anguish, compassion, courage, and love, all expressed in poetic and often clever lyrics and melodies ranging from uplifting gospel to Billy Joel-sounding mid-tempo pop to sensitive ballads, many colored with musical theater undertones. At their core, most of the songs conveyed what Schalchlin has thought, felt and experienced since early 1993, when he was diagnosed with AIDS, launched one of the first internet diaries/blogs (in early 1996), stared death in the face on a daily basis, took an experimental AIDS drug (Crixivan), and ultimately regained his health and career. When you listen to his songs, it's not hard to believe Schalchlin when he claims that during those scary days writing music and the “healing properties of piano vibrations” also helped save his life, and the 17 years since are what he calls his “Bonus Round.”
It turns out that when it came to Tanya Moberly cabaret shows and this reviewer, the third time was the charm. After being blown away by Moberly's powerful voice and stage presence when I first caught her one-song performances at the Sunday Salon Open Mics three years ago, I wasn't crazy about either of her full-blown cabaret shows the past two years (Tanya Moberly Sings Di Franco/Tanya Moberly Sings Jonatha Brooke in 2011 and Tanya Lorraine Moberly Sings Barbra Joan Streisand in 2012—in spite of her receiving MAC and BroadwayWorld.com Best Female Vocalist nominations for the latter). But her new show that opened this past Friday and Saturday nights at Don't Tell Mama, I Love New York Songwriters, pressed many of my cabaret buttons—in a good way. While there were still some minor flaws—owing to a certain stubbornness in her approach to a cabaret show—this eclectic set of original songs written by some of the city's best “unknown” composers was consistently entertaining. In this particular show, Ms. Moberly was Tanya Terrific.
Is it possible that it's already been a year since BroadwayWorld.com launched the nominations period for its first New York Cabaret Awards? Well, it's that time again. Starting today-and until November 24-you can vote for your five favorite performers or shows in 23 different categories. Last year there were an astounding 3,000 nominations submitted and this year could generate even more, as it was a great 2013 for the cabaret scene in New York.
With her most recent show at Stage 72, 'Let Me Sing and I'm Happy,' the New York cabaret community should realize that talented singer Corinna Sowers-Adler has indeed “catapulted” herself into the elite group of young performers and landed very comfortably in the mix.
