 BWW Review: The Final Night of the 29th New York Cabaret Convention Brings the Bubbly and Sparkle to Jazz at Lincoln Centerby Eugene Ebner - October 15, 2018 The final evening of performances for the Mabel Mercer Foundation's 29th New York Cabaret Convention, held at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Rose Theater, was a showcase for many cabaret legends, bringing back glamour, sparkle, and class to the proceedings. (more...)  BWW Review: Night 3 of The 29th New York Cabaret Convention Celebrates the Effervescent and Eclectic Music of Jerry Hermanby Eugene Ebner - October 14, 2018 The third night of performances at the Mabel Mercer Foundation's 29th Cabaret Convention was a feast for the eyes and ears. Hosted by the dynamic Klea Blackhurst, the full house of the Rose Theater at Jazz at Lincoln Center gathered to witness the showcase of many powerhouse performances by cabaret greats, saluting the music of the incomparable Jerry Herman. (more...)  BWW Review: Nathan Lee Graham Enchants The Green Room 42 With A SONDHEIM SALONby Melanie Votaw - October 19, 2018 Nathan Lee Graham took to the stage at The Green Room 42 on October 11 with the flourish you would expect from this dramatic performer. Wearing a black brocade jacket with a long, fringed, gold metallic scarf over one shoulder, Graham staged ALL THINGS BRIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL: A SONDHEIM SALON, an evening devoted to Stephen Sondheim. (more...)  BWW Review: On Opening Night, The 29th New York Cabaret Convention Chooses Its Own Definition of Cabaret Todayby Ashley Steves - October 12, 2018 The Mabel Mercer Foundation put itself in a tricky spot to start this year's New York Cabaret Convention: how do you define what cabaret today looks like? (more...)  BWW Review: The Night and the Music Belong to Clooney, Cook, and Wilson on Night Two of the 29th New York Cabaret Conventionby Troy Frisby - October 12, 2018 If necessity is the mother of invention, that scrappy lineage certainly continued with Rosemary Clooney, Barbara Cook, and Julie Wilson. (more...)  BWW Picks for Best Cabaret Shows in NYC This Week, 10/8-10/14by BWW Staff - October 8, 2018 The Mabel Mercer Foundation's 29th New York Cabaret Convention, THE JONATHAN LARSON PROJECT, and more make this week's top picks! (more...)  BWW Preview: ANIMANIACS LIVE! Returns to Joe's Pub This Weekendby Ashley Steves - October 4, 2018 It isn't exclusive to this year, but 2018 has, undoubtedly, an often-criticized soft spot for nostalgia, especially as it pertains to television. ANIMANIACS' brand of nostalgia may be desperately needed, though. (more...)  BWW Review: Amanda Duarte Puts on a Performance of Certainty in STAYING ALIVEby Audrey Moyce - October 4, 2018 The title of Amanda Duarte's show at Joe's Pub, STAYING ALIVE, suggests that she is hanging by a thread. Perhaps the desperation implied in the title led me to think we'd see Duarte portraying a woman in the middle of a crisis. Instead, we were given a still-struggling-but-mostly-strutting-on-the-other-side-of-trauma kickass woman, captivating us with her presence, singing, playful dancing, and storytelling. (more...)  Photo Flash: Alexa Ray Joel Returns to the Cafe Carlyle in New Residencyby BWW News Desk - September 30, 2018 Acclaimed singer-songwriter Alexa Ray Joel returned to Cafe Carlyle for her fifth engagement, which runs September 25-October 6. At this residency, Joel performs original material, Broadway numbers and---as always---a few tunes from her dad, Billy Joel. (more...)  BWW Feature: A Specifically Not Specific Murray Hill Makes His Solo Debutby Audrey Moyce - September 27, 2018 Murray Hill's debut solo show, ABOUT TO BREAK, officially opened Friday night (September 21), at Joe's Pub. Though he has been performing for over two decades, this solo show marked a first for him: a career show, as he put it. New York Voices, Joe's Pub at The Public's artist commissioning program, gave him unprecedented resources---his first time working with a director (Scott Wittman), space, budget, rehearsal, a full six-show run. All these things that, as he said, makes it possible to 'actually do creative development.' (more...)  BWW Review: Lady Rizo Embraces the Feminine Divine in LADY, LADY, LADYby Troy Frisby - September 24, 2018 While Lady Rizo is bidding New York a (temporary) adieu, her latest show, LADY, LADY, LADY, proved she's determined to make the city miss her every single second she's away. (more...)  BWW Interview: Max Vernon Talks EXISTENTIAL Residency, Making 'Art Babies' with Collaborators, and Finding Fashion at the 99-Cent Storeby Troy Frisby - September 24, 2018 When it comes to Max Vernon's new three-show residency at Joe's Pub, EXISTENTIAL LIFE CRISIS LULLABY, Vernon says to expect "an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink experience---and possibly even the kitchen sink---but glued and covered in glitter." (more...)  BWW Review: TWO LOST SOULS Walk Into a Bar in Jane Lynch & Kate Flannery's Cafe Carlyle Debutby Troy Frisby - September 20, 2018 Even if you didn't know that Jane Lynch (GLEE) and Kate Flannery (THE OFFICE) are longtime friends, it's easy to imagine. (more...)  BWW Picks for Best Cabaret Shows in NYC This Week, 9/10 to 9/16by BWW Staff - September 10, 2018 Joe Iconis, Jeff Macauley, and more make this week's BWW Cabaret NYC Picks! (more...)  BWW Review: Kennedy Davenport Puts Emotion on Display in Cathartic THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO KENNEDY DAVENPORTby Troy Frisby - September 6, 2018 "There's nothing formal about this but this dress." Kennedy Davenport's aside, just several minutes into her August 23 performance of THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO KENNEDY DAVENPORT at the Laurie Beechman Theatre, couldn't have been truer. And, to put it in RUPAUL'S DRAG RACE speak, that informality represented both the top and the bottom of the performance--- though, rest assured, nobody was in danger of elimination. (more...)  BWW Review: Lauren Patten + Company Raise a Glass to P!nk with 54 SINGS Tributeby Troy Frisby - September 3, 2018 Throughout her career, above all else, P!nk has proven to be something of a power ballad machine. That's why it's no surprise that, with the heightened emotion in the sound and lyrical content of much of her catalog, her music was such a natural fit for the theatrical performances of 54 SINGS P!NK at Feinstein's/54 Below. (more...)  BWW Picks for Best Cabaret Shows in NYC This Week, 9/3 to 9/9by BWW Staff - September 2, 2018 BWW Picks returns! Published every Sunday night, BroadwayWorld Cabaret writers will make their top recommendations for shows throughout NYC during the upcoming week. (more...)  BWW Review: Natalie Douglas Shares Her Love for Cher in Her Latest TRIBUTES at Birdlandby Troy Frisby - August 13, 2018 It's safe to say that Natalie Douglas is a little obsessed with Cher. Throughout TRIBUTES: CHER, the latest in her award-winning TRIBUTES series, Douglas made her way through the icon's life from her early career up to the present, both in song and in story. But the real focus of the July 16 show at Birdland wasn't necessarily in identifying with the woman, the myth, the legend that is Cher. (After all, how can anyone fully relate to someone for whom a phrase as simple as "Hi again" is a meme-able moment?) (more...)  BWW Review: Tovah Feldshuh Means Business as LEONA! at Feinstein's/54 Belowby Troy Frisby - July 27, 2018 Leona Helmsley shuffled back to this mortal coil for one night only---three, actually---and, as portrayed by Tovah Feldshuh, she's lost none of her bite in those intervening years. From the start, Feldshuh's Leona narrowed her eyes into a hard stare that would put Paddington to shame, never letting up for a moment. (more...)  BWW Interview: Alaska Talks ON GOLDEN GIRLS, Why RuPaul Is A Total Rose Nylund, And Her New DRAG RACE-Themed Podcastby Troy Frisby - July 25, 2018 If you know one thing about Alaska, it's that she won RUPAUL'S DRAG RACE ALL-STARS 2. If you know a second thing about her, it's probably that she's obsessed with THE GOLDEN GIRLS. So much so, in fact, that the drag queen and her partner-in-crime, Handsome Jeremy, molded that obsession into a live show, which returns to The Laurie Beechman Theatre for an encore run in August. Before Alaska kicks off the latest string of shows, we spoke with her by phone about what fans can expect from the aptly-titled show, ON GOLDEN GIRLS, which pays tribute to the musical stylings featured on the beloved sitcom. (more...)  BWW Review: Original Cast of PUMP BOYS AND DINETTES Reunites at Feinstein's/54 Below for Energetic Concertby Melanie Votaw - July 24, 2018 PUMP BOYS AND DINETTES was my first Broadway musical, so it not only holds a special place in my heart, but I still remember most of the lyrics. Running for 577 performances in 1982-83 and earning a Tony nomination for Best Musical, PUMP BOYS was 'the little show that could' with just six cast members and a small set. But the characters and songs captured many fans who came out to relive the experience at Feinstein's/54 Below July 22. (more...)  BWW Review: Adrienne Truscott Plays Both Comedian and Performance Artist in ADRIENNE TRUSCOTT'S A ONE TRICK PONYby Audrey Moyce - July 10, 2018 If you've heard of Adrienne Truscott's work, the title of her current show, ADRIENNE TRUSCOTT'S A ONE TRICK PONY (OR ANDY KAUFMAN IS A FEMINIST PERFORMANCE ARTIST AND I'M A COMEDIAN), is self-explanatory: she last made waves with ADRIENNE TRUSCOTT'S ASKING FOR IT, a comedy special in which she stood on stage, naked from the waist down, and told rape jokes for an hour. So why is it, Truscott asks, that a woman who has just told a bunch of jokes is labeled a feminist performance artist, while Andy Kaufman, a man who never told a single joke, was labeled a comedian? Isn't it, Truscott asks, ironic? (more...)  BWW Interview: Becca Blackwell Talks THEY, THEMSELF AND SCHMERM, Mining Humor from Difficult Topics, and the Butterfly Effect of Queer Artistsby Troy Frisby - June 20, 2018 'You're never going to see yourself onstage unless you write for yourself.' That's what Becca Blackwell was told by their friend, Michelle Matlock, who had written THE MAMMY PROJECT as a solo show for herself. That idea, coupled with encouragement from Blackwell's partner and 'prolific' fellow artist, Erin Markey, led Blackwell to write THEY, THEMSELF AND SCHMERM. (more...)  BWW Feature: The BROADWAY PRINCESS PARTY Continues to Bring Magic to New York and Beyondby Troy Frisby - June 18, 2018 The BROADWAY PRINCESS PARTY is having a homecoming of sorts. The brand, led by Benjamin Rauhala and Laura Osnes (Rodgers and Hammerstein's CINDERELLA), touched down at Feinstein's/54 Below (then simply 54 Below) back in August 2015, returning for four more engagements over the next three years. When the show returns to the space on June 25, it will look a bit different than what New York audiences may have come to expect. (more...) BWW Review: Gina Gershon Gets Wild in Her Cafe Carlyle Debut by Troy Frisby - June 14, 2018 'God, you guys are easy,' Gina Gershon joked at Cafe Carlyle, after garnering applause simply for taking off her jacket. (more...) |
