Adore, adore, adore her. You have to believe me — at 95, the great Marilyn Maye simply enchants, and holds the room in the palm of her hand. Very, very few cabaret performers have this ability (my top three are Eartha Kitt, Elaine Stritch and Ms. Maye). She recently had a sold-out show at Carnegie Hall (her first at the great venue), and it was a smashing success. Believe it or not, this timeless icon who has entertained and thrilled audiences for over eight decades still tours! The best way to see Marilyn is in a cabaret, so make sure you catch her at Hollywood’s Catalina Bar and Grill on December 1, an intimate venue where you can worship her up close and personal (or if not Hollywood, try The Purple Room in Palm Springs thru Dec. 7 or Birdland in NYC Dec. 27-31 or even Galveston on Jan. 4 see her tour dates here). At Catalina, her special opening guest is jazz singer Richard Cortez with pianist Sam Hirsh. For Marilyn, the awesome Ted Firth will be on piano with Trey Henry on bass and Paul Ringenbach on drums.
A theatrical dynamo with the power to melt the heart of the most hardened cynics, Maye is a consummate entertainer who breathes new life into classics. Additionally, she’s a highly-respected entertainer who carries the torch from her peers who originated the music of the Great American Songbook for future generations of singers. In other words: Marilyn Maye gives her audiences more in terms of great music, great theatre, and great comedy.
If ever a performer was born to the stage, it’s this actor-singer, dubbed the “Marvelous.” To that you can add “magnificent,” “mind-blowing” and “magical.” She’s also been called Manhattan’s Queen of Cabaret, and to that there’s no disputing. To attend one of her shows is to be at an exalted master class of “how it’s done.” Should this strike you as hyperbole, then go see for yourself. Her vocal power is undiminished, her energy level in the stratosphere and her ability to put together nearly ninety minutes of close to 40 songs is dazzling (she does medleys as well, such as the “Johnny Mercer Medley” with swinging renditions of “Day In, Day Out,” “Too Marvelous for Words” and quite a few others.
To learn more before you see her at Catalina catch the amazing NY Times article by another great singer Melissa Errico, written just before the Carnegie Hall concert last year.
