Rob Lester

THINGS ARE O.K. WITH MR. K For decades, three words—“by Barry Kleinbort”—have often appeared in cabaret and theatre credits, typically preceded by “directed” or “written.” At Birdland, The Kleinbort Collection—a gratifying gathering of his material from past projects—put the bespectacled, merry, mustached man himself on stage to introduce guest singers and share the origins of…

A DATE WITH KATE She looks and sounds radiant, and the audience knows it. Tonight, March 6, she was greeted with some of the most enthusiastic and sustained cheers I’ve heard in a long time. Accompanied by pianist/arranger Georgia Stitt, musical theatre actress and concert artist Kate Baldwin takes the stage at 54 Below for three nights…

BRIGHT, BREEZY BRYCE AND HIS FREEWHEELING FRABJOUS FRIVOLITY Take note, nightclub-goers: Attending an edition of the spiffy soiree The Bryce Edwards Frivolity Hour might just make you believe in reincarnation. How else can you explain a young entertainer delivering old, old, old pop songs with the nasal croon and slick panache of a band vocalist…

BACKSTAGE BABBLE AT STUDIO 54: TOPS WITH FLOPS Not every musical is a hit, and some barely get a chance to stumble before vanishing into obscurity. The midtown Manhattan nightclub 54 Below has an ongoing concert series that explores Broadway’s Greatest Hits—but what about Broadway’s greatest flops? Last night on February 19, Beyond the Walls of…

DIANNE REEVES’ WITH LOVE RECEIVED WITH LOVE If Grammy-winning singer Dianne Reeves’ suitcase could talk (and I’m guessing that it can’t), it would tell tales of trekking all over the world for her engagements, packed with flowing stage garb and memories. Recent and upcoming months include gigs in such exotic places as China, Germany, Japan,…

EVERYTHING TO GAINES AND NOTHING TO LOSE No, he doesn’t sing “My Funny Valentine” in his entertaining show called Love Is in the Air on the night before Valentine’s Day at Green Room 42 (repeated on the holiday itself). Nor does Davis Gaines revisit any numbers from The Phantom of the Opera, a musical in…