Cabaret

ONE WOULD BE MAD TO NOT HAVE RSVP’D “YES” TO THIS PRIVATE PARTY CELEBRATING THE CENTENNIAL OF RODGERS & HART’S “MANHATTAN” Oh, if these walls could talk!!! Actually, the walls would probably also sing because so much music has been played and planned over the decades at the elegant apartment in question dubbed “54 Above.”…

IT’S JAZZ. IT’S JOY. IT’S JUDY On the very rainy night May 14th, performing at that place called Pangea, the attractive venue on Second Avenue in Greenwich Village, vocalist Judy Wexler is the featured attraction. It’s a one-night-only opportunity to catch her, so it’s worth getting wet. Notably, a cluster of admirers includes other singers…

ANY TIME IS A GOOD TIME TO GIVE MY REGARDS TO [THE MAN WHO OWNED] BROADWAY The tribute show is called George & Me. The only singer on the bill is a man named Bill: That’s Bill Bartus, bow tie at his neck and hat and cane at the ready, and he’s ready to share…

HARNICK…HEARTFELT & HEARTWARMING Sheldon Harnick, who passed away in 2023 at age 99, is alphabetically in good company among the great Broadway writers. His name comes after E.Y. “Yip” Harburg — whose work and personal encouragement inspired him as he began his career — and the witty Lorenz Hart, but before Jerry Herman, who similarly…

BRAVURA BELTING, BONDING, AND BONHOMIE A double dose of old-school star power, show biz history, and charisma radiated through the showroom at 54 Below, fondly received and encouraged by a cheering, packed audience. The ladies have played the venue before with their solo acts, but when Lorna Luft and Andrea McArdle share the bill and…

DONNA MCKECHNIE TAKES US INTO SONDHEIM’S WORLD It may be impossible NOT to be charmed by the mega-vivacious, sunny-spirited, endearing veteran Donna McKechnie. Her smile and talent light up the room and the mood at 54 Below where Take Me to the World, her show devoted solely to Stephen Sondheim material, continues for two more…

While visiting New York, I was lucky enough to catch two Scott Siegel events. Similar in structure but with completely different feels were Broadway by the Season at Merkin Hall and 54 Sings Broadway’s Greatest Hits at 54 Below. The allure of these series lies in their seamless fusion of timeless compositions with the talents of…

You probably did not attend the opening of a Broadway revue called Garrick Gaieties, since this year of 2025 marks the 100th anniversary of that show. It presented the first Broadway production for which a certain pair of talented songwriters had contributed the full score. They’d go on to much success, creating many standards that…

THE NONPAREIL NONAGENARIAN REMAINS A NON-STOP WHIRLWIND OF TALENT There’s a problem with singer Marilyn Maye’s appearances. And it’s this: For reviewers, all the positive adjectives have been used up, repeated, and now seem inadequate. The one in the alliterative title of her first RCA album in the 1960s—Meet Marvelous Marilyn Maye—stuck and still applies….

QUITE A NIGHT WITH MISS WHITE The series of concerts by Lillias White at 54 Below—running nightly through March 29 (and live streamed on the 28)—is billed as Divine Sass: A Tribute to Sarah Vaughan: An Album Release Concert. But a few songs in the lively and enjoyable set weren’t connected to the honoree’s career….

Songs and gab at this swell cabaret Starting the party is Mame‘s “It’s Today.” Hear the cheer in the singer’s voice With this merry Jerry Herman choice. The room has no gloom. There’s joy. We feel jolly When they sing anything from the swell Hello, Dolly! A grand score, The Grand Tour, we all adore;…

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…