“The Real Ambassadors”: New Book Recalls an Anti-Segregation Jazz Musical Starring Louis Armstrong and Carmen McRae
Mark Dundas Wood
Say, show tune lovers—did you ever hear of The Real Ambassadors, a musical developed by famed jazz pianist Dave Brubeck (“Take Five”) and his wife, Iola, in the late 1950s and early 1960s? The show was envisioned as a Louis Armstrong vehicle, with Carmen McRae as his love interest. The celebrated “vocalese” trio of Lambert,...
Paying Tribute: Various Approaches One Can Take When Celebrating the Work of an Artist
Simi Horwitz
Performers paying tribute to a singing icon or big name writing-composing team usually work within a clearly defined genre. They belt or croon the tunes identified with the anointed artist(s) in their best voices. But sometimes other ingredients are added to the mix—from unexpected interpretations to political implications to using the songs as a vehicle...
Remembering Jay Rogers
Gerry Geddes
On October 28, 2022, we lost Jay Rogers, one of the most hilarious, talented, endearing clowns in New York cabaret and theatre, to cancer. It is a tragic reminder of the fragility of our lives, and that even a man whose art and being embodied a whole-hearted, joy-filled embrace of life and living it to...
Club Review: Dorian Woodruff’s “The Lyrics of Alan and Marilyn Bergman”
Gerry Geddes
In 1960, lyricists Alan and Marilyn Bergman secured their position in the Great American Songbook with Frank Sinatra’s recording of “Nice ‘n’ Easy” (Lew Spence) and, up until Marilyn’s death this year, they provided a lyrical backdrop to the passing decades with songs in film, theatre, television, and recordings while working with some of the...
Club Review: “Lisa Viggiano Sings the Jane Olivor Songbook”
Gerry Geddes
After she was discovered (and signed to Columbia Records) at her very first cabaret show, Jane Olivor released five albums between 1976 and 1982 that endeared her to many, particularly in the gay community. As their superstar Barbra Streisand ascended to the stratosphere, Olivor took her place in many of their hearts. As the AIDS...
Theatre Review: Melissa Etheridge in “My Window—A Journey Through Life”
Penelope Thomas
Melissa Etheridge (Photo: Elizabeth Miranda) When a Rockstar wants to do a theatre piece you hope it’s going to be good; that they make the leap to a new genre and take it seriously. Melissa Etheridge’s show, My Window: A Journey Through Life currently running at New World Stages, delivers. It is intelligently conceived,...
Remembering Rita Gardner— Actor, Singer, Teacher, and the Original “Girl” in “The Fantasticks”
Bistro Awards
Rita Gardner had so many friends who loved her, and I was lucky to be one of them. Rita Gardner holds up a photo of her younger self as Luisa, with Lee Roy Reams. All photos courtesy of Alex Rybeck. Rita's name is quickly associated as the actor who played 'The...
Club Review: Philip Officer’s “Let Me Sing and I’m Happy”
Gerry Geddes
When I teach vocal performance, one of the first things I stress to students is that performing in a cabaret space is more akin to film acting than stage acting. Subtle gestures, like a raised eyebrow or a simple smile, can be much more effective than the grand gestures and histrionics of a theatrical performance. ...
Club Review: Scott F. Mason’s “One Dame Funny Night”
Gerry Geddes
Before I get to Scott F. Mason’s hilarious show at Don’t Tell Mama, One Dame Funny Night, return with me to those thrilling days of cabaret past, and to one of the best cabaret comedians in the late 20th century, Pudgy (the stage name of Beverly Wines). Pudgy began her career at a time when...
Cabaret Setlist: “Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries” – Music by Ray Henderson, Lyrics by Lew Brown
Mark Dundas Wood
Repertoire for the Once and Future American Songbook Article #23 in this ongoing series. When times get tough, people look for escape routes, right? Think of those 1930s Warner Bros. movies with their intrepid gold diggers and elaborate Busby Berkeley production numbers. Those films have long been cited as vehicles that helped people forget their...
