Cabaret Setlist: Taking a Chance on Songs (Part 1)—Byron St. Cyr Dares with “The Miller’s Son” (Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim)
Mark Dundas Wood
Repertoire for the Once and Future American Songbook Article #19 in this ongoing series. Usually, for these Cabaret Setlist articles, I’ll look at a song and trace its creation, along with its performance and recording history, then add the insight of contemporary singers who have performed the number recently. For this installment—and the next one—I’m...
Cabaret Singers: Did Their Virtual Performing Experiences Have Any Effect on Their Long-Awaited Return to the Stage?
Simi Horwitz
We began this article with the hypothesis that cabaret artists must have learned at least something from their virtual presentations that they were then able to bring bring back to their new and live performances. So, we reached out to six cabaret performers—Eric Comstock, Carole Demas, Barbara Fasano, Ann Kittredge, Michael McAssey, and Billy Stritch—to find out...
Cabaret Setlist: “Everybody Gets to Go to the Moon” — Music and Lyrics by Jimmy Webb
Mark Dundas Wood
Repertoire for the Once and Future American Songbook Article # 18 in this ongoing series. With richer-than-God entrepreneurs—Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Richard Branson—pioneering commercial flights into space these days, the rocket-ship dreams that people harbored back in the early days of the international Space Race have been reignited. (Such fantasies will seem more attainable,...
Club Review: Ann Kittredge’s “Movie Nite”
Penelope Thomas
Ann Kittredge (Photo here and below: Helane Blumfield) Ann Kittredge was in her element at Birdland Theater with her latest cabaret offering, “Movie Nite.” In a show packed with well-chosen songs from classic (and sometimes more contemporary) Hollywood, Kittredge and her team’s creative instincts were on-target: she sounded as if her...
CD Review: Kate McGarry and Keith Ganz Ensemble’s “What to Wear in the Dark”
Gerry Geddes
In their new CD, What to Wear in the Dark, the Kate McGarry and Keith Ganz Ensemble have fashioned a musically intriguing and emotionally satisfying response, not only to the pandemic but to the last decade or two of public and private wounds and monstrous elections. Kate McGarry has long been one of the brightest lights in...
CD Review: Jenna Esposito’s “More Amore—Songs from the Great Italian-American Songbook”
Lisa Jo Sagolla
Singer Jenna Esposito’s invigorating new album, More Amore: Songs from the Great Italian-American Songbook, is a family affair. Its rousing arrangements are by the singer’s father, Fortune Esposito. Her sister, Kelly Esposito-Broelmann, sings back-up, while her nephew, Charlie Broelmann, plays drums, and her husband, Jimmy Cannizzaro, serves as a percussionist and associate producer. Everyone knows...
Club Review: Susan Mack’s “Music in the Air”
Gerry Geddes
When I am teaching a vocal performance class, I always stress that just because a singer loves to listen to a song doesn’t mean that the singer should sing it. In the case of Susan Mack’s Music in the Air at Birdland, I would expand that to include if a singer loves a genre of...
Club Review: Scott Raneri’s “Extra! Extra! The Extra Adventures of an Actor”
Betsyann Faiella
Scott Raneri is a good singer with an extremely likable stage presence. He has a rich concept for a show in Extra! Extra! The Extra Adventures of an Actor. He’s good looking and has a ‘60s nightclub entertainer vibe, slight and slick, nicely put together. Scott is fairly new on the scene: This is his second...
Club Review: Jane & TUCKER: Stripped
Gerry Geddes
Jane Bruce and TUCKER are such charismatic, charming performers that it goes a long way towards forgiveness of the flaws that pepper their new show, Jane & TUCKER: Stripped, at Feinstein’s/54 Below. Bruce, fresh from a Tony Awards performance with Jagged Little Pill, and cabaret veteran TUCKER have good voices, infectious energy, and winning personalities....
Club Review: Susie Mosher’s “The Lineup”
Penelope Thomas
Susie Mosher is a hell of a good host. She wrangles a weekly Tuesday variety night with a rotating group of performers at Birdland Theater; when I was there on September 14, her crowd seemed to be a crossover between local Broadway and cabaret fans, tourists, and an enthusiastic office party. She was ready for...
