If you ever get stuck in thinking that the Rodgers & Hammerstein songbook can be dated and dusty, you haven’t yet heard Meg Flather sing from it. With multiple albums as a singer-songwriter, her legit sound is sweet, easy, and perfectly blended—and personal. That’s a tricky thing to do, to sing standards as if you...
Susie Mosher (Photo: Gene Reed) Susie Mosher, film and stage actor and musical comedian, star of her own weekly variety show, The Lineup with Susie Mosher, is set to host the 37th annual Bistro Awards that takes place on Monday, May 16. Mosher has been performing professionally since age 16, when she...
(New York, March 21, 2022)—Three-time Grammy Award winner and iconic songwriter-performer Jimmy Webb will be honored at the 37th Annual Bistro Awards on Monday, May 16, where he will be receiving the ASCAP–Bob Harrington Lifetime Achievement Award, the Bistro Awards’ highest honor, for musical and storytelling accomplishments over his five decades-plus career. [/tb-dynamic-container]
For the purposes of this column, I will be wearing both a director’s hat and a critic’s hat, with the former being a bit larger than the latter. You will see why as we go— 1) Patter, Patter, Patter Sometimes even the most seasoned of performers will find patter (talking between songs) the most difficult...
Repertoire for the Once and Future American Songbook Article #21 in this ongoing series. When BistroAwards.com started the Cabaret Setlist series, we subtitled it “Repertoire for the Once and Future American Songbook.” And we’ve stuck pretty closely with purely American titles so far. We’ve stretched the definition occasionally—including songs cowritten by non-Americans. There was British...
Anita Hollander (Photo: Kia Michelle Benbow) ANITA HOLLANDER, whose double bout with cancer led to a full leg amputation, has no problem with the words “disability." The preferred term today is “challenge,” she knows and understands those who choose it, especially if they can “pass” and enjoy more casting opportunities. But...
Songwriter Francesca Blumenthal had the uncanny ability to write lyrics that so many of us could easily relate to. Her well-chosen words that told a story would either make us laugh out loud or touch our hearts, and sometimes both. Francesca Blumenthal This past December, we lost Francesca who, aside from...
When you are singing a song, you are telling a story. You may be narrating the story to the audience, you may be a participant in the story, or simply observing or perhaps reacting to the story, but in each case, the words matter. The more connected to the song you are, the more personal...
Repertoire for the Once and Future American Songbook Article #20 in this ongoing series. Happy 2022, all! I wish you many memorable musical moments in the year to come. In the previous installment of Cabaret Setlist (click here to read), we looked at how singers can expand the scope of their art by defying expectations about...
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...
