Club Review: Susan Neuffer’s “An Elpee’s Worth of Todd”

Gerry Geddes
Back in the day, when I became a lifelong fan of singer/songwriter/producer Todd Rundgren, albums were not merely a collection of "pick & choose" streamable tracks.  They were an entity unto themselves—an artistic statement in which to immerse oneself, in which to get lost like a good book or a good movie.  Each song benefited...

Club Review: Brandon James Gwinn’s “Four Pianos”

Gerry Geddes
Bobby Short…Blossom Dearie…Frances Faye…Diana Krall.  Their names alone conjure images of sophisticated, exciting nightlife, of bôites inhabited by saloon singers on the ivories, of wonderful dreams of music and class and style. Alas, it has been a long time since that piano and voice alchemy has topped the entertainment world in New York City and...

Club Review: Stacy Sullivan, Todd Murray in “I’m Glad There Is You—The Musical Romance of Frank Sinatra and Peggy Lee

Gerry Geddes
What could go wrong?  One of New York cabaret’s warmest, most intelligent, and talented vocalists paired with a solid crooner in the classic mode whose rich, smooth sound and smart phrasing sets him apart from other current practitioners of saloon singing paired to sing the songs of Peggy Lee and Frank Sinatra accompanied by two...

Club Review: Linda Kahn’s “Say Yes!”

Betsyann Faiella
Linda Kahn performed a wonderful repertoire of songs that successfully delivered on the title of her show, Say Yes!, at the Laurie Beechman Theatre. She made hay out of the curves life throws at us and was totally charming throughout. She opened the show with a medley of “Don’t Rain on My Parade” and “I...

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,...

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...

Club Review: Ann Morrison’s “Merrily from Center Stage”

Gerry Geddes
Anyone who has seen the 2016 documentary Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened might understandably assume that there was no need to get further insight into the famed failure that was Merrily We Roll Along. Anyone who has seen an autobiographical cabaret show by a Broadway performer might understandably assume that a show by one...