Club Review: “Andrea McArdle & Friends Celebrate the 45th ANNIEversary”

Gerry Geddes
Andrea McArdle made a glamorous entrance on to the stage at Feinstein’s/54 Below to a vamp from “Annie” (Charles Strouse, Thomas Meehan) wearing a voluptuously feathery black coat that put the “frill” in frilly. She doffed the coat within seconds, but she had achieved the effect she was after. Beneath the coat was a ravishingly...

Club Review: Robert Bannon’s “Rewind”

BistroAwards
Robert Bannon, a likable and talented singer, took Rewind, the title of his recent show at The Green Room 42, seriously, opening with a videotape collage moving backwards through his life, to the precociously stage-stealing performances of his youth. After the opening number, a rousing “I’m Still Standing” (Elton John, Bernie Taupin), he took the...

CD Review: Mark Winkler’s “Late Bloomin’ Jazzman”

Gerry Geddes
Singer Mark Winkler is the genuine article. To borrow a quote from a classic Blossom Dearie song, “If it were hip to be hep he’d be hep.”  He is a laid back, swinging, hip jazz singer and, as his new CD Late Bloomin’ Jazzman highlights, he is one hell of a lyricist. In fact, the recording is...

Club Review: Salty Brine’s Living Record Collection—”How Strange It Is”

Gerry Geddes
The album In the Aeroplane Over the Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel, was released on February 10, 1998. The group was the brainchild of singer/songwriter Jeff Magnum, whose lyrics were in some instances inspired by the writings of Anne Frank. The amalgam of indie rock and art folk has given rise to much acclaim, both...

Club Review: Kati Neiheisel’s “Yesterday… Once More”

Betsyann Faiella
Kati Neiheisel’s absolutely charming show, Yesterday...Once More, is a love letter to the Carpenters, the brother and sister duo from Southern California (born in Connecticut) who were known for Karen Carpenter’s unfailing, soothing contralto and a brand of pop—arranged, often written, and masterminded by brother Richard—that produced multiple Top 10 hits in the 1970s. [caption...

Club Review: “To Steve with Love: Liz Callaway Celebrates Sondheim”

Charles Nelson
Ever feel like you’re Sondheimed-out?  Perhaps, but if it’s Liz Callaway singing the late great master’s songs, as she did recently at Feinstein’s/54 Below in her newest show, To Steve with Love: Liz Callaway Celebrates Sondheim, I guarantee you that she'll leave you wanting for more. You may already be aware of the personal, professional,...

Club Review: Karen Mack & Elliot Roth

Gerry Geddes
The front lounge at Pangea has become a relaxed, friendly hybrid of cabaret and piano bar with no cover and no minimum.  The talented duo of Karen Mack and Elliot Roth fits the room and the feel to a proverbial “T.”  They are both seasoned pros but here, liberated from the restrictions and familiarity of...

Club Review: Meg Flather’s “Rodgers & Hammerstein 2021+”

Penelope Thomas
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...

Theatre Revue: “Notes from Now—Songs of Resilience & Renewal”

Gerry Geddes
The new revue, recently presented at 59E59 Theaters, Notes from Now—Songs of Resilience & Renewal is, like most revues, a hit-and-miss affair, but when it hits, it is very, very good.  It features mostly newly commissioned original songs by contemporary musical theatre writers.   The show opens with Adam Gwon’s “Don’t Swat the Bee,” which...

Club Review: Meri Ziev in “New Words”

Betsyann Faiella
Meri Ziev’s show on a blustery and cold Saturday afternoon was a bit of sweetness and warmth that was badly needed on that day. New Words is a very ambitious show, a little uneven in terms of focus and material, but nonetheless, very enjoyable. It’s impossible not to appreciate a beautiful, elegant woman with unfailing pipes....