Katie McGrath and Chuck Flowers: “Playing Favorites”

Gerry Geddes
The worlds of cabaret and R&B cover songs met in Playing Favorites, the new show by Bistro Award winner Katie McGrath and St. Louis based singer Chuck Flowers. I am sorry to say that it was more a collision than a blend of styles.  A few years ago, McGrath presented one of the most accomplished...

Ava Nicole Frances: “Here’s Looking at You Kid”

Gerry Geddes
Ava Nicole Frances has a big voice, a Broadway diva voice, a shake-the-rafters voice.  It has served her well in appearances at open mics and variety shows around town, fast becoming a favorite despite her young years.  She is now 19 and studying at NYU but she has been performing in these venues for years....

George Krissa: “Love Notes”

Gerry Geddes
Webster’s defines "charm" as the following—noun: “a trait that fascinates, allures or delights”; verb: “to please, soothe, or delight by compelling attraction." If the dictionary should ever need an image to illustrate the definition, they could always post a photograph of Canadian singer/actor George Krissa, who could not have been more charming or captivating in...

“Julie Gold: Closing the Distance”

Gerry Geddes
The mission statement of the annual Village Trip Festival is “To uplift, to entertain, and to celebrate the arts for all New Yorkers, their families, and all people from around the world who come to visit Downtown Manhattan’s special oases, Greenwich Village and the East Village.” It covers music, theatre, fine arts, politics, written word,...

Trevor Ashley: “Queen of the Moment”

Gerry Geddes
At the risk of being asked to turn in my “gay card,” I must confess that I do not follow Drag Race or any of its offspring. I occasionally catch a random episode of one or another, or I’ll see a clip on Facebook or YouTube but that’s the extent of my involvement. So I...

Jason Henderson: “Getting to Noël You”

Gerry Geddes
One of the deprivations of growing up in New Hampshire was that I was never exposed to more sophisticated entertainments in general, and Sir Noël Coward in particular. It was not until I got to Columbia University here in NY that I discovered the wit, the panache, the lyrics and melodies, plays, and stories of...

Club Review: Tony Yazbeck

Gerry Geddes
To translate the energy, the heart, the style, the artistry and the power of a Broadway star performance into the intimate surroundings of a cabaret (even as large and stylishly theatrical a cabaret as 54 Below) is not an easy thing to do.  Some singers just recreate the energy and size of their theatrical triumphs...

Jason Danieley’s “Without a Song”

Gerry Geddes
In 1972, director Bernardo Bertolucci released his controversial erotic drama, Last Tango in Paris which received an X rating for its explicit sex scenes between Marlon Brando and Maria Schneider. Rumors ran rampant that the sex scenes, although not pornographic, were ultra-realistic because the two stars were actually engaged in intercourse during the filming. It...

Meg Flather’s “Hammerstein & Sondheim— Carefully Taught”

Gerry Geddes
It seems that since the passing of iconic Broadway composer Stephen Sondheim, not a week has gone by without some new revue, or tribute, or memorial in his honor.  Of course, he is deserving of as much praise as the world can manage to heap upon him, but even the heartiest of fans might be...

Emilie-Claire Barlow

Gerry Geddes
It is hard to believe that it took Canadian jazz singer, Emilie-Claire Barlow until 2023 to make her debut in NYC.  She has long been recognized as one of her home country’s most gifted musical minds and has been an award-winning vocalist for over 25 years. Through her marvelous recordings over that time, I became...