Michael Kirk Lane

Gerry Geddes
Singer Michael Kirk Lane decided to celebrate his birthday by presenting a new show at Don't Tell Mama called Glass Half Full. The optimism and positive energy implied by that title came to quite entertaining life on stage throughout the evening, even when he was addressing some rather dire and depressing aspects of our current...

Liz Robertson

Robert Windeler
There is a great deal to be said for inside information when it comes to creating and presenting a musical cabaret tribute show. Almost any singer could compile such an offering based on public domain material—or solely on Wikipedia snippets—combined with the honoree's greatest hits. But an artist's knowing or having known one's subject well...

Lisa Viggiano

Gerry Geddes
Singer Lisa Viggiano lives in New Jersey, so it is de rigueur that she be a Bruce Springsteen fan. But she feels a closer kinship to "the boss" than many others do, a kinship she celebrates in her new show, Lisa Viggiano Sings Bruce. She enlists the aid of Matt Scharfglass on guitar; he is usually...

Stearns Matthews

Penelope Thomas
In his recent show at the Laurie Beechman Theatre, Golden Ticket: The Songs of Leslie Bricusse, Stearns Matthews demonstrated that he is working with an embarrassment of riches. Even more than possessing a sweet lyric baritone that testifies to a solid classical training, he radiated intelligence, integrity, and a love of music that he shared...

Gay Marshall

Gerry Geddes
Leonard Cohen wore many coats in addition to his famous "Famous Blue Raincoat": he was a novelist, a poet, a musician, a songwriter, a singer, an actor, and for a time, a stand-up comedian. A native Canadian, he was best known in this country as a singer-songwriter, first introduced to me (and many others) by...

Broadway Sings Rihanna

Penelope Thomas
Rihanna may be to this era what Madonna was to the 1980s: a chart-topping, identity-shifting, fashion-forward, pop mogul. These days when kids bounce around their bedrooms and sing into a hairbrush, you can bet it's often Rihanna they're singing. As catchy and glossy as her superstardom is, she also has a fierce, truth-telling quality that...

Cynthia Sayer

Robert Windeler
Ever since I first heard Stephen Foster's "Oh! Susanna" on a Little Golden Record in early childhood, I've loved the sound of the banjo. I cottoned to Mickie Finn's club in San Diego and its successful 1966 TV show, with Mickie herself on the banjo. To see the Mummers' string band parade in Philadelphia, I...

Martin Landry

Gerry Geddes
The title of actor-singer-writer Martin Landry's new show at the Duplex, Screlton McNodes and His Search for Transcendence Through the Act of Putting on Musicals in the Barn with Stray Cats Amidst a Life Full of Pain, Abuse, Murder, and Insanity, may at first glance appear to be the most descriptive title in the history...

Mary Foster Conklin

Gerry Geddes
Fran Landesman is one of the quintessential 20th century lyricists. She combined the hip cool of jazz with the anti-establishment style of the beat generation and the conversational naturalism of the best pop music into a heady body of work written with some of the most influential composers of the time. In Life Is a...

Heather Villaescusa

Penelope Thomas
Heather Villaescusa took first place in last year's Mama's Next BIG Act! competition; her new show at Don't Tell Mama, The Happiness Project (A 10-week Guide), is a lively trip through the fun, angst and domestic hiccups she went through taking on a challenge that scared the pants off her…and winning. Her strong vocals support...