Amanda Yesnowitz

Gerry Geddes
Lyricist Amanda Yesnowitz has been developing a name for herself in cabaret circles in New York City, with multiple nominations for various "Song of the Year" awards and, as she put it in her recent show at the Duplex, "Mercury Rising: The Sultry, Sassy Lyrics of Amanda Yesnowitz," she has also "won some sh*t as...

Lennie Watts’ RockArrange – Top-40 with a Twist

Robert Windeler
For the Winter Rhythms festival at Urban Stages, Lennie Watts uncovered a new category of cabaret songs. He reconfigured recordings, mostly by rock groups, that were popular from the early 1960s' Beatles forward to Aerosmith and the Backstreet Boys in the 1990s, and even to *NSYNC in 2000. Performed by nine first-rate singers, the Watts arrangements...

A Piano Bar Holiday Reunion – with Bobby Peaco & Friends

Gerry Geddes
I have been a denizen of piano bars for over 35 years, so I was naturally intrigued when I saw that Scott Barbarino of Iridium was presenting a series called Piano Bar Reunion. The piano bar has changed drastically over the years and, apart from loction, barely resembles the minor jewel in the crown of...

The Best of Ricky Ritzel’s Broadway

Robert Windeler
Pianist/music director Ricky Ritzel produces and hosts Ricky Ritzel's Broadway¸a cabaret series honoring Broadway musicals, both hits and flops, featuring Broadway standards, cult show favorites, and otherwise lesser-known Main Stem songs performed by a changing cast. I've not seen any of these regular evenings, but based on this Ritzel's greatest hits presentation at Urban Stages'...

Megan Loughran

Mark Dundas Wood
The title of Megan Loughran's recent show at Don't Tell Mama, "I Sing Standing Up," gives a sly indication of the show's content. Her act was a hybrid. It was, at base, a stand-up comedy show, but there were songs sprinkled throughout—some (but not all) of which were comic. As a comedian, Loughran called to...

Minda Larsen

Mark Dundas Wood
With "Johnny Mercer: Trav'lin' Light" (directed by Peter Napolitano and presented at Urban Stages' Winter Rhythms festival), Minda Larsen offered a reboot of a program of songs with lyrics by Mercer that she had first presented in Manhattan at the Metropolitan Room in 2014. Between that original engagement and this one-off encore, Larsen won the...

Jack Bartholet

Mark Dundas Wood
The fact that Jack Bartholet has a big, flamboyant, impressive-sounding voice became evident a mere measure or two into "Nature Boy" (eden ahbez), the first number of his recent Duplex show, "Two Drink Minimum." The young singer let loose with a battery of rafters-shaking high-tenor notes, delivered with theatrical flourishes. He is a born belter—no...

Until Now… The Songs of Ron Abel and Chuck Steffan

Gerry Geddes
As part of its Winter Rhythms festival, Urban Stages presented "Until Now…The Songs of Ron Abel and Chuck Steffan" with a starry cast and an instrumental trio featuring Abel on piano, Tom Hubbard on bass, and Rex Benincasa on drums.  Abel has arranged, orchestrated and conducted around the world with such luminaries as Bette Midler,...

Analisa Bell

Gerry Geddes
A rising star in Australian cabaret, Analisa Bell brought her show "Perthonality 2.0" (she's from Perth, get it?) to the Duplex in November after having debuted it at the Metropolitan Room in August. Urged by her mentor, Faith Prince, to come to New York to sing, she proved to be an accomplished vocalist, comedian, and...

Megon McDonough

Gerry Geddes
Back in the last century, in the pre-digital 70's, I used to love to frequent New York's numerous record stores in search of new and exciting artists, taking chances on an album because of a certain song, an arranger, a producer, even a back-up singer. This practice led to the discovery of a number of...