Alice Ripley

Robert Windeler
In her "All Sondheim" show at 54 Below, Alice Ripley has managed to differentiate herself from the seeming plethora of cabaret performers who offer entire sets devoted to that particular deserving composer. She has done this by relating some charming personal anecdotes linking herself to most of the songs she sings here. As a kid...

Melissa Hamilton

Gerry Geddes
It's an increasingly rare occurrence to encounter a vocal jazz performance at which, after only a bit of the first number, I can just relax in the realization that I am in the presence of a master of the form, that I will gladly put myself in his or her hands and let them take...

Rita Rudner

Mark Dundas Wood
A very persistent shoosh-ing could be heard throughout an extended portion of Rita Rudner's final performance at her recent 54 Below engagement. It was unclear who, exactly, this self-appointed guardian of silence was trying to police—but the shoosh-er was certainly far more audible than the shoosh-ee. For a while, Rudner ignored the strange commotion. But finally,...

The Engaygement

Gerry Geddes
The Engaygement, the new musical with book, lyrics, and music by David Auxier-Loyola, (in which boy-meets-boy morphs into boy-weds-boy legally), is a hybrid—at once a workshop of a new musical play, a showcase for new songs and a cabaret show. While it is an enjoyable evening, the focus is scattered among those three intentions so...

Karen Oberlin

Mark Dundas Wood
Karen Oberlin comes on stage for "His Aim Is True: The Singular Songs of Elvis Costello" at Stage 72 wearing what looks to be an elaborate choir robe, fit for an early-20th-Century celebrity evangelist. But there's one difference: her outfit is not a creamy, calla-lily white but a flat black. She's Aimee Semple McPherson taking on...

Marlene VerPlanck

Mark Dundas Wood
In a one-nighter at Jazz at Kitano recently, Marlene VerPlanck reminded audiences of why she's so greatly respected as a musician. Her singing has a kind of matter-of-factness, and yet it seems to befit a special occasion. There's an effervescent quality in her timbre that evokes the feeling one may get upon hearing sleigh bells...

Charles Busch

Mark Dundas Wood
Charles Busch's current show at 54 Below is called "That Girl/That Boy"—a title that points to something essential about his longtime approach to drag performance. Unlike some drag guys, Busch has retained his male identity when it comes to billing. Had he chosen, he could easily have come up with some outrageous, giggle-inspiring female nom de...

Lauren Fox

Mark Dundas Wood
With her recent Metropolitan Room show, "Groupies—The Muses Behind the Legends of Rock & Roll," Lauren Fox brought her considerable theatrical mystique and dramaturgical smarts to a show about the sometimes indomitable and sometimes pitiable young consorts of 1960s and 1970s rock musicians. Two of the muses whom Fox showcased—Marianne Faithfull and Stevie Nicks—became household names...

Charlotte Patton

Mark Dundas Wood
The title of Charlotte Patton's Metropolitan Room show, "Celebrating Men (Bless Their Hearts)," captures the tone of the evening perfectly. Patton's program takes a partly bemused but mostly amused look at the male animal. There are no songs about how the big lugs always leave the toilet seats up, but there might well have been....

Yanna Avis

Robert Windeler
In her recent one-night stand at 54 Below, "Make Some Magic" (a reprise from an appearance there in April), Yanna Avis appeared sleek and stylish. Unfortunately, her show was anything but that. She sang in a throaty voice that at times approached talk-singing, which could work well for the kind of act and venue she...