Judi Mark

Robert Windeler
It must be ever harder for cabaret performers to come up with a fresh theme for a show. Once the tributes to single (and singular) artists and composers have seemingly been exhausted, where does one go? Perhaps too often it's to the autobiographical look back at the performer's own life and the songs that either...

Sandra Bargman

Kevin Scott Hall
Entering through the house wearing a bonnet full of sunflowers and a long black coat over a black catsuit and boots, Sandra Bargman knew how to make an entrance and you got the feeling you were in for a very different kind of cabaret show. On that score, Bargman, a theatre veteran as well as...

Anna Anderson

Mark Dundas Wood
I first heard Anna Anderson—a recent arrival from Arizona—perform at the November 3 Gala show at the Duplex, where she was on the bill with a number of other performers featured at that club in 2014; that night she sang an appealingly saucy version of The Zutons' "Valerie." She was one of the performers I most...

Kim Grogg

Robert Windeler
"Go Where the Love Is," the title song of Kim Grogg's current show at Don't Tell Mama, speaks volumes. First, it establishes her as a solid, self-confident singer of infectious MidWestern warmth. Second, it neatly establishes the theme and content of her show: mostly upbeat songs about the mostly positive aspects of love. Third, although...

Anthony Santelmo Jr

Mark Dundas Wood
Anthony Santelmo Jr. has a welcoming presence that can make you feel at times that he is singing especially to and for you. He's a big guy with a big voice, a big personality, and, it seems, a big heart—and his talent is certainly abundant. The title of his new show is "Sleuthy Returns!!!"—Sleuthy being...

Jon Peterson

Mark Dundas Wood
With his recent show exploring the life and career of entertainer Anthony Newley (at Stage 72 at The Triad), British singer-dancer-actor-writer Jon Peterson reminded the audience just how thrilling a well-executed tribute performance can be. In part the success of "He Wrote Good Songs" (a title inspired by Newley's chosen epitaph) can be attributed to...

Barb Jungr

Tonya Pinkins
Barb Jungr is a great interpreter of songs. She is every bit as iconic as the singer/songwriters she chooses to translate and reinterpret. She's a rock star; she looks and feels like the girl next door or your mom—if your mom were Patti Smith or Joni Mitchell. In her current show at 59E59 Theaters, the...

The 25th Anniversary NYC Cabaret Convention

Bistro Awards
The 25th anniversary edition of the NYC Cabaret Convention, presented by the Mabel Mercer Foundation, took place October 20-23 at the Rose Theater at Jazz at Lincoln Center. Robert Windeler, Kevin Scott Hall, and Mark Dundas Wood covered the four nights for us. Following are their thoughts.   I LOVE A PIANO: Celebrating the Great...

Richard Holbrook

Mark Dundas Wood
Fred Astaire's relaxed grace on the dance floor spilled over into his whole onscreen persona—including his work as a singer. For Astaire, the bridge between speaking and singing was really nothing but a couple of steppingstones, over which he lightly skipped. There's nothing jarring when, in a film scene, he suddenly breaks into song—or, of...

Jim Speake

Kevin Scott Hall
In his recent two-night return engagement, this time at The Duplex, the amiable Jim Speake once again gave himself the prodigious task of presenting the music of Cy Coleman, one of the most prolific and challenging composers of Broadway and jazz music. Although Speake was a little tentative and stiff in his opening number, a...