Gretchen Reinhagen

Mark Dundas Wood
Early in "Listen to the Music: The Songs of My 70's" (directed by Barry Kleinbort) Gretchen Reinhagen notes that in the 1970s, various pop-music genres—rock, country, funk, disco, and so on—all competed for the public's attention. In her program, she gives us samples from this bountiful and eclectic smorgasbord. But she doesn't stop there. She...

Lauren Fox and Ritt Henn

Mark Dundas Wood
The idea of building a cabaret show around music from the eerie and surreal filmography of David Lynch would not likely be a good one for many in New York's cabaret community. It takes a certain kind of grit and a love of risk that many performers simply lack. Luckily, Lauren Fox and Ritt Henn...

Champagne Pam

Kevin Scott Hall
The delightful Champagne Pam (the self-chosen sobriquet of Pamela Lewis) recently came to Don't Tell Mama with her show "Daddy's Little Girl," which originally played several performances at the Laurie Beechman Theatre last year. It is a gimmick-free and refreshing autobiographical show about the love of family. As she said in the show, "I just...

Jennylind Parris

Robert Windeler
Doing a tribute show to a beloved performer who is not only very much alive, but still working, can be tricky. Who needs the tribute maker, no matter how talented or sincere, when the real thing is metaphorically so close at hand? Jennylind Parris has neatly sidestepped this issue by concentrating on the music associated...

Eric Yves Garcia Trio

Mark Dundas Wood
Vocalist and pianist Eric Yves Garcia is in jazz mode in his current gig at Bemelmans Bar at the Carlyle Hotel, and it suits him. Backed by two talented and playful musicians—guitarist Nick Russo and bassist Ritt Henn—he sings some of the most familiar titles from the Great American Songbook with an obvious enthusiasm for...

Christine Reisner and Don Rebic

Mark Dundas Wood
The extent to which you'll enjoy "Look Who's in Love"—a musical celebration of romance from newlyweds Christine Reisner and Don Rebic (conceived by Reisner, directed by Michael Bush, and co-written by Reisner and Bush)—might best be gauged by how well you tolerate Valentine's Day cards with frilly hearts and adorably mischievous Cupids. Having been married...

Burlesque to Broadway

Kevin Scott Hall
The vivacious Quinn Lemley, best known in cabaret circles for her tribute shows to Rita Hayworth some years back, has returned with an ambitious production, Burlesque to Broadway, a loving look at the famous women who blazed a trail through the clubs, and also an updated take on the art form itself. There is never...

Jen Chapin

Kevin Scott Hall
Singer-songwriter Jen Chapin, who straddles the line between folk and pop (with rock and jazz influences), is, like the best artwork or wine or chocolate, perhaps not best appreciated by the masses that indulge in the let's-try-to-please-everybody stylings (if they can be called such) of current hitmakers like Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus, or Rihanna. It's...

Sally Darling

Mark Dundas Wood
Imagine finding a vintage 78 rpm record in a thrift store, taking it home and discovering it to be remarkably free of hissing sounds, crackling noises or skips. That may help to explain what you get with Sally Darling. You don't hear a sound like hers often these days, but it's as welcome as the sharp...

Katie Bland

Kevin Scott Hall
If Chelsea Handler (TV's Chelsea Lately) sang and decided to do a cabaret act, she might well turn out to be like Katie Bland, a blonde, vivacious, take-no-prisoners singer and comic storyteller who bulldozes her way through her dating life in her one-woman show "They're in Love, Where Am I?" at the Duplex. The downtown...