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...

Anita Gillette

Robert Windeler
She has been in show business for 55 years, but made her cabaret debut (with this show) only last year. Yet it seems as if Anita Gillette has been preparing for this act her entire professional life. The result is a seamless, exuberant, humorous, and touching look back at her biography that also provides a...

Sierra Boggess

Robert Windeler
In so many important ways, Sierra Boggess is my kind of cabaret entertainer. She possesses a solid, well-schooled soprano voice that ranges up to a high E. She is willing to embrace—and is very adept at delivering—musical outliers to the traditional cabaret canon, from Puccini opera to contemporary country/folk Her warm and direct rapport with...
Sierra Boggess

Steve Tyrell

Roy Sander
"Wordsmiths: Lyricists of the Great American Song" Café Carlyle  -  November 26 – December 31 Singer Steve Tyrell has arrived for his ninth holiday-season engagement at the Café Carlyle—the slot in which Bobby Short previously held forth. For the life of me, I can't explain the longevity of Tyrell's residency at this prestigious venue. Well,...

Mae West’s “Diamond Lil”

Mark Dundas Wood
Don't Tell Mama – September 15, 22, October 27, November 3, 10, 17, 24 If today's audiences know about Diamond Lil, it's likely because of the 1933 film She Done Him Wrong, in which Mae West played a character named not "Diamond Lil" but rather "Lady Lou." But West and her playwright collaborator, Adeline Leitzbach,...

Cara Maltz

Kevin Scott Hall
"My Mom is a Sex Therapist" The Duplex – November 13, 16, 17 Triple-threat performer Cara Maltz returned to the Duplex stage with her autobiographical one-woman musical, "My Mom is a Sex Therapist," a show she debuted at the club over a year ago. It was written by Maltz and Stephan Varnier, with music and...

Nesha Ward

Kevin Scott Hall
"Imma Be That Nerd" Don't Tell Mama – November 5, 6 Nesha Ward reently returned to Don't Tell Mama with Imma Be That Nerd, a show she'd performed at the Duplex this summer. With a great sense of fun and a high-energy set list, Ward and her four-piece band and backup singers dazzled the audience...

On the Record: A Tribute to the Great Vocal Groups of the 20th Century

Robert Windeler
Stage 72 at The Triad - Saturdays and Sundays through December 15 Songs recorded and performed live by the last century's vocal groups (trios and quartets, mostly), whether storied or obscure, certainly provide a rich aggregate of material for this welcome and original compendium. Four singers of remarkable cross-gender versatility, who blend beautifully in harmonies...