Elaine St. George
Mark Dundas Wood
"Take Me As I Am" Metropolitan Room – June 6, 7, 13, 14 In "Take Me As I Am"—billed as "a witty & opinionated look at Joni Mitchell on relationships"— Elaine St. George performs a spate of songs written by or otherwise associated with Mitchell. Some selections were penned by Mitchell's romantic partners (Graham Nash, James...
William Blake
Kevin Scott Hall
"Echoes of Etta: A Tribute to Etta James" Birdland – June 4 When a white male soul singer bursts onto the scene, a fair number of people probably sit back, arms crossed, and take an attitude of "Okay, this I gotta see." Even in our multi-cultural age, such genre-crossing between the races is a rarity,...
Jennifer Sheehan
Kevin Scott Hall
"I Know a Place" Feinstein's at Loews Regency – May 23 - June 2 How refreshing it is, in an age when self-promotion and a jaded attitude trump other attributes, that an artist like Jennifer Sheehan, who epitomizes niceness in every way, can make a splash in the upper echelons of New York's cabaret world....
André De Shields
Kevin Scott Hall
"Black By Popular Demand" Laurie Beechman Theatre – May 4, 11, 18 It has been a while since André De Shields—celebrated for his work on and off Broadway, and once a fixture in New York nightclubs—has graced our cabaret stages. Thus, a packed house greeted him raucously at his show at the Laurie Beechman Theatre, "Black...
Carole J. Bufford
Mark Dundas Wood
"speak easy." Metropolitan Room – May 5, 10, 19, 24, June 16 2011 Bistro Award winner Carole J. Bufford celebrates the music of the Prohibition era, backed by Grammy-winning Vince Giordano & the Nighthawks, in a classy, solid and thoroughly entertaining program—a must-hear for anyone interested in the history of American popular music (and a...
Peggy Herman
Kevin Scott Hall
"HERMAN ON HERMAN: Peggy Sings Jerry" Feinstein's at Loews Regency – May 6 It's hard not to make it a party when singing the songs of Jerry Herman, and singer Peggy Herman (not related by blood but definitely by admiration) certainly did her hostess-with-the-mostess best in her debut at Feinstein's at Loews Regency, celebrating the...
Grace Cosgrove
Mark Dundas Wood
"Spend an Evening with Grace" Metropolitan Room – April 29, 30, May 2, 4, June 8, 23 The theme of Grace Cosgrove's Metropolitan Room show, she tells us, is "the delicate experience of love." There's something appropriately delicate about her singing, too. At least that's what I thought after listening to her first few selections....
Loli Márquez-Sterling
Mark Dundas Wood
"I Love That Story!" The Triad – April 26 and 29 There's an exuberant athleticism about Loli Márquez-Sterling. Whether performing in English or Spanish, she harnesses every inch of her slim self when she sings. An abundance of joy suffuses her performance--which is not to say she comes across as a Pollyanna who cannot acknowledge...
Alison Nusbaum
Kevin Scott Hall
"Ladies! A Raucous Homage to Mel Brooks' Broads" Don't Tell Mama – April 24, 27, 30 With ingenuity and inspiration, popular and award-winning piano bar entertainer Alison Nusbaum and her musical director, veteran and also award-winning Ricky Ritzel, have come up with a theme show that's entirely appropriate for the cabaret genre, but perhaps has...
Fran Leonardis
Roy Sander
"It Will Never Be That Way Again" Metropolitan Room – March 24, April 9, May 23 Fran Leonardis couldn't have picked a better—or truer—song for her opening number than Marvin Laird and Joe Paley's "Born to Entertain." With it, she proclaims exactly what she's about, then for the next hour she proceeds to prove it....