Colleen McHugh

Mark Dundas Wood
"More Songs of Self-Delusion" Birdland  –  October 24 You can't fake the sheer love of performing that Colleen McHugh demonstrated at her birthday show at Birdland. Or if you can, you're the Meryl Streep of cabaret. The birthday girl clearly worked hard that night, but she made it all look like a spirited round of...

Gregory Nalbone

Kevin Scott Hall
"Gregory Nalbone In Concert" Metropolitan Room  –  November 1 Gregory Nalbone's name has been popping up in cabaret circles in recent months, not only because of his various shows in many of the rooms around town, but because of his modeling photos in various stages of undress. Naturally, the singing gigs and the looks have...

Craig Pomranz

Mark Dundas Wood
"Love and the Weather" Metropolitan Room  –  October 5, 9, 12 Craig Pomranz is the cabaret singer of the people. He calls to mind a working-class politician—a populist candidate trying to earn my vote down at the general store. On the afternoon I saw him, Pomranz didn't bother with a grand entrance from the lobby,...

Yvonne Constant

Elizabeth Ahlfors
"La Différence" Metropolitan Room  –  October. 20, 29, November 2, 7, 14 For women, reaching that certain age is less of a bugaboo these days, with vibrant entertainment idols as Marilyn Maye, Elaine Stritch, Julie Wilson, Barbara Cook and Barbara Carroll still drawing significant public interest. You can add to these gals Yvonne Constant, who...

Kim Grogg

Kevin Scott Hall
"One Hit Wonder Woman!" Don't Tell Mama  –  October 18, 23, 25, 30 It's hard not to share in Kim Grogg's delight when she puts together a smorgasbord of big-hit anomalies from the pop charts of the '50s through the '90s. One anticipates hearing those seldom-heard oddities that had a season in the sun on...

Lauren Fox

Roy Sander
"Here's to Love" Metropolitan Room  –  March 21, 28, April 4, 11, September 8 I hadn't planned on reviewing Lauren Fox. I went to her show at the Metropolitan Room last month purely out of curiosity: though this was her first venture into cabaret, she had received praise for her recent work in theatre, and...

Betty Buckley

Elizabeth Ahlfors
"Ah Men! The Boys of Broadway" Feinstein's at Loews Regency  –  October 4 - 29 "Ah Men! The Boys of Broadway"—it's a tasty title. Who would not find inspiration in the beautiful boys of Broadway? In her latest salute to the Great White Way, Betty Buckley remembers the songs performed by some of the greats...

Tom Gamblin

Kevin Scott Hall
"A Way Back to Then" Metropolitan Room  –  September 22, October 11  Cabaret audiences may know Tom Gamblin best for his stints as the quick-witted host of the Metropolitan Room's popular annual summer-long performance contest, the MetroStar Talent Challenge. Theatregoers may know him for his off-Broadway and tour work or perhaps his nine seasons playing...

Donald Wayne

Mark Dundas Wood
"Lost in the 40's" Don't Tell Mama  –  August 28, September 8, 10, 11, 13  With "Lost in the Forties," Donald Wayne provided a highly personal look- and listen-back at the music consumed by 1940s Americans—a generation wounded and scarred by the Second World War. Early on in the show, which was directed by Spider...

Kenneth Gartman

Mark Dundas Wood
"…not like the other cavemen" Don't Tell Mama  –  September 10 & 14, October 23 & 28, November 2 At the top of his act, Kenneth Gartman speaks about growing up listening to—and singing—Christian pop music. He actually includes a couple of numbers from that genre in his show. On the night I attended, I...