Gregory Generet
Roy Sander
"A Slow Hot Wind" The Metropolitan Room - August 9 - 12 After a career with CBS that won him three Emmys, Gregory Generet has been making a quick ascent in New York's jazz world with the release last year of his well-received CD "[re] Generet-ion" and appearances at high-profile nightspots like Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola...
Jean Brassard & Steve Ross
Roy Sander
"French Lessons" TheTriad – July 26 We all know singer-pianist Steve Ross, one of the world's foremost interpreters of good songs. French-Canadian singer-actor Jean Brassard is less familiar, at least on the New York cabaret scene. I first became aware of him a few years ago through his participation in the Kabarett Kollectif, and with...
Shana Farr
Roy Sander
"Whistling Away the Dark—Through Songs of Julie Andrews" Metropolitan Room – August 3, 8, 15, 17 Shana Farr's tribute to Julie Andrews, directed by Eric Michael Gillett, opens with a medley of a half-dozen songs associated with the great star. In these few minutes, several important things take place. We are reminded of how beloved...
Gregory Michael Castoria
Mark Dundas Wood
"Bette Midler Already Did This Show" The Duplex – July 21, 30, August 18 Taking a page, perhaps, from Rufus Wainwright's recreation of Judy Garland's 1961 Carnegie Hall concert, Gregory Michael Castoria has come up with a smart, funny, and touching rendering of a classic Bette Midler performance. This is no drag show—Castoria appears in...
Rosalyn McClore
Mark Dundas Wood
"Cry Me a River" Metropolitan Room - July 24, 31 There's no denying that Rosalyn McClore possesses bountiful musical talents, both as singer and pianist. She seems to connect in a very deep way with the music she sings, which runs the gamut from blues to gospel to pop to jazz. At her hour-long show...
Karen Mason
Elizabeth Ahlfors
"Show Queen – Life After Wonderland" Iridium - July 19 Wonderland, not a popular musical last season, has left the Marquis Theatre, but Karen Mason, one of its stars, remained on Broadway, albeit on a smaller stage and for one night only. As Mason said, "I have many homes." On this night, her fans were...
Molly Pope
Roy Sander
"Introducing Molly Pope" Ars Nova – Jully 18-20 It was four years ago that Molly Pope made her cabaret debut with "The Diva-lution of Molly Pope," presenting herself as a bitch-diva. The character was unappealing and unlikable, and Pope's singing was relentlessly loud. While I could see that talent lay buried beneath the attitude, I...
Melanie Stace
Elizabeth Ahlfors
"Steppin' Out" Metropolitan Room – July 7, 14, 23 Tall, slim and stunning, with exotic dark eyes and a Colgate smile—that's the first thing you notice as Melanie Stace takes the stage. As she starts to sing, you hear the confidence of experience, a secure tone, long vocal lines, trained breath control and a vibrant...
Julie Halston
Kevin Scott Hall
"Old, New, Borrowed and Blue" Birdland – July 11 A sold-out crowd greeted theatre veteran Julie Halston as she appeared at Birdland for a one-night-only return to one of her early successes: a one-woman comedy show. While she's best known for her many appearances in Charles Busch's plays (including a Drama Desk nomination—her third—for The...
You’ve Got Hate Mail
Mark Dundas Wood
The Triad – Fridays at 7 pm You couldn't ask for much simpler, more economic staging than what director Gary Shaffer has provided for Billy Van Zandt and Jane Milmore's cybersex comedy, You've Got Hate Mail. Five actors are lined up downstage on the small proscenium platform of the Triad, seated behind laptop computers. When...