Welcome to Manhattan Live Performance.
Linn Maxwell is preparing for her second engagement at Danny's Skylight Room Cabaret. Her new show is called The Cost of Loving Index, and this time Linn is working with cabaret veteran Erv Raible as director and music director Tedd Firth on piano.
You can see Linn's flyer here, and full details, provided by Cabaret & Concert Artists International, are available here.
Laura Klein-Danilov stars in a benefit performance of "C" is for Cabaret – an evening of song - like kindergarten, with a little more "oomph" than you remember, with Hector Coris on the piano.
Proceeds will go toward the teen outreach program of Funny Women Fest (FWF), an arts organization that nurtures women through comedy. This one night benefit performance will take place on Sunday, February 16th, at 7:00 PM at The Triad
Click here for complete information.
Joan Levine is planning a return to Don't Tell Mama with music director Paul Katz (on piano) with her show Sail Away! Conceived by Joan, this clever show is a tale (told through song) of three women on a cruise, competing for the attention of the ship's captain.
Joan and Paul previously presented Let's Make Believe: Jeanette MacDonald Lives and The Naughty Girl, both well received by the Don't Tell Mama crowds.
Victor Neufeld, a veteran of the Helen Baldassare Cabaret Performance Workshop, now steps out in his solo cabaret debut. Joined by music director Gregory Toroian on piano, Victor will appear at Don't Tell Mama on Wednesday,March 19th and Tuesday, March 25th, with both shows at 8:00 p.m. Helen Baldassare is Victor's director.
Click here to see Victor's flyer.
March is a month of debuts! Here's Jackie Draper, preparing her first solo gig at Don't Tell Mama. Along with Gregory Toroian (one of cabaret's busiest music directors), and directed by Helen Baldassare, Jackie will appear on Sunday, March 23rd at 3:00 p.m. and on Tuesday, March 25th at 6:00 p.m.
Click here to see her promotional postcard.
Jerry Wichinsky brings his show Blue Velvet Fog to The Triad for one evening only on Sunday, March 30th. In this interestingly titled show, Jerry's working with music director Lucy Galliher, bassist Saadi Zain, and drummer Bernice Brooks. Veteran cabaret director Erv Raible rounds out the personnel.
Click here for complete information.
Sue Matsuki has already got quite a year lined up for 2003! It began on January 12th with a performance at The York Theatre at St. Peter’s Church as part of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters Conference.
Details for this date and Sue's many other engagements -- including a gig at the 4 Seasons in Las Vegas to benefit the Special Operations Warrior Foundation -- can be found on the Schedule page of Sue's Web site.
Nancy Stearns always presents an evening of wonderful songs sung wonderfully and her new show, with the tantalizing title For the Birds, is officially in the works. Watch this space for details.
Nancy presented a one-night-only benefit for the NYC Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild at Don't Tell Mama in October. This show was directed by Helen Baldassare and Nancy shared the stage with her music director Gregory Toroian.
Have a look here at the promotional flyer for that show.
In The News:
After completing a run in The Melody Lingers On at St. Bart's Playhouse, Susan Neuffer presented a new show at Don't Tell Mama in January. Susan once again worked with director Lisa Asher and music director Gerry Dieffenbach.
Susan's show, Mysterious Woman, presented at Don't Tell Mama in winter 2001 garnered a fine review from Steven Wells at his "Cabaret Showcase" Web site. Have a look here. EvAnMedia Online also posted a review. Click here, then scroll down the page for the review, dated January 26, 2002.
Peter Yawitz returned to Don't Tell Mama with his show Talk Like a Guy, directed by Helen Baldassare. This is a great show, featuring an innovative slideshow component used to great effect to illustrate and punctuate the message of the show's title song. Peter once again shared the stage with music director Dick Gallagher on piano.
Full details are available here.
Nicci Nicholas presented her new show at Don't Tell Mama in December. She worked with music director Ross Patterson on piano and, for the first time, with director Michael Ferreri.
Her flyer for that show is available for review here.
Parker Scott offered a one-night-only event to benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Entitled Deck the Halls with Friends of Parker, it was a holiday sampler -- a chance to grab a quick fix of Parker and eight of his most talented associates. Parker worked with music director Dick Gallagher and director Gerry Geddes.
For full details, visit parkerscottnyc.com.
Frank Fontana just completed an extended engagement at Don't Tell Mama -- his first performances there in 16 years. Joined by music director Wells Hanley on piano and Eivind Opsvik on bass, the show was a jazz lover's delight. Visit Frank's Web site to read the reviews of audience members and critics.
For those of you who missed out on these memorable evenings, we're happy to report that Frank, Wells and Eivind are moving ahead with ideas for a spring engagement. In the meanwhile, Frank and Wells are soon to begin teaching a new class at the Helen Baldassare Cabaret Performance Workshop entitled "Advanced Performance -- Jazz Style" and the results are sure to be amazing!
Sharon Christopher's first solo engagement was quite a success! She presented the show twice at Rose's Turn (November 17 and December 8, 2002), sharing the stage with music director Gregory Toroian. The show was directed by Helen Baldassare, and we were happy to be in attendance to see Sharon take command of the stage.
We're looking forward to Sharon's future offerings, and full details will be provided here as soon as they're available. Until then, have a look here at the flyer for Sharon's recent Rose's Turn engagement.
Attention cabaret fans: we've got a special announcement regarding the Helen Baldassare Cabaret Performance Workshop.
Jessie Nelson presented her show Kiss of Fire at Don't Tell Mama in October. With that date sold out, one additional performance was booked on Saturday, November 9th, and Jessie was once again joined on stage by music director Phil Hall. We consider ourselves fortunate to have been in attendance. This is a woman we want to see more of, and we'll be sure to give you the heads-up as soon as news of her next engagement is available.
Click here to see Jessie's flyer.
Beth Valenti presented her new show at Don't Tell Mama on October 16th and 19th. Beth worked for the first time with music director Dick Gallagher and director Jay Rogers. Click here to see Beth's flyer, and to read more about her.
Parker Scott's most recent appearance at Don't Tell Mama was a return engagement of his show Awaiting You . Directed by Gerry Geddes, Parker once again shared the stage with music director / arranger Dick Gallagher on piano and Rubin Kodheli on cello. Previous performances prompted one critic to praise the show as "intelligent and inventive," "riveting" and "fascinating and provocative." This was the show's second encore engagement.
Parker Scott earned a 2001 MAC Award nomination (Best Pop/R&B Performer) from the Manhattan Association of Cabarets for his show Company of Strangers which celebrated the release of his CD of the same name. And his work on the CD itself earned him a fine review from the UK's Cabaret Showcase Web site.
Visit Parker's home on the Web for information on how to buy his CD on-line.
The lovely and talented Kim Corbin presented her new show, Love, Kim, to an appreciative crowd at Don't Tell Mama. Kim was joined on stage by music director Gregory Toroian in this musical exploration of the myriad aspects of love. Helen Baldassare directed.
Look for Kim's debut CD, based on the Don't Tell Mama show, which will be released this winter. Details will be posted here as soon as they're available.
You can see Kim's promotional flyer by clicking here.
Barbara Ann Davison's fine show Getting Some Fun Out Of Life debuted at Don't Tell Mama in April. Barbara and music director Gregory Toroian proved a terrific duo, and the show, elegantly directed by cabaret veteran Gerry Geddes, was quickly rebooked for a return engagement in June.
UPDATE: Barbara had planned another engagement in October, but unfortunately these shows have been delayed due to injury. We're happy to report it's nothing that will keep her off stage for long! She'll let us know when she's ready to return, and we'll keep you posted.
Karen Oberlin has just completed an encore run of her show Secret Love, A Tribute to the True Doris Day at Danny's Skylight Room Cabaret. Originally presented last year at The Firebird, the show featured Tedd Firth (music director) on piano and David Finck on bass, and was directed by Scott Barnes.
We don't yet have word on her next performance dates, but we'll pass them along as soon as they're available.
Until then, click here to see Karen's flyer and find out how to buy her wonderful new CD, Secret Love: The Music of Doris Day.
As a student in the Helen Baldassare Cabaret Performance Workshop, Joanne Wosahla had already appeared on a New York cabaret stage. In September, she presented her solo debut at Don't Tell Mama, accompanied by her music director Wells Hanley on piano. Congratulations, Joanne -- we look forward to many more shows in the years to come.
Click here to see Joanne's promotional flyer.
Peter Yawitz presented his first solo cabaret show at Don't Tell Mama in July. The show, directed by Helen Baldassare, found Peter on stage with music director Dick Gallagher and was a resounding success.
Click here to see Peter's postcard.
In May, we welcomed Silvia Madison to MLP. A show biz veteran with many years as a member of the jazz vocal group "Zazz," Silvia stepped out on her own with a new show at Danny's Skylight Room Cabaret and, quite literally, packed the elegant room. And what happens when you pack 'em in? Well, you get extended, of course! So she returned to Danny's for two dates in July.
Silvia was joined by music director Gregory Toroian and the show was directed by Helen Baldassare. Click here to see the promotional flyer for Silvia's engagement.
Last year, we were happy to introduce you to Moira Danis as she made her solo cabaret debut at Don't Tell Mama. Her beautiful voice and winning way made the show a great success and the folks at Don't Tell Mama wasted no time in asking her back. Now, assisted by music director Gregory Toroian and director Gerry Geddes, she's done it again, performing her delightful new show, First Childhood, at Don't Tell Mama in May.
As a student in the Helen Baldassare Cabaret Performance Workshop, Alexa Levitt appeared on the stage of Don't Tell Mama a number of times. When she brought her lovely voice back to the club in her solo New York cabaret debut, all three nights of the run were sold out. Fortunately she was able to extend the run for two additional nights in May, much to the delight of her overflow crowds!
Click here to see her promotional flyer.
We had the privilege of seeing Broadway veteran Leigh Finner perform in her solo cabaret debut on April 19th at Don't Tell Mama. Leigh, who was on Broadway in the 80s, joked that it took her "16 years to go 3 blocks!" It was worth the wait.
Click here to see Leigh's promotional flyer.
Congratulations are in order: Sue Matsuki was named BEST FEMALE JAZZ VOCALIST, 2001 by Cabaret Hotline Online. And, in addition to receiving a Manhattan Association of Cabarets & Clubs (MAC) nomination for BEST FEMALE ARTIST RECORDING OF THE YEAR, she won a MAC Award for BEST FEMALE JAZZ/POP/R&B VOCALIST.
FYI: Sue's debut CD A New Take has gathered high praise from the press! Visit Sue's Web site to read the reviews and to find out how to get yourself a copy of her CD. And when you check out her recently updated Schedule page, you'll see that, as always, Sue is in demand!
Andrea Fiume was last seen at Upstairs at Rose's Turn with her show Come Together, a collection of songs by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Andrea worked for the first time with director Lina Koutrakos, and shared the stage with music director Gregory Toroian on piano.
The show was very well received, and Andrea presented encore performances in February 2002.
Judy Scott returned to Danny's Skylight Room with an encore of her show Say It With Music which she conceived and wrote with Sandi Merle.
The late-2001 date was the second time Danny's has asked Judy to bring the show back for an encore performance. It sounds like it was a hit, and we're sorry we missed it. We'll let you know when your next chance to see Judy comes up!
We were lucky to be in attendance as Renée Pellacani presented her debut show, Dare To Dream, at Don't Tell Mama back in November. She returned on December 9th for an encore performance, which was also well attended. We're hoping to see Renée return soon with a new show, and we'll keep you posted.
If you didn't see Helen Baldassare in her latest appearance at Don't Tell Mama, you can find out what you missed by reading this review on the UK Web site Cabaret Showcase.
Please visit these friends of Manhattan Live Performance on the Web:
A number of MLP regulars have appeared on David Kenney's wonderful weekly radio show, Everything Old Is New Again. The show is broadcast locally on WBAI, 99.5 FM, and airs Sundays, 9:00-11:00 PM.
Visit the show's Web site to see what's coming up this Sunday. And while you're there, visit the Everything Old Is New Again Message Board to voice your opinions, learn something new and make new friends.
Writer/Director Gerry Geddes has spread more cabaret joy than most in his extensive career.
To learn more about what he's up to, visit Gerry at his home on the Internet, gerrygeddes.com.
Time Out New York called him a "Funny, sassy singer-comic." In The New York Observer, Rex Reed said "...he’s a breath of fresh air." And if you missed his record-breaking run at Arci's Place, fear not: you can catch his act on his new CD Jim Caruso: Live and In Person
Something new is always in the works at the Helen Baldassare Cabaret Performance Workshop. Click here for more information, to get the latest performance schedules, or to find out how to register for the next semester.
Miranda Music has a fine catalog of CDs available online. You'll find recordings by Karen Oberlin, Berri Blair, John Wallowitch & Bertram Ross, Michael Ferreri and Christopher Gines. Click here for complete information.
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