NiteLifeExchange.com and its soon-to-premiere online magazine, NITE, are excited to announce a new series: “A Year in the Life” follows an up-and-coming, new-to-New York performer, week in/week out, as he breaks into professional show business in the city of dreams come true (or not)..............  You've heard the story 1000 times: starry-eyed young person, heart full of dreams and songs, moves to magical, tough NYC -- for show biz success. Clutching suitcases, subway maps and resumés making the most of credits (maybe from small roles in small-town small theatres), these once “big fish in small ponds” dive into the big city whirlpool. They scurry from audition to audition, waiting in long lines to be seen for mere moments-- if that. They sing at noisy bar open mics, shop around for workshops, show up at showcases.

ALL these performers from the world of cabaret

Following cocktails and a big buffet,

Plus an auction, will entertain in a special way,

Like Julie Reyburn and Marilyn Maye,

Lennie Watts and lots, lots more.

With Cabaret Cares, there’s so much in store.

                                                            Dana Lorge’s new variety show sounds exciting, but the title sounds, well, kind of boring and ordinary. The temporary, generic name is (are you sitting down?) ---- Dana Lorge’s Variety Show. She wants a new title and is at her famous wit’s end. So, we’re helping her with a contest. Come up with the name she likes best and win free admission to her show. May 24’s guests at her Metropolitan Room 7 pm, um, whatever are: songwriter David Friedman, award-winning cabaret male vocalist Jeff Harnar, Tony Award winner Tonya Pinkins, songstress Jillian Laurain, comedienne Nancy Redman (TV’s “America’s Funniest People”) and a special guest singer: Marilyn Maye. Barry Levitt is at the keyboard and Jon Burr is on bass. Now, about that contest….

Send your suggestions (Limit: 753 titles) to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and I’ll pass them on to Dana. She will choose what she thinks is the best name for her monthly show

                                                                                                                               There are pictures missing from several of the frames that hang suspended in the air on invisible walls. This clever component of Brian Prather’s set design for The Memory Show – presented by Transport Group at The Duke on West 42 Street under Joe Calarco’s direction – serves as a telling metaphor for the early onset of Alzheimer’s in this slender yet engaging new musical.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: If you want cabaret that doesn’t just sweetly tickle your ear or wash over you like a gentle shower, welcome to the worthy-of-celebrating tidal wave and earthquake that is Billie Roe. Her time-machine trip to the past (a grittier NYC in 1978) is not a cozy glide past the corner of Nostalgia Avenue and Memory Lane where things are sugar-coated by foggy fondness for the good old daze. Rather, it’s a roller coaster that makes you feel ALIVE. Like in the song she sings about the denizens having a life underground being alive and awake, this show is the caffeinated kick that’s the Red Bull of cabaret with a Jack Daniels chaser. It’s New York Underground. MetroStar Talent Challenge winner Billie Roe blasts off fearlessly, takes risks that pay off, and blazes and amazes.

                                                                                                                                                                                                     Smack in the middle of May in Manhattan, cabaret looks pretty good.

In addition to our recommended CABARET PICKS of the concert at The Town Hall on Thursday and the Cabaret Weekend of free events (see far right top column on this page), here are some more things to be on the lookout for: BILLIE ROE, the winner of the singing contest at Metropolitan Room, is opening her show—the produced cabaret act’s run, the prize for that MetroStar Talent Challenge. It opens May 15 and you’ll be reading more about it in our online magazine, NITE.  Want to go on a daring, sharing ride to the past?  OK then. 

                                                                                                                                           Dressed in a well-cut tuxedo, and sporting a short-cropped hairstyle, Jessica Walker has the appearance of a handsomely feminine male youth. It’s a fitting image for The Girl I Left Behind Me, her exploration of male impersonators that she wrote with her director, Neil Bartlett. Unfortunately, while the history she unveils is often fascinating, her performance is not as engaging.

                                                                                                                 Bill Irwin and David Shiner are performing a master class in the art of clowning in Old Hats, at the Pershing Square Signature Center. Superb comic timing, marvelous physicality and a nostalgic nod to the age of vaudeville are all on display in this highly entertaining show, directed by Tina Landau.