June Catch-Up on Cabaret

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There IS life after the MAC Awards! (and Bistro Awards).  And plenty of life in the nightlife after the Nightlife Awards, at least here at NiteLifeExchange dot com where we find plenty of cabaret and entertainment to catch up on.  As the song says, “I like New York in June/ How about you?/ I like a Gershwin tune/ How about you?” A Gershwin tune like “Summertime” will inevitably appear on the horizon as summertime lurks, but it ain’t necessarily so important to wait for the official debut of summertime for that.  Feel free to sing it or any Gershwin or other Broadway tune at open mic like the newish The Follow Spot at the Iridium on Broadway near West 51 Street on a Tuesday night with Broadway-lovin’ pianist Fred Barton.  I even chanced to spot Mr. Follow Spot at another open mic this week, the long-running runaway success Cast Party at Birdland. 

I hadn’t been to the Monday night mirthfest for quite a while, but I’m glad to see the party is still in full swing. Jim opened with “All God’s Children Got Rhythm” for a kickstart on the fun, accented later by his many quips (such as my favorite, responding to a smattering of applause, he observed with dry aplomb, “And the crowd goes mild!”) – funny guy.  Ann Hampton Callaway teamed up with William Blake on a wailing “At Last,” and at last look, the roof was still on the building, but just barely.  Wow!  Both have new CDs about to see the light of the summer day: William’s was recorded live at Birdland and Ann’s is Boom!, a collection of songs from the 1960s and ‘70s, the duo show of baby-Boom!-er songs with sister Liz Callaway.  The Callaways performed it at venues such as Birdland, The Town Hall and the aforementioned Iridium and around the country.  (They get around.)  Christina Bianco represented another weekly late night tradition, the Thursday revue of Broadway songs at Feinstein’s at Loews Regency where she appears.  She sang a show tune in a spot on impersonation of Bernadette Peters and also treated us to the National Anthem as it would sound if done by other stars – such as Celine Dion.

Also at Cast Party, Peggy Herman, fresh from her run of a show saluting Jerry Herman (no relation) stopped in to deliver one of her show’s showstoppers. I was happy to catch Herman Sings Herman.  Her throaty vocals and focused feistiness suited the material and it is a nice cross-section of the Herman Broadway catalogue. Her musical director at that Metropolitan Room show, providing fresh and interesting arrangements, was Alex Rybeck, who just won the MAC Award for such work.  And Alex was filling in as the night’s Cast Party house pianist, doing a bang-up job as on-the-fly chameleon accompanist for anyone and everyone in any and every style.  And his little musical jokes and quotes, playing people on and off, were a clever treat, too. 

Speaking of Broadway and the Metropolitan Room, I was also happy to get to the 22nd Street venue for Barrett’s Broadway.  Earlier in the week, I caught a matinee of what’s now Broadway’s longest-running revival, Chicago, again featuring leading man Brent Barrett, right on the money as the money-grabbing/grubbing lawyer proclaiming “All I Care About…(is love!)”  But it wasn’t that Broadway-blasting Barrett at the Metropolitan Room.  It’s singer-pianist Chris Barrett, though he sang that same song as one of many great Great White Way treasures.  In his hands (those hands of a veteran entertainer that grace the keys so well), “All I Care About” had less of that sassy sarcasm and snarl that are needed for the Kander & Ebb show, and more helpings of brio and Broadway bombast.  At first, Chris’s style may seem as formal as his tux and red bow tie, with classical flourishes, but he’ll soon pull you in with his sincerity and grand style of grand piano work and open-hearted old-school good old joy.  He had a couple of Jerry Herman songs not taken up by Peggy Herman, including his powerful encore, “I’ll Be Here Tomorrow.”  If he weren’t such a classy guy, he might have changed the lyrics to plug his run shamelessly to sing, “I’ll be here this Friday at 9:30, simply going on….”  Because he will—and if you’re around and up for some full-out singing and playing, surrounded by fellow lovers of Broadway songs, where the love shows, you’ll be glad you dropped everything and dropped in. (Friday, June 17 @ 9:30pm Closing show)

What else is coming as “June is bustin’ out all over,” as Oscar Hammerstein the Second suggested and I’d second the motion in a second?  Well, June marks Cole Porter’s birthday so there’s a tribute on Thursday at The Town Hall with Andrea Marcovicci and Jeff Harnar.  (Chris Barrett had three delicious Porter plums in his songbag, by the way.)  Also at The Town Hall, that landmark celebrating its 90^th birthday this year, you Broadway lovers loving shows and songs of more recent vintage can gorge on the year 1997, the most recent year revisited in the long-running Broadway by the Year series of concerts.  One of those shows is still running, speaking of long-running.  That’s Monday, June 20.  It’s the last show for the season of these tasty delights populated by Broadway stars. And June is also Judy Garland’s birthday and Gay Pride time, so croon a tune in June real soon (Monday, June 13 at 7pm) as the irrepressible Justin Sayre, who has his own sense of pride and whimsy and gay-is-the-way slyness and satire, has a special edition of his The Meeting* mock gatherings, with guests doing Garland specialties, with plenty of riffing.  There will be plenty of joy with the Judys, and I don’t just mean Natalie Joy Johnson, but also the ever-surprising, tantalizing Kim Smith, Jackie Hoffman, Lady Rizo and more, more, more.  The Joe’s Pub jamboree is a benefit for the Ali Forney Center, serving homeless gay youth in need of special services.  Tickets are $25.  

And that’s just some of what’s happening.  As for me, I’m gearing up not just for today’s cabaret stars, but for tomorrow’s cabaret stars I’m on the lookout to discover as one of the judges for the talent competition: the annual summer MetroStar Talent Challenge back at the Metropolitan Room.  That will be on Mondays throughout the summer, beginning July 10.  But it’s time to apply now if you want to compete and beat the competition in the competition.  See www.metropolitanroom.com for details and rules.  And maybe I’ll be “catching up” with you!        

Catch-Up on Cabaret is presented through the generosity of Jamie deRoy and friends.