Hello, NiteLife Exchange Readers!  First off, I’d like to thank those of you who sent me comments on my first piece last week entitled Sondheim at the Cabaret.  The response was gratifying, and leads me to believe there’s a need for a column that puts the nightly events in the cabaret world in a larger perspective.  Please know that the blurb at the bottom of your screen is for real – if you have a strong (or weak!) reaction to my musings, I’d like to hear from you.  And do pass on the link to those you think might be interested.  Now, on to the show that’s my jumping-off point of the week.  Let’s hope the pool I jump into holds water!

I wanted to let our readers get an inside view of the birthing process where a MetroStar is born: the delights, the divas-in-training, the dramas of discovery.  Since I’m one of the judges in this every-Monday singing contest at Metropolitan Room, along with fellow reviewer Roy Sander (with guest judges joining us in August, and the audience vote factored in), I have a different kind of role in observing the proceedings, and this regular cabaret column should not be a place for me to state opinions at this point,  However, it is an important and interesting event – and I wanted to let readers know more about what goes on in the room, if not in my head. 

Madame is BACK IN MANHATTAN with Co-Star Rick Skye and Musical Director Ricky Ritzel at Feinstein's at Loews Regency for two performances only - Tuesday, July 27 and Thursday, August 19, 2010. For Details: http://feinsteinsattheregency.com/performance.php?id=357 Tickets are $25.00 (General Admission) Food and beverage minimum: $25.00 for this engagement.

Jane Monheit performed with the Les Paul Trio this past Monday, July 12 at Iridium - with Special Guest Frank Vignola. This is a group shot of everyone in the Les Paul Greenroom.  From Left to Right: Jay Leonhart, Jane Monheit, John Colianni, Lou Pallo, Frank Vignola. The series continues every Monday at Iridium with Special Guests.

For nearly the last two decades, songstress Perry Payne has retained a most interesting reputation in the cabaret arena; she's a true Southern belle by birth in Lynchburg, VA, a champion real estate agent by day, and a top-notch entertainer by night. And she proved all beyond compare in her most recent annual turn at the Metropolitan Room. Directed by perennial Broadway mainstay and international theatre star Evan Pappas, and backed musically by Michael Rice on piano, Ray Kilday on bass, Steve Bartosik on drums and the truly sensational Amy Hamilton Soto on violin, Payne once again comes up swinging, as always.

"The Church Ladies," played by Leilani Bryant, Yolanda Wyns and Teresa Stanley, were the ever-present trio in Oprah Winfrey’s Broadway production of The Color Purple. They appear virtually in every scene of the award-winning production, which starred Fantasia as Celie. The show is anchored by The Church Ladies whose contrasting personalities blend gossip, song and comedy. Now that the show has closed, the women perform as "The Broadway Church Ladies."

There is talent all over the place at Metropolitan Room, not just the acts (many of whom are "names") that the astute booker Tanya Holt retains for the nightly shows. Don't forget the staff - your waiters, waitresses, service bartenders, hosts, tech people and the very helpful and attractive Podium Girls and reservationists - almost all of them plying their trade at the nightly "day jobs" between theatre roles, cabaret performances, lessons and auditions, and

It comes as no surprise that the Off-Off-Broadway movement has for almost five decades unleashed some of the finest performers and playwrights of all time upon the globe. And Theatre for the New City has endured for nearly forty of those years as an undisputed champion of same; just a handful of their playwrights past and present have included Sam Shepard, Robert Patrick, Maria Irene Fornes, Lanford Wilson,