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Ellen Kaye’s newest show at The Metropolitan Room is a stunner. It is entitled Ice Wine: Songs for Dark Winter Nights. It was my first time seeing Ms. Kaye perform and I was absolutely floored. Her energy was bright and sexy at the same time. And, she was as comfortable singing Springsteen as she was with singing a love song by Kurt Weill and Ira Gershwin. Her voice has a slightly raspy yet appealing quality. One could compare her to Liza Minnelli, Janis Joplin, Taylor Dayne, and Melanie combined. Her vocal sound is unique and magnetic.

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                It scarcely seems possible that bandsinger Kat Gang, already poised to become one of the nation's most rapidly-rising stars of the jazz genre in her weekly appearances at the Plaza Hotel's Rose Club and the Algonquin's Oak Room, among many others, could have possibly improved even further in just a few short months after proving herself a top-notch entertainer. But that is exactly what has taken place since establishing her alliance with musician Nate Mayland. And if their recent CD Release Party at Iridium (for their debut disc The Wishbone Project) is any indication of what the future holds for these two as well as their additional backing combo, it's safe to assume that they will soon emerge as the definitive new "Bright Young Things" of the nightlife circuit.

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                                    Anybody who makes the careless statement, "There is no such thing anymore as a quality musical in New York by unknown songwriters," has clearly not visited the West End Theatre at 263 West 86th Street, where MultiStages is currently presenting Temple of the Souls. With a book and libretto by legendary poetess and performer Anita Velez-Mitchell (yes, the mother of newscaster Jane from the Headline News Network on cable), music by the seamless team of Dean Landon and Anika Paris, and effortless direction by Lorca Peress (who also designed the amazing sets) and splendid choreography by Milteri Tucker, the show is proof positive that no great effort goes unrewarded. In point of fact, and in a season where even the New York Musical Theater Festival was barely able to display anything that might be considered Broadway-worthy, this brilliant show has every ounce of potential to head straight to the top and beyond.

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Imagine you've been invited to a lovely, luxurious home in Manhattan for a happy party. After everyone's had a drink or two, a convivial, and talented, fellow slips over to the baby grand to play a few tunes. He's joined by some of the guests, the attractive couple celebrating a night out away from the child, the stunning brunette, who with a penchant for torch songs and the great cheerful fellow with the big voice, and personality to match. Oh, and a charming young couple from out of town who just happen to have glorious voices. And your host is happy to introduce everyone and knows an amazing amount about American music.

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                        Balls is a flat-out hilarious, and simultaneously subtly insinuating, tribute to the vulnerable "bromantic" core at the heart of macho posturing.  Studded with brilliantly satirical songs, and self-mocking dance numbers, Balls, through its five defiantly he-men protagonists, dives into the overwhelming maelstrom of theatrical ambition and maddeningly complex  contemporary male-female warfare. In order to offset the trauma of the disorienting realities  they face, the featured quintet has forged an indestructible bond based on their sense, that as straight men committed to the world of musical theatre, they are a beleaguered minority.    

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                  The only applicable word for what took place at Metropolitan Room (34 West 22nd Street) on the evening of Thursday, December 8th, would be "magical." But it wasn't merely the night itself or the glorious party, it's what the future holds for the cherished jewel-box that is this club. Brothers Christopher and Steve Mazzilli, who possess the club (and Gotham Comedy Club on 23rd Street) along with minority owner Peter Leavy, have added a new partner, Bernie Furshpan, who is announcing a plethora of changes to spruce up what is already New York's most popular cabaret space.

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                                       For those, like your humble writer, previously unfamiliar with the Brick Theater Company (575 Metropolitan Avenue at the corner of Lorimer, in the newly-posh Brooklyn enclave of Williamsburg), it can wholeheartedly be shouted from the rooftops that New York's Off-Off-Broadway scene has a brand-new goldmine in the form of this lovely black box. More than this, however, is the hysterical brilliance that is the satirical Little Lord's Babes in Toyland, a mirthfully-mangled take on Victor Herbert and Glen MacDonough's classic holiday operetta from 1903. This uproarious little masterpiece is adapted and directed by the cherubically-delicious Michael Levinton, who also stars in the dual roles of mean old miser Barnaby and his nephew Alan.

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                       It is always the sign of a world-class biographer when their work isn't merely painstakingly researched, but when genuine affection for their subject pours forth in the narrative. Such masters of the genre include Charles Higham, Shaun Considine and James Gavin, and they are now wholeheartedly joined by the effervescent David Evanier. The gentleman had already scored notable triumphs with the books Roman Candle: The Life of Bobby Darin and Making the Wiseguys Weep: The Jimmy Roselli Story (which was named a Notable Book of the Year by the New York Times), but with his recently published All the Things You Are: The Life of Tony Bennett, he has come into his own as a literary lion. 

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                                 It was to be expected that the show Ho Ho Ho! Kick Off the Season with Marta!featuring cabaret legend Marta Sanders at the Laurie Beechman in her first full-length offering in many seasons, would be absolutely heavenly. And it was, in abundance. But what came with this was an indescribable quality; Sanders has never lacked for elegance, finesse or vocal richness, and all of these were more than clearly evident as usual. More than this, though, is the feeling that Sanders has somehow aged like a fine wine;

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                        The All For One Theater Festival, a series of solo shows which ran throughout November at Theatre 80 St Marks, is one of those events that prove in lush detail, that theatrical innovation will never die. Governed by an Advisory Board of renowned solo entertainers (among them Jackie Mason, Jackie Hoffman, Gretchen Cryer, Tovah Feldshuh, Mark Rylance, Deb Margolin and Leslie Jordan), this year's proceedings included such award-winning shows as Mary Dimino's Scared Skinny and Over There by PJ Walsh. But perhaps the best of the best was unFRAMED, by Iyaba Ibo Mandingo and directed by Brent Buell. Over the course of these ninety riveting minutes of sheer lightning, the gentleman manages to sing, to dance and to act in a variety of ages and accents, and also tell his acclaimed spoken-word poetry and to captivate from his very first nanosecond on stage. As if none of this was enough, he manages to paint a self-portrait right before our eyes.