September in New York is when the city snaps back to life, and the cabaret rooms and conversation stages are already filling with some seriously intriguing names. Sylvester Stallone, Heated Rivalry, Ariana DeBose, Linda Eder and Tony Danza are among those bringing star power, stories and music to the month ahead. From intimate performances to conversations that take us behind the celebrity curtain, September offers plenty of reasons to pull up a chair and listen. T2C takes a look at who’s talking, who’s singing and where you’ll want to be.

54 Below: 254 West 54 St. 9/8 – 9: Claybourne Elder: Can I Tell You Something?; 9/11-12; Charles Busch Sings Johnny Mercer; 9/13: Ben Franklin In Paris; 9/16: Michael Cerveris: The Other Part; 9/18 -19: Ute Lemper: Celebrating Marlene Dietrich’s 125th Birthday; 9/22: Seth Sikes with Tedd Firth: Together at Last! Feat. Marilyn Maye; 9/23 and 27: Linda Eder; 9/24 and  26: Orfeh: Unbound and 9/29 – 30: Jeanna de Waal: Songs I Love to Sing.

92 Street Y: 1395 Lexington Ave. 9/9: Jaclyn Smith in Conversation: Beyond Charlie’s Angels; 9/17: STARZ’s Outlander: Blood of my Blood; 9/18: Cabaret Conversations: Lindsay Mendez; 9/23: StarTalk Live! with Neil deGrasse Tyson: Lost in Space; 9/27: Gloria Steinem in Conversation with Katie Couric: An Unexpected Life; 9/28: CBS Sunday Morning at 92NY: Sylvester Stallone in Conversation with Tracy Smith: The Steps; 9/29: Harry Connick, Jr. in Conversation — Babe: Elaboratio and 9/30: Fashion Icons with Fern Mallis: Ian Schrager.

Eliane Elias

Birdland Jazz: 315 West 44 St. Every Monday Jim Caruso’s Cast party; Every Monday and Tuesday: Vince Giordano leads The Nighthawks; Every Sunday Gabrielle Stravelli Trio;  9/ 15 – 19: Eliane Elias; 9/21: A Night With Nicole Henry and 9/28: Karen Mason.

Karen Mason Photo by Maryann Lopinto

Carnegie Hall: 881 7th Ave at 57th St.

Chelsea Table & Stage: Hilton Fashion District Hotel, 152 W 26th St. 9/9: An Evening With Mairéad; 9/13: Charlie Romo.

Dizzys Club Coca Cola: Frederick P. Rose Hall, Broadway at 60th Street. 9/4 -6: Ann Hampton Callaway I Get A Kick Out Of Cole.

Don’t Tell Mama: 343 W. 46 St. 9/9 and 16: Jeff Harnar: Blame It On My Youth; 9/10: Tanya Moberly: Repertoire With Sean Harkness; 9/24: Tanya Moberly: Repertoire With Ian Herman; 9/26: Steven Carl McCasland: Everybody Rise!

Laurie Beechman Theatre: at the West Bank Café: 407 West 42 St. 9/5:Lillias White Live At The Beechman; 9/8: Alice Ripley and John McDaniel; 9/12: Andrea McArdle’s Broadway On Demand; 9/16: Lorna Luft; 9/16: Lauren Marcus; 9/24: Lorna Dallas and 9/27:Donna McKechnie.

Donna McKechnie

Madame George: 45 West 45th: Broadway Night Mondays.

Ariana DeBose Photo by Genevieve Rafter Keddy

The Café Carlyle: 35 East 76 St. at Madison Ave. 9/8 – 19: Tony Danza: More Standards & Stories; 9/21 -26: Susanna Hoffs: and 9/29 – 10/3: Ariana DeBose.

Alicia Witt

The Cutting Room: 44 East 32nd St. 9/12: ALICIA WITT; 9/14: BROADWAY TAKES ON THE 80S; 9/17: BROADWAY SINGS ABBA

The DJango: 2 Avenue of the Americas. 9/18: Lee Taylor and 9/29: People of the Earth.

The Iridium: 1650 Broadway. 8/29: Papa Chubby

The Pierre Hotel, Two E Bar & Lounge: 2 E 61st St.

Sony Hall: 235 W 46th St. 9/21: Twin Peaks: A Conversation with the Stars

The Triad: 158 W. 72 St. Street. 9/5L: The Dozen Divas Show

The Town Hall: 123 W. 43 St. 9/27: Roger Daltrey A Great Night Out; 9/28: Stagedoor 50: A One-Night-Only Concert celebrating 50 Years of Stagedoor Manor Benefiting the Entertainment Community Fund and 9/29:  Heated Rivalry! Release

G.H. Harding

A WORLD WITHOUT DOLLY? — Pundit-Roger Friedman may have summed it up the best by saying: It’s hard to imagine but country superstar Dolly Parton has died. The great singer, songwriter, actress, philanthropist was 80 years old. She’d been ill for some time but retained her sense of humor and joie de vivre no matter what.

Tributes have poured in (all the linear networks immediately scheduled specials on her) – including everyone from Elton John; Paul McCartney and Jane Fonda, and Harry Styles in his opening show Wednesday night at his Madison Square Garden residency (30 shows!) did a special tribute to her.

Condolences to her family, friends, and legions of fans around the world. This is a huge loss. Parton was such a monumental fixture in our lives for what seemed like many lifetimes. “Jolene,” Whitney Houston; Dollywood; “Islands In The Stream”; 9 to 5 … the list goes on and on.

When she fell ill and numerous cancellations came in, the writing was on the wall. Trump, in maybe his first good humanitarian deed ever, had all the flags lowered for a week. Here in NYC, the Empire State Building turned its lights pink at 9:25 PM. Get it, 9-to-5.

More to come.

Tim Curry

TIM CURRY PASSES ON WEDNESDAY — If Parton’s passing on Tuesday weren’t enough, the terrific Tim Curry passed on Wednesday. He hadn’t been well since a severe stroke in 2012, but still, what a shock. I must confess, I never really got the whole Rocky Horror thing, but when I finally saw it and him in it, it was pure magic.

Personally, I always thought he was sensational in The Hunt For Red October with Sean Connery and Alec Baldwin. I also enjoyed his 3 albums on A&M Records; especially the third, Simplicity, produced by the late-great Michael Kamen.

What a week!

SHORT TAKES — Last week’s Tornado damage to Long Island beach club Sun and Surf was rather astounding as I really didn’t think they were still a thing. I know PR-pasha David Salidor first saw The Who in 1967 at the Lido Beach Club, but you really didn’t hear all that much about them

Bill Ayres

Bill Ayres, former radio-personality and organizer of WhyHunger -with Harry Chapin- has passed at 85. WOR’s Tom Cuddy first introduced me to him and he was just a delight. All things Must pass for sure. Check out their web-site here: https://whyhunger.org/team/bill-ayres/

Alison Martino (Spectrum 1) will introduce Micky Dolenz at his official 60th Anniversary Show on September 12 at The United Theater on Broadway in LA … (Via Forgotten Hits) Linda McCartney is going to be honored with a series of postage stamps featuring her photos. Now it’s true that Linda DID photograph some of the most important rock stars in rock and roll history, but none of those photos are being featured on the stamps. Instead, we get a series of five different “still” shots with nary a rock star in sight. The stamps will become available on September 25th.

Odd for sure, but at least the cover photo of the McCartney album is included … Kent Kotal’s totally enjoyable Forgotten Hits online-site starts a two-part interview with celebrity-biographer Mark Bego on his 2 Michael Jackson books: Michael! and On The Road with Michael. It might seem that the Jackson-furor has subsided somewhat since the release of that billion-dollar movie in April, but it’s available on cable right now and talk of a sequel remains in play. Check it out here: https://forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com/2026/08/a-forgotten-hits-exclusive-author-mark.html … Say what you will about AARP, but their current issue (with Danny DeVito) on the cover has article about The Triumph Of Discothat briefly recounts its heyday. Interviewed are Nile Rodgers; Howie Casey of KC & The Sunshine Band; Thelma Houston; and a short, but sweet piece on Studio 54 by Ron Tannenbaum. They also reference disco’s biggest hits, including Houston’s anthemic “Don’t Leave Me This Way.” They also mentioned The Village People …  Lindsey Buckingham did a surprise set at L.A.’s Club Largo Wednesday night, He sounded a tad-rusty, but great that he’s back out there again … and Happy Bday Debbie Gibson.

NAMES IN THE NEWS — Bruce Carbone; Anthony Sanfillippo; Perry Cooper; Linda Ferrando; Patti Conte; Steve Leeds; Tom & Lisa Cuddy; Race Taylor; Scott Muni; Dave Mason; Ed Kipling; Bill Ayres; Amanda Naylor; Steve Singer; Thomas Silverman; Thomas Jay; Gayle King; Carlos Santana; Chick Corea; Bruce Haring; Lyndsey Parker; Anthony Pomes; Sting; and Linda Bellamonte; Dan Zelinski and BELLA!

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There are stars, there are icons, and then there are those extraordinarily rare people who somehow become part of the American vocabulary. Dolly Parton was one of them.

Dolly Parton, the singer, songwriter, actress, entrepreneur, philanthropist and gloriously self-created woman who traveled from a one-room home in the Smoky Mountains to become one of the most recognizable people in the world, died peacefully Tuesday in Nashville. She was 80.

Dolly Parton-Rockstar

It seems almost impossible to write about Dolly in the past tense because she spent seven decades making herself so vividly present. The hair. The rhinestones. The impossible fingernails. The laugh. The jokes she made about herself before anyone else could make them. But underneath the deliberately exaggerated package was something far more formidable: one of the great American songwriters and one of the shrewdest women ever to navigate show business.

Born Dolly Rebecca Parton on January 19, 1946, in Sevier County, Tennessee, she was one of 12 children raised in poverty in the Smoky Mountains. She began writing songs as a child and headed to Nashville immediately after graduating from high school. By 1967 she had joined The Porter Wagoner Show, beginning the partnership that brought her national attention but eventually became too small to contain her ambition.

When she left Wagoner in 1974, she didn’t simply say goodbye. She wrote “I Will Always Love You.” Years later, when Elvis Presley wanted to record the song but his manager demanded a share of its publishing rights, Parton refused. It was an extraordinary business decision. Whitney Houston’s 1992 recording would eventually turn the song into a worldwide phenomenon. Dolly kept her publishing. That combination—heart and steel—was Dolly.

She could write “Jolene,” one of the most instantly recognizable songs in popular music, and “Coat of Many Colors,” turning childhood poverty into something tender rather than sentimental. She crossed from country into pop with “Here You Come Again,” then walked into Hollywood opposite Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin in 9 to 5 and proved almost immediately that she was a natural screen presence. The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas and Steel Magnolias followed.

Then there was Dollywood. What might have looked like celebrity branding became something much larger: an economic engine in the region that created her. Her business interests eventually stretched across entertainment, hospitality and consumer products, but Dolly never seemed embarrassed by money or hypnotized by it. She understood what money could do.

That became clearest through the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, founded in 1995 to provide books to young children. Her philanthropy extended far beyond literacy, including support following the devastating Tennessee wildfires and a $1 million contribution to COVID-19 research at Vanderbilt University that helped fund work connected to the Moderna vaccine. Her family has asked that, in lieu of flowers following her death, donations be made to the Imagination Library.

Her honors became almost absurd in their abundance: Grammys, CMA Awards, a Kennedy Center Honor, induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame and, after initially protesting that she did not consider herself sufficiently rock-and-roll, induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She responded to that last honor in quintessential Dolly fashion: she made a rock album.

Her private life remained remarkably private. She married Carl Dean in 1966, and while Dolly became one of the most photographed women on Earth, Dean largely declined the circus. Their marriage lasted 59 years, until his death in 2025.

Dolly’s final act may now belong to Broadway. This winter, DOLLY: A True Original Musical, the autobiographical musical she helped create, is scheduled to arrive at the St. James Theatre. Previews begin December 7, with an opening night set for January 19, 2027—Dolly Parton’s 81st birthday.

The musical features Parton’s existing songs alongside new music she wrote specifically for the stage, with a book by Parton and Maria S. Schlatter. Tony winner Bartlett Sher directs, with choreography by Mandy Moore. The score draws upon the songs through which Dolly had already been writing her autobiography for decades, including “Jolene,” “Coat of Many Colors,” “9 to 5” and “I Will Always Love You.”

The date now carries a poignancy nobody intended when it was announced. What was supposed to be an 81st birthday celebration will instead become something else: Broadway opening its doors to Dolly Parton without Dolly Parton there to walk through them.

Yet there is something strangely appropriate about her having written herself into the next chapter before leaving us.

Dolly understood image better than almost anyone. She famously constructed herself from exaggeration and then spent a lifetime allowing people to underestimate the intelligence underneath it. She could be outrageous without becoming vulgar, sentimental without becoming foolish, enormously wealthy without pretending she had forgotten poverty, and deeply rooted in where she came from without allowing it to determine how far she could go.

Most importantly, she understood storytelling. She took a frightened woman begging another woman not to steal her man and made “Jolene.” She took a coat sewn from scraps and made childhood poverty beautiful. She took leaving a professional relationship and wrote one of the most enduring farewell songs ever composed. Now that song inevitably belongs to her.

Dolly Parton spent her life telling us exactly who she was, often while making us laugh so hard that we failed to notice how much truth she had slipped into the joke.

The rhinestones were real. So was the woman underneath them. Come January 19th, the lights at the St. James Theatre will rise on Dolly Parton’s story. She simply won’t be sitting there to watch it.

Photo: Jenny Anderson

Not surprising, one night with the original Broadway revival cast of Falsettos was never going to be enough. The 10th Anniversary Reunion Concert of William Finn and James Lapine’s beloved musical sold out Carnegie Hall in a remarkable 90 minutes, and now a second performance has been added for Monday, November 2 at 7 p.m. at Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage.

And yes, the gang really is all coming back.

Tony Award winners Stephanie J. Block, Christian Borle and Brandon Uranowitz, Tony nominees Andrew Rannells and Betsy Wolfe, and Emmy nominee Tracie Thoms will reunite to reprise the roles they played in Lincoln Center Theater’s acclaimed 2016 Broadway revival. Anthony Rosenthal, the production’s original Jason, will also make a special guest appearance.

The originally announced October 18 concert was intended to be a one-night-only event. Broadway audiences apparently had other ideas. Once tickets disappeared almost immediately, “one night only” became considerably more negotiable.

There is another lovely full-circle element to the reunion. Tony-nominated director and choreographer Ellenore Scott, who served as assistant choreographer on the 2016 revival, will return a decade later—this time as director of both Carnegie Hall performances.

“Ten years ago, I had the gift of watching these brilliant actors work, and helped bring this beautiful show to life on Broadway as an assistant choreographer,” Scott said, describing the company as having since become dear friends and her return as director as “the most beautiful full-circle moment.”

Vadim Feichtner also returns as Music Director and Conductor, leading a band that will include most of the revival’s original musicians, while Cory Pattak will design the lighting.

The reunion carries particular poignancy following the death of composer and co-creator William Finn in 2025. Falsettoshas always possessed that rare ability to be screamingly funny until suddenly it isn’t. Beneath the neurotic family dynamics, sex, jealousy, baseball, Judaism and glorious messiness lies a story about love confronting mortality—and about the families we inherit, create, fracture and somehow continue to love.

The musical grew from Finn and Lapine’s one-act works March of the Falsettos and Falsettoland, eventually becoming Falsettos, which opened on Broadway in 1992. Set against the emergence of the AIDS crisis, it centers on Marvin, his former wife Trina, their son Jason, Marvin’s lover Whizzer, psychiatrist Mendel and the wonderfully described “lesbians from next door,” Dr. Charlotte and Cordelia.

Lincoln Center Theater brought the musical back to Broadway in 2016 under Lapine’s direction, opening at the Walter Kerr Theatre on October 27. The revival received five Tony Award nominations and was subsequently filmed for PBS’s Live From Lincoln Center, allowing a production with a relatively limited Broadway run to find an audience far beyond West 48th Street.

Ten years later, that audience clearly hasn’t gone anywhere. There is something particularly fitting about Falsettos returning through a reunion rather than a conventional revival. This is, after all, a musical obsessed with the complicated meaning of family. Bringing these particular actors and musicians back together isn’t simply nostalgia; their chemistry became part of what audiences loved about the 2016 production.

Both Carnegie Hall performances will benefit The BroadwayEveryDay Foundation and Family Equality, adding another layer of purpose to an evening already steeped in memory, love and chosen family.

Tickets for the newly added November 2 performance go on sale to the general public Wednesday, August 26 at 11 a.m. ET through Carnegie Hall, by phone at (212) 247-7800, and at the Carnegie Hall Box Office at 57th Street and Seventh Avenue.

Considering what happened the first time around, anyone planning to attend might not want to spend 11 a.m. leisurely contemplating the decision.

Apparently, Falsettos fans move fast.