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Cabaret

Sam Harris: Openly Gray! at Feinstein’s/ 54 Below 

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Sam Harris may be openly gray and just turned 60 but he still has the voice and energy he had when he first appeared on Star Search at the age of 22. Mr Harris has had a varied career since his record breaking 14 episode appearance on the OG talent show: actor on TV, author and Tony nominated star of Cy Coleman’s The Life in 1997. His new one man cabaret show at 54 Below is another triumph for him and his long term Musical director, Todd Schroeder. 

I have to start with the fact that not only is Mr Harris a wonderful singer with a varied catalogue of music, he is also very funny. His musical selections and wit about what we have all been going through in this pandemic period is what we need to get us started for recovery. 

Appropriately, as we see the end of these past two trying years, he begins his show with Happy Days Are Here Again which is a harbinger of the smiles he puts on his audience’s faces. Commiserating with his audience he relates to them how difficult it has been to have too much family time over the past two years ending with him singing Crazy and then continuing with that theme with Sondheim’s You Could Drive a Person Crazy (a rendition that starts slow and then ends with a fun fast mix.) 

Janis Ian’s song Jesse slows the tempo to demonstrate Mr Harris’ ability to bring heart to his music. A Million Reasons continues to allow him shine a light on his vocal range. 

Sam is truly personable and funny and his next song which I like to not mention the title allows him to complement his witty monologues into some equally funny lyrics. The audience reacted with joy at this song. 

Sam is openly gray but also open with his personal difficulties. During the past two years, he suffered through some vocal problems resulting in vocal cord hemorrhaging and surgery; but, as he tells us he got through this with the help of his family, doctor and vocal coach. At this point he takes to the piano to play a slow heart felt version of The Beatles Help! 

What is truly unique about Mr Harris, which one must attribute to both his singing and acting skills is that he can easily transition from a joke to a personal story to a quick imitation of Tina Turner’s dance steps while singing Proud Mary and then back to a wonderfully sentimental story about a childhood friend before singing a pairing of Charlie and Steal Away. 

As I mentioned earlier, he was Tony nominated for his performance in The Life and he reprised one of those songs Use What You Got still donning that hat he wore in the show. It is a terrific coincidence that he is in town this week in time to see the Encores presentation of that same show this coming weekend. 

To round out the show he sings Don’t Rain on My Parade and with some funny meanderings Everyone’s Gone to the Moon. 

Sam, at 60, jokes that at his age he is not going to walk off and back onto the stage for his final song. Of course after singing a song about the moon, he has to end the evening with the song that brought him his first of over a dozen Star Search wins, Over the Rainbow 

It is important that I mention Sam’s musical director Todd Schroeder who adds to the enjoyment of the show both with his arrangements, piano playing and connection with Mr Harris. Also the lighting was perfectly on cue with the songs. 

If you can, go see him at Feinstein’s/ 54 Below or stream the show on Wednesday March 17th.

Look for the streaming review tomorrow. 

Broadway

Events For December

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Cabaret

Cabaret, Talks and Concerts For December

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Tis the season to be entertained. Here are picks:

92 Street Y: 1395 Lexington Ave. 12/2 – 4: Lyrics & Lyricists In the Key of Life: The Genius of Stevie Wonder. Led by Broadway’s Darius de Haas; 12/5: Recanati-Kaplan Talks Death, Let Me Do My Show: Rachel Bloom in Conversation and 12/14: Sharon Stone and Jerry Saltz Talk About Art.

Birdland Jazz: 315 West 44 St. Every Monday at 5:30 Vince Giordano and The Nighthawks and 9:30pm Jim Caruso’s Cast Party; Every Tuesday at 8:30pm The Lineup with Susie Mosher; Every Saturday at 7pm Eric Comstock with Sean Smith (Bass) & special guest Barbara Fasano (Voice); 12/11: Karen Mason for her annual Christmas show “Christmas! Christmas! Christmas!”; 12/12 – 16 Stacy Kent; 12/18: James Barbour returns to Birdland with his annual Holiday Concert: 12/21 – 25: “A Swinging Birdland Christmas” starring Birdland regulars Klea Blackhurst, Jim Caruso and Billy Stritch and 12/28 – 31: Marilyn Maye.

Sutton Foster

Cafe Carlyle: 35 E 76th St. 12/1 – 9: Sutton Foster; 12/12 – 16: Gavin DeGraw and 12/19 – 31: Michael Feinstein.

Michael W Smith and Amy Grant

Carnegie Hall: 881 7th Ave at 57th St. 12/5: Christmas with Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith; 12/6: Dee Dee Bridgewater with Sean Jones and the NYO Jazz All-Star Big Band; 12/13: Michael Feinstein and Jean-Yves Thibaudet and 12/22 – 23: The New York Pops The Best Christmas of All with Norm Lewis

Steven Reineke by Michael Tammaro, Norm Lewis by Peter Hurley

Chelsea Table + Stage: Hilton Fashion District Hotel, 152 W 26th St. 12/8: Mariann Meringolo and 12/9: A Christmas Special Robert Bannon.

Don’t Tell Mama: 343 W. 46 St.

Dizzys Club Coca Cola: Frederick P. Rose Hall, Broadway at 60th Street.

The DJango: 2 Avenue of the Americas. 12/28: Lee Taylor

Christine Ebersole with Billy Stritch
7:00pm

54 Below: 254 West 54 St. 12/3: The Cast of Sweeney Todd, feat. Gaten Matarazzo, Maria Bilbao, & more! 12/4: Brandon Victor Dixon: Soul of Broadway; 12/5: We Love the Winter Weather: Songs of the Season with KT Sullivan, Stacy Sullivan, Jeff Harnar, & Todd Murray; 12/5 and 29: Christine Pedi: Snow Bizness; 12/8 – 10: The 13th Annual Joe Iconis Christmas Extravaganza, feat. Annie Golden & more!; 12/12 – 17: Christine Ebersole with Billy Stritch: I’ll Be Home For Christmas ; 12/19 – 20: Lisa Howard’s Holiday Special!; 12/21 – 23: A Very Countess Christmas with Luann de Lesseps; 12/24, 26 – 30: Ann Hampton Callaway and Liz Callaway: Yuletide Revelry! and 12/31: New Year’s Eve with Aaron Tveit!

The Green Room 42: 570 10th Ave. 12/2: Sally Mayes; 12/11: Mamie Paris; 12/13: Danny Bacher and Dawn Derow.

José Feliciano

Sony Hall: 235 W. 46th St. 12/22: José Feliciano

Theatre at the West Bank Café: 407 West 42 St. 9/28: Alison Angrim

The Triad: 158 W. 72 St. 12/2 and 5: White Christmas at the Triad: A Celebration of Irving Berlin;


The Town Hall:
 123 West 43rd Street. 12/18: The 43rd John Lennon Annual Tribute starring Graham Nash, who will receive the 2023 John Lennon Real Love Award and play some of his favorite John Lennon and Beatles classics. Nash will be joined by a stellar line-up including Rosanne Cash, Judy Collins, Marc Cohn and Bettye LaVette; 12/5: A Very Darren Crissmas Meet & Greet Experience and 12/22: Rufus and Martha Wainwright’s Nöel Nights.
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Cabaret

Alec Wilder Tribute 

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Devotees of the Great American Songbook have another reason to love living in New York.  Yes, cabaret shows of the music of Porter, Rodgers et al abound here of course, but once a year there is a loving tribute to a lesser-known composer.  Some of us may have even passed him on West 44th Street as he was leaving his home in the Algonquin Hotel.  This dapper gentleman was Alec Wilder, a musician who wrote classical pieces as well as songs.  He wrote words and music, and sometimes let the likes of Marshall Barer, Fran Landesman and even Johnny Mercer supply lyrics.  There are a few of these titans who can have one foot in Tin Pan Alley and the other in Carnegie Hall.  George Gershwin comes to mind immediately; Cole Porter dabbled but reverted to what he could do best.  Wilder also wrote American Popular Song/The Great Innovators 1900-1950, a volume respected by those who love the music of that era.  

The Friends of Alec Wilder presented their 38th Annual Concert for an audience of seriously devoted fans of Wilder on November 11th at 54 Below. 

Mark Walter, FOAW Board Member and son of noted pianist and friend of Wilder’s Cy Walter, introduced Honorary Host Steve Ross, who along with the ever-amiable Eric Comstock interspersed the music with anecdotes about Wilder which rounded out the portrait of the gentleman being painted so effectively by the rest of the cast.    

Barbara Fasano, Eric Comstock

The afternoon began with one of Wilder’s chamber works, presented lovingly by The Wilderness Trio. Eric Comstock followed, summing up Wilder by saying that his music never went out of vogue because it was never in vogue. Wilder is like that secret ingredient that once having tasted it, one yearns for it thereafter. Eric sang four songs, infusing I’ll Wait with his ineffable sass and charm before being joined by his wife, the spunky and gorgeous Barbara Fasano, who made each lyric come to life in ways Wilder would have appreciated. Sean Smith provided bass support, and the trio which has been a mainstay at Birdland illuminated Wilder’s deep emotional grasp of the human condition.   

Jason Henderson photo credit Van Craig

The Wildebeest Wind Quintet followed with the Alice in Wonderland Suite, which showed Wilder at his classically playful best.  Jason Henderson carried some of that lightheartedness into his segment, with two songs that benefited from his natural charm and enthusiasm. Steve Ross made the heart ache a bit with his rendition of the plaintive Did You Ever Cross Over to Sneden’s? before closing the program by encouraging everyone to join him in singing I’ll Be Around, perhaps the best known of Wilder’s songs. 

If your interest in Alec Wilder has been piqued, visit alecwildermusicandlife.com. 

 

 

 

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Ken Fallin’s Broadway: Sutton Foster and Kelli O’Hara With The NY Pops

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One Night Only: An Evening with Sutton Foster and Kelli O’Hara with the NY Pops is happening Friday 8pm, at Carnegie Hall. This unique program by NY Pops conductor Steven Reineke, pays homage to earlier icons of stage and screen who teamed up for memorable concerts.

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Cabaret

T2C Talks To Paul Iacono, Unfiltered

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Actor and writer Paul Iacono, best known for the films Fame, G.B.F., and MTV’s “The Hard Times Of RJ Berger,” returns to The Green Room 42 in “Paul Iacono, Unfiltered,” His bawdy evening of excess and exposé happens tonight Friday, November 17 at 9:30 PM. T2C had a chance to talk to this 3 decade seasoned performer.

Paul Iacono, is best known for his portrayal of the title character on MTV’s “The Hard Times of RJ Berger.” Paul was first featured on “The Rosie O’Donnell Show” at age eight, after she discovered his unique talents for impersonating Frank Sinatra and Ethel Merman Favorite stage credits include Mercury Fur (The New Group), Bridget Everett’s Rock Bottom (Joe’s Pub), Noël Coward’s Sail Away with Elaine Stritch (Carnegie Hall), John Guare’s Landscape of the Body with Lili Taylor and Sherie Rene Scott (Signature Theater), and The Dark at the Top of the Stairs with Donna Lynne Champlin and Michele Pawk (Transport Group). Favorite film credits include MGM’s remake of Fame, Drew Barrymore’s Animal, Darren Stein’s G.B.F., Extracurricular Activities, and Dating My Mother with Kathy Najimy. Iacono’s play Prince/Elizabeth premiered at The Teatro LATEA Theater co-starring Sofia Black D’Elia and Peter Vack, and The Last Great Dame (loosely inspired by his relationship with Elaine Stritch) at Jane Friedman’s HOWL! Happening Gallery. His cabaret “Where’s the Fucking Kid?” premiered at 54 Below, with “Psychedelic Hedonism” following at Joe’s Pub (New York Magazine “Critic’s Pick”), and “Psychedelic Playhouse” at The Green Room 42.

Join Paul for a surreal vaudevillian celebration through the highs, lows, and misadventures from his past five years out of the spotlight. Directed by Eric Gilliland and written by Iacono, Paul weaves insanely personal and wildly hilarious moments from Hollywood to 42nd Street and beyond, accompanied onstage by music director Drew Wutke, with music consulting and arrangements by Peter Saxe.

Paul Iacono, Unfiltered on Friday, November 17 at 9:30 PM at The Green Room 42 (570 Tenth Avenue at 42nd Street, on the 4th Floor of Yotel).

Video by Magda Katz

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