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Cabaret

What to Watch in The New Year: March 27

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Irvington Theater’s inaugural Arts Incubator Short Play FestBrevity is the soul of Irvington Theater’s inaugural Arts Incubator Short Play Fest, streaming on demand through March 28.

Celebrating short, new plays and the playwrights behind them, this virtual festival features a musical and three plays that speak candidly to this global moment.

Lilies, or The Revival of a Romantic Drama The Drama Company NYC presents a revival of Lilies, or The Revival of a Romantic Drama by Michel Marc Bouchrd with English translation by Linda Gaboriau, and direction by Andrew Benvenuti.

Lilies will be seen in New York City for the first time in nearly twenty years—staged outdoors and recorded live to be streamed on demand.

Set against a backdrop of revenge, obsession, and love, Lilies tells the story of Simon Doucet, recently released from prison after serving a 30-year sentence for a crime he did not commit. He arranges a private meeting with his former school friend, Jean Bilodeau, now a powerful Bishop. Simon and his friends, all former prison inmates, revisit the harrowing events that occurred during their final year at St. Sebastian’s school for boys.

The cast of Lilies features an all-male ensemble with Michael Walls as Simon 1952/Timothee Ducet; Andreas Pilitsakis as Bishop Bilodeau; Jason Schlaman as Simon Ducet 1912; Florimond Le Goupil-Maier as Count Vallier De Tilly; Dylan C. Wack as Jean Bilodeau; Bill Morton as Countess Marie-Laure de Tilly; J.P. Ross as Lydie Anne De Rozier; Drew Paton as Father St. Michael and Baron De Hue; and Grant Hale as Baroness De Hue.

1pm: The Art of Creating the One-Woman Show Jessica Lynn Johnson will offer a FREE workshop for performers, The Art of Creating the One-Woman Show, on Saturday, March 27, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. PDT. The workshop is offered to all artists who are interested in either creating or further developing a solo show. The duration of the workshop is estimated at ninety minutes.

The free workshop is being offered in connection with the 28th Annual Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Festival (Theme: And Still We Rise).

2pm: Saturday Matinee: R&H Goes Pop!  To celebrate the release of the album R&H Goes Pop!, iHeartRadio Broadway will bring back its Saturday Matinee series.

During the broadcast, listeners will get exclusive commentary from Laura Osnes, Lilli Cooper, Kyle Selig, Katrina Lenk, Ashley Park, Rebecca Naomi Jones, and more.

The station will also highlight Broadway Cares/Equity Fights’ AIDS COVID-19 Emergency Assistance Fund.

3:30pm: Rise Up With Arts, Featuring Aaron Tveit and Kerry Ellis Marking World Theatre Day on March 27, Rise Up With Stars, a global variety show with performances from the worlds of theatre, music, and dance, will live stream to raise money for the U.K. charity Theatre Support Fund+ and The Actors Fund in the U.S.

From the world of musical theatre, expect performances from West End leading lady Kerry Ellis (WickedCats) and Matt Croke (Aladdin), as well as Broadway’s Moulin Rouge! Tony Award nominees Aaron Tveit and Robyn Hurder.

Tony Award-winning playwright John Logan (Red) and Tony-winning lyricist Don Black (Sunset Boulevard) are also set to appear.

Headlining the variety are co-creators Pasha Kovalev and Anya Garnis of the U.K. television dance show Strictly Come Dancing. The evening will include dance performances from the pair, as well as other dance professionals from the U.K. competition and the U.S. shows So You Think You Can Dance and Dancing With the Stars. Kovalev and Garnis also appeared on Broadway in Burn the Floor.

7pm: Angela by Mark Ravenhill Angela centers on the playwright’s mother, at the age of 84 and suffering with dementia, as she looks back across her life. Cutting between Angela in her old age and in her youth, the play depicts her struggle with depression and the challenges of her own aspirations, set against Mark’s experience of beginning to learn ballet in his fifties.

Airing March 26–28, the presentation is led by Pam Ferris (Matilda) and Matti Houghton (Call the Midwife) as Angela, BAFTA winner Toby Jones (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy) as Ted, and Jackson Laing and Joseph Millson as Mark, with Nadia Albina, Dermot Daly, Raj Ghatak, Olivier Huband, Alexandra Mathie, and Kirsty Stuart.

Naked Productions’ Polly Thomas directs. This is the first in the Sound Stage audio series from The Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh and Pitlochry Festival Theatre, in association with Naked Productions and BBC Radio 3.

7:30pm: Walking With Bubbles Presented as part of the On Women Festival, Broadway alum Jessica Hendy’s play looks at the performer’s seemingly perfect New York City life from the center stage on Broadway until her husband begins to suffer an inexplicable mental decline. Grappling with divorce, guilt, and empathy around her ex’s homelessness and struggles, she is left with her young son, Beckett, to navigate a seemingly impossible new landscape with few resources other than an irrepressible sense of humor and a mother’s unwavering determination to create a new and hopeful beginning.

7:30pm: Mozart’s Don Giovanni Imbuing the familiar Don Juan tale with a captivating combination of comedy, seductiveness, danger, and damnation, Mozart created an enduring masterpiece that has been a cornerstone of the repertory since its 1787 premiere. The opera offers a rare opportunity for two low-voiced men to star alongside one another as the title cad and his faithful yet conflicted servant, Leporello, as well as three memorable female roles—multifaceted women who both suffer the Don’s abuses. Yet for all his adversaries’ plans to enact their revenge, only an otherworldly force from beyond the grave can put a stop to Giovanni’s diabolical deeds.

8pm: Classic Six By Leigh Flayton In 1993, Frances works as a live-in nanny/researcher for Frank and Patricia McGuire in their Classic Six Manhattan apartment. Twenty-five years later, she returns for a visit and, as the evening unfolds, Frank and Patricia question her motives: Is she merely curious to revisit the place where she learned hard truths? Or does she plan to expose what she found out about The McGuires all those years ago? 

9pm: American Masters: Twyla Moves explore the life and career of dance legend and Tony Award-winning choreographer Twyla Tharp (above) in its newest episode.

Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures Festival: Romeo and Juliet New York City Center presents Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures Festival, a digital showcast featuring four New Adventures productions filmed at London’s Sadler’s Wells Theatre.

The series, highlighting Bourne’s twists on ballet classics, continues with Romeo & Juliet, available on demand for 10 days.

Romeo and Juliet stars Cordelia Braithwaite as Juliet, Paris Fitzpatrick as Romeo, Dan Wright as Tybalt, and Ben Brown as Mercutio.

Treason the Musical West End favorites Lucie Jones, Oliver Tompsett, and more star in this encore presentation of the musical Treason, filmed at Cadogan Hall in London. 

Joining Jones and Tompsett are Daniel Boys, Waylon Jacobs, Bradley Jaden, Emmanuel Kojo, Rebecca LaChance, Cedric Neal, and Sharon Rose, alongside poet Debris Stevenson as the show’s narrator.

The musical follows the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 in which Guy Fawkes and his anarchist supporters tried to blow up the U.K. Halls of Parliament. Ricky Allan wrote the music and lyrics with a book by Allan and Kieran Lynn. Hannah Chissick directs the concert with musical supervision by Nick Pinchbeck and orchestrations by Matthew Malone.

The Thanksgiving Play Spotlight on Plays returns with Larissa FastHorse’s The Thanksgiving Play, directed by Leigh Silverman. The cast features Tony nominees Heidi Schreck and Bobby Cannavale, along with Keanu Reeves and Alia Shawkat.

Whiterock Cliff Goode Productions presents a streaming production of Ryan McCurdy’s one-man Off-Broadway musical Whiterock Cliff will be performed live at New York’s Funkadelic Studios for a five-week virtual run.

The show features a book by Ryan McCurdy and Ellie Pyle, music and lyrics by McCurdy, and directed by Mary Chieffo.

Whiterock Cliff weaves together memory, music, mental health, the creative process, the stories we tell ourselves, and the ones we tell to each other.

This act is performed live each night with the permission of Actors’ Equity from a Times Square studio with one performer, three cameras, and eight musical instruments.

Prometheus Bound By The Tank Through the prism of racial and gender injustice, Prometheus Bound is a protest against the discrepancy between what’s legal and what’s right, against oppression veiled as order.

Director Ran Xia sets Howard Rubenstein’s adaptation of Aeschylus’s Prometheus Bound against a backdrop of the tumultuous American socio-political climate. Prometheus Bound is fully designed and staged for an audience of no one in The Tank’s 98-seat theater. Instead, it is captured for the screen by Iris Media Works as a purely cinematic experience, with masks, original music and deeply compelling performances of the late Rubenstein’s visionary text.

The cast for Prometheus Bound includes Sophia Aranda, Juan Arturo, Olivia Rose Barresi, Chloe Simone Crawford, Brenda Crawley, Iván 

Assembly was originally slated for the 2020 season and was meant to be Donmar Warehouse’s first production with the new Local Company—members of the community who live and work in the Donmar’s home boroughs of Camden and Westminster—but plans were halted and the show postponed. It has now been reimagined as a digital performance.

The production is created by writer Nina Segal, director Joseph Hancock, and the Donmar Local Company.

With video design by Andrzej Goulding, sets and costumes by Frankie Bradshaw, original music and sound design by Max Pappenheim, and lighting by Sam House, Assembly will mix live performance, animation, and sound in this innovative production about the “impact of humans on nature and what we might build together for a better future.”

BKLYN Sejal Keshwala, Emma Kingston, Newtion Matthews, Jamie Muscato and Marisha Wallace star in this filmed stage production of the Mark Schoenfeld and Barri McPherson musical. Filmed at London’s Ugly Duck space, the musical follows a troupe of street performers telling stories from their lives. Audiences can watch the performance online through April 4.

Galatea Broadway’s Ty Defoe (above) stars in a live reading of MJ Kaufman’s play about a trans love story set against the backdrop of a climate crisis. Will Davis directs the reading, which also stars Jo Lampert, Eve Lindley, Aneesh Sheth, Futaba Shioda and TL Thompson.

Breaking the Waves LA Opera and Opera Philadelphia co-present an online stream ofBreaking the Waves, an opera by composer Missy Mazzoli and librettist Royce Vavrek that was previously scheduled to open on the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion stage this month. Available through April 12.

The opera is a faithful adaption of Lars von Trier’s extraordinary 1996 film, in which a devout young woman deciphers the meaning of fidelity, facing the condemnation of her church as she puts herself through a series of dangerous sexual encounters. With its intense subject matter, violence, language and nudity, the production is recommended for mature audiences only.

Breaking the Waves was filmed during its world premiere production at Opera Philadelphia in 2016. For the 2021 stream, director James Darrah, who staged that production, presents a remastered release of that recording, featuring color correction by cinematographer and colorist Michael Thomas, remastered sound from George Blood Audio, and a new edit from Active Image Media.

Black Matter Giles Terera, who won the Best Actor in a Musical Olivier Award for creating the role of Aaron Burr in the London production of Hamilton, has penned a new song cycle based on his observations of the changing streets of Soho during a summer in lockdown.

Entitled Black Matter and featuring Terera accompanying himself on guitar and piano, the new work will stream globally March 24–31. 

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike Lincoln Center offers a streamed recording of Christopher Durang’s Tony-winning play, which stars Sigourney Weaver, David Hyde Pierce, Kristine Nielsen, Billy Magnussen and Shalita Grant. The comedy transports characters and themes from Chekhov’s work to present day Bucks County, Pennsylvania, where siblings receive a visit from their sister and her 20-something boy toy Spike.

Gutenberg! The Musical! A newly filmed presentation of Gutenberg! The Musical!, starring Bobby Conte Thornton and Alex Prakken, will stream as a benefit for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. The performance, recorded by Pierre Marais at Open Jar Studios, features piano accompaniment by Andrew Callahan and choreography by Kaitlyn Frank.

The musical follows two aspiring playwrights, Bud and Doug, as they attempt to secure producers for their new musical about printing press inventor Johann Gutenberg. The pair sing all the songs and play all the parts in the hope of a Broadway contract.

The Sound Inside Mary-Louise Parker and Will Hochman reprise their roles in this audio production of Adam Rapp’s The Sound Inside, which earned six Tony Award nominations, including Best Play, for its 2019 Broadway run.

Romeo y Julieta Lupita Nyong’o and Juan Castano star in this free bilingual audioplay of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, presented by the Public Theater and WNYC Studios.

Lights on the Radio Tower Originally developed at the Adirondack Theatre Festival and Bloomington Playwrights Project, this thrilling two-hander rock musical tells the story of Molly and Jesse, a brother and sister who, after eighteen years apart, reunite at their decaying childhood home following the death of their father. The estranged rock duo’s competing recollections of their childhood, their last night together, and their final gig force them to face the painful truth of their past.

The Aran Island Irish Repertory Theatre presents their next Performance on Screen digital production is The Aran Islands by J.M. Synge and adapted and directed by Joe O’Byrne.

Starring Brendan Conroy, the virtual production of The Aran Islands will premiere on March 16 at 7 PM ET and run through March 28.

In the grey, sea-battered landscape of the Aran Islands, full of mist and wild rain, hearth is home and storytellers regale with tales by the fire. When John Millington Synge traveled to these remote islands upon the advice of W.B. Yeats in 1898, he discovered a bleakly primitive, mystical land that would inspire him for the rest of his life, leading to canonical works in Irish theatre, including The Playboy of the Western World and Riders to the Sea

The Picture of Dorian Gray  Fionn Whitehead, Alfred Enoch (above), Joanna Lumley, Russell Tovey, Emma McDonald and Stephen Fry star in Henry Filloux-Bennett’s drama that follows Dorian Gray as he makes a deal for his social star to never fade. Audiences can watch the production through March 31.

La Femme Theatre Productions: The Night of the Iguana The show will feature Golden Globe winner and Emmy nominee Dylan McDermott (Netflix’s “Hollywood”) as Reverend Shannon, Emmy nominee and Tony Award winner Phylicia Rashad  (Broadway’s Cat on a Hot Tin Roof) as Maxine, Roberta Maxwell (Broadway’s Summer and Smoke) as Judith Fellowes, Tony nominee, Obie and Drama Desk Award winner Austin Pendleton (Broadway’s Choir Boy) as Nonno, and Jean Lichty (Off-Broadway’s A Lovely Sunday for Creve Coeur, The Traveling Lady) as Hannah, with Keith Randolph Smith (Broadway’s Jitney, American Psycho) as Jake, Carmen Berkeley (Off-Broadway’s Our Dear Dead Drug Lord) as Charlotte, Eliud Kauffman (Roundabout Theatre’s 72 Miles to Go) as Hank, Julio Macias (Netflix’s “On My Block”) as Pancho, Stephanie Schmiderer (No Exit, The Human Voice) as Frau Fahrenkopf, Bradley James Tejeda (Broadway’s The Inheritance) as Pedro, and John Hans Tester (Amazon’s ”Hunters” ) as Herr Fahrenkopf.

The New York Pops Up Festival a thousand in-person performances throughout the state from now through June. Most events associated with NY PopsUp will be unannounced (and unticketed) and will be designed so that New Yorkers happen upon them in their everyday lives. (Since we can’t have large gatherings right now, we want to bring a lot of small things to the public where they are) NY PopsUp is a surprise that you happen upon, rather than an event or concert you are alerted to via a notification or a schedule.

Julius Caesar, Starring Patrick Page By Shakespeare@ Tony nominee Patrick Page (Hadestown) stars in the title role with Jordan Barbour (The Inheritance) as Brutus and Keith Hamilton Cobb (American Moor) as Cassius. West End Harry Potter and the Cursed Child performers Jamie Ballard and James Howard co-star as Mark Antony and Metellus Cimber, respectively. 

The production is also be available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, and Stitcher.

Produced by Jersey City’s Shakespeare@, this audio production is the third installment of the season, produced and adapted by Artistic Director Sean Hagerty.

Hagerty has crafted the production into four weekly parts and partnered with the Emmy-winning team at Sonic Designs to capture the lost art and thrill of radio drama all without leaving the confines of quarantine.

Julius Caesar features original music composed by Joan Melton with sound design by the Emmy-winning team of Dan Gerhard and Ellen Fitton of Sonic Designs. Justin Goldner is the music producer and supervisor, and casting is by Robin Carus. Sydney Steele serves as the associate producer. 

Riders of the Purple Sage: The Making of a Western Opera In the award-winning documentary, Riders of the Purple Sage: The Making of a Western Opera, opera’s hallowed traditions and America’s cowboy culture converge to celebrate the collaborative power of art. The documentary details the creative process of all artists involved in live theatre onstage and backstage.

Zane Grey is read by Peter Coyote, with performances by shining young opera stars, Karin Wolverton, Morgan Smith, Laura Wilde, Joshua Dennis, Joshua Jeremiah, Keith Phares, and Kristopher Irmiter. 

Paradise Blue Dominique Morisseau’s play premieres as part of the partnership between Williamstown Theatre Festival and Audible Theater. Directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Paradise Bluestars André Holland (above), Kristolyn Lloyd, Simone Missick, Keith Randolph Smith and 2020 Tony nominee Blair Underwood.

Electric Island Angie Schworer, Marissa Rosen, Joy Hidalgo and more star in this new developmental project about the real stories of women working on Broadway whose names aren’t above the marquee. Conceived by Rachelle Rak with music and lyrics by Rak and Steven Jamail, this one-night event is directed by Tony winner Cady Huffman and benefits The Actors Fund and Phyllis Newman Women’s Health Initiative.

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice By Southwark Playhouse The Sorcerer’s Apprentice gets an encore on-demand run. The pay-per-view stream will be available until April 11.

Assassins Reunion: Original Off-Broadway Cast The original cast and creative team of the 1991 Off-Broadway debut of Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman’s Tony-winning Assassins will reunite virtually to celebrate the musical’s 30th anniversary.

The free online event is part of the Studio Tenn Talks: Conversations with Patrick Cassidy series and will feature Studio Tenn Artistic Director Cassidy as well as other original cast members Victor Garber, Greg Germann, Annie Golden, Lyn Greene, Jonathan Hadary, Eddie Korbich, Terrence Mann, Debra Monk, William Parry, and Lee Wilkof plus Sondheim and Weidman, director Jerry Zaks, musical director Paul Gemignani, and orchestrator Michael Starobin.

Jill Eikenberry

Jericho NNR Premiere. Marsha Mason, directs Jill Eikenberry in Jack Canfora’s play, which serves as New Normal Rep’s inaugural production. The thought-provoking piece explores how people cope with personal and collective catastrophe as a family reunites for Thanksgiving dinner after tragedy

SuperYou Musical the new musical that last year pivoted from its traditional opening to a drive-in concert in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, is now heading online. A filmed version of the drive-in presentation will stream on Broadway On Demand 

The musical, penned by Lourds Lane, tells the story of a woman and her superheroine creations that suddenly come to life, reminding her of the power of her own voice.

Prior to the 8 PM stream, Playbill will host a virtual red carpet event, with interviews with the cast and creative team. A digital afterparty will also take place at 9 PM.

TRANS(4)MISSIONS Disability intersects with all populations in our world: Every age, race, gender and sexual orientation. Theater Breaking Through Barriers  strives to create a common ground for all voices and serve as an ambassador in the quest for full, systemic equality in our world.

The eleven original plays constituting the 4th Virtual Playmakers’ Intensive represent a diverse chorus within American culture. Created for and rehearsed entirely on the Zoom platform, TBTB’s VPI4 will stream live performances of these new short works directly to you, wherever you may be!

An Iliad (Streaming) Court Theater. A film of the site-specific production at Chicago’s Oriental Institute by Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare.

hieroglyph] by San Francisco Playhouse presented as an on-demand video stream through April 3rd, 2021. 

San Francisco Playhouse and Lorraine Hansberry Theatre present a co-production of the new play [hieroglyph] by Erika Dickerson-Despenza.

The cast features Jamella Cross, Safiya Fredericks, Khary L. Moye, and Anna Marie Sharpe. The work is directed by Margo Hall, marking Lorraine Hansberry Theatre’s first staged production since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and the first production Hall has directed for the company since taking the helm in September 2020.

The Things Are Against Us Susan Soon He Stanton’s The Things Are Against Us will be the next production in MCC’s LiveLab one-act digital reading series. Ellie Heyman directs the cast, which includes Juan Castano, Emily Davis, Susannah Flood, Babak Tafti, and Danny Wolohan, in tthe play set in a mysterious house with a mind of its own. 

John Lithgow, Daniel Breaker, More Sing Adam Guettel’s Myths & Hymns (Episode 2) By MasterVoices The central project of MasterVoices’ 2020-2021 season will be a virtual rollout of award-winning composer Adam Guettel’s theatrical song cycle, Myths and Hymns, in an online staging conceived by Ted Sperling. 

SoHo Playhouse Presents Typical Soho Theatre and Nouveau Riche present the world premiere of Typical, the film version of the stage play, released exclusively on Soho Theatre On Demand 

Written by Ryan Calais Cameron and directed by Anastasia Osei-Kuffour, Typical uncovers the man and the humanity behind the tragic true-life events of Black British ex-serviceman Christopher Alder and the injustice that still remains twenty years since his story emerged. 

Fully Committed Stage and screen star Maulik Pancholy stars in George Street Playhouse’s production of Becky Mode’s solo comedy, which is available to watch through April 11.

Franz Kafka’s Letter to My Father M-34 through March 28
In 1919, the ailing writer wrote a letter to his father full of intense mixed emotions.

Expirer Wilma Theater Dive into a cyberspace underworld through this interactive website. Demons, both classical and contemporary, lurk among the virtual artifacts, waiting to be purged. Part of this Philadelphia theater’s weekly Hothouse Shorts.

The Manic Monologues Current Slave Play Tony nominee Ato Blankson-Wood, Rent Tony winner Wilson Jermaine Heredia, Accidentally Brave playwright Maddie Corman, and more stage favorites will explore mental health this winter in a new digital production from the McCarter Theatre Center.

The Manic Monologues debuts February 18 with 21 true-life monologues that users can explore at their own pace and through an interactive element virtually respond to.

Christa McAuliffe’s Eyes Were Blue Center Theater Group
through April 4. $10 Kemp Powers’ play tells the story of twins, one who dreamt of space, the other who became a successful attorney, who have lived starkly different lives, because one has dark skin and the other passes as white. The action plays out in 1980s New York and a Minnesota courthouse in 2006.

Simply Sondheim Signature Theater of Arlington. Available through April 16. Thirty Sondheim songs performed by a 16-piece orchestra and a dozen singers, including Norm Lewis, Emily Skinner, Solea Pfeiffer and Conrad Ricamora

Directed by Golden Globe winner Marsha Mason, Napoleon in Exile stars Emmy nominee Jane Kaczmarek and Will Dagger as mother and son. After the performance, the artists join host Claudia Catania to discuss writing for actors and bringing theater chops to the world of sitcom TV.

Playdate: A Playing House Reunion By Play-PerView. Stars and co-creators of USA’s comedy series Playing House, Lennon Parham and Jessica St. Clair, will appear for Playdate: A Playing House Reunion. Proceeds for these events will benefit Feeding America.

The Niceties until the 28th Who gets to tell the story of race, history and power in America? In this riveting, provocative play, a black student and her white professor – both brilliant – debate whether the legacy of slavery defines our past, and our present.

The Niceties made its MV Playhouse debut in October as a live virtual reading and is back by popular demand for a virtual two-week run.  Amy Brenneman and Tsilala Brock will reprise their roles as Janine and Zoe.

Suzanna, co-owns and publishes the newspaper Times Square Chronicles or T2C. At one point a working actress, she has performed in numerous productions in film, TV, cabaret, opera and theatre. She has performed at The New Orleans Jazz festival, The United Nations and Carnegie Hall. She has a screenplay and a TV show in the works, which she developed with her mentor and friend the late Arthur Herzog. She is a proud member of the Drama Desk and the Outer Critics Circle and was a nominator. Email: suzanna@t2conline.com

Cabaret

My View: Happening In Palm Beach……. Paul Anka, Rita Rudner, Linda Purl, and Billy Stritch

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If there was any doubt that Cafe Centro was a bona fide Cabaret Venue it was dispelled last night.  Billy Stritch was seated at the Cafe’s Grand Piano and Linda Purl was the songstress headlining on the cabaret stage of the South Florida restaurant.  The SRO crowd that had managed to snag dinner/show tickets got to hear one of the most skillful performances of the Great American Songbook and Broadway show tunes currently out there in Cabaret world.   Linda Purl, an extraordinary actor is also an extremely talented vocalist who makes you fall in love with the song and also with Linda Purl, and I might add she is oh so great to focus on through my camera lens.

Billy Stritch was the music director for this gig and he brought his creative, virtuosic, jazz infused piano playing to accompany her.  Billy was an engine of harmony and rhythm that coupled with Linda’s natural swing and romantic ballads perfectly.  The overflow crowd loved every note of the performance. Mr. Stritch usually adds his lush voice underneath his stable of super singers to create some fantastic musical symmetry, as he has done for some of show biz’s legendary entertainers (Liza Minnelli, Christine Ebersole, Linda Lavin, Linda Eder, and Marilyn Maye to name a few.) During this show he wowed us all with his keyboard artistry.  BTW,  BIlly, an extraordinary singer/ entertainer on the cabaret and concert stages worldwide can be seen at the new WICK Museum nightclub on April 1st for a special one night only engagement performing his Cy Coleman show.  Not to be missed by music lovers.

Sanford Fisher produced the Linda Purl evening. It brought these two super stars of the Cabaret and Concert stages together for an outstanding evening at Cafe Centro,  our local oasis of live music in Palm Beach. 

Another great Palm Beach event this week…..the “LADY IN RED” LIFE Gala at The Breakers……Congratulations to Lois Pope, the Board of LIFE and Entertainment Chair Sunny Sessa for creating a fantastic evening……

RITA RUDNER & PAUL ANKA……What a show!

LINDA PURL

BILLY STRITCH & LINDA PURL

BILLY STRITCH & LINDA PURL

LINDA PURL

PAUL ANKA

LOIS POPE, MAX V. ANHALT, SUNNY SESSA

SANDY FISHER & LINDA PURL

EDA SOROKOFF & PAUL ANKA

BOB MURRAY & SHARON BUSH

GARDINER HEMPEL & LINDA PURL

FRAN WEISSLER & BILLY STRITCH

SANDY FISHER & ISANNE FISHER

LESLIE LAREDO, JEFF LEIBOWITZ LARRY WEISSFELD, JANE SHAVELL

CAFE CENTRO

JULIANNA SHARELL, JANINE SHARELL, EDA SOROKOFF

ANTHONY NUNZIATA & EDA SOROKOFF

SUNNY SESSA, EDA SOROKOFF, STEPHEN SOROKOFF

“SAL” CAFE CENTRO

VALARIE CHRISTOPHER, STEPHEN SOROKOFF, SUNNY SESSA

COMING ATTRACTIONS

COMING ATTRACTIONS

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Cabaret

The Marvelous Marilyn Maye Received Twelve Standing Ovations At The New York Pops

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Karen Akers, Jim Caruso, Tony Danza, Jamie deRoy, Max von Essen, Melissa Errico, Bob Mackie, Susie Mosher, Sidney Myer, Josh Prince, Lee Roy Reams, Rex Reed, Randy Roberts, Mo Rocca , Mark Sendroff, Lee Roy Reams, Brenda Vaccaro and David Zippel were there to see and honor Cabaret legend and Grammy nominee Marilyn Maye. Maye who turns 95 April 10th, made her at Carnegie Hall solo debut last night with The New York Pops, led by Music Director and Conductor Steven Reineke.

Steven Reineke Photo By Genevieve Rafter Keddy

Marilyn Maye Photo By Genevieve Rafter Keddy

Maye is a highly praised singer, actress, director, arranger, educator, Grammy nominated recording artist and a musical treasure. Her entire life has been committed to the art of song and performance and it showed with the 12 standing ovations she received.

Marilyn Maye Photo By Genevieve Rafter Keddy

Marilyn Maye Photo By Genevieve Rafter Keddy

Maye appeared 76 times on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, she was “discovered” by Steve Allen and had a RCA recording contract, seven albums and 34 singles.

Marilyn Maye Photo By Genevieve Rafter Keddy

The evening started out with the superlative New York Pops Overture of Mame, which Maye had played the title role.

Marilyn Maye Photo By Genevieve Rafter Keddy

Next a Cole Porter Medley with “Looking at You,”  Concentrate On You,” “I Get A Kick Out Of You,” It’s Alright With Me,””Just One of Those Things,” “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” and “All of You”. This was Marilyn’s second standing ovation. The first was when she stood on that stage for the first time and the audience was rapturous.

Marilyn Maye and Steven Reineke Photo By Genevieve Rafter Keddy

A terrific “It’s Today” from Mame with high flying kicks was the third ovation and wow can that woman kick.

Marilyn Maye Photo By Genevieve Rafter Keddy

A rainbow medley included “Look To The Rainbow” from Finnian’s Rainbow, the iconic “Somewhere Over The Rainbow,” the jazzy “Make Me Rainbows” and of course “The Rainbow Connection.” And with that another standing ovation.

Marilyn Maye Photo By Genevieve Rafter Keddy

“Put On A Happy Face” from Bye Bye Birdie.

Marilyn Maye Photo By Genevieve Rafter Keddy

Tedd Firth and Marilyn Photo By Genevieve Rafter Keddy

Frank Loesser’s Joey, Joey, Joey brought on a fifth standing ovation. This song was a masterclass in acting and vocal nuance. For that matter every song that comes out of Ms. Maye’s mouth is perfection. Part of the brilliance of this night is her musical director, arranger, and pianist Ted Firth. That man is a genius.

Marilyn Maye Photo By Genevieve Rafter Keddy

Steven Reineke, Marilyn Maye Photo By Genevieve Rafter Keddy

Lerner and Loewe’s “On The Street Where You Live” from My Fair Lady ended the first act with a sixth standing ovation.

Steven Reineke Photo By Genevieve Rafter Keddy

The overture from Hello Dolly! and then Cabaret shows Marilyn Maye also starred in opened the second act. The New York Pops sounded phenomenal as always.

Marilyn Maye Photo By Genevieve Rafter Keddy

“Your Gonna Hear From Me” from “Inside Daisy Clover was an appropriate starter for this next round as the audience got to its feet.

Marilyn Maye Photo By Genevieve Rafter Keddy

Maye’s most requested song “Guess Who I Saw Today” from New Faces of 1952 was followed by a show stopping “Fifty Percent” from Ballroom and of course another standing ovation.

Marilyn Maye Photo By Genevieve Rafter Keddy

Her next song was chosen by the Smithsonian Institute to be included in its permanent collection of recordings from the 20th century. Her recording of “Too Late Now” is considered by the Smithsonian to be one of the 110 Best American Compositions of the Twentieth Century and Ms. Maye showed us why and again another standing ovation.

Being presented with flowers

A proclamation from The City of New York read by Steven Reineke to Marilyn Maye made this day Marilyn Maye Day. This treasure cried with joy as she sang Stephen Sondheim’s “I’m Still Here.” Though she forgot some of the lyric, Ms. Maye proved performing is all on the intent and connecting to the audience. Two more standing ovations were added here.

Steven Reineke, Marilyn Maye with the proclamation Photo By Genevieve Rafter Keddy

Steven Reineke, Marilyn Maye with the proclamation Photo By Genevieve Rafter Keddy

For encores, I was thrilled to hear James Taylor’s “Circle of Life” and “Here’s To Life,” which is my personal favorite, finally going back into “It’s Today” with those high kicks and a twelfth standing ovation. Bravo Ms. Maye!

Steven Reineke, Marilyn Maye with the proclamation Photo By Genevieve Rafter Keddy

If you are a singer and do not catch Ms. Maye live, you really do not care about your craft. Last night Ms. Maye made it clear why she’s been celebrated as one of America’s greatest jazz singers for more than 50 years and this was a night I will always remember. Thank-you New York Pops.

Marilyn Maye By Genevieve Rafter Keddy

Steven Reineke, Marilyn Maye Photo By Genevieve Rafter Keddy

Jamie deRoy and Tony Danza Photo By Genevieve Rafter Keddy

Jim Caruso and Max von Essen Photo By Genevieve Rafter Keddy

Eric Gabbard., Steven Reineke, Jim Caruso and Max von Essen Photo By Genevieve Rafter Keddy

Marilyn Maye and Melissa Errico Photo By Genevieve Rafter Keddy

Marilyn Maye and Melissa Errico Photo By Genevieve Rafter Keddy

Bob Mackie and Marilyn Maye Photo By Genevieve Rafter Keddy

Marilyn Maye and Mark Sendroff Photo By Genevieve Rafter Keddy

Karen Akers, Sidney Myer, Marilyn Maye and Lee Roy Reams Photo By Genevieve Rafter Keddy

Josh Prince, Marilyn Maye and Michael Novak Photo By Genevieve Rafter Keddy

Don’t miss the Pop’s 40th Birthday Gala: This One’s For You: The Music Of Barry Manilow on Monday, May 1st. The gala will star Sean Bell, Erich Bergen, Betty Buckley, Charo, Deborah Cox, Danny Kornfeld, Norm Lewis, Melissa Manchester, Zal Owen, Eric Peters, Blake Roman, Billy Stritch, Steven Telsey, Max von Essen, Dionne Warwick, and more to be announced. This will be yet another New York Pop’s Night not to miss.

 

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Cabaret

My View: It’s Today! It’s Tonight! Marilyn Maye Rehearses For Her New York Pops Carnegie Hall Debut

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Sometimes you have to pinch yourself at the opportunities you are presented with.  TODAY would be one of those.  Or as Marilyn Maye might sing to you, “It’s Today.”

This afternoon I had the privilege of witnessing the 95 year old star, rehearsing on the stage of Carnegie Hall, under the baton of Maestro Steven Reineke, in front of the mighty New York Pops Orchestra.  It all happens tonight and has been a lifetime in the making.  As if The New York Times piece, bylined by Melissa Errico, wasn’t enough to whet your appetite for what is sure to be a historic evening, maybe these photos will help get you even more excited.  Thank you to all who made this happen for me, to present to you….Humbly Yours, Stephen

MARILYN MAYE & STEVEN REINEKE

MARILYN MAYE

MARILYN MAYE & STEVEN REINEKE

MARILYN MAYE & STEVEN REINEKE

CARNEGIE HALL

MARILYN MAYE

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