Bistro Award Winners Set; Warwick and Channing Honored In NYC

Internationally renowned singer, recording artist, and humanitarian Dionne Warwick and the legendary musical theatre performer Carol Channing will be honored, along with 16 other members of the New York cabaret and jazz community, at the 26th Annual Bistro Awards, which will take place on Tuesday, April 26 at Gotham Comedy Club, located at 208 West 23rd Street (between 7th & 8th avenues).

Ms. Warwick, a major force in American contemporary music and an international star, now approaching her 50th year in the industry, will receive the Bob Harrington Lifetime Achievement Award. Ms. Channing, an entertainment icon and star of stage, screen, and concert venues, will receive a Special Award for her ongoing commitment and dedication to the performing arts through the Dr. Carol Channing & Harry Kullijian Foundation for the Arts, which promotes arts education in our public schools.

The evening, under the direction of Edie Cowan, will once again be hosted by comedian and actor Jim David, and will feature performances from most of this year's Bistro-winning artists.

A Special Award will be given to Michael Feinstein for his three-part documentary series "Michael Feinstein's American Songbook," shown on PBS and now available on DVD, which celebrates and explores the history of the Great American Songbook, and for the other work the Michael Feinstein Foundation does to promote and preserve our musical heritage.

Artists such as Tyne Daly (Outstanding Major Engagement), Allan Harris (Ongoing Achievement in Jazz), Kevin Dozier (Outstanding Vocalist), and Carole J. Bufford (Outstanding Vocalist), bring a diversity of musical styles to their singing, and Hilary Kole is accompanied by various celebrated jazz pianists on her CD "You Are There" (Outstanding Recording).

The Johnny Rodgers Band has been named Outstanding Musical Group, and guitarist Sean Harkness is being honored as Outstanding Instrumentalist.

Some of the singers and shows honored pay tribute to the past: Anthony Cochran reinvents the Elvis Presley catalogue in "Elvis Lives" (Outstanding Theme Show), while Janice Hall pays homage to Marlene Dietrich in "Grand Illusions: The Music of Marlene Dietrich" (Outstanding Tribute Show).

The Ira Eaker Special Achievement Award, given to an outstanding performer on the rise, and named after Back Stage's co-founder, co-publisher and first cabaret critic, goes to The Rescignos, brothers Robbie and Paul Rescigno.

The gala event will be held on Tuesday, April 26 at Gotham Comedy Club, 208 West 23rd Street. A Champagne reception for the Bistro recipients and Premium Ticket holders begins at 5 pm, followed by the awards presentation and show starting at 6:30 pm. Producer Sherry Eaker will be hosting the annual event, along with the other members of the Bistro Awards Committee: Elizabeth Ahlfors (Cabaret Scenes, CurtainUp.com, and BistroAwards.com), David Finkle (Village Voice, The Huffington Post), Rob Lester (Cabaret Scenes, NiteLifeExchange.com), Erv Raible, Executive/Artistic Director of the Cabaret Conference at Yale University, and Roy Sander (BistroAwards.com). Eaker, who heads up the Bistro Committee, is the former longtime Editor-in-Chief of Back Stage and the producer of the event since its inception.

The Bistro Awards are sponsored by ASCAP and BMI, with additional sponsorship from Branson B. Champagne and the Paramount Hotel. Ticket prices are $50 for General Admission; $80 for Premium Tickets, which include a pre-show Champagne reception and preferred seating. There is a two-drink minimum. A food menu is also available. Details about the After-Bistros buffet supper and party will be posted on the Bistro Awards website. To purchase show tickets, go to www.bistroawards.com. Any questions or concerns, please call 917-239-5467.

A complete list of winners, listed alphabetically except for the special honorees, follows:

Dionne Warwick / Bob Harrington Lifetime Achievement Award

Carol Channing / Special Award for her ongoing commitment and dedication to the performing arts

Michael Feinstein / Special Award for his documentary series and the work he does to preserve and promote our musical heritage

Liz Lark Brown / Debut / "Tarnished" / Metropolitan Room

NATE BUCCIERI / Musical Director

Carole J. Bufford / Vocalist / Metropolitan Room, Don't Tell Mama

ANTHONY COCHRAN / Theme Show / "Elvis Lives" / Metropolitan Room

Tyne Daly / Major Engagement / Feinstein's at Loews Regency

Kevin Dozier / Vocalist / Laurie Beechman Theatre, Feinstein's at Loews Regency, Don't Tell Mama

JANICE HALL / Tribute Show / "Grand Illusions: The Music of Marlene Dietrich" / Metropolitan Room, Urban Stages

Sean Harkness / Instrumentalist

Allan Harris / Ongoing Achievement in Jazz

Hilary Kole / Recording / "You Are There"

Faye Lane / Musical Comedy / "Faye Lane's Beauty Shop Stories" / Soho Playhouse

Colleen McHugh / Entertainer / The Duplex

THE RESCIGNOS / Ira Eaker Special Achievement Award / The Duplex

Johnny Rodgers BAND / Musical Group / Johnny Rodgers, Brian Glassman, Danny Mallon, Joe Ravo / Birdland, Iridium, Oak Room at the Algonquin, Joe's Pub

SONDHEIM UNPLUGGED / Cabaret Series / Written, directed, and hosted by Phil Geoffrey Bond / Laurie Beechman Theatre, Don't Tell Mama

The BISTRO AWARD was established by Bob Harrington in 1985 in his "Bistro Bits" column in the trade weekly Back Stage, then under the editorship of Sherry Eaker. For the first few years, the awards were merely listed in Harrington's column as notable performances he had seen during the calendar year. The first formal presentation of the awards was held in 1990 at Eighty Eight's, a popular cabaret venue in the West Village. From there, the show moved on to The Ballroom in Chelsea, and then relocated to the Supper Club in the Broadway District, where it remained for many years. This year marks the fourth year at Gotham Comedy Club.

The guidelines that Harrington set up for himself to determine the first winners have become the basic philosophy behind the Bistro Awards, which recognize achievement in a wide variety of categories - from outstanding performances to outstanding contributions by members of the cabaret community. The object is not to choose the "best" of anything of the year, but to recognize and congratulate the accomplishments of those who have done something special. Accordingly, categories can easily be created from year to year as they best fit the year's distinguished work.

Some of the Bistro's special honorees have included Mitzi Gaynor and Elaine Stritch (2010), Charles Aznavour and Liza Minnelli (2009), Marilyn Maye (2008), Betty Buckley (2007), Steve Ross (2006), as well as Dame Cleo Laine and Sir John Dankworth, Bobby Short, Eartha Kitt, Barbara Cook, and many others.