Broadway at the Cabaret - Top 5 Cabaret Picks for June 13-19, Featuring Nicolette Robinson, The Skivvies, and More!
By: Louisa Brady Jun. 12, 2016
Broadway's 40 theatres aren't the only places to catch performances from your favorite stars! Well after Broadway orchestras begin their overtures, ensemble members take their dance breaks, and performers belt out their eleven o'clock numbers, the party continues at various cabaret venues throughout New York City.
Below, BroadwayWorld brings you some cabaret highlights for this week as picked by our theatre editors, including:
- A Funny Thing Happened: Songs from the Road to Broadway
- Broadway's Best Musical Comedy Stars!
- Tom Wopat at The Metropolitan Room
- The Skivvies at 54 Below
- Nicolette Robinson at 54 Below
Click here for BroadwayWorld's Full Cabaret Listings!
A Funny Thing Happened: Songs from the Road to Broadway
Where: 54 Below (254 W 54th Street)
When: June 13th at 7:00 PM
Tickets: $40-85 https://54below.com/events/funny-thing-happened-songs-road-broadway/
Sometimes a single song can save a show. This June, three-time Tony Award-winner Kathleen Marshallcomes to the Feinstein's/54 Below stage to share the nail-biting stories behind the 11th-hour songs that saved the day and became Broadway classics in "A Funny Thing Happened: Songs From The Road To Broadway," direct from a sold-out run at the 92nd Street Y.
"I love the romantic idea of composers and lyricists writing a last-minute song in a hotel room or a theatre lobby out of town - the pressure of creating on the fly, with the clock ticking and adrenaline pumping," comments Kathleen Marshall. "Many of those songs not only made a huge impact on the show, but became standards as well. We will explore some of the wonderful and surprising stories behind classic Broadway songs."
A cast of Broadway all-stars will join Marshall and music director David Chase to sing such numbers as "Comedy Tonight" (A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum), "You're Just in Love" (Call Me Madam) and "Before I Gaze at You Again" (Camelot). For "A Funny Thing Happened: Songs from the Road to Broadway," Marshall digs up some unknown before-and-after versions of these hits, as well as songs that were cut out of town, such as "The Man I Love" (cut from two Gershwin shows) and "Ten Percent" (cut from Chicago). The concerts will be produced by Benjamin Rauhala.
Featuring:
Aaron Finley (Rock of Ages, It Shoulda Been You)
Greg Hildreth (Cinderella, Peter and the Starcatcher)
Elena Shaddow (The Visit, The Bridges of Madison County)
Jessica Vosk (Fiddler on the Roof, Finding Neverland)
The band, led by music director David Chase on piano, will feature Paul Pizzuti on percussion, Steve Kenyon on woodwinds, Brian Pareschi on trumpet, and Dick Scarpola on bass.
Based on an original idea and production for 92nd Street Y's Lyrics & Lyricists [TM], New York, NY.
Click here for more information.
Broadway's Best Musical Comedy Stars!
Where: 54 Below (254 W 54th Street)
When: June 16th at 7:00 & 9:30 PM
Tickets: $35-75 https://54below.com/events/broadways-best-musical-comedy-stars/
Join us for an evening at Feinstein's/54 Below with the best musical comedians of Broadway! Hilarious musical numbers will knock you out of your seat with laughter when this gifted crew takes the stage to kick off the summer. You can expect the lunatics to indeed be running the show when some of Broadway's funniest farceurs belt, bellow and maybe even butcher your favorite Broadway (and not so Broadway) melodies. We promise a little song, a little dance, a little seltzer down your pants...and a whole lot of laughs.
Kate Wetherhead star of the acclaimed web series Submissions Only and Broadway's Legally Blonde will host the evening that will feature* performances by....
Will Roland (Dear Evan Hansen, The Black Suits)
Christina Bianco (The Marvelous Wonderettes, and YouTube sensation (7:00 show only))
Scarlett Strallen (A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, Mary Poppins)
Sally Mayes (She Loves Me, Pete 'n Keely)
Catherine Walker (A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, Ragtime)
Ann Morrison (Merrily We Roll Along, Goblin Market)
Steve Rosen (Spamalot, Peter and The Starcatcher)
Eddie Korbich (A Christmas Story, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder)
Travis Kent (Disaster)
Andrew Keenan-Bolger (Tuck Everlasting, Newsies)
Todd Buonopane (Cinderella, Spelling Bee)
and more.
*Cast subject to change
Direction by Evan Pappas (Parade, My Favorite Year)
Musical direction by Jeffrey Lodin (Liberty, Merrilee Mannerly)
Click here for more information.
Where: Metropolitan Room (34 W 22nd Street)
When: June 18th at 7:00 PM
Tickets: $35-115 http://metropolitanroom.com/event.cfm?id=227557&cart
All it takes is a phrase or two from Tom Wopat's warm, engaging baritone to trigger the desire to hear more. And the more one listens, the better it gets - from the way he finds the heart of a song's story to his lyrical phrasing and his gently swinging, jazz-infused rhythms.
That's a large handful of uniquely appealing qualities, and they're all over the fourteen utterly captivating tunes on I've Got Your Number.Tom applies his far-ranging interpretive skills to discovering new, intriguing musical twists in such Great American Songbook classics as "The Good Life," "The Folks Who Live On The Hill," "Call Me," "Born To Be Blue," "I Won't Dance" and, of course, the title track. As if that wasn't enough, he also takes his listeners on adventurous new journeys through contemporary songs from the likes of Paul Simon, Judy Collins, Bruce Springsteen, Bruce Hornsby and James Taylor.
At first glance, that could be viewed as a surprisingly diverse program of material from a performer who may be best known for his starring role in the '80s hit television series The Dukes of Hazzard. But his versatility was there from the beginning, and on full display in a career reaching from his television work of the '70s and '80s to high visibility Broadway roles in 1999's Annie Get Your Gun and 2008's Catered Affair (he received Tony Award nominations for both), as well as Chicago, Forty-Second St., Sondheim on Sondheim and more.
But with I've Got Your Number, Tom's musical expedition has traveled into colorful territory. Backed by a thirty-piece orchestra he fulfills his desire to focus on what he describes as the "orchestra/big band hybrid of the '60s and '70s." "Like the Bobby Darin stuff," he says. "Frank Sinatra did big band stuff then, too. Everybody did. And we really wanted to go for that - in the standards we've done as well as in the contemporary tunes. We've evoked the spirit of the New York supper club era and the cool vibe of the Mad Men days, that's really what we're doing. The music swings hard and there's a lot of really, really fine music."
At a time when male vocal artists have been in fairly short supply, his singing is a welcome addition to the contemporary jazz scene.
Click here for more information.
The Skivvies
Where: 54 Below (254 W 54th Street)
When: June 18th & July 9th at 9:30 PM
Tickets: $35-80 at https://54below.com/events/the-skivvies/
This "musically thrilling" undie-rock, comedy-pop duo don't just strip down their musical arrangements, they literally strip down to their underwear to perform their distinctive mashups and eccentric originals for cello and ukulele, with touches of glockenspiel, melodica, and a surprising array of under-used instruments. Award-winning singer-actors Lauren Molina (Marry Me a Little, Sweeney Todd, Rock of Ages) and Nick Cearley (All Shook Up) became YouTube sensations as The Skivvies, with living room videos that displayed their powerful harmonies as well as their powerful abs. Those clips led to live shows that The Wall Street Journal called "smart, sophisticated...ingenious," and Out Magazine, "The Skivvies have managed to carve out a niche that we never knew needed to exist: part Weird Al-parody and part sexy burlesque...and unusual explosion of satire and sultry." They also have a single and music video directed by Augusten Burroughs, bestselling author of Running With Scissors. They will be joined by special guest stars who will strip down and rock out. Expect a hilarious evening of genre-hopping pop perfection.
June 18 Special Guests:
Nick Adams, Christina Bianco, Charles Busch, Lesli Margherita, Molly Pope, Jonah Verdon, and Kevin Zak.
July 9 Special Guests:
Nick Adams, Laura Benanti, Matt Doyle, Christopher Hanke, Travis Kent, Lesli Margherita, Leslie McDonel, and Michael Urie.
*Special guests subject to change.
Click here for more information.
Where: 54 Below (254 W 54th Street)
When: June 19th at 7:00 PM
Tickets: $40-75 at https://54below.com/events/nicolette-robinson/
Nicolette Robinson is best known for her role in the emotional new musical, Invisible Thread, directed by Diane Paulus at Second Stage Theater and from Showtime's Golden Globe Award winning series, The Affair. Join Nicolette as she brings her passion for new composers and a talent for song interpretation to her New York City solo cabaret debut at Feinstein's/54 Below! Expect a very special guest appearance by Leslie Odom, Jr., star of Hamilton on Broadway. The first time only happens one time! Join us for an unforgettable night in this magical room and witness a right of passage for this rare & unique performer.
Click here for more information.
Videos