Feature: 11 of the Best Duo, Variety and Alt Cabaret Acts of 2024
Some of our favorite duo acts, alt shows, recurring series and more from last year
By: Rebecca Kaplan Jan. 02, 2025
There were too many great cabaret acts this year to fit into just one roundup, so we’re continuing the BroadwayWorld Cabaret team’s highlight recaps of their favorite shows from 2024. This article has some of our favorite duo acts, alt shows, recurring series and more.
1/7 – Adam Pascal & Anthony Rapp: CELEBRATING FRIENDSHIP & HISTORY at 54 Below
The atmosphere in 54 Below was electric on Sunday January 7, 2024 for the opening night of Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp’s new show, Adam Pascal & Anthony Rapp: CELEBRATING FRIENDSHIP & HISTORY. The two RENT co-stars reunited for an evening themed around the music of the nineties, some of their favorite music from the period when they met each other and did “that little show that became so big.”
3/18 – David Lawrence & Debbie Gravitte: A Toast to Steve & Eydie at Carnegie Hall
Reviewer Rob Lester wrote, “My cup runneth over with joy and memories, drinking in the fond and fabulous show recreating the performance pizzazz of singers Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé with highlights of their in-person and recorded repertoire, razzle-dazzle orchestral arrangements, stage costumes, and their son, David Lawrence. Channeling Eydie as his partner in this top-drawer tribute is the ideally cast delightful and dynamic Debbie Gravitte.”
4/17 – Tiergarten at The Church Of St. Mary's Great Hall
Death of Classical took its sold-out audience on a journey backwards through time, starting in Weimar Germany and going all the way back to biblical times with a series of song, dance, and shadow puppets. The cabaret was removed from time and space, wonderfully abstract.
5/28 – Cashino at Birdland
Cashino at Birdland is nonstop, high-energy fun. Over twenty years ago, Susie Mosher (Hairspray) and recording artist John Boswell came up with the characters Johnny Niagra and Pepper Cole, two desperate, crazy Vegas casino singers. They filmed four short films as the characters, featuring guest appearances by the likes of Kathy Najimy, Will Ferrell and Tiffani Thiessen. Mosher and Boswell did a limited run of four Cashino shows, each one opening with one of the films followed by a high energy live set, with Mosher and Boswell in character as the two crazy cats.
7/21 – Laura and Linda Benanti: Mothers Know Best at 54 Below
The relationship between mothers and daughters can often be difficult, but not tonight with this truly remarkable mother-daughter singing duo of Laura and Linda Benanti. Here at the famed 54 Below, these two phenomenal singers led their enchanted audience on a delightfully insightful and at times humorous journey.
Find out where to get tickets for this year’s performance of the show and other performances we’re looking forward to in 2025, and read Sharon Ellman’s full review of the 2024 edition here
9/3 – Liz Callaway and Jason Graae: Happily Ever Laughter at 54 Below
In their official New York City debut as a duo – a dazzling, delicious, dynamic, dynamite, duo — decades-long friends Liz Callaway and Jason Graae sparkle with real chemistry and connection. The opening on July 3rd, the night before the Fourth of July, had plenty of fireworks of its own. Both are in great voice and are energetic, seemingly untouched by time.
9/8 – Lea DeLaria’s monthly Brunch Is Gay series at 54 Below
Every second Sunday at 1 pm, singer/actor/comedian triple threat Lea DeLaria invites you to celebrate the “Gay high holiday” of brunch at 54 Below with her new show, Brunch Is Gay. DeLaria is a wonderful host: brash, laugh-out-loud funny and wickedly charming.
Read the full review of the September edition here
10/17 – NIGHTFALL: TIME FLIES at Green-Wood Cemetery
On October 17th and 18th, The Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn was taken over by Nightfall: Time Flies, a sprawling and immersive experience perfect during any time of year, but especially October. Put on by Death of Classical and Rooftop Films, this multi-pronged performance made great use of Green-Wood’s acreage. Performances, music, and multimedia pieces were scattered around the winding cemetery paths, all of them with various themes.
10/19 – CANTATA! BLOOD MAGIC Residency at Red Eye NY
Cantata! is a big show in every sense of the word. Its run time rivals that of an opera, with an intermission to boot. It aims to educate folks about classical music as well as queer culture, not just entertain. You’ll laugh and cheer a lot, and maybe shed some tears of joy. The stellar lineup promises pleasant surprises every time, and Price, who produces the show and manages a million details behind the scenes, has no problem sharing the limelight with formidable peers.
Read Chloe Yang’s full review here
10/29 – Susie Mosher’s The Lineup at Birdland
This regular variety show played its last performance at Birdland in October 2024. Reviewer Analisa Bell caught the final performance on October 29, saying “It was every bit as entertaining as it was bittersweet. Knowing it was the last performance at the venue that Mosher has called home for six years, added a certain je ne sais quoi to the evening. That being said, the sense of community and artistry Mosher has built through her curated showcase was palpable.”
10/30 – Kim David Smith’s Hallo-Wien at Café Sabarsky
When Marlene Dietrich first strutted through Paris in men’s trousers in the 1930s — an act so rebellious it literally broke French law — she embodied what Kim David Smith’s “Halloween-laced” edition of Mostly Marlene, his critically-acclaimed tribute show, magnificently celebrated at Neue Galerie New York’s Café Sabarsky on October 30, 2024.
Read Chloe Yang’s full review here
Header photo credit: Kevin Condon
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