Melanie Votaw

NOVENAS FOR A LOST HOSPITAL, directed by Daniella Topol, is an interactive evening held in three locations that pays tribute to St. Vincent's. Tony Award-nominated and four-time Obie-winning actress Kathleen Chalfant (ANGELS IN AMERICA, WIT) stars as Saint Elizabeth Seton, the first American saint, who established the Sisters of Charity, which later opened the hospital during the cholera epidemic.

Luisa Omielan is the first British comedian to ever receive a BAFTA Breakthrough Award for comedy. Currently making her U.S. debut at Soho Playhouse in her one-woman show, GOD IS A WOMAN, she was also nominated two years in a row for Best Comedy Show at the Melbourne International Festival.

I had high hopes for FREDDIE FALLS IN LOVE, the dance piece running at the Joyce Theater July 23-August 4. After all, it was choreographed by Emmy Award-winner Al Blackstone, and it stars SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE winner Melanie Moore along with Broadway actor Matt Doyle.

It was 2002 when Norbert Leo Butz and Sherie Rene Scott premiered Jason Robert Brown's THE LAST FIVE YEARS Off-Broadway. They had worked together before that, however, in 1997 in the Broadway cast of RENT. If their joint concert at Feinstein's/54 Below on April 26-May 2 is to be believed, theirs has been a tumultuous relationship.

PRINCESS ZHAOJUN, performed by the China National Opera & Dance Drama Theater, made its New York debut March 21-24 at The David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center. The lavish production had no dialogue, but used both instrumental and vocal music, along with movement to tell the story of Wang Zhaojun, a real figure in Chinese history.

On March 9 in Brooklyn and March 16 in Los Angeles, The Billie Holiday Theatre, in collaboration with Frank Silvera Writers' Workshop, presented its third annual monologue showcase, 50IN50: LETTERS TO OUR DAUGHTERS, to honor Women's History Month.

I have seen many Flamenco shows over the years, but Sara Baras' SHADOWS, playing in New York City Center's Flamenco Festival, is the most exciting one I've seen yet.

Nathan Lee Graham took to the stage at The Green Room 42 on October 11 with the flourish you would expect from this dramatic performer. Wearing a black brocade jacket with a long, fringed, gold metallic scarf over one shoulder, Graham staged ALL THINGS BRIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL: A SONDHEIM SALON, an evening devoted to Stephen Sondheim.

The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center opened its latest exhibit celebrating choreographer Jerome Robbins on Tuesday, September 25 with luminaries like Mikhail Baryshnikov in attendance. The exhibit, titled VOICE OF MY CITY: JEROME ROBBINS AND NEW YORK examines the relationship between the dance icon and the city he called home.

Pula is the name for rain in Botswana, and its importance is vital to this semi-arid country. On August 23 and 24, 2018, the I Love Botswana Ensemble performed PULA! at the PlayStation Theater. PULA! is a fictional folk tale in music and dance about the relationship between the people of Botswana and rain.

At the 2018 New York Musical Festival, the show IF SAND WERE STONE tackled the difficult subject of early onset Alzheimer's Disease. With music by Cassie Willson, and book and lyrics by Carly Brooke Feinman, the show was quite stylized and sometimes confusing.

PUMP BOYS AND DINETTES was my first Broadway musical, so it not only holds a special place in my heart, but I still remember most of the lyrics. Running for 577 performances in 1982-83 and earning a Tony nomination for Best Musical, PUMP BOYS was 'the little show that could' with just six cast members and a small set. But the characters and songs captured many fans who came out to relive the experience at Feinstein's/54 Below July 22.

In her new show A HYMN TO HER at Feinstein's/54 Below, Liz Callaway paid tribute to numerous women who have served as her role models.

If you want to know how to act a song, go see Bebe Neuwirth, who recently performed STORIES WITH PIANO, #1 at Feinstein's/54 Below.

For nearly 35 years, I have loved the score of BABY, the Broadway musical that ran for 241 performances from 1983 to 1984 and made Liz Callaway a star. So, it was thrilling to hear the music sung in concert by a stellar cast at Feinstein's/54 Below on March 18, the proceeds of which went to Planned Parenthood.

A LETTER TO HARVEY MILK, THE MUSICAL is set in San Francisco in 1986, when retired Jewish immigrant Harry Weinberg takes a writing class taught by a young lesbian named Barbara, who encourages him to write a letter to someone who has passed away. He chooses to write to his old friend, Harvey Milk.

Tap dancer Savion Glover (BRING IN 'DA NOISE, BRING IN 'DA FUNK, SHUFFLE ALONG) and tanguero Leonardo Suarez Paz (FOREVER TANGO, TANGO ARGENTINO) mixed tap dance and tango music at Feinstein's/54 Below on February 15.

In his latest show at Cafe Carlyle titled HEART TO HEART, John Lloyd Young continues to hearken back to an earlier era in look, sound, and song choice, mostly performing pieces from the 60s and 70s.

Rachel Bloom has no shame, and we're all better for it. Performing original music at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Appel Room on Feb. 11, 2018, along with co-writer Adam Schlesinger, Bloom arrived on stage with guns blazing.

The Thunderbird American Indian Dancers are presenting their latest concert at Theater for the New City February 2-11, 2018. Directed by Crystal Field, the show incorporates live music, storytelling, and traditional dance in full regalia.