Stephen Hanks - Page 13

In preparation for the All-Day Long Island Al Jolson Festival (in Oceanside, NY) on Saturday, August 18, BroadwayWorld.com cabaret columnist Stephen Hanks offers his take on what made the 'World's Greatest Entertainer' so great, and muses about the reasons as to why he is such a devotee of the man who once owned Broadway and starred in the first talking picture.

If you're looking for some cool cabaret/nightclub shows over the next month, try these on for size: Darren Williams (July 26) and Lauren Robert (August 7) are ready to rock Iridium, while two lovely ladies of cabaret will be featured at Feinstein's: Karen Oberlin (July 24-28) and Raissa Katona Bennett (August 21-25).

Joe Iconis is a Tony Award-winning composer in the making, but until he wins that ultimate prize he's making a few stops along the way, like tonight when he and his 'Family' perform a concert of his 'Greatest Hits' at 54 Below.

During her recent two-night run at the Metropolitan Room (July 11, 12), Los Angeles-based nightclub singer and actress Robyn Spangler gingerly walked the tribute show tightrope and made it to the other side intact. Her show 'Why I Love Linda Ronstadt' - which earned her a 2011 BroadwayWorld.com honor as L.A.'s 'Best Female Cabaret Artist - was an honest and heartfelt homage to her singing heroine. Her Ronstadt show hit almost all the right tribute notes, with solid arrangements from her Musical Director/Pianist Todd Schroeder (who also provided nifty backup vocals) that were reverential without being replications.

If any New York cabaret performers staging shows last Wednesday evening (July 11) found their audiences a bit sparse, it's probably Dana Lorge's fault. The endearing and ditzy entertainment diva's final weekly talent showcase at Iguana NYC Restaurant on West 54th Street (just east of the new 54 Below) didn't bring out every cabaret connected person in the city, but it sure seemed that way. And if MAC had a vote for 'Variety Show of the Year,' Lorge's last Iguana presentation would win in a landslide.

During her recent show at 54 Below, Rebecca Luker's renditions of 16 Jerome Kern songs-some of which were more obscure pre-1920 ditties-were lovely and engaging. But as a complete nightclub performance, Luker's show was neither a compelling one-woman concert nor captivating cabaret.

Cabaret show producer Joseph Macchia (who is also a host at the Metropolitan Room) will be staging a second presentation of "Boys Night Out: The Music of the Rat Pack" at the Met Room on August 6 (9:30 pm), which will give him a month to work out the kinks after the show's somewhat shaky opening at the Met Room on June 18.

Broadway, television, and film acting veteran Brian d'Arcy James admitted he was pumped to finally perform a show of the 1980s pop songs he loves. The two-time Tony Award-nominee made a seemingly effortless transition from the Broadway stage to a nightclub stage, proving to be an energetic, engaging, enthusiastic, and effervescent concert performer with on-stage charisma and self-deprecation to spare during his first solo concert show at the new 54 Below nightclub.

There was no prohibition on Carole J. Bufford's talent during her break-out performance in 'speak easy.' a 16-song homage to the music of an era when only people imbibing in a secret club could spare a dime.

Lorinda Lisitza may be one of the best-kept secrets in the New York musical theater community, but with her standout cabaret show, Triumphant Baby (running for six shows this month at the Metropolitan Room), this terrific actor, singer, comedian--and inveterate poker--player may finally be dealt a winning hand.

Recent MAC Award-winner Alison Nusbaum had audiences laughing in the narrow aisles of Don't Tell Mama with her hilarious show that paid tribute to everything Mel Brooks. Here's a review from the 2,000-Year-Old Man.

One of the best of the recent dynamic duos to hit the New York cabaret scene may be the songwriting/performing team of Mary Liz McNamara and Ritt Henn, who recently brought their cheeky and charming show Take That! back to The Duplex after debuting last November.

Cary Hoffman's show My Sinatra is part karaoke, part cabaret show, part one-man jukebox musical, and all self-indulgent personal therapy session. It's also a surreal, seriously flawed, yet strangely poignant and compelling piece of performance art that true Ol' Blue Eyes aficionados will either love or hate. If you're not a Sinatra fan, it's like a theatrical car wreck from which you can't avert your eyes.

Paul Simon may be 70 years old, but he's still marvelous after all these years. One of America's greatest troubadours once again displayed his timeless artistry at last week's three-concert benefit run at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Rose Hall, which featured the great Wynton Marsalis and his 14-piece JLC Orchestra joining Simon's eight-piece band for a jazzy and sometimes swinging interpretation of 14 songs from the massive Paul Simon songbook.

In her timely and meaningful new show at Birdland, 'Freedom Songs,' MAC Award-winning singer Natalie Douglas provided a stirring reminder that the fight for political equality, personal rights, and economic fairness in America is never over.

The lineup of people either receiving or presenting honors at the 27th Annual Bistro Awards on Monday, April 23 (at 6:30pm at the Gotham Comedy Club on 208 West 23rd Street) just keeps getting better. The Bistro's will be the place to be that evening because there won't be as much cabaret/nightlife talent in one room, well, since last month's MAC awards.

The 2012 MAC Award winner for Outstanding Major Artist (Male) for his solo show Cast of Thousands, last week launched a new effort, cheekily titled I Won't Sing a Sondheim Song . . . Or Will I?, and everyone's first thought (at least those who didn't see him perform some of it at last season's Cabaret Cares benefits) was that Eric Michael Gillett's show would feature an eclectic mix of songs with a smattering of Sondheim. Instead, the show at the Laurie Beechman (sort of the home-away-from-home for anything Sondheim) turned out to be a diverse collection of the master's songs, minus the "Send in the Clowns" of the world.

Vince Giordano's band (originally known as the New Orleans Nighthawks) has been around for 35 years, but seemingly are getting more popular with age. For example, they've become HBOs go-to vintage jazz band, popping up in the 2009 film version of Grey Gardens, the 2011 mini-series Mildred Pierce, and the original series Boardwalk Empire (for which the band a 2012 Grammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack). While there are a few other bands around the country playing 1920s and 1930s jazz, swing and blues, the Nighthawks deserve most of the credit for keeping the genre alive . . . and live, and they shined recently at Rose Hall for Jazz at Lincoln Center.

British chanteuse Barb Jungr is back at the Metropolitan Room (until April 28) with her critically-acclaimed Bob Dylan tribute show 'Man in the Long Black Coat,' and you shouldn't think twice about catching her fascinating interpretation of 13 classics from the Dylan repertoire. Jungr is much more than a Bob Dylan tribute artist and her show celebrating one of the world's greatest troubadours is a righteous revelation. Jungr doesn't just interpret Dylan songs, she re-imagines them.

Supported by a superb 10-piece orchestra (including six horn players), Catherine Russell's set at the Allen Room for Jazz at Lincoln Center was a tribute to songs her dad Luis recorded or performed with the great Louis Armstrong from the late 1920s through the 1930s. By the end of her show, Russell had clearly proven that she has become one of the finest interpreters of jazz and blues on the contemporary music scene.