M. Can Yasar's TURKISH RHAPSODY Comes to Don't Tell Mama

Following his critically acclaimed cabaret debut, M. Can Yasar is coming back with his show “Turkish Rhapsody” to Don't Tell Mama for a one-night-only encore performance on October 1 at 7 pm. Yasar is a “2024 Cabaret and Performance Fellow” at the Tony Award Winning Eugene O'Neill Theater Center and recently opened for two-time Tony Award and four-time Drama Desk Award nominee Kate Baldwin with Shane Parus on the piano, under the leadership of Grammy and two-time Emmy Award winner artistic director John McDaniel.

After the success of his one-person shows: “A Hundred Dollar Bill” (Solo Theater Festival WINNER of Best Autobiographical Show), “Master Of Time” (New York Theater Festival Best Male Vocalist Nominee), and world-premiere of his new folk musical “Only Place I Belong” (The Tank), comes Yasar's cabaret show with a new look at his life as a muslim, queer, and immigrant man.

“Turkish Rhapsody” is a young man's journey in search of love, identity, and belonging in America. Can (pronounced “John”), with a rebellious attempt, offers his most authentic self to the world in this cabaret show for the first time with songs from Madonna to Bob Merrill and Jule Styne to Queen and Radiohead to Cher, including his original songs blended with unmistakably Turkish and New York stories.

“Turkish Rhapsody” is written by M. Can Yasar, directed by Lennie Watts, a 19-time MAC (Manhattan Association of Cabarets), 5-time Backstage Bistro, and 3-time Nightlife Award winner and music directed by Tracy Stark, a 15-Time MAC Award winner, in the categories of Music Director, a Bistro Award winner for Music Direction, a Broadway World winner for Music Direction. The band is led by Tracy Stark as the conductor and pianist, with Don Kelly on the drums, and Matt Scharfglass on the bass.

M. Can Yasar is a New York based Turkish actor, writer, and singer/songwriter. His shows written and performed by him include, “A Hundred Dollar Bill,” at the United Solo Festival at Theater Row, received the “Best Autobiographical Show” award; “Smoke Point” performed at The Brick; an extended draft of “A Hundred Dollar Bill," part of the New Works Series at TADA Theatre; “Master of Time” including Yasar's original songs, at the New York Theatre Festival at Theater Latea; “Only Place I Belong,” the musical at The Tank; "Only Place I Belong in Concert" at The Brick. He is an artistic collaborator as a writer and a performer at The What Co's CrossPolunation artist collaboration supported by the Dramatist Guild, 2024 Cabaret and Performance Fellow at the Eugene O'Neill Theater, and an advocate of telling the queer, Muslim, and immigrant stories.

Established in 1982, Don't Tell Mama is celebrating over 40 years as a world-famous entertainment destination. Located on renowned Restaurant Row in the heart of New York's theater district, Don't Tell Mama is one-of-a-kind - a veritable nightlife mall with four individual spaces: a piano bar, a restaurant and 2 separate cabaret showrooms: a cineplex of cabaret! Countless luminaries have come through our doors such as Liza Minnelli, Paul Newman, Joan Rivers, Bette Midler, Rosie O'Donnell, Chita Rivera, Kathy Griffin, Audra MacDonald, Kristin Chenoweth, Mario Cantone, & Cuba Gooding Jr., to name but a few.

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