Amanda Reckonwith Extends Through August At Pangea
On April 15, she began a five-month extension of her new nightclub experience, now titled “In Residential Care” through August.
By: Stephi Wild Apr. 21, 2023
This month at Pangea, the sensational Amanda Reckonwith, David Sabella's madcap alter ego, continued to stoke the growing groundswell of excitement surrounding her return to the stage after 25 years of wasted opportunities. On April 15, she began a five-month extension of her new nightclub experience, now titled "In Residential Care" through August. Throughout the hoopla Mark Hartman has served as the music director. In addition to new songs and material every time, each show welcomes a different guest star: Elena Bennett (was just featured); Dawn Derow is in May; in June it's none other than Liberace (David Maiocco) celebrating Gay Pride, and in July Aaron Lee Battle lights up Pangea's jewel-box Cabaret Room.
When Reckonwith made her eye-popping return to the stage (and Pangea debut) in September, no one knew what hit them, least of all Sabella. Marilyn Lester, writing in NitelifeExchange.com, called Reckonwith "a stunning force of nature (...) who triumphed in her return to the stage, and who is just as fun, vivacious and full of high drama as she ever was, plus in superb voice (even if she is now a mezzo)."
After her meteoric rise as a lyric soprano, and celebrated on stage and off in operas around the world and on Broadway, Amanda made the fateful decision to settle into a life of luxury and privilege. Several children later and a drop in her range by three octaves, the now "spento" soprano was urged to make a comeback by Sabella who has conceived and directed her shows, and obviously has a stake in her career comeback. (Hopefully she has an honest accountant to avoid financial improprieties.)
"Amanda is my rock," says Sabella, who himself is an award-winning actor-singer and accomplished counter-tenor. "She is as good an example of a woman maturing with age as I know... though she sometimes scares me when she wants to hit the high notes that were her stock in trade when she was just a girl. God, she has a mind of her own!"
Reckonwith continues to seize the day (and other things as well) at Pangea, the Downtown incubator for new work crossing boundaries, through August. The unstoppable juggernaut of cabaret success, newly titled "In Residential Care," with maestro Mark Hartman at the piano, and which Bart Greenberg of Cabaret Scenes calls "a triumphant resurrection," continues on the third Saturday of the month as follows: Sat May 20; Sat Jun 17; Sat Jul 15 and Sat Aug 19, all at 7pm. Cover $25. For tickets visit www.pangeanyc.com
A near-business fatality of the pandemic, Pangea earned the prestigious Village Award, presented by Village Preservation, in June 2021 as it prepared to welcome back audiences after a hiatus that started in March 2020. Since introducing music and performance in January 2015, Pangea has become a hub for the burgeoning alt-cabaret movement. Mixing spirited downtown hospitality with a deliciously priced Italian-Mediterranean menu, Pangea "has vaulted to the forefront of the alt-cabaret scene!" according to Elisabeth Vincentelli of The NY Times.
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