Don't Tell Mama will honor the Broadway and cabaret star Karen Mason on Monday March 30 at 7pm, the final performance of the legendary singer's current ten-show major engagement at the club. Mason, who, with the late great Nancy LaMott, opened the Theater District nightspot in November of 1982, also celebrates her own birthday on that night.
Hugging the Cabaret-month-of-March, "Mason at Mama's in March" began on March 1 and plays the next three Sundays and Mondays -- March 15 & 16; 22 & 23; 29 & 30. All shows are at 7pm.
With music direction by
Christopher Denny and stage direction by
Barry Kleinbort, Mason's new show delves generously into a treasure trove of classics and original songs she and her longtime musical collaborator
Brian Lasser worked on together. It was in a sense the infancy of a new era of cabaret, when genres and styles began to be mixed and the boundaries between cabaret and the theatre began to be blurred. Incidentally, 1981 was the year IBM introduced the first PC.
"This really is the mother of birthday celebrations," says
Sidney Myer, Mama's booking manager. "Mama's has birthed many a star, but look at who was here first! 33 years ago in November it was two of the best! That Karen is returning after 33 years to the same room in the same club, in the same location, today!... What careers, let alone clubs, last 33 minutes?!"
Carefully chosen by Rob Hoskins and the late
Erv Raible, the club's original owners, who set the standard for creating a supportive environment for newcomers and established singers alike, Mason and LaMott were the perfect headliners to launch the room. The posters for their inaugural shows still grace the walls in the club's piano bar.
Mason hosts the 29th annual MAC Awards show at
B.B. Kings on Thursday March 26. Mason is a 10-time MAC Award winner, with an unprecedented string of six consecutive Major Female Vocalist wins.
Mason, whose Broadway starring credits include "Mamma Mia," "Sunset Boulevard," "Hairspray," and "
Jerome Robbins' Broadway," most recently starred in
Frank Wildhorn's "Wonderland." Her most recent single, "It's About Time" (honoring marriage equality), was written by her husband
Paul Rolnick and
Shelley Markham.
New York's one-of-a-kind triple threat entertainment Mecca, Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, celebrates its 33rd birthday this autumn. Equal parts raucous piano bar, casual cabaret music venue, and deliciously-priced Restaurant Row newcomer, Don't Tell Mama added its A-rated restaurant in 2012. There is a $20 music charge, plus a two-drink minimum. Mama's cabaret portion is cash-only. For reservations 212/757-0788 (after 4pm) or to reserve online go to
www.donttellmamanyc.com.
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