Feature: 30 Days Of Cabaret Gratitude - Day Twelve - The Logical Family

Photos by Stephen Mosher; visit the Stephen Mosher website HERE.

Show business is an interesting maker of relationships. The people who work in the various factions of the industry find themselves thrown together and making friendships that become what Armistead Maupin has named the "Logical Family" - those with whom we share no DNA but that we consider our family. The community of artists that make up the cabaret and concert industry is one that is, particularly, rich with defacto family members to whom others can turn for advice, strength, laughter, and guidance.

Meg Flather - The Big Sister

Meg Flather is a leader in the cabaret community. A singer, a songwriter, and a formidable Jane Of All Trades, Flather may not have intended to be a leader but because she has a clear vision as an artist and solid knowledge of who she is as a person, she had no choice but to rise to the top, as a leader. Meg is, especially, a pioneer for the women in the industry, women who look to her as an example, women who want to sing her songs, and women who want to work with her, in any and every capacity. When creating her show Meg Flather SONGS: A CABARET SISTERHOOD, Flather sought out women of the industry that had longevity in the business (Natalie Douglas), women whose tenure was mostly brand-new (Becca C. Kidwell), and women with fascinating trajectories to the nightclub stage, like Deborah Zecher and Deborah Stone. These songs, this show, this club act that was created for the women of the industry was a sign of something bigger than a group show at Don't Tell Mama - it was a bonding of female forces in an industry that can sometimes create cliques centered around the clubs in which people work, the genres of music that people perform, and the levels of experience that people boast. This was merely a sisterhood of women, singing the songs of, let's face it, their Big Sister.

Two of the most salient examples of Meg Flather's influence as a Woman Harbinger in the industry is her longtime collaboration with Musical Director Tracy Stark with whom Flather makes not one move, and to whom she always gives first credit, and her mentorship of Becca C. Kidwell who was, once, a complete and total newcomer to the art form of cabaret and who has risen to the ranks of respected industry professional, with Flather beside her, the whole way.

Meg Flather is a friend to all in the industry, always at the ready to support and inspire, but it is the women of the cabaret and concert community that have benefitted, especially, from her decision to remain working in the arts, even while continuing her day job as a television brand ambassador. Everyone needs a big sister, and the women of cabaret are just lucky that theirs is Meg Flather.

Read the Broadway World Cabaret review of a Meg Flather show HERE.

Meg's online presence is as follows:

Website: Click HERE.

Instagram: Click HERE.

Facebook: Click HERE.

YouTube: Click HERE.

Meg's pronoun is MS.

Meg's future projects include:

The book and show "Hold On Tight" continues its journey after an October debut in NYC. See it at Don't Tell Mama on December 28th at 7 pm!

The musical cabaret "Rodgers & Hammerstein Today" continues!

"Something Real" is coming! (A look at the female singers and songwriters who inspired me as I came of age in NYC.)

Robbie Rozelle - The Guncle

Robbie Rozelle was living a simple life, helping artists to achieve their dreams by designing their album packages, their publicity postcards, even their websites. A talented graphic designer and a whiz behind a monitor and keyboard, Robbie continues to do this work at Broadway Records as the A&R Director (although he has branched out and begun producing albums, of late) and every artist with whom he works has walked away from their projects happy, satisfied, feeling seen, and feeling pretty. Robbie makes dreams come true, and that is no easy task in the business of show - it takes special talent, particularly the talent of tenacity.

But one day the one-time actor decided to do a club act, a one-time thing, a bucket list lark, if you will. It was for fun, it was for friends, it was for family, and it was for his own enjoyment. Well. That show turned into a run. Then it turned into an album. Then it turned into a career. Now Robbie Rozelle spends his days doing his all-encompassing work at Broadway Records (and freelance gigs), and he spends his nights in the clubs, either performing or directing other artists. His performance style is old-school, modeled after the variety shows he and so many other gay men grew up on, are devoted to, and continue to obsess over, well into their adulthoods. Robbie loves to talk, to tell funny stories, to interview people, to ask questions, to hear stories, all of which he has done during his residencies in different nightclubs, inviting his friends, famous and humble, to play with him. Robbie also loves to sing, and there is always room for a friend beside him, like Mauricio Martinez or Jonathan Hoover, both of whom have done a few of Robbie's shows. Robbie loves making audiences happy, he loves showcasing his friends in his acts, and he loves growing as an artist, with each new play, which he has done to notable measures. One of his artistic missions, he has said, has been a wish to appear like "everyone's funny gay uncle," telling jokes and singing songs and making merry. He is a benevolent figure and a leg up to many, and he is beloved as that which he dreams of being: a Gay Uncle. Sort of like Paul Lynde, but with optimism and sweetness. That's Robbie Rozelle - a sweet, hopeful Guncle.

And everyone knows the Guncle is the fun relative.

Read the Broadway World Cabaret review of a Robbie Rozelle show HERE.

Robbie's online presence is as follows:

Website: Click HERE.

Instagram: Click HERE.

Facebook: Click HERE.

Twitter: Click HERE.

Robbie's pronouns are He/Him

Robbie's future projects include:

The album Colin Donnell & Patti Murin - SOMETHIN' STUPID releases on November 18th on Broadway Records. It is Robbie's first album as producer. THIS is the Broadway Records website.

Robbie has art directed the new albums by Liz Callaway, Sean Patrick Murtagh, and Ari Axelrod.

Robbie Rozelle has been the photo retoucher for the 30 Days of Cabaret Gratitude series and this editor, photographer & writer is most grateful. To hire Robbie as a designer visit THIS website.

To post a comment, you must register and login.