Feature: Eight Days Of Jewish Artists In Cabaret And Concert - Day Three

Adam B. Shapiro came to New York with aspirations of a theatrical career, he started working, and has never stopped, even during the quarantine. With a list of credits around the city, in regional theater, and, happily, in film and television, Adam has managed to crack the code of what it is to be a working actor. Like many actors whose work includes the musical theater stage, Adam took the cabaret stage and found even more community in the performing arts, and an artistic home base. When he is not busy with shows like the Yiddish Fiddler On The Roof (his main gig for the next few weeks), Adam has put up award-winning solo shows, made regular appearances in group shows around the city (most frequently at 54 Below) and he and his best gal pal Janice Hall have become notoriously wicked and wacky hosts of the annual Halloween show at the open-mic series SALON. Because of their love of the holiday, of costumes, and of general buffoonery, the twosome is the perfect pair for a Halloween show, and the cabaret community comes in droves, each year, to see what they come up with, next.

But because of those costumes and that buffoonery, the two besties who also happen to be flatmates also had all the tools to make regular YouTube specials during the lockdown with which to entertain their fans, friends, and followers.

So Adam locked himself up in his room and made himself an expert in filmmaking, in editing, in special effects, and the Still (A)Live From Shapiro Hall series became a popular video program during the time when all the entertainment in the world was online entertainment. The Shapiro Hall shows were some of the best put out during the quarantine, specializing in laughter, good music, camaraderie, and creativity - how could the audiences not come? And the skills Adam increased upon (he had already made a start in the medium, pre-pandemic) as a filmmaker were considerable enough to assist him (and anyone else needing it) with an actor's life in a world where most auditions are video submissions. It was a perfect example of cutting one's suit to fit one's cloth, and in evolving with the times.

Eventually, though, the world reopened and, with it, so did the stages, and Adam was able to return to his first love of live entertainment. He had a residency at the Feinstein's nightclub in Carmel, Indiana for a while, he released his first-ever album (Let Love In, available on all digital platforms) and when the Yiddish Fiddler On The Roof got ready to return to New York City for a limited engagement, he picked up where he had left off, there, which is where he will be until January first. Once 2023 rolls around, it's anybody's guess where Adam B. Shapiro will land or what he will do, but there is no doubt it will be something exciting and interesting - there are many things in the Adam B. Shapiro wheelhouse but boring isn't one of them. Exciting and interesting is where Adam lives, right next to loving and optimistic, and a healthy dose of hilarious. With his own unique blend of comedy, heart, flamboyance, and creativity Adam B. Shapiro is one of the industry's biggest assets, and not just the cabaret industry, the whole thing - stage, screen, club, internet, all of it. Show business is Adam Shapiro's world and the rest of us are just living in it.

Our Judaism-themed question with Adam B. Shapiro:

Ste: Adam, there have been many creatives throughout the history of show business that have been Jewish: how has that history informed the focus that you have put into your training and your career?

If anything, it's given me a sense of what is possible in life. As a child, when I would find out that an actor/singer/director/etc. was Jewish, it gave me a sense of kinship with said artist. I would think "Wow! We have something in common". I didn't realize at the time the role that my Judaism would play in my career, but now I see it as an opportunity to be that example for future generations of young Jews, to make sure they see positive portrayals of Jewish characters, and hopefully have them feel that same kinship that makes them think "Maybe I could do that too someday".

Read the Broadway World Cabaret review of Still (A)Live From Shapiro Hall HERE.

Read a recent interview with Adam B. Shapiro HERE.

Adam's online presence is as follows:

Website: Click HERE.

Instagram: Click HERE.

Facebook: Click HERE.

YouTube: Click HERE.

TikTok: Click HERE.

Adam's pronouns are He/Him/His

Adam's future projects include:

I'm appearing in Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish at New World Stages through January 1st and my debut album "Let Love In" is available on all digital music platforms.

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

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