The Metropolitan Room Announces March 2010 Lineup

For old-world cabaret, performers still swoon over the stately, romantic elegance of the Oak Room at the Algonquin, but this sleek, two-year-old spot is threatening to encroach on the turf of such established institutions. Critics, insiders, and even talent-if they're speaking off the record-praise the relative baby on the scene for its warm vibe, accessible pricing ($40 on average, including drinks), perfect layout, and the insightful bookings and personal treatment of manager Lennie Watts, a performer in his own right who's convinced an amazing group of talent to head south of 42nd Street to populate his stage. In its short tenure, the venue has hosted a much-heralded ongoing engagement by vocalese legend Annie Ross, in addition to blowout shows by British Dylan channeler Barb Jungr, cultishly adored veteran Marilyn Maye, and collaborators Christine Ebersole and Billy Stritch-all of whom took home coveted Nightlife Awards for their efforts. Alas, for shows of the bawdy, titillating variety, you'll have to head still farther downtown-if not all the way across the river.

3/1 7PM Gretchen Reinhagen Gretchen Reinhagen extends her new show "Special Kaye: A Tribute to the Incomparable Kaye Ballard" following the opening night debut performance at the Annenberg Theater in Palm Springs California, and a successful opening run here at the Metropolitan Room.
The show, which has long been a dream project of Gretchen's, celebrates the great career of legendary Broadway, Film, TV and Cabaret artist Kaye Ballard. Audiences may be surprised to learn of some great musical gems that were not only originated by, but specifically written for Ms. Ballard. The show is directed by Barry Kleinbort. Musical Director David Gaines will be at the piano, accompanied by Louis Tucci on Bass and "Almost Blue" band member Donna Kelly on Drums. $20

3/2
9:30PM Annie Ross Annie Ross is one of the pioneers of vocalese and the composer of "Twisted", one of the most well known examples of that art, as well as "Farmers Market", "Jackie" and many others. A founding member of Lambert, Hendricks and Ross, considered the greatest jazz vocal ensemble of all time, her influence is present in all subsequent practitioners of vocalese. "Twisted" has been recorded by a host of vocalists, including some not normally associated with jazz, including Joni Mitchell and Bette Midler. $25

3/3 7:30PM Joe Bachana It's the 1940's, WW II is over and a new era in the United States begins. 38 year old recent veteran Bernie Bierman - a New York attorney - decides to try his hand at composing and writing lyrics.
During a period of seven years, Bernie - alongside his partner Jack Manus - wrote dozens of songs on Tin Pan Alley that made the top of the Hit Parade charts. His songs have been sung by Big Band greats like Don Cherry, Frankie Laine, Eddy Howard, Sammy Kaye Harry James, Billy Eckstine, and even Frank Sinatra.
While Jack Manus is no longer with us, Bernie Bierman is alive and well at the ripe old age of 101.5, making him one of the last surviving lyricists/composers of the 1940's American Songbook!
For three Wednesdays this March, consummate host and singer Joe Bachana brings back a glamorous night of lush music from that vibrant period in American history.

The band features the immense talents of Barry Levitt at the piano, Jeff Carney on bass, Brian Grice at the drums, Jack Cavari on guitar and Bob Magnuson on Sax and woodwinds. The evening will also guest star the divine Valerie diLorenzo.$20

3/4 7:30PM Gay Marshall The concert series is based on Marshall's CD, Gay Marshall Sings Piaf, La Vie l'Amour, which listed on BILLBOARD'S Top World Album Chart last week as a #12 Hot Shot Debut. PIAF: Queen of Heart is Marshall's vivacious and original take on Piaf - far from the traditional perception of her as a tragic icon. Instead, she presents a versatile powerhouse of heartwarming and heartbreaking emotion, full of personality and humor. "Piaf was so much more than ‘the poor little thing,'" Marshall told NPR's Scott Simon recently, "she's much more magic than tragic." Marshall delivers the dramatic repertoire - including her own English adaptations - with stirring authenticity, and not a hint of imitation. Her choice of songs is an unusual mix of the well known ("L'Accordeoniste" and "Padam Padam") and the rare ("Avec Ce Soleil"), accompanied live by a superb five piece ensemble. The original arrangements by Marshall and Paul Bevan are a refreshingly modern take on a classical theme. BistroAwards.com praised the way Marshall "fiercely inhabits every song." Cabaret Scenes described her as "mesmerizing," and wrote "Gay Marshall amazes at every turn as she embodies the passion, spirit, joy, humor and tragedy of Piaf."
Marshall, who played DiAna Morales in A Chorus Line on Broadway and created Grizabella in the French production of Cats, has lived and worked mainly in Europe since she fell in love with French photographer, Jean-Louis Blondeau (Man On Wire). She re-captured the attention of New York audiences with her performance in The Zipper Theater's revival of Jacques Brel Is Alive And Well And Living In Paris. Charles Isherwood wrote of Marshall in the New York Times, "To hear her sing Brel's despairing ‘Ne Me Quitte Pas,' ....is to experience Brel's art in its purest and most persuasive form." $25
9:45 Danielle Hicks & Gus Fafalios "NORTH-cd;. if South Georgia and guitarist GUS FAFALIOS, born andraised in Manhattan's UPPER EAST SIDE.NORTH-SOUTH offers a unique musical experience created by the naturalsynergy of two power-house musicians. Danielle and Gus perform a blend oforiginals and originally arranged covers. Their set is an eclectic mix ofold and new ROCK, BLUES, POP, and CLASSICS!" $10

3/5 7:30 Bronwyn Rucker
Bronwyn's Speakeasy - Tribute to Women Singers of the 20's and 30's. Written by Bronwyn Rucker with special material by Joe Franklin. Featuring Jerry Scott at the piano and Saadi Zain on bass. Directed by Jay Rogers
Bronwyn Rucker is an actress, singer, writer and recording artist. Her latest CD is Bronwyn's Speakeasy, a collaboration with broadcasting legend Joe Franklin as narrator, on Original Cast Records. www.bronwynrucker.com $20
10:00pm MetroJam
MetroJam, hosted by Jenna Esposito, is the monthly open mic at the Metropolitan
Room. Each month boasts a different guest star, a terrific lineup of performers and
the fabulous MetroJam House Band: John DiPinto on piano, Ritt Henn on bass, and
Bobby Sher on drums. Singers and instrumentalists of all types are encouraged to
join in the fun - just bring two copies of your music (up-tempo songs are preferred)
and arrive early to sign up (sign-up begins at 9:30 p.m.) $10
3/6 7:30PM Jaron Vesely After his critically acclaimed New York debut last summer, Jaron Vesely returns to the Metropolitan Room with "Something Good" - a show celebrating the wisdom of innocence and the desires of youth. Vesely, a member of the Back Stage Bistro Award Winning Fabulous Pink Flamingos, presents an eclectic set for his second solo show, featuring songs by Cole Porter, Dolly Parton, Freddy Mercury, Rodgers & Hammerstein, Paul Simon, and others. Profits from the show go to benefit Marriage Equality. $15

9:45PM Les Bandits "Using mostly material from the 1960s, sung in French and English, Les Bandits' show is fascinating and unusual-to say the least-in its musical accompaniment: all on the small cabaret stage, we have a glockenspiel, melodica, sax (these three all by Chris Shade) cello, bass, ukulele, drums, percussion. And a harp! Versatile, glowing and girlish, with lovely high tones, Elisabeth Cernadas does all the singing and spoken intros. Certainly this is an ensemble triumph. They appreciatively listen to each other and have a striking serenity. Intelligent, and a valentine to the music and era, joy radiates and the musicianship is as marvelous to drink in as to watch being played: struck, strummed, bowed, etc. Whatever they play and sing-Oscar Brown, Jr.'s "Forbidden Fruit," a couple from The Beatles' White album ("Rocky Raccoon," "Blackbird") and "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" (in French!!), their original "East and The West," French poetry, sweet innocence or knowing sophistication-it's all smartly done, fresh, winsome, and unaffected. Fantastique." Rob Lester, Cabaret Scenes $10 with reservation, $15 at the door 11:00PM Piano Bar @ The Metropolitan Room Love to sing? Working on a new show? Want to revisit some established songs? Thinking about new material? Bring your charts and try it out with an audience. Ricky Ritzel, Steve Lowenthal, or Nate Buccieri at the piano and host Kim Lee Hicks.

3/7 7PM Kathleen France Kathleen France makes her cabaret debut in "Book of Love", directed by Lina Koutrakos, with music direction by Tracy Stark. An avid reader, Kathleen daydreams about her love life being like those in novels, only to find that real life doesn't quite measure up to the stories she reads on the train. The show includes songs from Queen, Billy Joel, Dolly Parton, John Lennon & Paul McCartney, Sheryl Crow, and others from the Great American Songbook. $20

3/9 7PM Clare Burt Clare Burt makes her N.Y cabaret debut at the Metropolitan Room with the show that David Benedict in Variety described as 'dazzling'. Singing Jobim and Herman , Aznavour and Weill in exciting new arrangements by her Musical Director Nigel Lilley , Clare displays 'the sort of intensity that marks out the truly great performers ' - Mark Shenton.Clare's credits as an actress in British theatre include Maggie in ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof', The Witch in Stephen Sondheims ‘Into the Woods',Carla in David Leveaux's production of ‘Nine' and Susan in Sam Mendes' production of 'Company' at Londons Donmar Warehouse.Rose Vibert in ‘Aspects of Love', Grizabella in ‘Cats' and Fosca in Passion. She has also worked extensively in Film and television and was last seen playing the role of Nurse Hulme in Bafta award winning ‘Criminal Justice'.Most recently,Clare has been appearing at the Royal National Theatre As Mrs Milcote in Coram Boy and Jean Shehan in The Miracle. $20
9:30PM Annie Ross $25

3/10 7:30PM Clare Burt Clare Burt makes her N.Y cabaret debut at the Metropolitan Room with the show that David Benedict in Variety described as 'dazzling'. Singing Jobim and Herman , Aznavour and Weill in exciting new arrangements by her Musical Director Nigel Lilley , Clare displays 'the sort of intensity that marks out the truly great performers ' - Mark Shenton.Clare's credits as an actress in British theatre include Maggie in ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof', The Witch in Stephen Sondheims ‘Into the Woods',Carla in David Leveaux's production of ‘Nine' and Susan in Sam Mendes' production of 'Company' at Londons Donmar Warehouse.Rose Vibert in ‘Aspects of Love', Grizabella in ‘Cats' and Fosca in Passion. She has also worked extensively in Film and television and was last seen playing the role of Nurse Hulme in Bafta award winning ‘Criminal Justice'.Most recently,Clare has been appearing at the Royal National Theatre As Mrs Milcote in Coram Boy and Jean Shehan in The Miracle. $20

3/11 7:30PM Gay Marshall The concert series is based on Marshall's CD, Gay Marshall Sings Piaf, La Vie l'Amour, which listed on BILLBOARD'S Top World Album Chart last week as a #12 Hot Shot Debut. PIAF: Queen of Heart is Marshall's vivacious and original take on Piaf - far from the traditional perception of her as a tragic icon. Instead, she presents a versatile powerhouse of heartwarming and heartbreaking emotion, full of personality and humor. "Piaf was so much more than ‘the poor little thing,'" Marshall told NPR's Scott Simon recently, "she's much more magic than tragic." Marshall delivers the dramatic repertoire - including her own English adaptations - with stirring authenticity, and not a hint of imitation. Her choice of songs is an unusual mix of the well known ("L'Accordeoniste" and "Padam Padam") and the rare ("Avec Ce Soleil"), accompanied live by a superb five piece ensemble. The original arrangements by Marshall and Paul Bevan are a refreshingly modern take on a classical theme. BistroAwards.com praised the way Marshall "fiercely inhabits every song." Cabaret Scenes described her as "mesmerizing," and wrote "Gay Marshall amazes at every turn as she embodies the passion, spirit, joy, humor and tragedy of Piaf."
Marshall, who played DiAna Morales in A Chorus Line on Broadway and created Grizabella in the French production of Cats, has lived and worked mainly in Europe since she fell in love with French photographer, Jean-Louis Blondeau (Man On Wire). She re-captured the attention of New York audiences with her performance in The Zipper Theater's revival of Jacques Brel Is Alive And Well And Living In Paris. Charles Isherwood wrote of Marshall in the New York Times, "To hear her sing Brel's despairing ‘Ne Me Quitte Pas,' ....is to experience Brel's art in its purest and most persuasive form." $25
9:45PM Clare Burt Clare Burt makes her N.Y cabaret debut at the Metropolitan Room with the show that David Benedict in Variety described as 'dazzling'. Singing Jobim and Herman , Aznavour and Weill in exciting new arrangements by her Musical Director Nigel Lilley , Clare displays 'the sort of intensity that marks out the truly great performers ' - Mark Shenton.Clare's credits as an actress in British theatre include Maggie in ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof', The Witch in Stephen Sondheims ‘Into the Woods',Carla in David Leveaux's production of ‘Nine' and Susan in Sam Mendes' production of 'Company' at Londons Donmar Warehouse.Rose Vibert in ‘Aspects of Love', Grizabella in ‘Cats' and Fosca in Passion. She has also worked extensively in Film and television and was last seen playing the role of Nurse Hulme in Bafta award winning ‘Criminal Justice'.Most recently,Clare has been appearing at the Royal National Theatre As Mrs Milcote in Coram Boy and Jean Shehan in The Miracle. $20

3/12 7:00PM Clare Burt Clare Burt makes her N.Y cabaret debut at the Metropolitan Room with the show that David Benedict in Variety described as 'dazzling'. Singing Jobim and Herman , Aznavour and Weill in exciting new arrangements by her Musical Director Nigel Lilley , Clare displays 'the sort of intensity that marks out the truly great performers ' - Mark Shenton.Clare's credits as an actress in British theatre include Maggie in ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof', The Witch in Stephen Sondheims ‘Into the Woods',Carla in David Leveaux's production of ‘Nine' and Susan in Sam Mendes' production of 'Company' at Londons Donmar Warehouse.Rose Vibert in ‘Aspects of Love', Grizabella in ‘Cats' and Fosca in Passion. She has also worked extensively in Film and television and was last seen playing the role of Nurse Hulme in Bafta award winning ‘Criminal Justice'.Most recently,Clare has been appearing at the Royal National Theatre As Mrs Milcote in Coram Boy and Jean Shehan in The Miracle. $20

11:00PM Piano Bar @ The Metropolitan Room

3/13 7:30PM Clare Burt Clare Burt makes her N.Y cabaret debut at the Metropolitan Room with the show that David Benedict in Variety described as 'dazzling'. Singing Jobim and Herman , Aznavour and Weill in exciting new arrangements by her Musical Director Nigel Lilley , Clare displays 'the sort of intensity that marks out the truly great performers ' - Mark Shenton.Clare's credits as an actress in British theatre include Maggie in ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof', The Witch in Stephen Sondheims ‘Into the Woods',Carla in David Leveaux's production of ‘Nine' and Susan in Sam Mendes' production of 'Company' at Londons Donmar Warehouse.Rose Vibert in ‘Aspects of Love', Grizabella in ‘Cats' and Fosca in Passion. She has also worked extensively in Film and television and was last seen playing the role of Nurse Hulme in Bafta award winning ‘Criminal Justice'.Most recently,Clare has been appearing at the Royal National Theatre As Mrs Milcote in Coram Boy and Jean Shehan in The Miracle. $20
9:45 Sharon McNight Sharon McNight made her Broadway debut in 1989 in Starmites, creating the role of Diva. She received a Tony Award nomination as "Best Leading Actress in a Musical" for her performance, and is the recipient of the coveted Theatre World Award for "Outstanding Broadway Debut" which waspresented to her by Carol Channing. New York Magazine's John Simon said "Sharon McNight is a winner" and Al Hirschfeld did a caricature of her. Her current project is "Betty, Betty, Bette" , celebrating the screen legends Grable, Hutton and Davis. She has six solo recordings to her credit. The most recent is "Offensive Too, Volume Two" which is the second CD of "Songs To Offend Almost Everyone", a throwback to the party records of the 50's. In contrast is "The Sophie Tucker Songbook", which contains the music of the one- woman show based the show business legend. "The Sophie Tucker Songbook" debuted at New York's Rainbow & Stars as part of an ASCAP Sunday night showcase March ‘96. Since then, she developed it into a one-woman musical, Red Hot Mama, which was workshopped at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts and Lucille Lortell's White Barn Theatre, and has finished a successful three month run Off-Broadway at the York Theatre. The Singer/Comedienne's regional credits include Amanda McBroom's Heartbeats at the Pasadena Playhouse, and an award winning Dolly in Hello Dolly at the Peninsula Civic Light Opera (a role she repeated in her hometown, Modesto). Sharon was Sister Hubert in Nunsense in Los Angeles and San Francisco, where she received the Bay Area Critics Circle Award for "Best Performance in a Musical". She is the narrator of the documentary, "There That Night," the story of the Provincetown, Massachusetts fire, and was featured in the recent A & E documentary, "It's Burlesque", for her research on Mae West and Sophie Tucker. She is a master teacher on the faculty of the Yale Cabaret Symposium. In San Francisco, she plays The Plush Room, Great American Music Hall, and anywhere else the check doesn't bounce. She has played from the Moose Hall to Carnegie Hall, from Los Angeles to Berlin. She has won six San Francisco Cabaret Gold awards, 3 Cable Car Awards, a MAC award, a Bistro award, and received a Nightlife award from New York's critics for her Best Musical Comedy show, "Ladies Compose Yourselves!" Her eclectic repertory ranges from blues to country to good old fashioned entertainment. The Los Angeles Times called her "one of the great wonders of the musical stage." She is most noted for her movie reenactment of The Wizard of OZ and for being one of the few real women to impersonate Bette Davis. Ms. McNight received her Masters of Arts degree in direction from San Francisco State College in nineteen none of your business. As an only child, her parents kept her busy with all kinds of lessons: ballet, tap, hula, social dancing, flute and piano. She is single and resides in Hollywood, but "lives" in San Francisco. She has been in the forefront in the fight against AIDS since the early eighties, and was featured in Randy Shilt's book, And The Band Played On. She was chosen twice as the honorary chair of the San Francisco AIDS Emergency Fund, and was one of two heterosexual women chosen as the Grand Marshall of San Francisco's Gay Day Parade. She says the greatest day of her life was the day she quit smoking. $20

11PM Piano Bar@ The Metropolitan Room

3/14 7:00PM Jaron Vesely After his critically acclaimed New York debut last summer, Jaron Vesely returns to the Metropolitan Room with "Something Good" - a show celebrating the wisdom of innocence and the desires of youth. Vesely, a member of the Back Stage Bistro Award Winning Fabulous Pink Flamingos, presents an eclectic set for his second solo show, featuring songs by Cole Porter, Dolly Parton, Freddy Mercury, Rodgers & Hammerstein, Paul Simon, and others. Profits from the show go to benefit Marriage Equality. $15
9:30PM Sharon McNight Sharon McNight made her Broadway debut in 1989 in Starmites, creating the role of Diva. She received a Tony Award nomination as "Best Leading Actress in a Musical" for her performance, and is the recipient of the coveted Theatre World Award for "Outstanding Broadway Debut" which waspresented to her by Carol Channing. New York Magazine's John Simon said "Sharon McNight is a winner" and Al Hirschfeld did a caricature of her. Her current project is "Betty, Betty, Bette" , celebrating the screen legends Grable, Hutton and Davis. She has six solo recordings to her credit. The most recent is "Offensive Too, Volume Two" which is the second CD of "Songs To Offend Almost Everyone", a throwback to the party records of the 50's. In contrast is "The Sophie Tucker Songbook", which contains the music of the one- woman show based the show business legend. "The Sophie Tucker Songbook" debuted at New York's Rainbow & Stars as part of an ASCAP Sunday night showcase March ‘96. Since then, she developed it into a one-woman musical, Red Hot Mama, which was workshopped at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts and Lucille Lortell's White Barn Theatre, and has finished a successful three month run Off-Broadway at the York Theatre. The Singer/Comedienne's regional credits include Amanda McBroom's Heartbeats at the Pasadena Playhouse, and an award winning Dolly in Hello Dolly at the Peninsula Civic Light Opera (a role she repeated in her hometown, Modesto). Sharon was Sister Hubert in Nunsense in Los Angeles and San Francisco, where she received the Bay Area Critics Circle Award for "Best Performance in a Musical". She is the narrator of the documentary, "There That Night," the story of the Provincetown, Massachusetts fire, and was featured in the recent A & E documentary, "It's Burlesque", for her research on Mae West and Sophie Tucker. She is a master teacher on the faculty of the Yale Cabaret Symposium. In San Francisco, she plays The Plush Room, Great American Music Hall, and anywhere else the check doesn't bounce. She has played from the Moose Hall to Carnegie Hall, from Los Angeles to Berlin. She has won six San Francisco Cabaret Gold awards, 3 Cable Car Awards, a MAC award, a Bistro award, and received a Nightlife award from New York's critics for her Best Musical Comedy show, "Ladies Compose Yourselves!" Her eclectic repertory ranges from blues to country to good old fashioned entertainment. The Los Angeles Times called her "one of the great wonders of the musical stage." She is most noted for her movie reenactment of The Wizard of OZ and for being one of the few real women to impersonate Bette Davis. Ms. McNight received her Masters of Arts degree in direction from San Francisco State College in nineteen none of your business. As an only child, her parents kept her busy with all kinds of lessons: ballet, tap, hula, social dancing, flute and piano. She is single and resides in Hollywood, but "lives" in San Francisco. She has been in the forefront in the fight against AIDS since the early eighties, and was featured in Randy Shilt's book, And The Band Played On. She was chosen twice as the honorary chair of the San Francisco AIDS Emergency Fund, and was one of two heterosexual women chosen as the Grand Marshall of San Francisco's Gay Day Parade. She says the greatest day of her life was the day she quit smoking. $20

3/15 7:00PM Penny Fuller Penny Fuller won critical plaudits on Broadway for her portrayal of the outwardly sweet but inwardly subversive Eve Harrington in Applause (1970-1972), the musical version of All About Eve with Lauren Bacall as Margo Channing. Debuting in The Moon Besieged (1962), she later appeared as a replacement in the original productions of Barefoot in the Park (1963) and Cabaret (1966).Her last Broadway musical (to date) was Richard Rodgers' 1976 flop about Henry VIII, Rex, in which she appeared opposite Nicol Williamson and Glenn Close. (She has continued to work in musicals, however, including the original production of William Finn's A New Brain and a 1999 revival of Rodgers' Do I Hear a Waltz? at New Jersey's George Street Playhouse.) Recent years have found Miss Fuller back on Broadway, in the original productions of Wendy Wasserstein's An American Daughter (1997) and Neil Simon's The Dinner Party (2000); she was Tony-nominated for the latter. Off-Broadway appearances have included Three Viewings (1995) and Nicky Silver's unsettling Beautiful Child. Penny Fuller has extensive television work to her credit, perhaps most memorably in her Emmy-winning performance as Mrs. Kendal in TV version of Bernard Pomerance's play The Elephant Man (1982) and in another stage-to-TV presentation, the 1985 version of Tennessee Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, in which she played Mae (a.k.a. "Sister Woman") opposite Jessica Lange and Tommy Lee Jones. She has guest-starred in dozens of TV series, including The Edge of Night (1964), Love, American Style (1969), The Bob Newhart Show (1972), Banacek (1973), Trapper John, M.D. (1979 and 1981), One Day at a Time (1983), The Love Boat (1983 and 1985), L.A. Law (1988), Murder, She Wrote (1988 and 1993), China Beach (1989-90), Quantum Leap (1992), NYPD Blue (1994), Mad About You (1994-95), Melrose Place (1994-95), ER (1995), Law & Order (1998) and Judging Amy (2002 and 2005). Her big-screen work has included All the President's Men (1976) and The Beverly Hillbillies (1993).$25
9:45PM Sharon McNight Sharon McNight made her Broadway debut in 1989 in Starmites, creating the role of Diva. She received a Tony Award nomination as "Best Leading Actress in a Musical" for her performance, and is the recipient of the coveted Theatre World Award for "Outstanding Broadway Debut" which waspresented to her by Carol Channing. New York Magazine's John Simon said "Sharon McNight is a winner" and Al Hirschfeld did a caricature of her. Her current project is "Betty, Betty, Bette" , celebrating the screen legends Grable, Hutton and Davis. She has six solo recordings to her credit. The most recent is "Offensive Too, Volume Two" which is the second CD of "Songs To Offend Almost Everyone", a throwback to the party records of the 50's. In contrast is "The Sophie Tucker Songbook", which contains the music of the one- woman show based the show business legend. "The Sophie Tucker Songbook" debuted at New York's Rainbow & Stars as part of an ASCAP Sunday night showcase March ‘96. Since then, she developed it into a one-woman musical, Red Hot Mama, which was workshopped at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts and Lucille Lortell's White Barn Theatre, and has finished a successful three month run Off-Broadway at the York Theatre. The Singer/Comedienne's regional credits include Amanda McBroom's Heartbeats at the Pasadena Playhouse, and an award winning Dolly in Hello Dolly at the Peninsula Civic Light Opera (a role she repeated in her hometown, Modesto). Sharon was Sister Hubert in Nunsense in Los Angeles and San Francisco, where she received the Bay Area Critics Circle Award for "Best Performance in a Musical". She is the narrator of the documentary, "There That Night," the story of the Provincetown, Massachusetts fire, and was featured in the recent A & E documentary, "It's Burlesque", for her research on Mae West and Sophie Tucker. She is a master teacher on the faculty of the Yale Cabaret Symposium. In San Francisco, she plays The Plush Room, Great American Music Hall, and anywhere else the check doesn't bounce. She has played from the Moose Hall to Carnegie Hall, from Los Angeles to Berlin. She has won six San Francisco Cabaret Gold awards, 3 Cable Car Awards, a MAC award, a Bistro award, and received a Nightlife award from New York's critics for her Best Musical Comedy show, "Ladies Compose Yourselves!" Her eclectic repertory ranges from blues to country to good old fashioned entertainment. The Los Angeles Times called her "one of the great wonders of the musical stage." She is most noted for her movie reenactment of The Wizard of OZ and for being one of the few real women to impersonate Bette Davis. Ms. McNight received her Masters of Arts degree in direction from San Francisco State College in nineteen none of your business. As an only child, her parents kept her busy with all kinds of lessons: ballet, tap, hula, social dancing, flute and piano. She is single and resides in Hollywood, but "lives" in San Francisco. She has been in the forefront in the fight against AIDS since the early eighties, and was featured in Randy Shilt's book, And The Band Played On. She was chosen twice as the honorary chair of the San Francisco AIDS Emergency Fund, and was one of two heterosexual women chosen as the Grand Marshall of San Francisco's Gay Day Parade. She says the greatest day of her life was the day she quit smoking. $20

3/16 9:30PM Annie Ross $25

3/17 7:30PM Joe Bachana It's the 1940's, WW II is over and a new era in the United States begins. 38 year old recent veteran Bernie Bierman - a New York attorney - decides to try his hand at composing and writing lyrics. During a period of seven years, Bernie - alongside his partner Jack Manus - wrote dozens of songs on Tin Pan Alley that made the top of the Hit Parade charts. His songs have been sung by Big Band greats like Don Cherry, Frankie Laine, Eddy Howard, Sammy Kaye Harry James, Billy Eckstine, and even Frank Sinatra. While Jack Manus is no longer with us, Bernie Bierman is alive and well at the ripe old age of 101.5, making him one of the last surviving lyricists/composers of the 1940's American Songbook! For three Wednesdays this March, consummate host and singer Joe Bachana brings back a glamorous night of lush music from that vibrant period in American history.The band features the immense talents of Barry Levitt at the piano, Jeff Carney on bass, Brian Grice at the drums, Jack Cavari on guitar and Bob Magnuson on Sax and woodwinds. The evening will also guest star the divine Valerie diLorenzo.$20

3/18 7:30PM Gay Marshall Gay Marshall is bringing her sensational Piaf concert back to the Metropolitan Room for a 5 show run - the last three Tuesdays in Sept at 7:00 and the first two Thursdays in Oct at 7:30 - with the same masterful musicians as last fall : Eric Svejcar on piano, Steve Gilewski on bass, Deni Bonet on violin, Bill Schimmel on accordion, and Peter Lewy on Cello. Although she's had a blues and jazz band, done many American musicals and loves singing almost every style of music, this material along with the songs of Jacques Brel has remained her favorite. The show features the usual suspects a la "Vie En Rose" to "No Regrets", but also includes some lesser known gems like "The Right to Love" and "Avec Ce Soleil". To heighten their availability to an English speaking audience, she will be performing an original mix of French and English in many of the numbers that incorporates existing translations plus her own adaptations. The joy and heartbreak of these timeless tunes is an emotional roller coaster guaranteed to go straight to your heart. Gay Marshall made her Broadway debut as DiAna Morales in A Chorus Line.Her one woman show "Piaf : La Vie l'Amour" played in the States and took her to Paris where she played Grizabella in the original French production of "Cats". Living in Europe inspired her to write "If I Were Me", a comedy that she performed in Paris and took to the Edinburgh Festival where it was voted #2 on the Fringe. Most recently here in the States, she did "Jacques Brel" at Capital Rep, Denise in both Goodspeed, the York Theater and Paper Mill's productions of "The Baker's Wife" and the Off Broadway production of "Jacques Brel" during which she received a nomination for the Drama League's "Distinguished Performance Award", and named a "Top Ten Divas" by Playbill. Her CD of Piaf is available on CDBaby.com. Check out www.gaymarshall.com for more info. $25
9:45PM Ariana Savalas Ariana Savalas, the daughter of Telly Savalas and Julie Hovland Savalas has performed in Vienna to crowds of tens of thousands, and was featured on all of the top Austrian television entertainment shows with audiences totaling over five million people. She has recently hit the Los Angeles jazz scene singing standards and headlining sold out shows at such nightclubs as Herb Alpert's Vibrato and Tom Rolla's Gardenia. She writes her own songs, is a self-taught pianist, and dances everyday. Ariana will perform timeless selections from the Great American Songbook, including the songs of George Gershwin, Leiber & Stoller, The Beatles and more... $20

3/19 7:30PM Nicole Hernry Her latest CD "The Very Thought of You," just reached #7 on U.S. Billboard's Top Jazz Chart. With three international TOP 10-selling CDs in the last five years, and a list of international performances, young Nicole Henry's pure and soulful voice continues to inspire and touch hearts worldwide. Her live concerts are captivating, combining elegance and conversational, intelligent wit that not only leaves you truly entertained, but connected to something of greater beauty. Performing the Great American Songbook, love songs, and originals, Henry's voice adds new life and richer meaning to the lyrics she sings. Nicole Henry is simply one of the finest vocalists to emerge this decade! $30
9:45PM Sharon McNight Sharon McNight made her Broadway debut in 1989 in Starmites, creating the role of Diva. She received a Tony Award nomination as "Best Leading Actress in a Musical" for her performance, and is the recipient of the coveted Theatre World Award for "Outstanding Broadway Debut" which waspresented to her by Carol Channing. New York Magazine's John Simon said "Sharon McNight is a winner" and Al Hirschfeld did a caricature of her. Her current project is "Betty, Betty, Bette" , celebrating the screen legends Grable, Hutton and Davis. She has six solo recordings to her credit. The most recent is "Offensive Too, Volume Two" which is the second CD of "Songs To Offend Almost Everyone", a throwback to the party records of the 50's. In contrast is "The Sophie Tucker Songbook", which contains the music of the one- woman show based the show business legend. "The Sophie Tucker Songbook" debuted at New York's Rainbow & Stars as part of an ASCAP Sunday night showcase March ‘96. Since then, she developed it into a one-woman musical, Red Hot Mama, which was workshopped at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts and Lucille Lortell's White Barn Theatre, and has finished a successful three month run Off-Broadway at the York Theatre. The Singer/Comedienne's regional credits include Amanda McBroom's Heartbeats at the Pasadena Playhouse, and an award winning Dolly in Hello Dolly at the Peninsula Civic Light Opera (a role she repeated in her hometown, Modesto). Sharon was Sister Hubert in Nunsense in Los Angeles and San Francisco, where she received the Bay Area Critics Circle Award for "Best Performance in a Musical". She is the narrator of the documentary, "There That Night," the story of the Provincetown, Massachusetts fire, and was featured in the recent A & E documentary, "It's Burlesque", for her research on Mae West and Sophie Tucker. She is a master teacher on the faculty of the Yale Cabaret Symposium. In San Francisco, she plays The Plush Room, Great American Music Hall, and anywhere else the check doesn't bounce. She has played from the Moose Hall to Carnegie Hall, from Los Angeles to Berlin. She has won six San Francisco Cabaret Gold awards, 3 Cable Car Awards, a MAC award, a Bistro award, and received a Nightlife award from New York's critics for her Best Musical Comedy show, "Ladies Compose Yourselves!" Her eclectic repertory ranges from blues to country to good old fashioned entertainment. The Los Angeles Times called her "one of the great wonders of the musical stage." She is most noted for her movie reenactment of The Wizard of OZ and for being one of the few real women to impersonate Bette Davis. Ms. McNight received her Masters of Arts degree in direction from San Francisco State College in nineteen none of your business. As an only child, her parents kept her busy with all kinds of lessons: ballet, tap, hula, social dancing, flute and piano. She is single and resides in Hollywood, but "lives" in San Francisco. She has been in the forefront

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