Julie Reyburn To Revive Award-Winning FATE IS KIND For New York Cabaret's Greatest Hits Series at Metropolitan Room, 9/14

For the first time in 15 years, cabaret star Julie Reyburn brings back her award-winning show, Fate Is Kind, to a New York nightclub stage when she performs the classic at the Metropolitan Room on Monday, September 14 at 7 pm as part of the new monthly series, New York Cabaret's Greatest Hits, produced by Stephen Hanks' Cabaret Life Productions with cabaret supporter Fr. Jeffrey Hamblin, MD as Associate Producer. [Reyburn's show will follow the Series launch on August 26 at 7 pm with Mark Nadler's critically acclaimed Tschaikowsky (And Other Russians), which won a 2003 Bistro Award.] Reyburn and her celebrated Musical Director Mark Janas (Producer of the Award-Winning Open-Mic show Salon) introduced Fate Is Kind in February 2000 at The Singer's Forum as a benefit cabaret for their scholarship program. It then moved to Judy's Chelsea in March 2000 for its official cabaret debut, and the show ran off and on there for most of the year. Fate Is Kind world earn Reyburn MAC and Bistro Awards in 2001 for "Outstanding Female Cabaret Debut." A CD recording of the show was released in the summer of 2000 and generated raves:

"When a cabaret show moves from cabaret room to CD, very often much is lost in the translation. But Julie Reyburn's Fate Is Kind CD, based on a powerful and inspiring debut show in which she revealed all of her many talents, is a studio recording where the excitement and charm of the show is preserved. -- Cabaret Hotline

"Putting Julie Reyburn's CD, Fate Is Kind, into one's CD player is like slipping into your most comfortable clothes, pouring a cup of hot chocolate and reliving your favorite memories of childhood. --Talkin' Broadway

Cabaret Life Productions Producer Stephen Hanks discovered Fate Is Kind in March 2014 when Reyburn performed the show at a church in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. Reviewing for BroadwayWorld.com at the time, Hanks wrote: "The show's title, Fate Is Kind, may sound like it's telegraphing one of those eclectic cabaret sets built on existential self-examination, but it's actually a line in "When You Wish Upon A Star" from Pinocchio. The savvy and creative combination of songs and stories Reyburn features in this show (including reading Kahlil Gibran's prose poem "On Children" from The Prophet, and sections of Margery Williams' children's book classic, The Velveteen Rabbit), not only forces you to flip the pages of your mental scrapbook all the way to early childhood, it also tugs on your heartstrings if you're a parent. Reyburn and her Music Director Mark Janas-with his sensitive and intricate-yet-accessible arrangements, and rich, orchestral piano--have taken fanciful notions of childhood and beautiful pieces of music and crafted them into a magical work of cabaret art."

"It was actually seeing Julie's show last year, as well as catching Karen Oberlin's Doris Day show at Birdland almost two months later, that gave me the idea for launching this New York Cabaret's Greatest Hits series," Hanks says. "I figured there were a lot of cabaret fans out there like me that wanted to see wonderful former shows they've missed or would like to see again."

Reyburn admits that 15 years since the show's debut she will bring a much different perspective to Fate Is Kind. "When I first put this show together I was on a very introspective journey of looking at my life, questioning my path and how I got there; basically trying to make sense of it all," Julie admits. "This show was a way of exploring all that and asking, 'What is real?' Fast-forward to the present, and marriage and parenthood have a way of pulling you into 'real' whether you are ready or not. It's humbling, at times hilarious, and often scary. Singing this show now is a different experience because my husband and children have become my greatest teachers on how to be real."

Julie Reyburn (photo at right with Mark Janas) is a four-time MAC Award-Winner and two-time Bistro Award Winner, who has appeared in many of the top clubs in Manhattan. Her ability to connect to a lyric with unique interpretations has established her as one of New York's celebrated female vocalist. She is the first ever Nightlife Award recipient for "Outstanding Female Vocalist" (2003), and was also a finalist for the award in 2005 and 2009. In 2007, Julie was presented with the coveted Julie Wilson Award from the Mabel Mercer Foundation "in joyful gratitude for the vocal majesty and lyrical interpretation she continually manifests in her classic presentations of the Great Popular Songbook."

Following Reyburn's show in the "Greatest Hits" Series on November 2 at 7 pm will be Maxine Linehan, who recently garnered raves for her 2014 show Beautiful Songs, bringing back her 2009 show, What Would Petula Do: A Tribute to Petula Clark (featuring Music Director Ryan Shirar on piano). And on December 14 (7 pm), cabaret veteran and 2015 MAC Hanson Award Winner Meg Flather offers her passionate show Portraits, which first debuted in 1993. Flather's show will feature Paul Greenwood on piano and John Mettam on guitar.

"With thousands of Cabaret productions in recent decades, I'm thrilled that Stephen Hanks and his Cabaret Life Productions is bringing back some of the best shows to our Metropolitan Room," says Bernie Furshpan, the club's Managing Partner. "What a great idea and brilliant to call it New York Cabaret's Greatest Hits. I can't believe I didn't think of it myself. Bravo, Stephen! "

For 2016, Hanks has already booked a star-studded lineup of performers to present their "Greatest Hits" shows. Each of the 12 classics throughout the year will be on the 13th of the month and begin at 7 pm. (Note: 2016 shows subject to change during the year.)

January: Karen Oberlin-Frank Loesser: Heart and Soul
February: Steve Schalchlin & Jim Brochu-The Last Session
March: Steve Ross-Alan Jay Lerner: I Remember Him Well
April: Rosemary Loar-The Quando Swing
May: Laurie Krauz-25 Years With (Music Director) Daryl Kojak
June: Barbara Porteus-Up On The Roof
July: Jeff Harnar (with Music Director Alex Rybeck)-1959 Broadway Songbook
August: Jeff Macauley-Mwah! The Dinah Shore Show
September: Janice Hall-Grand Illusions: The Music of Marlene Dietrich
October: Susan Winter-Love Rolls On
November: Deb Berman-All In Good Time
December: Ellen Kaye-Ice Wine: Songs for Christmas and Dark Winter Nights

Tickets for New York Cabaret's Greatest Hits shows are $20 ($15 for MAC Members) plus a 2-Drink Minimum. For reservations, call 212-206-0440 or go to www.metropolitanroom.com.

For more information, contact Stephen Hanks, Producer, Cabaret Life Productions, 718-753-1323 or email stephenhanks41@gmail.com

To post a comment, you must register and login.