A. Syms

BWW Review: Cabaret Celebrates Sylvia Syms on Night Three of the Mabel Mercer Foundation Cabaret Convention

On the penultimate night of the 2016 Cabaret Convention, presented by the Mabel Mercer Foundation, 11 fantastic cabaret artists---those who are celebrated in the form as well as those who are emerging alike---assembled to salute the late and legendary Sylvia Syms. The evening, hosted by one of Syms' closest confidants, the critic Rex Reed, was brassy, delivered wonderful anecdotes, and was ultimately very moving musically, much like Syms herself. A black and white photograph of Syms, accurately capturing her maternal warmth, hung high inside the Rose Theater at Jazz at Lincoln Center throughout the evening, which was formatted in two distinct segments. Act One was comprised of each performer taking to the stage alone to sing one of Syms' lesser known cabaret staples, or the songs which she "rescued" from obscurity such as those cut from golden age musicals. Act Two saw the performers again take on a Syms staple, but those which were more well-known hits and standards, displaying the full range of Syms' nightclub chops.