SHOWCASE KICKS OFF MONTH-LONG CELEBRATION OF CABARET

Boston - WBZ-TV's Scott Wahle will make a special appearance with local performers in a gala talent showcase as the arts community kicks off a month-long celebration of cabaret.

On Monday, February 25th, the Boston Association of Cabaret Artists (BACA) will present a night of cabaret revelry, which will feature an exciting sampling of Boston-area cabaret entertainers performing between February 26th and April 7th. "Celebrate Cabaret!" will take place at the STUART STREET PLAYHOUSE LOBBY in the Radisson Hotel (200 Stuart Street, Boston, MA). The program begins at 7 pm. Channel Four morning co-anchor Wahle, a singer and cabaret enthusiast, will join in the festivities.

"Celebrate Cabaret!" marks the beginning of "March is Cabaret Month" - a time for singers & audiences across the country to recognize this uniquely personal art form. Special tributes have been organized in New York, Washington DC, Chicago and other cities where cabaret has become a significant part of the music scene.

In Boston and across the state this month, performers are making great efforts to bring the very best cabaret to their faithful audiences. And with good reason, according to BACA President and veteran cabaret performer Brian De Lorenzo, for it is the audience that brings out the magical element in each performance.

"The audience is vital to any cabaret act," De Lorenzo explained. "To cabaret singers, the audience is as integral to the show as the musicians, the microphone and the music. Spectators enhance the connection between the singer and the sentiment."

During the past year, area audiences have been treated to a new standard of quality cabaret, with such diverse cabaret acts as: "Simply Symposium" featuring local graduates of the O'Neill Cabaret Symposium; Boston songstress Erica Leopold's "This Is Romance?" show in May; Krisanthi Pappas' opening for Branford Marsalis in the MetroSouth Jazz Festival; and Ben Sears, Brad Conner, Valerie Anastasio and Tim Harbold in the aptly titled: "Fred & Ethel: Great Songs of Astaire and Merman."

As if that weren't enough, cabaret audiences came out to see perennial favorites Maureen McGovern, Patti LuPone, Ann Hampton Callaway and Rita Moreno as well as many others who passed through town this year.

New venues have brought the music and the magic to areas outside of Boston as well. From the tip of Cape Cod to Newburyport and Sturbridge, area theatres, restaurants and clubs have welcomed cabaret singers and audiences with open arms. John O'Neil's "Cabaretfest!" and the nomads of At Last! Productions have crisscrossed the state with their popular shows. STONEHAM THEATRE (395 Main Street, Stoneham, MA - 781-279-2200) recently began booking cabaret talent and is in the midst of a jazz/cabaret series including locals Carol Sloane and Rebecca Parris. THE SUPPER CLUB at STEFANO'S (395 Grafton Street, Worcester, MA - 508-752-6660) in Worcester has enjoyed tremendous success in recent months since Valerie Sneade began producing the likes of Carol O'Shaughnessy and Julie Reyburn.

Cabaret is also thriving in the MetroWest area. The Center for the Arts in Natick has been presenting a regular series of "Cabaret Open Mike" nights featuring BACA regulars Mary Scarlata-Rowe and Will McMillan, among others. The Natick Arts nights together with BACA-sponsored Open Mike Nights in Cambridge have become popular with singers "testing the waters" of cabaret-style singing. "We like to offer opportunities for people who might be new to cabaret to try their hand at this genre," De Lorenzo said.

Local performers are beginning to receive national recognition as well. Last October, Brian De Lorenzo performed for an audience of 1500 at New York's Town Hall Theatre at the 12th Annual Mabel Mercer Cabaret Convention, a week-long cabaret festival. This March, De Lorenzo will perform at the very first Chicago Cabaret Convention, also produced by the Mabel Mercer Foundation. These festivals, as well as festivals in San Francisco and London feature national and international talent.

Ending this year's Cabaret Month performances on April 7th will be the first Boston Cabaret Festival at SCULLERS JAZZ CLUB (400 Soldiers Field Road, Allston, MA - 617-562-4111) featuring ten of Boston's most well known cabaret performers.

The closely-knit Boston cabaret community continues to welcome new talent and strives to educate and inspire all those who have an affinity for the art. In an industry thought by outsiders to be catty and competitive, BACA members truly support each other.

"BACA is, at its core, a resource for performers," De Lorenzo said. "We depend on each other."

For more information regarding "March is Cabaret Month," becoming a BACA member or any of the upcoming shows, log on to the BACA website at http://www.bostoncabaret.org/.

The Boston Association of Cabaret Artists promotes public awareness of cabaret and provides advocacy and support to cabaret artists and audiences in the greater Boston area. Founded in 1995, BACA has grown from a fledgling support group into a vital and active organization of over 125 members, led by a board of nine volunteers. BACA provides a forum for information exchange about performances and workshops, concert venues, music resources and collaborators such as accompanists and directors. BACA also advocates for further development of audiences, venues and performance opportunities for cabaret artists.

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