A
Championship Season (con't)
Broadway at Birdland series kicked off with Linda Lavin
doing two shows on Sept. 3rd and 4th. Their upcoming impressive roster
includes: "I Feel Good: Broadway Celebrates the Music of James Brown,"
Amanda Green, Kate Shindle with Michael John LaChuisa, Nancy Anderson,
Larry O'Keefe, Donna Lynne Champlin, Larry O'Keefe, Sam Davis, Jeffry
Denman, Klea Blackhurst, Jason Graae, Nancy Anderson, Jeremy Shoenfeld,
Sam Harris, Lucie Arnaz, Nancy Anderson, Mo Rocca, The Broadway Boys,
Christine Ebersole and Phyllis Newman. Quite a season.
Speaking
about the new season, I talked to Steve Ross shortly before he opened
his new show after a ten year absence from The Algonquin. He first
opened the room in 1981. Speaking about his return to The Algonquin,
he said, " ... I've always loved the room. For me, it has great memories
of great shows and wonderful artists. I'm thrilled to be back."
Ross, who first gained serious attention as the resident
pianist at Ted Hook's famed celebrity hangouts Backstage and later
Onstage night spots, has become a cabaret icon of the highest order
and is revered by his peers with good reason. Michael Feinstein told
me in an interview awhile back, "On my very first trip to New York
I saw Steve Ross perform. Right then, I knew what I wanted to be in
life. If I could only be half as good as Steve, I'd be happy. He's
just the best."
Few people are able to bring the joie de vrie and sophistication
to the intimate stage that Steve Ross can. "The new show is made up
of some very rare Sondheim songs as well as some more familiar ones.
I mixed them up. And, I've had a blast putting this show together."
The idea for this started with Jeff Harnar who produced a successful
cabaret series last year at The Jermyn Street Theater that Steve was
part of. "Initially, I was thinking about doing a Cole Porter show.
But Jeff's partner suggested Sondheim and I started to think of ideas
and it all started to fall in place. It went over quite well and,
to my relief, the audiences were very pleased." Steve also thinks
there is still a strong audience for cabaret even though times have
changed since he first started, "Just look at how many sold out shows
there are around town. And every year the cabaret convention is sold
out. That says it all."
Cabaret
impresario and former booking manager for Danny's Skylight Room, Don
Schaffer is also optimistic about the future and also believes cabaret
is starting to make a comeback, "There's just so much talent out there
in the clubs today. Since Danny's closed, I've been able to catch
a lot more shows in other rooms and the wealth of talent on the rise
is very impressive."
The popular cabaret rooms at Don't Tell Mama have a
great lineup of new and rising artists including favorite Ron Poole
hosting the popular Poole Party on weekends, Tommy Femia presenting
his "Live With Judy!" shows, D'Arcy Achiziger, Donna Moore and the
very popular ongoing Seth Rudetsky's Broadway Chatterbox Series for
Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS as well as a slew of exciting talents.
MORE
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entire article copyright 2007 by John Hoglund
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