Photo Coverage: Opening Night of Urban Stages Winter Rhythms Features Homage to ANY WEDNESDAY Cabaret Series
Dec. 03, 2015
Photo Essay by Lou Montesano / Copy and Captions by Stephen Hanks
Urban Stages Founder and Artistic Director Frances Hill and Producer Peter Napolitano last night officially launched the 2015 "Winter Rhythms," a 20-shows-in 11-days festival featuring more than 100 star cabaret performers and musicians. The opening night show was ANY WEDNESDAY SINGS AGAIN, an homage to the old cabaret series favorite, ANY WEDNESDAY, which was a popular CD release concert series from June 2005 (the first show featured Ann Hampton Callaway) to late 2011 and was staged at Tower Records and then Barnes & Noble at Lincoln Center.
Producer and host Bart Greenberg, the key player in the former series, welcomed a combination of former ANY WEDNESDAY performers--KT Sullivan, Jeff Harnar, Natalie Douglas, Barbara Fasano, Karen Oberlin, Cynthia Crane and Daryl Sherman--and a couple of newcomers in Gary Crawford and Julian Yeo. The great Billy Stritch served as Musical Director, while Jon Weber (playing piano for Sullivan and Harnar on their Stephen Sondheim duets) and Barry Levitt (playing piano for Gary Crawford) were also on hand for more musical might.
The Urban Stages Winter Rhythms Festival runs through December 13. For calendar, tickets and reservations, go here. Proceeds benefit the Urban Stages Arts & Education programs. Urban Stages is located at 259 West 30th Street (between 7th and 8th Avenues).
Jeff Harnar and KT are side by side on Sondheim songs.
KT Sullivan singing Sondheim's "Another Hundred People"
Four-time 2015 BroadwayWorld New York Cabaret Award Nominee Jeff Harnar sings Sondheim.
Jon Weber, Musical Director for the KT Sullivan and Jeff Harnar Stephen Sondheim Tribute Shows,
at the piano for KT and Jeff.
Daryl Sherman took to the piano and channeled the late Blossom Dearie
on Johnny Mercer's "I'm Shadowing You."
Nobody dozes off when Natalie Douglas sings a song like "Sleepy Man."
Julian Yeo couldn't give the audience anything but love, baby.
Everybody knows Karen Oberlin's name now and she was her seasonal best on "Autumn In New York" and Larry Kerchner's "Winter In Manhattan."
Barbara Fasano (sans Eric Comstock for this show) performed lovely renditions of "How Little We Know" and "But Beautiful."
The "Maestro" Barry Levitt accompanied Gary Crawford.
Gary Crawford rocked on the Barry Levitt/Peter Napolitano song "Thunderbolt."
Cabaret veteran Cynthia Crane charmed the Urban Stages audience with a cute "Jose Cuevo" and a contemporary parody of Cole Porter's "Anything Goes."
Billy Stritch was languid on a timely version of "What Are You Doing On New Year's Eve?"
Bart Greenberg Produced and Hosted the All-Star reunion of "Any Wednesday," the popular CD release concert series at the former Lincoln Center locations of Tower Records and Barnes & Nobel between 2005-20011.
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