Billie Roe News

I was just a little more than a year into my new side career as a cabaret show reviewer when I first saw a Karen Oberlin show. It was Valentine's Day night 2012 and Oberlin—with guitarist Sean Harkness and guest violinist Aaron Weinstein—would be performing her romance-laced set, Stringing Along With Love, at the Metropolitan Room. At the time, all I knew about Oberlin was that she was considered among New York's best female cabaret singers, and I hadn't researched her performing history pre-show. About a third of the way into her set I leaned over to my wife (it was Valentine's Day after all) and whispered, “You know, she has a real Doris Day quality in her voice and in the way she delivers some lyrics.” This immediately ratcheted up my appreciation for Oberlin since there are four passions I inherited from my Dad—baseball, reading the morning papers, sports writing and Doris Day (well, also Sophia Loren, but that's for another column). Since Dad had grown up during the prime of the Big Band Era of the 1940s, I heard the sultry sounds of a young Doris Day singing songs like “Sentimental Journey” on the family stereo more than a few times. Once I saw Day's strikingly adorable blondness on a record cover and her rocking body in one of her films, I knew what Dad was talking about. As popular, famous, and near iconic as Doris Day became, in my book, as a singer and screen beauty she's always been vastly underrated. Little did I know that Karen Oberlin had been doing a Doris Day tribute show so since 2001 at places like Firebird, Iridium, and the late Danny's Skylight Room, and produced a CD, Secret Love: The Music of Doris Day, in 2002. Karen Oberlin had instantly become my secret love.

Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs (MAC), dedicated to advancing the art and business of live entertainment, held their 28th Annual MAC Awards celebration last evening at BB King's Blues club in Times Square. Winners in twenty-five categories were announced. The show was hosted by the vivacious singer, band leader, multiple MAC Award winner and 2014 Nominee, Terese Genecco. The gala was produced by Julie Miller and directed by Lennie Watts, the current MAC President. Don Rebic served as Musical Director. Presenters included Will Friedwald of the Wall Street Journal and designer Bob Mackie. CLICK HERE for a full list of winners.

Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs (MAC), dedicated to advancing the art and business of live entertainment, held their 28th Annual MAC Awards celebration last evening at BB King's Blues club in Times Square. Winners in twenty-five categories were announced. The show was hosted by the vivacious singer, band leader, multiple MAC Award winner and 2014 Nominee, Terese Genecco. The gala was produced by Julie Miller and directed by Lennie Watts, the current MAC President. Don Rebic served as Musical Director. Presenters included Will Friedwald of the Wall Street Journal and designer Bob Mackie. CLICK HERE for a full list of winners.

Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs (MAC), dedicated to advancing the art and business of live entertainment, held their 28th Annual MAC Awards celebration last evening at BB King's Blues club in Times Square. Winners in twenty-five categories were announced. The show was hosted by the vivacious singer, band leader, multiple MAC Award winner and 2014 Nominee, Terese Genecco. The gala was produced by Julie Miller and directed by Lennie Watts, the current MAC President. Don Rebic served as Musical Director. Presenters included Will Friedwald of the Wall Street Journal and designer Bob Mackie.

Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs (MAC), dedicated to advancing the art and business of live entertainment, held their 28th Annual MAC Awards celebration last evening at BB King's Blues club in Times Square. Winners in twenty-five categories were announced. The show was hosted by the vivacious singer, band leader, multiple MAC Award winner and 2014 Nominee, Terese Genecco. The gala was produced by Julie Miller and directed by Lennie Watts, the current MAC President. Don Rebic served as Musical Director. Presenters included Will Friedwald of the Wall Street Journal and designer Bob Mackie. CLICK HERE for a full list of winners.

Last month, BroadwayWorld was privileged to present not one, but two exceptional entertainment experiences to continue the year-long celebration of our 10th anniversary begun with the simply spectacular BROADWAYWORLD.COM VISITS OZ in January, first with the 2013 BroadwayWorld Cabaret Awards on Sunday, February 23, and next with FLY: A TRIBUTE TO DAMON INTRABARTOLO on Monday, February 24. Today we recount the Cabaret Awards.

The 29th Annual Bistro Awards gala, set to take place tonight, March 4, has announced two new presenters. Stephen Schwartz, the Oscar, Tony, Grammy, and Golden Globe-winning composer/lyricist, who wrote the scores to such musicals as Pippin, Wicked, Godspell, and The Magic Show, will present Ben Vereen, the Tony Award-winning actor-singer-dancer, with the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs (MAC), dedicated to advancing the art and business of live entertainment, has announced the nominees for the 2014 MAC Awards. Winners in twenty-five categories will be voted by the MAC membership by anonymous ballot and announced at the MAC Awards Gala on March 27th at BB King's Blue Club in Times Square at: 237 W. 42 St between 7th and 8th Avenues. Tickets start at $50.00. For additional information on MAC, to become a member, or to order tickets to the event, visit: http://macnyc.com.

On Sunday February 23 at Joe's Pub, BroadwayWorld.com celebrated the best New York cabaret performers, performances and shows during 2013 as voted on by more than 7,500 fans at the end of last year. With BroadwayWorld's lead New York cabaret columnist and reviewer Stephen Hanks as the host, many of the Award winners appeared to perform, and as you'll see in these videos they put on an amazingly entertaining show.

Just last night, February 23, BroadwayWorld celebrated the Best in Cabaret for 2013 at Joe's Pub. The star-studded event was hosted by BroadwayWorld.com's lead cabaret columnist and reviewer Stephen Hanks for the second successive year, with BroadwayWorld Award Best Musical Director nominee Bill Zeffiro as the show's Musical Director/Pianist and Jon Burr on bass. We are excited to bring you more photos from inside the big event below. Click here to check out Part One!

Just last night, February 23, BroadwayWorld celebrated the Best in Cabaret for 2013 at Joe's Pub. The star-studded event was hosted by BroadwayWorld.com's lead cabaret columnist and reviewer Stephen Hanks for the second successive year, with BroadwayWorld Award Best Musical Director nominee Bill Zeffiro as the show's Musical Director/Pianist and Jon Burr on bass. We are excited to bring you photos from inside the big event below. Be sure to check back later for complete coverage!

The 29th Annual Bistro Awards gala, set to take place on Tuesday, March 4, has announced two new presenters. Stephen Schwartz, the Oscar, Tony, Grammy, and Golden Globe-winning composer/lyricist, who wrote the scores to such musicals as Pippin, Wicked, Godspell, and The Magic Show, will present Ben Vereen, the Tony Award-winning actor-singer-dancer, with the Lifetime Achievement Award. And Dee Dee Bridgewater, who recently starred as Billie Holiday in the acclaimed Off-Broadway play 'Lady Day' and who can be listened to twice weekly in her own programs on the all-jazz nonprofit radio station WBGO, will present Amy Niles, acting president and CEO of the Newark-based station, with its award.

With just over a week to go before the star-studded BroadwayWorld Awards Show to celebrate the Best in Cabaret for 2013, reservations for this event at Joe's Pub on February 23 are going fast. Tickets for what should be an exciting night of cabaret will be $35 and $25 with a $12 food minimum or two-drink minimum per person. (Reservations are now made when tickets are purchased; it is no longer necessary to call Joe's Pub for reservations.) We recommend arriving no later than 30 minutes before show time. http://tickets.joespub.com/production/?perf=23792

The star-studded list of Broadway stars and A-list cabaret performers keeps growing for the 2013 BroadwayWorld New York Cabaret Awards Show, to be staged at Joe's Pub (425 Lafayette Street near Astor Place in Manhattan) on February 23 from 6:30-8:40 pm. Added to a stellar group that includes Ann Hampton Callaway, Liz Callaway, Terri White, Jane Monheit and Jason Robert Brown, are Tony Award Winner (now also a cabaret performer) Alice Ripley (photo left), who will perform representing Sondheim Unplugged at 54 Below, which won the BWW Cabaret Award for Best Variety Show or Recurring Series. Broadway favorite Jackie Hoffman (Hairspray, Xanadu, Adams Family) will appear to perform and accept her BWW Award for Best Musical Comedy Performance for her show at 54 Below.

The Tony Award-winning actor-singer-dancer Ben Vereen, who has appeared in numerous shows on Broadway and in his own one-man shows around the country, will be honored, along with 17 others, at the 29th Annual Bistro Awards gala, which recognizes outstanding achievement in New York cabaret, jazz, and comedy. The celebration will take place on Tuesday, March 4 at Gotham Comedy Club, 208 W. 23rd St. (between 7th & 8th avenues).

Laura Benanti, Terri White, Jane Monheit, Jason Robert Brown, and the Callaway Sisters Among First Wave of Performers Slated for BroadwayWorld Awards NY Cabaret Show, 2/23

It's finally official. After more than a month of voting--following a month-long nomination process--approximately 7,000 voters have selected the winners of the BroadwayWorld.com New York Cabaret Awards for 2013. Self-proclaimed cabaret “Diva” Ann Hampton Callaway and her Broadway baby sister Liz Callaway are either the principals or connected to four awards out of this year's 18 categories, including “Best Duo or Group Show” for the return after 18 years of their critically-acclaimed sister act Sibling Revelry, and “Best Tribute Show” to Ann for her exciting homage to Sarah Vaughan, From Sassy to Divine. Ann's musicians for her Sarah Vaughan show at Dizzy's Jazz Club at Lincoln Center took the Award for “Best Band or Orchestra,” and Alex Rybeck received the most votes as “Best Musical Director” for Sibling Revelry, which was staged in August at 54 Below.

Voting is now underway for Cabaret! We have a record number of votes in already, but if you haven't voted yet, click here to vote! If you have voted already, tell your friends.

Last December, after I posted my list of the Best Cabaret Performers of 2012, I followed up my original 'listmania' with a column that served as a way to include some 'honorable mentions,' basically a recognition of other memorable shows and performances of songs that were striking, unique, and/or original that year. The column received a positive response so I thought I'd wheel it out again this year. So as the hours tick away on 2013 and we anticipate the coming of a new year, here is an addendum to the 2013 New York Cabaret Performers of the Year--a totally random list of 30 Honorable Mentions of the 'Best' and 'Most' in Cabaret for 2013 . . . mainly because I can and it's fun. Enjoy and Happy New Year!

Voting is now underway for Cabaret! We have a record number of votes in already, but if you haven't voted yet, click here to vote! If you have voted already, tell your friends.