NY Cabaret Convention

More cabaret news on the National front. This from Stuart Hamstra and open to any of us that have a flexible schedule that can accommodate travel plans to the Big Apple. It is the 24th annual Cabaret Convention Oct 7-10th; presented by the Mabel Mercer Foundation and taking place at Lincoln Center Jazz.

An amazing roster of over 60 artists will be featured over the festival. Highlights that grab me include the opening gala hosted by KT Sullivan who is also the president of the above Mabel Mercer Foundation. "Come Fly With Me" celebrating the music of Sammy Cahn and Jimmy VanHeusen will be on the eve of Oct 8th with Jack Jones and Billy Stritch just a few of the singers sharing the stage. Oct 9th features my personal favorite Rodgers & Hart "Falling In Love With Love" hosted by diva Andrea Marcovicci with a slate of singers including Liz Callaway for starters. Just the tip of the incredible iceberg to take in. Grab a plane and buy a ticket.

Here is a link to their website:
Mabel Mercer Foundation

the Gershwins in Hollywood

For those of you that are music history buffs - a new twist on the cabaret genre. This coming from Charles Troy in Chicago. He is a graphic designer and former theater lyricist. Over the last ten years, he has combined his skills and passion to develop more than 50 seamless multimedia presentations on musical theater/ Great American Songbook subjects, combining scans, original graphics, edited audio tracks and video clips, coordinated with a scripted narrative that weaves all the pertinent events into a dramatic tale. 

The Gershwins in Hollywood is his latest "creation" which tells the story of George Gershwin’s life and his tragic last year through the timeless songs he and Ira wrote for Shall We Dance, A Damsel in Distress and The Goldwyn Follies. He showcases them in theater presentations, predominantly in his home area at the Skokie Theater.

Other offerings are the Creation of some of the great musicals like South Pacific or Annie Get Your Gun. Or great composer series on Cole Porter, Cohan, Richard Rodgers..... Sounds like a great Education project connected to great music. Check out his website 
www.charlestroy.com

November showcase

This is a premiere shout out to our own November showcase, now in its "incubation" stage. The annual showcase is a chance for us to up the bar and present a really polished piece that is part theater and also true to our cabaret genre.

We have decided on the title "Keepin' In Touch" and it will be returning to Bryant Lake Bowl where we had great success with last year's Women: A Broad View. It will be on a Sunday evening, Nov. 17th @ 7 PM. Full details and press release will eventually come but I wanted to make an official proclamation for any of our Blog regulars.

The premise is to use our songs and stories to stitch together an evening that looks at multiple threads on the concept. It might be pieces about travel and sending home a postcard. It might be about phone messages and letters from old friends. It might be about ending a troubled relationship on a good note with a tinge of regret. We will feature a cast of eight: Janet Skidmore, Barbara Meyer, Timm Holmly, Jen Eckes, Rhonda Laurie, Dean Elwell, Connie Dussl, Jonathan Peterson and directed by our own Joey Babay & Tom Linker. Please plan on being there for it.

New Theater Season

With the onset of our own Ivey's, it seems it is the unofficial end of one theater season and the beginning of another. I apologize if I lean too heavily on the theater side, but it seems that theater still provides a huge part of the cabaret material we draw on. So it is with some anticipation that I am sharing some of the projects coming to fruition in the coming year with hopes that there are new creative possibilities for us to enjoy and share.

I can't say I will be first in line to see the new import opera production of Anna Nichole, but it has some pretty good pedigree combining the forces of the NYC Opera & the Brooklyn Academy of Music. The juke-box musical is alive and well - this time featuring Carole King; Beautiful. I am not a huge Pinter fan but the husband/wife team of Daniel Craig & Rachel Weisz promises major star power under the direction of none other than Mike Nichols. The Glass Menagerie is already generating buzz with Zachary Quinto opposite Cherry Jones. But I am most excited about Big Fish as a musical helmed by Susan Stroman with Norman Leo Butz. Check out the full feature below.

Flavorwire: Fall Theater Productions