In “Imagine Dat!” at Stage 72, Jon Freda pays an affectionate and deserved biographical tribute to 20th century showbiz icon Jimmy Durante. Freda also wrote this one-man-show-with-music and co-produced it with its director, Eren T. Gibson. The 70-min …Read more

Setting aside the once-ubiquitous novelty hit “Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh (A Letter from Camp),” I had only dim memories of mid-20th-century song parodist Allan Sherman (1924-73). But after seeing “Billy Ehrlacher: Is He Here Again?” at Don’t Tell Ma …Read more

He seems a most mild-mannered, unassuming gentleman. Yet when Ben Cassara seated himself center stage for a one-off appearance at Cafe Noctambulo recently, he commanded attention. Cassara’s singing has an almost conversational quality at times. He cl …Read more

An evening of the songs of Nicholas Levin was long overdue, so the new revue “Somewhere in This Song” at the Metropolitan Room is a cause for celebration. Surveying the scene of contemporary songwriters, one finds some who may have something to say, …Read more

A recent one-nighter at 54 Below brought Australian performer (and a Bistro Award winner in 2001 and 2002) Kane Alexander back to Manhattan. He’d first appeared in the city a decade and a half ago. An appealing performer with bright eyes and a friend …Read more

Singer Shepley Metcalf and her musical director and pianist Ron Roy are like coffee with cream, and sometimes champagne and caviar, in their new show Going Places at the Metropolitan Room.  The magnificent musicianship and innovative song choices of …Read more

In Dark Blue-Eyed Blues the extraordinary Betty Buckley presents a collection of songs, old and new, meant to evoke the chanteuses she grew up listening to and loving. The eclectic  selection includes show tunes like “This Nearly was Mine” from South …Read more

I first met Jason Kravits at a party. Well, not exactly… Wait. Let’s back up. I often play catchup on TV programs and movies, sometimes coming to them years after the fanfare has died. For example, the TV show “The Practice” was pretty big in the lat …Read more

Bouncy and brassy, in “Anchors Away!,” her current show at Don’t Tell Mama, Kim Sutton pays a robust tribute to Fleet Week and the United States Navy, in which she served for six years in the mid-1980s. She starts out with a driving, semi-disco “Star …Read more

Kevin Dozier’s recent show at the Metropolitan Room (which will return to the club in November) was called “A New York Romance.” It was a suitable title, I suppose, as Dozier did touch quite a bit on his life in (and love for) New York City. But then …Read more