Sure, you’ve got the Tonys, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle awards to honor theater, but what about cabaret, jazz, stand-up comedy and other staples of New York nightlife? The MAC Awards do their bit for cabaret, but it’s the Bistro Awards, now in their 29th year, that celebrate the wider scope of nightclub entertainment.

Sherry Eaker, who, for three decades, ran a publication her father co-founded – a little newspaper called “Backstage” – is the producer of the Bistros, which will take place at Gotham Comedy Club this Tuesday, March 4th. Actor-singer-dancer Ben Vereen (a Tony winner for "Pippin") is the main honoree, being graced with a Bob Harrington Lifetime Achievement Award. Other winners include vocalist Jillian Laurain, Anita Gillette, Tanya Moberley, WBFO Radio (for their jazz programming), and entertainer Robert Creighton.

Jeff Harnar will emcee the March 4 event, which was conceived by the aforementioned Bob Harrington, who started offering verbal “awards” in his weekly Bistro Bits column in Backstage back in 1985. The awards became an actual ceremony in 1990 and moved to Gotham Comedy Club seven years ago.

Please note: Bistros Producer Sherry Eaker will be a guest on my radio show, Dave’s Gone By, this Saturday (March 1), and Ben Vereen is scheduled for March 29. You can listen live online (Saturdays, 11am-2pm, Eastern) at uncradio.com or hear the archives at www.davesgoneby.com.