Here are the winners of the 2008 Back Stage Bistro Awards for Outstanding
Excellence in Cabaret as announced in today's special CABARET issue
of BACK STAGE (http://www.backstage.com/
):
VOCALIST: Bryan Batt at the Metropolitan Room; Marianne
Challis at the Metropolitan Room; Stacy Sullivan at the Metropolitan
Room.
DEBUT: Jonathan Whitton at the Triad, the Duplex,
and the Laurie Beechman Theatre at the West Bank Cafe.
MAJOR ENGAGEMENT: Tony DeSare at the Oak Room at
the Algonquin.
MUSICAL COMEDY PERFORMER: Christine Pedi at the
Metropolitan Room.
SONG & DANCE MAN: Jeffry Denman at Birdland.
UNIQUE ARTIST: Bree Benton (Poor Baby Bree) at Don't
Tell Mama.
CHARACTERIZATION: Arnaldo! at the Duplex.
MUSICAL DUO: Pinky Winters and Sir Richard Rodney
Bennett at the Metropolitan Room.
REVUE: When the Lights Go On Again, conceived, written,
and directed by Bill Daugherty, produced by Max Weintraub, at
the Triad.
THEME SHOW: Lavender Songs: Queer Berlin Cabaret
from Weimar to Hitler, adapted and performed by Jeremy Lawrence,
directed by Jason Jacobs, at the Duplex, based on an evening created
by Alan Lareau; and BABALU-CY!--The Art of Desi Arnaz, conceived
and performed by Greg Purnhagen, written by Purnhagen with director
Leonard Peters, and musical direction by David Cook, at the Metropolitan
Room.
MUSICAL COMEDY NUMBER: "Fagnet," lyric by Melanie
Adelman and Ellie Dvorkin; music by Noah Diamond and Amanda Sisk,
performed by Adelman and Dvorkin in Mel & El: This Show Rhymes
at the Laurie Beechman Theatre at the West Bank Cafe and at the
Duplex.
SPECIAL MUSICAL MATERIAL: "I'm Not Doing My Cabaret,"
lyric by and performed by Jason Graae, at Birdland.
SPECIAL EVENT: "Kabarett Fete," produced by Karen
and Rob Kohler at Helen's, which served up an uncommonly rich
and varied smorgasbord of European song and cabaret.
RECORDING: Linda Kosut for "Long As You're Living:
The Songs & Poetry of Oscar Brown Jr."
SPECIAL AWARD: to Bart Greenberg for helping to
develop new audiences for cabaret through his creative programming
of the "Any Wednesdays" series at Barnes & Noble;and to Ronny
Whyte for bringing renewed energy as producer to the weekly "Midtown
Jazz at Midday" series at St. Peter's.
IRA EAKER SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: Named for the
co-founder of Back Stage and a nightclub enthusiast, the award
goes to an outstanding performer on the rise, Gabrielle Stravelli.
BOB HARRINGTON LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: Marilyn
Maye.
The Bistro Awards gala evening will be held on Mon.,
April 7 at GOTHAM COMEDY CLUB (208 West 23rd Street, NYC - 212-367-9000
- http://www.gothamcomedyclub.com/
). Details on purchasing tickets can be found in Back Stage, or
by emailing bistros@bistros.com.
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