The Fifteenth
Annual Cabaret Convention took place at New York City's Town Hall
from October 17th through October 23rd, 2004. The following report
is by Alan Kull.
Monday October 18th saw the opening of the 15th annual
Cabaret Convention. Organized and run by the Mabel Mercer Foundation,
under the direction of Donald Smith, the convention is a weeklong
display of live musical performance, with most of the performers drawn
from the cabaret clubs of New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston
and other cities, and usually the convention will offer performances
by entertainers who have made their name predominately in other entertainment
venues.
During the course of the convention's seven days, over
80 different performers graced the stage at THE TOWN HALL (123 West
43rd Street, NYC - http://www.the-townhall-nyc.org/ ). Generally each
performer is limited to a seven minute set, which usually translates
into two numbers per performer. Some nights are organized with a theme,
with performers offering selections geared toward a central idea,
offering their takes to both standards of the Great American Songbook
as well as contemporary numbers. I tend to think of the convention
as a cabaret sampler, allowing the audience a glimpse of each performer
with the listener free to decide if they want to learn more of the
performer in a future show in a different venue.
This is the 10th year that I have attended the convention.
Due to conflicts, this year I was only able to attend the Monday,
Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday performances. My apologies to any performer
who appeared on the other nights who might be omitted here. Over the
past ten years, I have rarely seen a performer who was not up to par
and deserving of such a showcase. This year I saw only one act which
I felt did not belong, but overall while it was a very solid week
of performance, in many ways it was unspectacular.
Some of the acts are better suited for smaller venues,
some of the acts came unprepared, "phoned in" their performance and
took the audience for granted. I also find that your seating location
in Town Hall impacts ones assessment of the performance. Balcony seats
just don't cut it for many of the performances. Fortunately, this
year I was banished to the balcony only once (Sunday), although I
did spend Monday in the Loge.
Commenting on each performance in a single article
would be an overwhelming task for both the writer and reader, so this
year I shall take a different approach.
Spectacular moments for me this year were few and far
between. Coincidently, or perhaps because over time the cream does
rise, three of the four best performances were by performers who usually
don't play the small rooms much anymore:
Maureen McGovern opened the convention on Monday
night with the contemporary "I'd Rather be Sailing" by William Finn
and followed up with Cole Porter's "My Heart Belongs to Daddy."
While Miss McGovern has always been a technically perfect performer,
as time goes on she just gets better and better at interpreting
a lyric and delivering a song.
Karen Mason's set closed the show Wednesday night
and her performance of "All that Jazz" showed her at the top of
her form and greatly energized the crowd.
Friday nights tribute to the works of Bart Howard
was highlighted by the unmiked or in today's popular parlance, "unplugged"
performance by Sylvia McNair of "My Love is a Wanderer." Most well
known as an opera singer and performer with symphonic orchestras,
Miss McNair's strong voice silenced the hall and showed that she
has talent that can manifest itself in several different genres.
The other individual highlight was the performance
on Monday of Natalie Douglas. Her strong voice and energized performance
of "I Put a Spell on You" and "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered"
was the best I've ever seen her.
Also highlighting this years convention was several
spectacular debuts, including Jennifer Kruskamp, Eva Ladas, Opie
Bellas, and Philip Chaffin. Here's hoping we see more of each of
them in the future.
One of the usual low points of the convention for me
is when the foundation brings in someone to perform who has made their
name in a different area of the arts. This year was no different.
As Stephanie Powers closed the first act on Monday night, I realized
that this year's convention was true to form.
Another low point of the convention was the opening
night performer who before even singing a note, plugged her website
and her seven year old CD; then sang John Pizzarelli's "I Like Jersey
Best" but had to add a joke about getting a job in waste management
in New Jersey; poked fun at the President for misspeaking, but then
misspoke herself and just laughed it off; who plugged a future CD,
decided that she wanted to try a number for it at the convention,
but rather than preparing and learning the lyrics, used a lyric sheet
(to a Christmas song).
Throughout the convention, several performers made
political references and encouraged the audience to vote a certain
way. Regardless of your political persuasion, I don't feel this is
the proper forum for expressing your views. We came to hear you sing,
not talk politics.
Finally, as I was sitting in Town Hall each night I
would come up with various ways to categorize performers participating
in the convention and as a result came up with the following Cabaret
Convention Lists of performers who:
You couldn't hold a convention without: Wesla Whitfield,
Barbara Carroll, Sydney Myer.
How can you hold a convention without them: Tom Andersen,
Natalie Gamsu
Make you go out into the lobby and buy their CD:
Opie Bellas
Make you wish they had a CD: Eva Ladas
Cabaret Convention debuts you'd like to see: Jaymie
Myers, Rhondi Charleston
Should shut up and sing: Karen Mason, Christine Ebersole,
Kent French
Make you want to go right out and see their show:
Natalie Douglas
You don't understand why they aren't better known:
Lumiri Tubo
Should stick to other fields: Stephanie Powers
Make you glad they made unscheduled appearances:
Craig Rubano, Klea Blackhurst
I wish I had been there to see: Ann Hampton Callaway,
Andrea Marcovicci
NY area performers who should have been here: Julie
Reyburn, Barbara Fasano
Musical Directors who should have their own spot:
Johnny Rodgers
Haven't been here in a few years and should be back:
Julie Anthony, Judy Connelli, David Campbell
You are glad they moved to New York: Colleen McHugh
You'd forgotten how good they are: Georga Osborne
You'd enjoyed this time more than any time previously:
Anna Bergman
Make you hope they do more standards: Sylvia McNair
Make you glad you own all of their recordings: Maureen
McGovern
Daily
Reports from the 2003 Cabaret Convention
Daily
Reports from the 2002 Cabaret Convention
Daily
Reports from the 2001 Cabaret Convention
Daily
Reports from the 2000 Cabaret Convention
Daily
Reports from the 1999 Cabaret Convention
Daily
Reports from the 1998 Cabaret Convention
Daily
Reports from the 1997 Cabaret Convention
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