Interludes

2013’s Best in Cabaret

• By drediman
• January 10, 2014
• No Comments

2013 was a fantastic year for cabaret, in no small part to the outstanding offerings at the beautifully designed cabaret club, 54 Below, which enjoyed its full year in operation. The club, which places an emphasis on musical theater performers, successfully brought a wide range of acts to its intimate stage, which most notably included the likes of Joanna Gleason, Linda Lavin, and Norbert Leo Butz.

(Note: the list below is in alphabetical order)

1. Joanna Gleason

Best known to theater fans as the Baker’s Wife in the Sondheim favorite “Into the Woods”, the ever-classy Ms. Gleason, in her cabaret debut at 54 Below, performed a candid, heartfelt set charting her fragmented career and journey to personal self-fulfillment. Her song renditions, including her signature take on Sondheim’s insightful “Moments in the Woods”, remain master classes in how to communicate the human depths of a song with directness and elegance, without all the distracting histrionics.

2. Lady Rizo

Part Lady Gaga, part vintage burlesque queen, this buxom belle daringly walks the fine line between over-the-top camp and raw talent. Lady Rizo’s shows, many of them at Joe’s Pub, have slowly earned her superstar status in the NYC cabaret scene.  I saw her twice in 2013, and she’s still up to her inspired shenanigans.

3. “The Last Five Years”

Despite the initial lukewarm critical reception to Jason Robert Brown’s two-person chamber musical (more of a song cycle, really), “The Last Five Years” has established itself a classic, holding a special place in many musical theater lovers’ hearts, including mine.  What was revealing for me this past year is that the piece actually works better performed as an intimate semi-staged concert, ideally in a cabaret setting, where the focus is squarely on the performances and the imagery of the songs.  In a series of concerts at 54 Below, which I enjoyed far more than the staged version earlier in the year at Second Stage (which featured the same cast), husband-and-wife team Adam Kantor and particularly the lovely Betsy Wolfe were riveting in the roles that put Norbert Leo Butz (see below) and Sherie Rene Scott on the map.

4. Linda Lavin

Linda Lavin is one of those performers who has the ability to castrate you before you know it and not care. A dry and fiercely intelligent presence, she’s also an immensely warm performer.  Her show at 54 Below last year was one of the highlights of my cabaret experiences in 2013. The martinis go down ever so easily whenever Ms. Lavin performing.  Now, if we can only get someone to cast her as Joanne in Sondheim’s “Company” …

5. Norbert Leo Butz

The epitome of charisma and commitment, any production featuring Mr. Butz, regardless of artistic merit, is worth a visit. You can be guaranteed that he’ll be giving 110% to steal the show and win your heart. You get the picture. Now imagine that kind of showman in an intimate cabaret setting. In his show at 54 Below, and ode to women of all shapes and sizes, he electrified audiences and left them begging for more.