Theater News

Happy Nights Are Here Again!

Betty Buckley, Diahann Carroll, Jason Danieley, Melissa Errico, Michael Feinstein, Judy Gold, Jane Monheit, and Mark Nadler and KT Sullivan hit the city this month.

Diahann Carroll 
(© Joseph Marzullo/Retna)
Diahann Carroll
(© Joseph Marzullo/Retna)

Some of cabaret’s best-loved performers are back for another round, which are sure to put a big smile on the faces of their many fans.

Feinstein’s at the Regency welcomes back two of its most popular acts this month: Tony Award winners Diahann Carroll (March 6-24) and Betty Buckley (March 27-April 11), both of whom are always guaranteed to give top notch performances. In addition, Michael Cavanaugh, who took on the Billy Joel role in Movin’ Out, will do a special stint at the club on March 4-5.

Speaking of Feinstein’s, the club’s namesake, Michael Feinstein, will perform My Romance, a special one-night concert of great standards at Carnegie Hall on March 9. The following week, the venerable venue will play host to the New York Pops, led by guest conductor Marvin Hamlisch. The program, a salute to Richard Rodgers, will feature guest vocalists Lari White, Anne Runolfsson, and other Broadway favorites.

Heading to the other major cabaret rooms, the sultry jazz singer Jane Monheit, will heat up the swank Café Carlyle (March 6-31). Grammy Award winner Lari White, who was the best thing about the ill-fated Broadway musical Ring of Fire, is making a very auspicious cabaret debut with a one-week engagement at The Oak Room at the Algonquin Hotel (through March 3). She’ll be followed at that august institution by another relative newcomer, crooner Tony DeSare (March 6-17), and that well-loved pair Mark Nadler and KT Sullivan (March 20-April 14), who will salute the late-great songwriting team of Betty Comden and Adolph Green in a show called Make Someone Happy.

Jim Caruso’s Broadway series at Birdland mixes things up this month with the debut of Speakeasy (March 12), an unusual variety show that will feature such talents as Kevin Cahoon, Lea DeLaria, and Constantine Maroulis. Also on tap this month are The Broadway Boys (March 19), with special guest Lauren Kennedy, and The Marcy and Zina Show (March 26), featuring the wonderful singer-songwriters Marcy Heisler and Zina Goldrich.

Over at Joe’s Pub, there’s fun, laughs, and good times thanks to such hilarious performers as Judy Gold (March 2), Jackie Hoffman (March 4, 5, 13, 19, and 20), the latest installment of Don’t Quit Your Night Job with special guests including Robert Cuccioli, Marvin Hamlisch, Nancy Opel, and B.D. Wong (March 12), Julia Sweeney (March 17) and the inimitable Kiki & Herb (March 4, 11, 18, 25).

On the musical front, highlights include composer Joe Iconis with special guests including Celia Keenan-Bolger and Annie Golden (March 4), The Swingle Sisters (March 11), Laurie Anderson (March 16 and 18), Lesley Gore (March 20). Also on tap are two special events: a concert version of the Broadway musical Runaways (March 25) starring Shonn Wiley, and a special, sure-to-be-exciting program entitled Scream Out Louise, featuring a passel of Broadway stars including Ann Hampton Callaway, Will Chase, and Steven Pasquale (March 26).

At The Metropolitan Room, the big news is a new show by Broadway leading man Jason Danieley, who’s starring on the Great White Way in Curtains (March 11 and 19). Other sure-to-see events include recording sensation Michael Amante (March 8-10), Broadway and television star Tom Wopat (March 12), the fabulous Johnny Rodgers Band (March 15-17), the lovely Barbara Fasano (March 18), the legendary Marilyn Maye (March 22-30), Simply Barbra‘s Steven Brinberg with special guest Sam Archer (March 26), and the latest edition of Jamie deRoy and Friends (March 29), with guests including Penny Fuller, Michele Ragusa, and Victoria Shaw.

Meanwhile, over at the Laurie Beechman Theatre at the West Bank Cafe, there will be a special four-night series devoted to new composers. It will kick off with Todd Almond (March 8), followed by Tim DiPasqua and Michael Holland (March 9), Brian Feinstein with special guests Malcolm Gets and Melissa Errico (March 15), and concluding with Grammy Award winner Julie Gold (March 16). At The Triad, the popular revue When The Lights Go On Again, featuring Bill Daugherty, Paul Kropfl, Christina Morrell, and Connie Pachl, has been extended until May 27.

Outside the Big Apple, the Bergen PAC in Englewood, New Jersey will present the extraordinary pairing of Steve Tyrell and Andrea Marcovicci (March 17), the great Petula Clark (March 25), and the clarion-voiced Linda Eder (March 31); Palm Beach, Florida’s lovely Colony Hotel presents two seemingly ageless superstars: Jack Jones (through March 10) and Keely Smith (March 13-24). Down in New Orleans, Le Chat Noir will play host to a special benefit show on March 16 and 17, starring Broadway and cabaret greats Tommy Tune, Liz Callaway, and Jason Graae.

Over on the West Coast, San Francisco’s Empire Plush Room plays home to the wonderful Paula West (through March 4), the very popular Jane Olivor (March 9-11), and former Phantom of the Opera star Franc D’Ambrosio (March 13-April 1). Finally, down in Southern California, the Orange County Performing Arts Center will present the superb singer-songwriter Amanda McBroom (March 22-25).