All stories by Andrew Poretz on BroadwayStars

Saturday, March 23, 2024

The New York Pops Has Them Dancing In Their Seats With “Hitsville: Celebrating Motown” by Andrew Poretz

Music review by Andrew Poretz . . . . When is the last time you saw an entire audience clapping, singing along and dancing to a 78-piece orchestra? The New York Pops orchestra has had some o…

SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 10:15AM
Monday, March 11, 2024

A Triumphant David Marino Soars At Birdland by Andrew Poretz

Cabaret review by Andrew Poretz . . . . When last we saw young French Canadian crooner David Marino, in July 2023, he was making his New York cabaret debut downtown (read HERE). He was quite…

SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 09:29AM
Friday, March 8, 2024

“Old Friends” Warmed the Heart at Pangea by Andrew Poretz

Cabaret Review by Andrew Poretz . . . At Pangea last month, Barbara Bleier, Austin Pendleton, Gretchen Cryer and Richard Malby, Jr. converged on this intimate venue to reprise their popular …

SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 01:50AM
Wednesday, March 6, 2024

Margot Sergent Delights in her Newest CD, Douce France by Andrew Poretz

CD Review by Andrew Poretz . . . . Margot Sergent is a marvelous French performer I’ve caught a couple of times, including her Edith Piaf show at Birdland (reviewed HERE). As a jazz harpis…

SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 05:18PM
Thursday, February 22, 2024

Lianne Marie Dobbs Gives Dusty Springfield Her Due by Andrew Poretz

Cabaret Review By Andrew Poretz . . . . Those cabaret fans who’ve experienced the joy of a Lianne Marie Dobbs show have been anxiously awaiting a new one. This reviewer caught three iterat…

SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 08:42AM
Monday, February 19, 2024

Melissa Errico’s Manhattan Valentine Set Hearts Aflutter by Andrew Poretz

Caberet Review by Andrew Poretz . . . . The always glorious Broadway and cabaret star, Melissa Errico, whom this writer has reviewed often (including HERE and HERE in 2023), unveiled her exq…

SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 08:25AM
Tuesday, February 6, 2024

Ari Axelrod’s Self-Portrait – A Stunning, Emotional Win for This Cabaret Star by Andrew Poretz

Cabaret Review by Andrew Poretz . . . . When beginning this article, a line describing the heart and soul of cabaret star Ari Axelrod felt awfully familiar. That’s because the words matche…

SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 08:30AM
Friday, February 2, 2024

Marissa Mulder’s “Girl Talk” Is Something to Talk About by Andrew Poretz

Cabaret Review by Andrew Poretz . . . . Marissa Mulder has been making her mark on the cabaret scene for more than a decade. The Syracuse native is known for her girlish voice that evokes Bl…

SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 03:14PM
Saturday, January 27, 2024

The Spectacular Gunhild Carling and Her Family All Stars at Birdland! by Andrew Poretz

Music Review by Andrew Poretz . . . . Some of the greatest acts in show business history have been family acts, going back to the days of vaudeville. Some of these were musical acts, some we…

SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 07:48AM
Sunday, December 31, 2023

The Callaway Sisters Bring Some Well-Needed Post-Christmas Cheer With Their New “Yuletide Revelry!” by Andrew Poretz

Cabaret Review By Andrew Poretz . . . . There’s this weird week between Christmas and New Year’s when everyone’s done with “the holidays” and await the New Year. Every possible hol…

SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 09:19AM
Friday, December 15, 2023

Bryce Edwards Returns to Birdland January 22 by Andrew Poretz

You could call Bryce Edwards, a rising star of 1923 – make that 2023 – a throwback performer, but Bryce more accurately, and magically, stepped through time a hundred years ago. His vaud…

SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 09:53PM
Wednesday, December 13, 2023

Andersons Play Harold Arlen: The Wizard of Oz & More by Andrew Poretz

Music Review by Andrew Poretz . . . . Peter and Will Anderson, twin brothers who hail from Maryland, are strapping, clean-cut young men whose musical sensibilities hail from another time. Th…

SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 01:46PM
Tuesday, December 5, 2023

Alice Ripley Reprises Her Fall Show at The Green Room 42 by Andrew Poretz

Cabaret Review by Andrew Poretz . . . . Tony-award-winning actress, singer and songwriter Alice Ripley is best known for her big voice as a Broadway star in musicals like The Who’s Tommy, …

SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 08:55PM
Monday, November 27, 2023

Karen Akers Shined in a Revised Under the Bridge by Andrew Poretz

Cabaret Review by Andrew Poretz . . . . This writer reviewed Karen Akers’ well-received Water Under the Bridge cabaret show at Birdland Jazz in September 2022 (read it HERE). Ms. Akers bro…

SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 08:27AM
Thursday, November 16, 2023

Mardie Millit: Sorry-Grateful by Andrew Poretz

Cabaret Review by Andrew Poretz . . . . When composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim died in 2021, a seemingly endless stream of stories about personal encounters with the legend appeared on …

SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 12:46PM
Monday, November 13, 2023

Martin Pizzarelli’s Swinging Tribute to Bucky Pizzarelli by Andrew Poretz

Music Review by Andrew Poretz . . . . Bucky Pizzarelli was one of the greatest and most recorded jazz guitarists of all time and one of only a handful of acclaimed seven-string guitarists. (…

SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 08:00AM
Friday, November 10, 2023

The Right to Cabaret Makes Its New York Debut by Andrew Poretz

Cabaret Review by Andrew Poretz . . . . A Los Angeles cabaret party came to The Green Room 42 with the New York debut of LA’s The Right to Cabaret on November 4, hosted by Hillary Rollins,…

SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 05:24AM
Tuesday, November 7, 2023

Tale as Old as Time: The Songs of Howard Ashman by Andrew Poretz

By Andrew Poretz . . . Grammy and Oscar winner Howard Ashman wrote lyrics for many of the best songs of the modern Disney catalog for films like The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and…

SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 02:01AM
Monday, October 30, 2023

Jamie de Roy and Friends – Benefit for The Entertainment Community Fund by Andrew Poretz

By Andrew Poretz . . . Producer and performer Jamie deRoy packed Birdland for another of her highly entertaining and philanthropic “Jamie deRoy and Friends” shows. The show benefitted En…

SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 08:40AM
Wednesday, October 25, 2023

Maude Maggart Makes a Dreamy Birdland Debut with “Here Come the Dreamers” by Andrew Poretz

By Andrew Poretz … The delightful cabaret star Maude Maggart made a rare New York headliner appearance with “Here Come the Dreamers,” her Birdland debut. She sold out the large room up…

SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 09:30AM
Monday, October 23, 2023

The 34th Annual Cabaret Convention – As Time Goes By: Timeless Tunes – Evening 3 by Andrew Poretz

By Andrew Poretz … Following two nights of sometimes heavy material – the first honoring the music of Kurt Weill, followed by a tribute to the music and somewhat tragic life of Doris Day…

SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 07:33AM
Friday, October 20, 2023

Ava Nicole Francis: Here’s Looking at You Kid by Andrew Poretz

By Andrew Poretz … Ava Nicole Francis made her New York cabaret solo debut at 54 Below on October 10. The young singer, not quite out of her teens, is a San Francisco transplant, and has a…

SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 10:05AM
Sunday, October 15, 2023

The Latest Edition of the Bryce Edwards Frivolity Hour by Andrew Poretz

By Andrew Poretz . . . We last wrote about the tremendously entertaining Bryce Edwards in January, when he had his impressive solo debut with a sold-out show at Don’t Tell Mama (read HERE)…

SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 07:49AM
Sunday, October 8, 2023

Songbook Sundays: One for Harold Arlen by Andrew Poretz

By Andrew Poretz … Writer, dramatist and concert/revue creator Deborah Grace Winer continued her popular Songbook Sundays series at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Dizzy’s Club with more than…

SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 08:30AM
Monday, September 25, 2023

Kieran Brown and Matt Baker: Let’s Go to the Movies by Andrew Poretz

By Andrew Poretz … Singer Kieran Brown, a very young, “up and coming” jazz and R&B singer with a strong proclivity for material from the Great American Songbook, took the stage at …

SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 01:24PM
Friday, September 22, 2023

Amanda McBroom: Such Good Friends by Andrew Poretz

By Andrew Poretz … Amanda McBroom, a singer-songwriter as well as a fine actress, sold out Birdland Jazz with an audience filled with bold-face names from the cabaret scene, including Mari…

SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 09:54AM
Wednesday, September 6, 2023

Nicolas King: The Jazz Set by Andrew Poretz

By Andrew Poretz . . . There are few singers of jazz and cabaret today more compelling than the wonderfully talented Nicolas King. The star performed a rare set of pure jazz at The Green Ro…

SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 07:27AM
Tuesday, September 5, 2023

Rene Pfister to Make His New York Cabaret Debut at Don’t Tell Mama by Andrew Poretz

Rene Pfister is a Boston-based singer/songwriter.  A newcomer to the New York cabaret scene, Pfister will make his New York debut with What I Learned from All My Ex-Boyfriends … If Anythi…

SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 09:15AM
Monday, September 4, 2023

The York Theatre Company presents The Lieutenant at The Theater at St. Jean’s by Andrew Poretz

The York Theatre Company continues its fall 2023 “Musicals in Mufti” series with The Lieutenant, with book, music and lyrics by Chuck Strand, Eugene Curty and Nitra Mcauliffe. Performanc…

SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 11:52AM
Friday, September 1, 2023

Dreams of Dracula: An Immersive Masquerade Experience by Andrew Poretz

A new theatrical, Dreams of Dracula: An Immersive Masquerade Experience,will feature two floors and six rooms across 25,000 square feet, a choose-your-own adventure journey through history�…

SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 04:15AM
Thursday, August 31, 2023

JOB to open limited engagement at SoHo Playhouse by Andrew Poretz

Tony Award nominee Peter Friedman (Ragtime, “Succession,” Single White Female) and Sydney Lemmon (TÁR, “Succession,” “Helstrom”) are currently in rehearsal for the world premier…

SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 03:02PM

All that Chat

2023-2024 BROADWAY SEASON
May 30, 2023: Grey House - Lyceum Theatre
Jun 26, 2023: Just For Us - Hudson Theatre
Jul 24, 2023: The Cottage - Hayes Theater
Nov 16, 2023: Spamalot - St. James Theatre
Dec 18, 2023: Appropriate - Hayes Theater
Mar 07, 2024: Doubt - Todd Haimes Theatre
Apr 14, 2024: Lempicka - Longacre Theatre
Apr 17, 2024: The Wiz - Marquis Theatre
Apr 18, 2024: Suffs - Music Box Theatre
Apr 25, 2024: Mother Play - Hayes Theater
Jun 10, 2024: The Drama Desk Awards