committee
Elizabeth Ahlfors
Elizabeth Ahlfors was born, raised and educated in New York (NYU). Her first love was always music, cabaret, and theatre – in the audience, not performing. She writes for Cabaret Scenes, citycabaret.com, bBistroawards.com, totaltheater.com, and Curtain Up's "Cabaret Nights." She was previously Philadelphia correspondent for theatre.com and InTheatre Magazine and reviewed for the Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia City News, and Spotlight Magazine. She is a member of the Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle.Sherry Eaker
Sherry Eaker is the producer of the annual Bistro Awards show and has kept the tradition of the Bistro Awards going since the passing of its creator, Bob Harrington, the first "Bistro Bits" columnist, in 1992. Sherry is the former longtime editor of Back Stage, the performing arts trade weekly that her father, Ira Eaker, founded in 1960. She compiled and edited four editions of the Back Stage Handbook for Performing Artists, and compiled and edited the Cabaret Artists Handbook. Sherry serves on the board and/or is an advisor to the National Theatre Conference, the Cabaret Conference at Yale University, the Manhattan Association of Cabarets & Clubs, the NY Coalition of Professional Women in the Arts & Media, and Theatre Resources Unlimited. She is also the NY representative for the American Theatre Critics Association, and is a member of the Drama Desk, the League of Professional Theatre Women, and NY Women in Film & TV. She is now working with a number of writers and directors developing new works that she hopes to produce for the stage.David Finkle
David Finkle, who won cabaret awards when he was part of the satirical trio Weeden, Finkle and Fay, is a freelance reviewer living in Manhattan.
Kevin Scott Hall
As a performer, Kevin Scott Hall started working in theatre and cabaret as soon as he moved to New York in 1985. He had his first solo show at Panache Encore in 1986, and appeared in several Off-Off Broadway and regional productions. He continued to perform steadily in cabaret clubs in New York, Boston, and Philadelphia until 2004. During that time, he released three recordings, including his pop debut, “New Light Dawning” (1998, Cascade Records), which received radio airplay across the nation. Hall worked at the legendary piano bar Rose’s Turn until it closed in 2007, and is a frequent soloist with the Middle Church Jerriese Johnson Gospel Choir. He has taught cabaret workshops since 1995 and has directed dozens of cabaret shows.
Having earned his MFA in Creative Writing at the City College of New York, Hall continues to lecture at two City University campuses, teaching writing, speech and literature. He published his first novel, “Off the Charts!” (iUniverse) in 2010, a satire and coming-of-age novel about the music business. Since 2008, he has written dozens of artist profiles and features for Edge Media Network including his monthly column “Kevin on Kabaret.”
Rob Lester
ROB LESTER is honored to be part of honoring outstanding talent in New York as a member of the Bistro Awards selection committee. He writes reviews and articles for Cabaret Scenes Magazine and the websites NiteLifeExchange.com, TalkinBroadway.com and others. Also a judge for the Nightlife Awards and on the eligibility, CD and song-nominating committees for the MAC Awards, and guest judge for the Metropolitan Room's MetroStar Talent Challenge, he spends many nights in the cabarets of his home town, New York City. He has written liner notes for several recordings, including those by recent Bistro winners Marilyn Maye and Susan Winter.Erv Raible
NYC based director, coach, publicist and consultant. Executive Director / Artistic Director of the International Cabaret Conference at Yale University, and Executive Director of Erv Raible Cabaret & Concert Artists International. Owned and booked the cabarets and piano bars: The Duplex (1978-84), Brandy’s (1980-85), Don’t Tell Mama (1982-89) and the legendary Eighty Eight’s (1988-99); and through these venues presented over 4000 performers to the public. Co-founded The Manhattan Association of Cabarets & clubs (president for 11 years, produced the first 9 MAC Award shows). Has written book and lyrics for Wallis & Edward: The Love Story of the Twentieth Century? and is co-lyricist for Ship of Fools: The Musical. Is directing and developing Hildegard of Bingen and the Living Light. Is developing a music documentary Silent Voices: Words and Music of the Holocaust, Hate, Hope and the Human Spirit for the Simon Wiesenthal Center.
Roy Sander
Roy Sander has been covering cabaret and theatre for over twenty years. He's written cabaret and theatre reviews, features, and commentary for seven print publications, most notably Back Stage, and for CitySearch on the Internet. He covered cabaret monthly on "New York Theatre Review" on PBS TV, and cabaret and theatre weekly on WLIM-FM radio. He was twice a guest instructor at the London School of Musical Theatre. He is currently Chairman of the Advisory Board of MAC, and is the Reviews Editor on bistroawards.com.Mark Dundas Wood
Mark has been a regular contributor to Back Stage since 2001 and has also written for such publications as American Theatre and Ross Reports. His features and news blurbs appear regularly on the entertainment website Simply-Showbiz.com. As a dramaturg, Mark has worked for the New Professional Theatre writers festival since 2000 and for the New York Musical Theatre Festival on the shows Marrying Meg (Mark Robinson, 2009) and The Great Unknown (William Hauptman/Jim Wann, 2010). He holds MFA degrees in writing from the University of Oregon and in theatre (dramaturgy) from Columbia University.