By Kevin Scott Hall

"Selecting Souvenirs"

In his new show, "Selecting Souvenirs" (also the name of the CD he released late last year), Parker Scott tells us that he recently realized that this was his fifteenth year of doing cabaret in New York and beyond. Now, after a break of a few years, he makes another splash with a monthly residency at Don't Tell Mama (next show, February 17). It is a welcome return, indeed.

In this offering, Scott delivers mostly songs of love, mixing old favorites as well as new, along with a good representation of cuts from the recording. A voice teacher himself, he brings expert diction, a wondrous vocal range, and a flexibility that can go from operatic bari-tenor to wispy falsetto within a sixteenth-note's time, making it look simple. Of course, good singing is more than just the voice. Fortunately, Scott is also a master of expression, and he probably has the best eyes in the business—not only can he convey heartbreak, longing, fury and more with his gaze, but he is fearless in his eye contact with the audience.

By Roy Sander

When Petula Clark opens her show at Feinstein's singing "I Concentrate on You" slowly and with quiet solemnity, I thought to myself, "This is a chancy thing to do." After all, though her extensive work in films and in the theatre have earned her considerable acclaim and success, as has her international multi-lingual recording and concert career,  I daresay a good number of her fans are most familiar with her work in the pop arena. They are not likely to expect a classic Cole Porter ballad. But after a few lines, she switches to an uptempo rendition. From an artistic perspective, this is an even riskier choice: how does one perform this intensely romantic song uptempo and remain true to the piece? Clark accomplishes this by rooting her interpretation in the lyric, as though she were expressing defiance of the "wise men" who say to her "that love's young dream never comes true." Far from being nightclubby, her rendition represents a fresh dramatic take on the song. It is one of the evening's many surprises and delights.

By Elizabeth Ahlfors

"Singing Bing"

Have you noticed how few tributes have been given lately to Bing Crosby? Everyone knows his name and the songs he sang, but perhaps Crosby's laid-back, casual approach has just not been firing up current performers. So thanks to baritone Joel Ginn for "Singing Bing" at the Metropolitan Room, a thoughtful collection from the Crosby repertoire. Stress that this collection is "from" the Crosby repertoire" because there obviously was a lot of pickin' and choosin' to do, considering the vast Crosby songbook. Not an easy task, Ginn pointed out, although he whittled it down to a hefty 27 songs associated with Crosby from the '30's to the '50's.

By Kevin Scott Hall

"Bette Davis Ain't for Sissies"

Jessica Sherr, who enjoyed a sold-out run at last year's New York Fringe Festival with her one-woman show about Bette Davis, has brought Bette Davis Ain't for Sissies back for a run in the clubs and has wisely chosen The Triad, with its small proscenium and retro look, as a venue. Written by Sherr, the play is a vividly imagined piece that takes place on Oscar night 1940, in which 1939 films were honored, when Davis was in the running for Best Actress for Dark Victory. Davis chose to sit out the ceremony, knowing she would lose to Vivien Leigh for Gone With the Wind (a film Davis had been considered for; her consolation prize for not getting it was Jezebel, which netted her the Oscar for 1938).

By Roy Sander

"You and the Night and the Music"

Anna Bergman is a gorgeous singer—gorgeous in every way: lovely of face and form, elegant in bearing and manner without being cool or formal—indeed, she can be emotionally very open—and with a voice that is a rich, luscious soprano. Her recent offering at Feinstein's at Loews Regency gave abundant evidence to support this assessment.

The opening number was a pairing of "Something Tells Me" (Hugh Martin, Timothy Gray, from High Spirits) and Dietz and Schwartz's "You and the Night and the Music." Staged with Bergman walking through the room, singing to—and about—the audience, it established that the evening would be a shared experience and made for a very inviting start to the proceedings.

By Roy Sander

Urban Stages – December 10

When Tanya Holt performed recently at the estimable Winter Rhythms festival at Urban Stages, it was her first solo offering in five years. During the intervening period, I saw her sing an occasional song or two in variety evenings or as a guest artist in other people's shows, and having liked what I saw, I fully expected her show at Urban Stages to be good. Quite frankly, I did not expect her to be this good—and for "this good," read "this wonderful."

By Elizabeth Ahlfors

"The Kid From Paris – Jean Brassard Sings Yves Montand"

Tributes can be a risky business. Of course, we've seen tribute shows that were carelessly sloughed off with a song list and dates. Serious artists, however, should delve through books, recordings, memoirs, available interviews to develop a personal empathy for the subject, appreciate the unique qualities, and prove why the subject is worth this respect, time and effort. Hopefully, the audience will feel and share the performer's passion. Paying tribute to Yves Montand, Jean Brassard took the risk in his joyful show"The Kid from Paris," and he pulled it off with charm and his own artistry.

By Kevin Scott Hall

"Crazy 1961"

Boisterous pianist and singer Mark Nadler has been entertaining cabaret crowds here and abroad for quite a few years, and now he's pulling out the stops for a romp through "Crazy 1961," a celebration of his birth year in music, personal stories and historical anecdotes. History has never been so much fun, and so convincing is Nadler in his recounting of that year that you may leave thinking 1961 on a par with 1492, 1776 or 1945.

By Elizabeth Ahlfors

"Strings Attached"

There are some sturdy strings attaching singer/actress Christine Ebersole to Aaron Weinstein, a jazz violinist with a bent for comedy on the side. The two have more than a couple of qualities in common.

Ebersole, the chick singer in this jazz duo, pointed out that they both love apple pancakes and attended New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois. She also admitted that they are more than a few years apart in age. Weinstein is now 26 and Ebersole… well, let's just say she is somewhat older but has not reached that point where she would be called "legendary." Both were dressed in suits, hers was a tuxedo over a silvery scoopneck shell, and he wore what we might describe as a suit conservative enough for his father. Of course, he included his signature bowtie, and as a nod to her partner's unassuming style, Ebersole also wore a bowtie.

By Kevin Scott Hall

"Do Overs"

After enjoying a long run with her last show, "Kiss Me Like You Mean It," a couple of years ago, and receiving a 2010 MAC Hanson Award, Angela Shultz has returned with a brand new show—even if its title, "Do Overs," might suggest a reworking of previous material. The new show (directed by the very busy Lennie Watts) deals with having the opportunity to "do over" bad choices or mistakes we've made. This leads to some fine moments, both comic and poignant, in song and patter. The song list is a nice mix, many of the selections theatre songs. The tempos and subject matter constantly surprise and, thus, the hour flies by with all the energy and passion of a throbbing heart.

By Mark Dundas Wood

"Feeling Good"

When Charles West steps onto the Don't Tell Mama stage and delivers his first song, you may think: Geez, isn't he just a little too much? West is suave and self-possessed. He has chiseled good looks and he's full of sexy growls. That opening number, Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley's "Feeling Good," provides the title for West's show—and why not? If we all looked like he does, we'd likely be feeling good, too. Even the name "West" seems right. The guy is a Marlboro Man minus the tar and nicotine. A little later in the evening we learn that he once posed in his skivvies for an ad that graced Times Square (which I imagine pulled some attention away from that neighborhood’s resident guitar-slinger, the Naked Cowboy).

By Mark Dundas Wood

"The Bobs Return to the Duplex—with Angie Bob!

Celebrating 30 years of performing, the Bobs still pack a punch with their clever a cappella stylings, which were dubbed "New Wave a cappella" back when the group started out. Their approach to songs is fairly consistent: One member of the quartet will take the lead, accompanied by scat-sung harmonies from the other Bobs. The resulting effect is that of a panoply of faux horns and strings. Percussion is supplied by tongues clicking and whooshes of air expelled noisily through lips and teeth.