Barbara Cook, 89

Barbara Cook, Broadway Star Who Became a Cabaret Mainstay, Dies at 89
by Robert D. McFadden, The New York Times, August 8, 2017

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Julius La Rosa, 86

Julius La Rosa, Singer Who Was Fired on the Air by Arthur Godfrey, Dies at 86
by Robert D. McFadden, The New York Times, May 15, 2016

Julie Wilson, 90

Julie Wilson, Sultry Cabaret Legend and Actress, Dies at 90
by Stephen Holden, The New York Times, April 6, 2015

Mary Healy, 96

Mary Healy, Actress and Singer, Dies at 96
by Robert D. McFadden, The New York Times, February 4, 2015

Brad Bradley's "B Squared" returns to Dixon Place

Song-and-dance man Brad Bradley

Last night, Brad Bradley brought his revamped cabaret show, B Squared--a hit from July's queer-tastic Hot Festival--back to Dixon Place for one night only. A survey of songs in the key of gay, B Squared clicks together items that, on paper, might not appear to be a workable collage. But they reflect the many facets of Bradley--a Broadway pro all the more winning for his generous, humble air.

There's an ode to a Barbie collection ("the only girl I could bear to see nude...fuck G.I. Joe: he gives me ennui"), a tweed-capped, Irish-accented ditty called "My Drunken Irish Dad," big ol' belters belted just the way Broadway likes 'em, and no small measure of twinkly-eyed sass, unabashed poignancy and unexpected toughness. I especially like the smart, tough edge within someone who is clearly a very sweet guy.

Joshua Zecher-Ross

Genial music director Joshua Zecher-Ross takes his place at the piano--it's decorated with a 5"-tall toy candelabra and a madcap collection of caps and hats--showing off his ability to not only play and sing with charm but also turn Bradley into his...um...straight man. "Josh, were you ever in the closet?" Bradley innocently inquires. The pianist waits a beat, replying, "I was in the womb...."

Karla Shook

Sidekicks Karla Shook (a powerhouse--watch out, Bette Midler!) and Joe Casey (Bradley's "Eskimo brother" and partner in a sexy-comic song-and-dance number) round out B Squared's joyful cast.

Joe Casey

Dixon Place has long served as an incubator of talent and new work. In this case, the talent has been cooking for a while, and the developments look good. Let's see more.

For more on the Dixon Place fall season, click here.

New York Times obituary for Harold J.Cromer

Harold J. Cromer, Vaudeville Duo’s Stumpy, Is Dead
by Bruce Weber, The New York Times, June 13, 2013

Harold "Stumpy" Cromer, 92

Broadway and vaudeville pioneer Harold ‘Stumpy’ Cromer is dead
by David Hinckley, The New York Daily News, June 9, 2013

Taylor Mac rehearses song marathon: Come listen!

Taylor Mac (photo by Tim Hailand)

The magical, mystical Taylor Mac is gearing up for his sensational, 240-song 24-Hour Concert of The History of Popular Music, and you can listen in on his rehearsals! The Lounge at Dixon Place will host open rehearsals on June 5, June 9 and June 12, all beginning at 7:30pm.

Admission is "pass-the-hat" free!

Dixon Place (Lounge)
161A Chrystie Street (between Rivington and Delancey Streets), Manhattan
(map/directions)

Coby Koehl: The songs are all for you

Coby Koehl turned Dixon Place's downstairs theater into an intimate cabaret last evening as the talented neo-soul singer and his accompanists, Ken Kincaid (piano) and Leo Santino (percussion), performed before a handful of merry friends and associates. Maybe the impending holiday weekend kept everyone else away, but everyone else missed a pretty sweet show.

The flute-y, sultry, sometimes edgy Koehl, more than upholds the right of gay white boys to sing like the brothers--I heard elements of Stevie Wonder, Al Green, Luther Vandross and more--and turns Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side" several shades sexier.

Boy George regards Koehl as a male Amy Winehouse, and Koehl dares to walk on the Nina Simone side. ("I can't breathe without her. She's everything to me," he says.) I was hoping for "Wild is the Wind" but certainly couldn't turn down "...A Little Sugar in My Bowl." From the Johnny Mercer/Hoagy Carmichael jazz standard "Skylark" to Stephen Trask's "Midnight Radio" from Hedwig and The Angry Inch, Koehl luxuriates in music like a cat rubbing its velvet fur against a velvet pillow.

Here's Koehl--spare and cool, this time, even spiritual--interpreting Yoko Ono's "Death of Samantha," a song from Ono's Approximately Infinite Universe (1972). And because this song is infinitely delicate and heartbreaking, let's hear it again, this time with Ono doing it.

A deft, supple vocalist with a good ear for scene-setting, character and attitude in lyrics, Koehl deserved cleaner sound than the muddy reverberations he got at the start of his show. Happily, that cleared up some as the performance went on. No doubt, he can fill the room next time. He deserves that, too.

So, here's to Patti. And Tina. And Yoko. Aretha. And Nona. And Nico. And...Coby Koehl.

Hot! Festival 2011--Dixon Place's 20th Annual NYC Celebration of Queer Culture--continues through August 6 with a mix of "theater, dance, music, burlesques, performance art and homoeroticism for the whole family." Find out more and make ticket reservations here.

Dixon Place
161A Chrystie Street (between Rivington and Delancey Streets), Manhattan
(map and directions)

On The Dream Express way to your heart

The Dream Express started with the sip of a drink, the wail of a distant train, and a kind of yelping, high-lonesome, tumbleweed song. The Chocolate Factory hosted a "journey to the end of the night" with its upstairs theater marvelously, if tackily, re-purposed as an honest-to-god cabaret for Obie-awardees Steve Mellor ("Spin Milton") and Deirdre O'Connell ("Marlene Milton"), known as, they kept telling us, The Dream Express, along with co-conspirators Len Jenkin (writer/director) and John Kilgore (composer).

At first glance, the formerly-married Miltons--hulking, vaguely surly Spin and slightly tipsy, vaguely slutty Marlene--looked like the kind of people you'd want to keep at arm's length. Please, god, do not let either of them come down off that stage and start messing with us. By the end of the roughly 90 minute act, a mashup of songs and stories, you'll find that you've relaxed. You've chuckled some. You've pondered some. You've learned to trust that Spin will rise from his keyboard, now and again, without actually assaulting anyone. What's more, the Miltons and their consciousness-streamings have managed to work their way under your skin. You've been seduced by Marlene's adorable, gutsy charm and roused by Spin's gusty vocal power. Who else has the skills to segue from Olivia Newton John to "A Whiter Shade of Pale" without inflicting terminal whiplash?

As the Miltons' dearly-departed "Uncle Wolfie" would say, "Make 'em laugh, make 'em cry, make 'em kiss ten bucks goodbye!"

In this case, it's 15 bucks and worth every single penny. Go see The Dream Express at The Chocolate Factory, Tuesdays-Saturdays  through December 19 (No performances 12/15-17). For details, travel directions and ticketing, click here.