(Photo Lennie Watts and Mary Bond Davis by Maryann Lopinto)
(Photo- Scott Siegel by Maryann Lopinto)
On January 29th,I attended the Town Hall for The NightlifeAwards 2007
for the first time ever. Making the Awards at all was a tough decision
as I had also nabbed an invite to the "Rockers on Broadway" musical
event that same evening. I compromised; I decided to cover both. (Stay
tuned for video coverage of Rockers at the first rehearsal!)(I interviewed Kathy Brier, Norm Lewis, Titus Burgess and more)
Barbara and Scott Siegel, the prolific theater authors and
journalists, hosted the event with their production company Siegel
Presents and gathered together over thirty of their compatriots to
nominate and vote for the best and brightest of cabaret, jazz, and
comedy club performance in New York City!
Cabaret's always been very close to my heart and happily, I've been
covering a lot of it lately, so much so in fact, that I had seen many
of the shows that went home with awards this year—Christine
Ebersole's, Lisa Asher's and many more! The performers also were
instructed not only to refrain from giving acceptance speeches, and
instead did what they did best and busted out selections from their
prodigious ouevre. Here's the complete list of winners (with the
finalists they were up against) for this year:
Outstanding Cabaret Female Vocalist in a Major Engagement:
Jessica Molaskey
(Finalists: Diahann Carroll, Eartha Kitt)
Outstanding Cabaret Male Vocalist in a Major Engagement:
John Pizzarelli
(Finalists: Michael Feinstein, Jack Jones)
Outstanding Duo/Group Cabaret Performance in a Major Engagement:
Christine Ebersole & Billy Stritch
(Finalists: Ashford & Simpson, Molaskey & Frishberg)
Outstanding Cabaret Female Vocalist:
Lisa Asher
(Finalists: Lina Koutrakos, Karen Oberlin)
Outstanding Cabaret Male Vocalist:
Scott Coulter
(Finalists: Patrick DeGennaro, Dane Vannatter)
Outstanding Cabaret Musical Comedy/Characterization Performance:
Lorinda Lisitza
(Finalists: Micaela Leon, Jay Rogers)
Outstanding Cabaret Revue/Group/Variety Performance:
Tom Andersen, Scott Coulter, Tim Di Pasqua
(Finalists: Eric Comstock/Barbara Fasano, Jamie deRoy & Friends)
Outstanding Cabaret Piano Bar Performance:
David Colbert
(Finalists: Elaine Brier, Gerry Deiffenbach)
Outstanding Female Standup Comedian:
Sarah Silverman
(Finalists: Jessica Kirson, Lisa Lampanelli)
Outstanding Male Standup Comedian:
Demetri Martin
(Finalists: David Attell, Zach Galiafinakas)
Outstanding Unique/Group Comedy Performance:
TJ & Dave
(Finalist: Nick Kroll & John Mulaney, Braunholer & Schaal)
Outstanding Female Jazz Vocalistt:
Paula West
(Finalists: Carol Sloane, Annie Ross)
Outstanding Male Jazz Vocalist:
Freddy Cole
(Finalists: Dave Frishberg, Eric Comstock)
Outstanding Jazz Soloist:
Cedar Walton
(Finalists: Paul Motian, Toots Thielemans)
Outstanding Jazz Combo Performance:
Ben Riley's Monk Legacy Septet
(Finalists: Roy Haynes, Microscopic Septet)
Deserving applause should go to the Siegels, our gracious hosts, for
yet again recognizing these talented acts and promoting the arts of
cabaret, comedy and jazz that keep this city alive and hopping after
dark. I love it all and had a great time at the event and highly
advise that you fans like me make a date with this next year.
For more information on the NightlifeAwards you can go to:
http://www.siegelpresents.com/nightlife-awards/2007.htm
Scott Siegel starts his "Town Hall Broadway by the Year" series Feb.
26 with the famous musicals of 1928 featuring songs from "The Three
Musketeers", "The Greenwich Village Follies", "Present Arms",
"Blackbirds of 1928", "Grand Street Follies", "The New Moon", "Paris",
"Animal Crackers", "Whoopee" and more, performed by such luminaries as
Joyce Chittick and Malcolm Gets.
Additionally, you can see more photos in my multimedia section:
http://www.corinescorner.com/media/NightlifeAwards.htm
