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Josie de Guzman at The Green Room 42. Photo by Edward Kliszus
Cabaret
Edward A Kliszus

Josie de Guzman at The Green Room 42

Two-time Tony Award nominee Josie de Guzman performed her show “Back Where I Started” and enthralled listeners at The Green Room 42.The enchanting and vivacious de Guzman performed a musical biopic of her remarkable stage career. She spoke of the many fellow luminaries with whom she performed and collaborated. The amazing list includes Leonard Bernstein, Nathan Lane, Arthur Laurents, Jerome Robbins, Alan Jay Lerner, and Burton Lane, to name a few.

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September 12, 2023
Entrance to Kurant Wine Bar. Photo credit: Sora Vernikoff
New York Restaurant Reviews
Sora Vernikoff

Kurant Wine Bar

I raved about Amy Babic’s Copinette, a restaurant renowned for its amazing American cuisine with French influence. It was time to try her second restaurant Kurant Wine Bar located at 1091 2nd Avenue between 57th and 58th Street in Manhattan.

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September 6, 2023
Chez Josephine in New York's Theater District. Joséphine Baker au Panthéon - illustration de JipéDan. Public Domain
New York Restaurant Reviews
Sora Vernikoff

Chez Josephine in New York’s Theater District

Chez Josephine in New York’s Theater District was the brainchild of Jean-Claude Baker from Burgundy, who named his restaurant after his adoptive mother, Josephine Baker. Baker, born Freda Josephine McDonald, was an American-born naturalized French citizen famed as a dancer, singer, and actress.

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July 29, 2023
The Gospel According to Heather. Photo by Russ Rowland
Broadway
Holli Harms

The Gospel According to Heather

The Gospel According to Heather is retelling of the story of Jesus, of those who followed him and believed in him, and those who fought to destroy him. It is the story of Scrooge and his transformation, it is the story of teenagers and how they discover their own worth and belief and love for self.

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July 17, 2023
Amber Gray. Courtesy of Victoria L. Dammer
Cabaret
Victoria L. Dammer

Amber Grey at 54 Below

Full of exuberant energy, Gray opened the show with the moving musical piece Devil’s Gonna Rise Up, written by Abigail and Shaun Bengson. Gray’s musical director, Cody Owen Stine, accompanied her on the accordion. The song is a haunting, almost spiritual tune, showcased in The National Theatre of Scotland’s performance of Anything That Gives Off Light. That show was created in response to the Scottish independence referendum several years ago and involved the Scottish-US relationship throughout history. Gray’s style of singing gave the song great depth.

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July 2, 2023
Sardi's. Photo courtesy Sardis.com
New York Restaurant Reviews
Sora Vernikoff

Sardi’s

Dennis King once remarked of Sardi’s, “It is much like the Mermaid Tavern of Shakespeare’s day. It is the greatest theatrical restaurant in the world. But it is more than a restaurant. It is a message center, a lover’s rendezvous, a casting center, and even a psychiatrist’s couch.” It also gave birth to a popular radio show in 1946, “Luncheon at Sardi’s!”

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May 29, 2023
A Scene from Kissing the Floor with Christina Bennett Lind (Annie) and Leon Ingulsrud (Paul). Photo by Russ Rowland
Off Broadway
Edward A Kliszus

Kissing the Floor at Theater Row

Kissing the Floor was a well-conceived, powerful dramatization akin to the legendary “sins of the father,” ably expressing the overpowering tragedies of Antigone brought to life in the demise of a family during the Great Depression. It is a profound exploration of human nature, grief, and the destructive consequences of–so many things.

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February 25, 2023
A Broadway Valentine's Day at 54 Below. From 54Below.com
Cabaret
Edward A Kliszus

A Broadway Valentine’s Day at 54 Below

Tonight’s Broadway Valentine’s Day at 54 Below was an evening of love, song, romance, nostalgia, fine dining, unique beverages, and thematic desserts. The messages of love portrayed were universal, celebrating spiritual beings connected through energy, generosity, compassion, and harmony. As Shakespeare noted in Love’s Labour’s Lost, “When Love speaks, the voice of all the gods makes heaven drowsy with the harmony.”

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February 16, 2023
Tony Kadleck Big Band at Birdland. Photo by Edward Kliszus
Jazz
Edward A Kliszus

Tony Kadleck Big Band at Birdland

Swinging big band music was hot in Manhattan! From the moment the Tony Kadleck Big Band began their set at the Birdland Jazz Club, we tapped our toes and jumped to a tasteful, tight, polished sound, solid rhythm section, cats burnin’ solos, and sophisticated superb arrangements by trumpeter and band leader Kadleck.

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January 31, 2023
Sondheim Unplugged at 54Below. PHoto: 54Below.com
Cabaret
Victoria L. Dammer

Sondheim Unplugged at 54 Below

Rejoicing in the life and musical talent of Stephen Sondheim one year after his passing, 54 Below presented Sondheim Unplugged, a tribute beyond compare that has played repeatedly since 2010.

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December 7, 2022