Don't Miss Broadway Bebeat the Mahaiwe Saturday, July 11

Bebe Neuwirth
It's easy to love Bebe Neuwirth. We spent some time talking with her recently and posted the complete interview here on Berkshire Fine Arts where I serve as managing editor and critic.

Neuwirth is, of course, the consummate performer and a friend of the LGBTQ Community as well. It takes guts to stand up and demand marriage equality, and she did just that at the Defying Inequality Fund Raiser in New York this past February. Bebe knows what's right and what's not, whether it is politics or show business.

Her upcoming show will be a real treat for people who love the kinds of songs that express our feelings, our emotions and our lives. She and her music director Scott Cady promise an eclectic blend of music, not just the songs she has sung in her Broadway hits. Of course she has included songs by Kander and Ebb from the musical Chicago. Neuwirth received a Tony Award for her performance of Velma Kelly in that show. But there is music by Tom Waits as well, and old film classics like "As Time Goes By". She has also become fond of the songs made famous by Édith Piaf and is a premiere interpreter of the works of Kurt Weill. Neuwirth also plans to sing the music of such landmark composers as Cole Porter and Stephen Sondheim. Overall, the evening promises to be both sophisticated and playful, the kind in which you place yourself in the hands of a master.

Many remember her as the character Dr. Lilith Sternin , the emotionally repressed psychiatrist who married Dr. Frasier Crane on the hit television series Cheers. Of course there is also the "Broadway Bebe" Neuwirth, an accomplished dancer and vocalist who has won both critical and popular acclaim for her work on stage. Her Broadway credits include A Chorus Line, Sweet Charity, Damn Yankees and the aforementioned 1996 revival of Chicago, for which she won both a Tony and Drama Desk Award as Best Lead Actress in a Musical for her role as showgirl and killer Velma Kelly.

Broadway Bebe returns to the Berkshries
Her Most Outrageous Role - As the Evil Anne Coulter

When we spoke recently, I asked her to tell me how she came to play Anne Coulter on the radio.

So she set the scene. "When Al Franken was on Air America he would do these sort of radio plays, and he decided at one point to have Anne Coulter invited to be on his show. But she would get locked in her dressing room with the heat on," Neuwirth recalled.

Good heavens, Anne Coulter having a meltdown, isn't that special.

"I didn't know if I could do an Anne Coulter impersonation, but he asked me to come in anyway and read her part. So I decided to practice this role, and had to actually listen to her, to get the voice right. They had given me a CD of hers and I would listen and practice."

"But then I would have to turn it off, because at first you start laughing, but then you get furious, and then you get really sad, because you think she's really mentally disturbed. She needs help, because no sane person could say and believe the things she says.

"You wind up thinking this is a very, very toxic person, someone get a doctor!" Oh, my, I responded. "Well don't you think she's cuckoo,?" Bebe asked. I fumbled my response saying she's either cuckoo or she just does it to get everyone buzzing, and doesn't care what people think of her.

"Well, I think that's kind of sick, because what she is buzzing is hate. That's when it becomes a kind of perverted narcissism."

We were both happy that she seems to have lost her grasp on the public's attention now that her kind of politics has been largely discredited.

A book of Addams Family cartoons from The New Yorker Magazine by Charles Addams.
The Addams Family Connection

Turning back to happier subjects. we spoke about her upcoming role as Morticia in a new musical called The Addams Family, based on the New Yorker cartoons by Charles Addams, not the television series. "I'm really excited about this project, it's coming along beautifully. She will share the stage with Nathan Lane as Gomez and a cast of remarkable actors. The new show is slated to debut at the Oriental Theatre in Chicago in the Fall and then go on to Broadway in the Spring of 2010.

So this Saturday is shaping up to be a rare chance to see this great performer do her cabaret show in the intimate setting of the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington, MA. Fort icket information call the box office at 413.528.0100 or visit their website, www.mahaiwe.org. Tickets are $55 or $80 for the Golden Circle seats. It's going to be an unforgettable evening.

Gorgeous Music+Fabulous Singers=The Berkshire Cabaret Scene

Amanda McBroom at Barrington Stage July 2-3
Cabaret is a hot commodity in the Berkshires this summer. These intimate performances by superb singers where the song is the thing mostly tell a story, or reveal the inner feelings of the heart. In France, the tradition of the chanteuse who breaks your heart with a chanson is well known, Edith Piaf being the classic example. In Germany, perhaps Marlene Dietrich is best remembered, Her dresser, Paul McMahon, a colleage and theatre writer traveled with her for years and has the most fascinating stories to tell. Cabaret is a very personal art form, and while rock and pop is what the mainstream listens to, cabaret is what theatre buffs and romantics gravitate towards.

This is the summer of cabaret in the Berkshires, a virtual explosion compared to previous years. Recently Mandy Patinkin raised the rafters at the Colonial Theatre my review here, and that was just the first of many exciting evenings ahead.

AMANDA MCBROOM - JULY 2-3
Amanda McBroom sings Jacques Brel
On July 2 and 3 Amanda McBroom will make her first visit to the Berkshires under the sponsorship of Barrington Stage Company, this time in a new Cabaret setup on the second floor of Jae's Spice in Pittsfield. She is a fine example of contemporary cabaret and the beauty of her singing is matched by her own glamorous persona. Amanda McBroom has been called “...the greatest cabaret performer of her generation, an urban poet who writes like an angel and has a voice to match.” Composer of the power ballad "The Rose," which became a number one hit the world over, Amanda is a knock out performer and extraordinary songwriter. Her upcoming CD is a tribute to the music of Jacques Brel, and so we have high hopes to hear several of his classic songs such as "Marathon," "Ca Va," "If We Only Have Love," "My Death," and, of course, Brel's own version of "Carousel." http://www.barringtonstageco.org/

SHIRLEY JONES - JULY 6
On July 6 Shirley Jones will sparkle plenty at Barrington Stage.
Perhaps the most anticipated event of the season is the arrival of the living legend, Shirley Jones, the sweetheart of Rodgers and Hammerstein, and star of both Carousel and Oklahoma on film. You can not miss her Monday July 6 at Barrington Stage where she will sing the songs she made famous, and many more.
Shirley Jones loves her dogs, keeps husband Marty in the doghouse.
You can see what's in store in this fascinating interview. The strangest thing is that she will stand and sing on the very stage where the set for Julianne Boyd's current production of Carousel is installed, and open her evening with "If I Loved You." Though a little wobbly at the very top these days - she just turned 75! - have no doubt that her voice is still a glorious instrument to hear. She's bringing songs, film clips and stories, too for a very special evening. http://www.barringtonstageco.org/

BEBE NEUWIRTH - JULY 11
Bebe Neuwirth at the Mahaiwe July 11
Coming to the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center on July 11 is the stunning Bebe Neuwirth, known for her roles on Cheers and Frasier, but perhaps best known to theatre buffs for her role as Sheila in A Chorus Line, and her history with Bob Fosse and Roger Reese. She has won two Emmys, two Tonys, two Drama Desks, an LA Drama Critics Circle Award, an Astaire Award, and an Outer Critics Circle Award, among others. She is closely identified with many songs, including Kurt Weill's "Here Lies Jenny," "Bilbao Song, "Susan's Dream,” "Surabaya Johnny," Herman Hupfeld’s "As Time Goes By," Stephen Sondheim's "Another Hundred People," (from “Company”), John Kander and Fred Ebb's "And the World Goes 'Round," and “Ring Them Bells” (from “Liza with a Z”), Edith Piaf's "Simply a Waltz," Weill-Ogden Nash "How Much I Love You," Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane’s "The Trolley Song," Frank Loesser "On a Slow Boat to China," Tom Waits' "A Foreign Affair" and "Shiver Me Timbers," Lennon & McCartney’s “Black Bird,” [composer] "Je Ne T'Aime Pas," Irving Berlin's "It Only Happens When I Dance With You," and Sammy Fain & Irving Kahal’s "I'll Be Seeing You." http://www.mahaiwe.org/

CABARET AT WILLIAMSTOWN THEATRE FESTIVAL
JULY 9, 10, 11

There's not a lot of cabaret in the northern Berkshires, and this series is really more of a private club than anything else. Taking place at Goodrich Hall with tables and chairs setup, WTF presents various artists at informal cabarets on two weekends over the summer. No information yet available on who and what will be presented, though in previous years, and in larger venues, it has been quite impressive. If you buy tickets now you are buying a mystery night, though it may be your only option. Tough decision, eh? The July 11 and August 1 sessions are already sold out and there are limited places left for the other nights. http://www.wtfestival.org/

JAMES NAUGHTON - JULY 13
James Naughton July 13 at the Colonial
The second of this summer's Cabaret series at the Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield, Two-time Tony Award-winner (Chicago, City of Angels), film & television star James Naughton, has won critical acclaim in dramas, comedies and musicals. He has met equal success with his elegant and intimate solo concert/Cabaret acts, receiving the 1999 Manhattan Association of Cabarets & Clubs Award for Best Male Vocalist. No information yet on the program. http://www.thecolonialtheatre.org/

CABARET AT WILLIAMSTOWN THEATRE FESTIVAL
JULY 30, 31 and August 1

A second series of performances at Goodrich Hall with tables and chairs setup, WTF presents various artists at informal cabarets on two weekends over the summer. No information yet available on who and what will be presented. The July 11 and August 1 sessions are already sold out and there are limited places left for the other nights. http://www.wtfestival.org/

STEVE ROSS - AUGUST 4
Steve Ross at the Colonial August 4
In a show called "Live at the Algonquin," Steve Ross arrives at the Colonial to perform classic songs from Dietz & Schwartz, Kurt Weill and Cole Porter, with more recent evergreens by Jim Croce and Stephen Sondheim. The San Francisco Inquirer raves, “attending a Ross performance is like opening a treasure chest of great, often rare, songs. No one performing today is his equal.” http://www.thecolonialtheatre.org/

ANDREA MARCOVICCI - AUGUST 17
Andrea Marcovicci at the Colonial on August 17
Through songs, stories and poetry, Andrea Marcovicci takes us on a journey through America’s wartime years of 1939–1945, when every song became irrevocably intertwined with precious memories. Highlights include “Skylark,” “Sentimental Journey” and “The White Cliffs of Dover.” http://www.thecolonialtheatre.org/

MELANIE - AUGUST 21
Melanie at the Colonial on August 21
While not traditional cabaret, Melanie would be perfect for the club if only her instrument was a piano instead of a guitar. But songs are songs, and she makes my list. She will be at the Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield. Melanie has sold more than 80 million records over a 40 year career. Her hits, including “Brand New Key” and “Look What They’ve Done To My Song, Ma,” plus her classic Woodstock performance of “Lay Down (Candles In The Rain)” have made her a legend. I'll be there, with or without a baby grand. http://www.thecolonialtheatre.org/