My dad loved to fish - ocean fishing, mostly in Barnegat Bay, usually hiring a boat at Toms River, NJ. And when he returned home he would always gift me with a tangled fishing line, because he knew I really had fun untangling things. I suppose this was preparation for my several later careers that included bookkeeping & accounting, then computer programming, then website creation (which I continue to do to this day). The trick to untangling (what ever the job) is to mentally keep track of the entire string while working on a particular section.
My website has about 6700 pages covering cabaret all the way back to when it we began online in 1997. It even includes articles from the previous hard copy print editions that began in 1990, and thus our 20th Anniversary this year. These 6700 pages are all interconnected and linked. A change in one place has an effect on many other places. So, on Monday I began editing the article that Cape Cod sweetheart Joni Rapp sent about the recent PROVINCETOWN CABARET FESTIVAL, as well a resizing the photos she sent. And came up with the idea to create a special section for festivals - so many going on this year (see the info on the ORLANDO CABARET FESTIVAL at the top of this issue).
Sounded like a simple task, but it turned into a mini-nightmare. You see, I've been covering several festivals over the years, including the "big one", the ADELAIDE CABARET FESTIVAL in Australia. And so I was moving and re-linking them into the new section, and discovering several mis-linked pages along the way, as well as several that were actually "orphans" - no way to find them except through Google!
And before I knew it, Wednesday night arrived, and I needed to get set up for today's newsletter. So, please check the website tomorrow or Saturday for the "exciting" new section, and the terrific article that Joni sent. Of course, once things are all organized, it will be a "snap" to add new festival items along the way!
There's no festival next week here in NYC, but it might as well be called one. The MAC (Manhattan Association of Cabarets) AWARDS happen on Tuesday, the CONCERTS AT TUDOR GREENS on Wednesday, and the amazing Julie Wilson opens a 2-week run at THE METROPOLITAN ROOM (also on Wednesday). In addition, one of the funniest (cleverly funny, not stand-up funny) ladies in cabaret, Teresa Fischer, teams up with musically funny (check out his clever riffs) Paul Chamlin, with two performances of her new show at DON'T TELL MAMA (the first one also on Wednesday the 7th). What's a cabaret fan like me to do with so many great shows/events on the same night? "Bring in the clones"
We haven't heard much directly about "post Mac Award" parties this year. We did received a note as part of a press release that THE IRIDIUM is putting on a special midnight performance of the vocal group THE BOBS on Tuesday night for MAC attendees (and others), and there is an item on the DON'T TELL MAMA website about a post-MAC party (both clubs are within a few blocks of BB KINGS, where the gala will be held). I'll try to include a rundown of any and all post-MAC AWARD events I hear about in Monday's newsletter.
ATTENTION CABARET HOTLINE ONLINE MEMBERS: Did you send back your CABARET HOTLINE ONLINE 2010 MAC AWARD contest entry yet? DEADLINE IS SUNDAY, MAY 2nd. Remember, it is really a contest and not a vote. We want you to predict the winners - not necessarily the ones you want to win. Just mark your ballot with one performer in each category and e-mail it back. The person(s) who most accurately predicts the most winners will be awarded a set of 6 cabaret CDs (the award will be divided if more than one winner results.) We are only balloting on the top categories. If you need a new entry form, let me know.
Time is running out on the BANNER AD sale (25% off - minimum of 3 weeks continuous any size banner). The offer will end on May 9th so that purchasers can get their 3 weeks in before the end of May. Membership discounts/rebates also apply to the banners (meaning GOLD members get nearly a 45% discount!). Side-bar ads not included in this deal (the MEMBERS ONLY sidebar ad sale ends this Sunday).
Twice a week I accumulate the press releases and show notices I receive and "tune them up" for the twice-weekly newsletters, and often find gems of interest (and humor). I truly hope that you aren't just skimming through the listings - there are some amazing shows going on around the world, and cabaret is always evolving, moving into new fields, covering new topics, looking at life from new angles - all of which I give you evidence for in these newsletters.
For example, here is a quote from the press release received for Barb Jungr's METROPOLITAN ROOM run starting on the 18th of May - see the full (edited) release in the listings. Listen to this gem:
"Jungr implies with her eye-opening interpretations (that reveal latent emotional content when she dislodges the songs from their original contexts), that many American songwriters from the rock era and beyond are not a breed apart from their predecessors like Gershwin, Kern, Mercer and Berlin. Is it right to have already closed the book (or the door) on the Great American Songbook? Jungr believes it is still being written and that Dylan, Springsteen and Cohen can comfortably sit beside Porter and the rest." BRAVA!
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