Marilyn Maye to Present Lainie Kazan With 'Lifetime Achievement' Award at Bistro Awards Gala, 3/4

Two New York Cabaret Awards shows down, two to go.

Who would have ever thought that the New York Cabaret scene would end up having almost as many awards shows as the film industry? The Nightlife Awards Show at Town Hall was presented on January 14, and the newly established BroadwayWorld.com New York Cabaret Awards Show filled the Metropolitan Room on February 21. The Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs (MAC) will hold its 27th Annual MAC Awards Show on March 21 at B.B. King's Blues Club. But next up is the granddaddy of all the Cabaret Award shows, the 28^th Annual Bistro Awards Gala, which recognizes outstanding achievement in New York cabaret, jazz, and comedy, on March 4 at 6:30pm at the Gotham Comedy Club (208 West 23rd Street, Between 7th & 8th Ave). The evening, under the direction of Shellen Lubin, will once again be co-hosted by comedian and actor Jim David, and will feature performances from most of this year's Bistro-winning artists.

This year's featured honorees include Lainie Kazan (photo above), Clint Holmes, Sue Raney, Jenifer Lewis, Alec Mapa (all of whom are flying into New York from the West Coast to attend the event), Maurice Hines and Justin Vivian Bond. One of the real treats of every Bistro Awards is seeing the presenters who are on hand to bestow special awards. At the March 4^th event, the legendary cabaret singer Marilyn Maye will be presenting fellow legend singer-actress Lainie Kazan with the "Bob Harrington Lifetime Achievement Award;" Dee Dee Bridgewater, who won last year's Bistro for "Ongoing Artistry in Jazz," will present the Award for "Enduring Artistry" to Maurice Hines; Director, Acting Coach and Author Larry Moss will be on hand to present Clint Holmes with the Bistro for "Major Engagement " for his 2012 show This Thing Called Love: Cole Porter & Paul Simon at the Café Carlyle; Nikki Blonsky, who starred in the 2007 film Hairspray, is presenting Alec Mapa with the Bistro for "Comedy Monology" for his show Baby Daddy at the Laurie Beechman Theatre; and Producer/Composer/Director Lee Summers will present Jennifer Lewis with the Bistro for "Dazzling Return to New York Cabaret" for her show Black Don't Crack at 54 Below.

The Bistro Awards Show was an outgrowth of writer Bob Harrington's cabaret column honoring performers in the entertainment-industry newspaper Back Stage. Five years after Harrington's column began in 1985, the Bistros staged their first live presentation at the club Eighty Eights. The Awards show has been at the Gotham Comedy Club for the past six years. "Though larger than an average cabaret venue, it still maintains the intimacy of a small cabaret room which is so essential to the art," says Producer and Host Sherry Eaker, a former Editor-in-Chief of Back Stage. "The Bistro Awards Show is an evening filled with great performances from the winners--the stars, as well as the talented newcomers--who represent a wide variety of styles from the worlds of cabaret, comedy, and jazz. Our mission is to recognize, encourage, and support new talent and our philosophy is to be as constructive as possible. The awards show is simply a culmination of what we do year-round." (Please click on Page 2 below to continue)

During more than 30 years as a magazine and website publisher/editor/writer, Stephen Hanks has written about sports, health and nutrition, parenting, politics, the media, musical theater, and cabaret. In addition to writing about New York City cabaret for BroadwayWorld.com, Stephen also reviews cabaret shows for Cabaret Scenes Magazine and CabaretScenes.org. He is the Board President of Musical Mondays Theatre Lab, which workshops new musicals in New York City, and a former Board Member of the Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs. In 2011, Stephen was an Associate Producer for the Off-Broadway show THE FARTISTE. Please contact Stephen with your comments and questions at: stephenhanks41@gmail.com

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