Body and Soul
(© Joseph Marzullo/WENN)
They may call them the dog days of August, but there are plenty of acts that can be considered “the cat’s meow” in the city’s cabarets and clubs this month.
In fact, the star-studded lineup for Broadway at Birdland is worth staying in town for! The month’s attractions include Tony Award nominee Sam Harris (August 1-2), Broadway and cabaret favorite Karen Mason (August 4); Extravagainza: The Songs of Henry Gainza (August 11), featuring such Broadway stars as Tituss Burgess, Janet Dacal, and Christopher Jackson; and the superstar-studded Soul Deep: An Anthology of Soul Music (August 18), featuring Tony winners Chuck Cooper and Adriane Lenox, along with Nick Blaemire, La La Brooks, Alex Cooper, Lilli Cooper, Asmeret Ghebremichael, Chad Goodridge, Jessica Hershberg, Rebecca Naomi Jones, Justin Keyes, Brandi Chavonne Massey, Maurice Murphy, Destan Owens, Vanessa Jones, Sophia Stephens, Marty Thomas, Harry Thompson, Johnny Voltik, Jasmin Walker and Kenny Williams.
The eclectic goings-on at the Zipper Factory include South Pacific‘s George Psomas (August 4), Lady, Lady, Lady: Midsummer Madness (August 6), Stars in the Margin (August 11) featuring Martha Plimpton, Lucy Wainwright Roche, Dan Lipton, John Wesley Harding, Jim True-Frost, Sally Murphy, Bridget Everett, and Julian Fleisher, Desert Sin’s Musee Des Femmes (August 12), Dean & Britta (August 21), and Our Lady J (August 27).
At Joe’s Pub, the wide variety of acts include Tony winner John Gallagher, Jr. (August 3 and 5), the one-and-only Justin Bond (August 3 and 17), singer-songwriter Joe Iconis (August 4), the third installment of Broadway Loves the ’80s (August 10), hosted by Mo Rocca and featuring Ugly Betty stars Michael Urie and Becki Newton, former Cry-Baby star James Snyder (August 11), and cast members from the Shakespeare in the Park production of Hair (August 11).
The Metropolitan Room continues to spotlight some of the town’s top talent including MAC Award winner Lina Koutrakos (August 1-2), Marcus Simeone (August 3), Laurie Krauz and the Daryl Kojak Trio (August 7), Scott Barbarino and Bev-Naps (August 7 and 28), Mary Foster Conklin (August 9), Broadway favorite Andrea McArdle (August 13-15, 22-24), Miles Phillips and Karen Oberlin (August 17), Mychelle Colleary (August 21), Amy Wolk (August 24), and the continuing seven-week long METROSTAR talent contest (August 1, 4, 11, 18).
Elsewhere around town, the Laurie Beechman Theatre at the West Bank Café will present Broadway stars Carey Anderson (August 4), Donna Lynne Champlin (August 11), Liz McCartney (August 17, 24), and John Treacy Egan and Marty Thomas in a Cabaret Cares benefit (August 18); Ars Nova will host the group TastiSkank (August 4); Iridium Jazz Club will feature Capathia Jenkins and Louis Rosen (August 5); and Lorenzo’s in Staten Island will play home to film star and nightclub performer Danny Aiello (August 8).
Finally, the Highline Ballroom will host Tony winner Lillias White (August 9), film star Billy Bob Thornton (August 18), a special 10th anniversary celebration of Hedwig and the Angry Inch (August 21), and pop star Richard Marx (August 30).
