Back to Eartha

September songs will be heard uptown, downtown, and all around the town, as the city’s big three cabarets reopen for business.

The more-beautiful-than-ever Café Carlyle welcomes back the more-beautiful-than-ever Eartha Kitt (September 18-27). As the 80-years-young performer proved earlier this summer with a two-act concert at Carnegie Hall, Kitt can still wow a crowd like few other performers!

Feinstein’s at the Regency kicks off its season with its own returning stars, the R&B duo Ashford & Simpson (September 11-29), who gave one of last year’s most critically acclaimed shows. The club’s lower-priced Sunday-Monday series gets off to a starry start with Tony Award nominee Keith David in his tribute show to the late, great Nat King Cole (September 22-23).

The Oak Room at the Algonquin Hotel hosts two of the city’s most beloved stars: Steve Ross in Good Thing Going (September 4-15), a salute to the peerless Stephen Sondheim, and KT Sullivan (without frequent partner-in-crime Mark Nadler) in the aptly-titled Autumn in New York (September 18-October 13).

Jim Caruso’s Broadway at Birdland series continues to thrill the crowds with appearances by Tony Award winner Linda Lavin (September 3-4), I Feel Good, a star-studded tribute to the late James Brown (September 10), singer-songwriters Amanda Green and Tom Kitt (September 16), Broadway star Kate Shindle with composer Michael John LaChiusa (September 17), the always popular Nancy Anderson (September 23), Legally Blonde composer-lyricist Larry O’Keefe (September 24), and the wonderful Donna Lynne Champlin (September 30).

Over at the ever-eclectic Joe’s Pub, highlights include singer Ari Gold (September 4), Jersey Boys star Daniel Reichard (September 8) and singer-songwriter Jeremy Schonfeld (September 16). At the ultra-hip Zipper Factory, you can catch the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus (September 7) and a benefit performance of the comedy sensation Celebrity Autobiography: In Their Own Words (September 10), featuring guest appearances by Kristen Johnston, Tony Roberts, Jackie Hoffman, and Seth Rudetsky, before The Sensual Woman, a burlesque-variety show hosted by Margaret Cho begins a four-week run on September 26.

There’s plenty of excitement this month at The Metropolitan Room, where the extensive list of performers includes the divine Penny Fuller (September 5-9), the legendary Marilyn Maye (September 12-23), and MAC Award winners Leslie Orofino (September 23, 30), Barbara Brussell (September 27), Eric Comstock (September 28-29), and Ricky Ritzel and Leslie Anderson (September 30).

At Laurie Beechman Theatre at the West Bank Cafe, the main events include the Gene Krupa Orchestra (September 5, 12, 19, 26), Crossroads starring Michael Givens, Marc G. Dalio, and David Rappaport (September 6-15), a special “Cabaret Cares” benefit featuring cast members from Jersey Boys (September 9), jazz performer Mark Rapp (September 11), the launch of the new monthly event Saturday Night Underground, hosted by Ben Rimalower and Lady J (September 15), cabaret favorite Maureen Kelley Stewart (September 16, 20, 23), Alexander Karotis and the Rock Opera Orchestra (September 22, 28), and jazz singer Scot Albertson (September 26).

If you’re heading out to the Hamptons, make sure you make time for a stop at the Bay Street Theatre Comedy Club, where two of the country’s most popular comics are ready to make you laugh: Robert Schimmel (September 3) and Zach Galifianakis (September 8).

Moving on to the great state of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia’s Morgan’s Cabaret at the Prince begins its season with Billy Stritch singing the Mel Tormé Songbook (September 26-October 7), while Cabaret Pittsburgh‘s Riverview Series continues with that statuesque songstress, Karen Akers (September 28).

Heading to the West Coast, San Francisco’s Empire Plush Room presents Steven Brinberg as Simply Barbra (September 1-2), former Married With Children star Katey Sagal (September 4-8), 17-year-old singing sensation Judy Butterfield (September 9-13), the uproarious Sharon McNight (September 14-23), and jazz favorite Tierney Sutton (September 25-29).
Meanwhile, L.A.’s Sterling’s Upstairs at Vitello will host Tony Award nominee Rachel York (September 9, 15), musical theater star Eric Matthews (September 23), and former Mamma Mia! star Tam Evans (September 29).