By Rex Reed 10/05/11 10:25am

cabaret

Akers.

Send in the Karens!

Learning to sing the complicated songs of Stephen Sondheim fluently, remain rue to your own style, and examine fresh interpretations at the same time is a challenge few singers have managed to master. Karen Akers is the rare exception. In her ravishing new show at the Algonquin’s fabled Oak Room (through Oct. 29) she looks at the brilliant composer’s erratic tempos and captivating lyrics through a magnifying glass, finding new meanings under, behind and on the edges of lyrics less courageous performers inevitably pass over. The result is adventurous and thrilling. Read More

By Rex Reed 9/29/09 9:26pm

Akers Singing Porter Transported Me!

The new cabaret season is in full swing. A streamlined Jack Jones, still recovering from back surgery and singing the unfailing get-well lyrics of Alan and Marilyn Bergman, accompanied in a rare appearance by the fantastic pianist Mike Renzi, kicked things off at the Algonquin, and it’s good to know he’s lost none of his Read More

By Rex Reed 4/24/06 12:00am

Haran, Akers—Cabaret’s Best

On the music scene, Hoagy Carmichael is wrong: Spring will not be a little late this year. To quote Lorenz Hart, spring is here. The proof in the pudding is currently being served by two of the cabaret scene’s most cherished stars. Before they tear down the Bemelmans murals from the walls and move the Read More

By Rex Reed 4/24/06 12:00am

Haran, Akers-Cabaret’s Best

On the music scene, Hoagy Carmichael is wrong: Spring will not be a little late this year. To quote Lorenz Hart, spring is here. The proof in the pudding is currently being served by two of the cabaret scene’s most cherished stars. Before they tear down the Bemelmans murals from the walls and move the Read More

By Rex Reed 4/19/04 12:00am

Lass With Class

It’s official: Despite the confused but overzealous TV weathermen, the bikini displays at Barneys and the street-corner Koreans selling potted daffodils imported from Amsterdam, spring will be a little late this year. That hasn’t stopped the rushing of the season, however, by two current cabaret divas and one cabaret divan. Maria Friedman can touch your Read More