DRESS TO IMPRESSHow important is it to dress for stage these days? I think it’s very important. I am personally tired of seeing people step on stage slovenly or uber casual when I’ve just paid $30 a ticket and I got all dressed up for them! I want the whole package…I want the whole experience…I want the pizzazz!  Remember that people who come to your show want to feel like they are going out for a night on the town. If they look better than you do, it is not very r...

As a producer of many shows, most of them benefits, and as the Producer of the annual Winter Rhythms at Urban Stages every December and now the NATS Musical Theater Competition, I have a lot to say on how one should act if invited to do a Group Show. Respond to all emails as they are sent asking for a photo, bio, song choice...do not  make the Producer chase after you. Show up for your rehearsal time 10 minutes before your allotted time as, many times, these rehearsals go pretty q...

As the host of my own Open Mic for 3 years, here are some helpful hints on how to proceed when attending and Open Mic and more importantly, on what NOT to do! You should arrive at least 30 minutes before the Open Mic starts to get settled in and to order.   Check in with the host or sign up.   You need to bring 2-3 IDENTICAL copies of your music )depending on how many musicians are playing the gig) with chord symbols taped accordion style... no books, no loose sheets, no double-sided c...

This column was inspired by my dear friend Richard Skipper saying that, for promoting, “It all comes down to: Like, Comment, Share!”I have been noticing a lot of little things about promotion and filling our rooms that might be worth sharing. This topic came out of an on-going conversation I have been having with other singers lamenting the smaller numbers in their rooms and asking what we can do about it.After any natural disaster or an event like 9/11 we all say, &ld...

I am thrilled to kick off my new Sue’s Views column RIGHT here on my own website! I have previously written columns for Nightline Exchange and on the late Stu Hamstra’s Cabaret Hotline Online and am currently also published on Cabaret Hotspot so many of these earlier postings will be re-posts of some of the more successful columns. As a Reviewer, Writer, Producer, Multi-Award-Winning Singer and now an Author who sees a lot of shows every week and who has been performin...

“The stage is bare, the lights are gone, the love we shared still lingers on. I sang and played, and we laughed and cried and in my fumbling way I tried…to say what only hearts can know and all too soon we had to go…” – Sandi PattiHere I am at my computer ready to launch tonight’s Cabaret Hotspot! Newsletter and Spotlights after having just debuted my first full, formal Cabaret show back since January 2019. I know, the glamorous life of a performer...

Cabaret - cab·a·ret/ˌkabəˈrāt/Noun - is defined by Wikipedia as:  "Entertainment held in a nightclub or restaurant while the audience eats or drinks at tables.""A nightclub or restaurant where such entertainment is performed."If you really want to know the history of Cabaret and the "how to's" of Cabaret, buy our book, "So You Want to Sing Cabaret" available right here on CabU! But also...For those of you who do not have Bob Harr...

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SINGING SETS OF TUNES vs. PUTTING UP A FORMAL CABARET SHOW? This question may seem obvious, but it’s a little more complicated right now. Since I know that many of you do not sing sets, I thought this column might be helpful.As many of my New York readers know, my band and I have been singing regularly at West Bank Café and at Pangea. We were hired to sing “sets” vs. doing a formal Cabaret show. Since the Pangea gig is a Jazz Open...

We are all very excited by the CDC’s recent statement that masks are now no longer going to be required for outdoor and indoor clubs and restaurants, but this is still a very personal choice for each of us.With NO judgement on whatever choices you will make in the up-coming months as we all try to find our way back to the “new normal” of live performance, I wanted to share a couple of updates on what’s going on in the clubs and about my own performance choices for you to ...

I have been so lucky to have had some of the most amazing mentors in my singing career over these past 30 years. Here is some of the BEST advice I have ever gotten form them: TRUDI MANN – Trudi and I go back over 30 years. We met and sang together at the original Village Gate. While Trudi never offered and verbal advice, by nature of how she performed the songs that chose and the way that she was always jazzy but still completely connect to her lyric, made a lasting impression on me t...