On a refreshing Saturday morning in late February, Rachel Mardy joined a group of singers of various ages and experience levels on 92nd Avenue Y, singing “Party Hat” and offering a playful sparkle, “I'm going to wear a party hat for my cat.”
Veteran 56-year-old performer and director, Mardy brought in the seven-year-old Chihuahua, Bibi. “I'm not a cat person,” she pointed out. But she said she could relate to the lyrics.
Composer, lyricist and performer Joe Iconis was enthusiastically shaking throughout Murdy's presentation. “You're very right,” he said. He said when selected participants from the pool who submitted the video performed. “It's about people looking for connections.”
The group was gathered for a cabaret performance workshop aimed at fostering fresh talent in the classic art form that has long been asserted. Each had a song about Iconis. The musical includes “Be More Chill” and “The Unteled Unauthorized Hunter S. Thompson Musical,” which were nominated for the Tony Award, which is scheduled to arrive in Washington, DC in June.
“I will do whatever I can to help set fire, especially young people,” Iconis said in an interview.
Michael Kirk Lane, a performer and education artist who is director of the 92ny School of Music's cabaret program, provided both vibrant encouragement and gentle, constructive criticism. “We don't need all of that move,” he told previous coach Katie Lovell, 31. “Trustrate your own strength and stand in it.” When Treasure Nelson, 21, seemed unsure what to do with her hands, he suggested “use them like a conversation.”
As Lane explained during the chat before the session, “Cabaret is a lyrics-driven art form. It is an art form of storytelling.” Like musical theatres, it can involve inhabiting other characters, but more often emphasizes personal expression. It's Lane and his collaborative artists. Among them are Broadway veterans such as Cabaret and Face Prince, Lilius White and Melissa Erico, highlighted in their masterclasses.
Prince launched his first weekend series in Lane in September 2023. She returned to a more intensive weekly summer meeting last July. It has a design that is similar to the annual Eugene O'Neill Theatre Centre's annual cabaret and performance meeting in Connecticut. Another Tony-winning musical theatre star Lindsay Mendes is set to join the lane in late September for the weekend program.
The professional level classes, part of the various cabaret courses offered at 92ny, came from interview lanes held with Prince for “Cabaret Conversation,” a virtual series that began during the Covid Pandemic. “The next morning I woke up to the message from my faith,” Lane recalls. “She said, 'Honey, we should teach together,'” grew up listening to the cast's recordings.
Prince said her approach to education would be a mother: “Sturdy, but affection and encouragement.” She says, “I tell my students, 'I'm sitting in YA.' That's a good thing. Because sometimes they can use something deep inside them.
The sole institution or organization in New York is not the only institution that provides guidance to cabaret aspirants. Since 2015, the Manhattan Cabaret Association has held a weekend symposium to schools every fall called Mac. This includes master classes and panels. Non-profit Singnasium offers classes and workshops with renowned artists throughout the year, including what artistic director Lennie Watts describes as a summer boot camp.
“Our motto is, “Everything, no drama,” Watts munches during the interview. “People become great friends, support each other, watch shows together, do shows together. Aside from the knowledge we are passing on, the idea that we are forming a community is the biggest victory.”
Mac to School producer Jennie Litt pointed out last year that a symposium that didn't require an audition was available to association members for $90 for $165.
The 92ny weekend workshop focuses on the extensive interaction between Lane and headline name artists. ICONIS people cost most participants $525, but auditors can attend for $100 or $150 if they sign up later. Upcoming July meetings with Prince and other guests last summer included longtime cabaret favourites such as Natalie Douglas, Sydney Meyer and Billy Stritch.
In January, 92NY announced that the American Songbook Association would launch a sponsorship of scholarships for students over the age of 16 to participate in both conferences and their workshops. One singer from Iconis' workshop was featured in part. “We've always given scholarships, but it was challenging because we give them to younger students and adults who take classes at music schools,” said Jana Stotland, executive director of school and school engagement at the 92ny Art School.
It's not the young people who first learned about cabaret in these classes. Michael Capito, a participant in the Iconis session, performing as Suitkace, was 40 years old and was a surgical nurse at the hospital for special surgery for 13 years. Growing up in Queens, he was immersed in hip-hop culture, he also loved the songs on the show. After the injury, his wife suggested a voice lesson. Suitkace began studying in the lane and took part in workshops with White. He currently performs twice at Green Room 42, a growing talent and established venue.
“I realized that everything I learned can be applied to cabarets and I can't turn my head,” Suitkars said. “They gave me the foundation. I explore the lyrics, then once I get a lot of songs, I come up with a way to put them together to tell the story. That's the same even if it breaks.
Suitkace said, “I first experienced Impostor syndrome. I wasn't sure if I could fit into this world. By the time he took the stage, “It's in your bones. It's completely there. You have that confidence and you can apply it to the rest of your life.”
