Sidney Myer
Performer, Booking Manager of Don't Tell Mama
What is your view of the shape of cabaret today?
I have been interviewed from The New York Times to NY1 about the state of cabaret and other forms of live entertainment. It is often fashionable to bash Broadway, saying it is dying and things like "Phantom of the Opera" is about a chandelier or "Miss Saigon" is about a helicopter—denigrating Broadway for all the special effects. They say rock concerts are about spectacle and pyrotechnics. They say films are about technology and animation. Well, I don't put down any other type of entertainment and its accompanying wizardry. There is indeed a place for everything, and I also think there will always be a place for cabaret.
In this increasingly impersonal, automated world, where you often can't even get a human voice on the telephone, people are hungry for human contact and to experience a "live" person on stage singing to you—that you could reach out and touch. Just you and the night and the music—one person alone in the spotlight is as powerful, moving, timeless, and thrilling as any or all of these other art forms. Cabaret doesn't have to take a back seat to anything else.
How has cabaret helped your career?
As a result of my work in cabaret, I make a really great living in venues around the country and the world that is truly beyond my expectations. And I am a cabaret performer. Granted, I earn the most on the road in large concert halls and theatres. But what I'm doing in these venues is the same exact thing I do in 80-to-100-seat cabarets.
How does the future look for cabaret?
I think the future for our art form is not bleak. Rooms close. Rooms open. What else is new?
Is there still a growing audience for cabaret today?
There is definitely an audience out there, as the sold-out cabaret conventions (around the country and in England) prove. Also, "cabaret" can be defined so many ways (jazz, comedy, etc.). And there are the casino show rooms in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, etc., which are comparable to large cabarets, added to the mix. Cabaret-style entertainment continues to reach wider audiences.
Who can help cabaret get more exposure?
Granted, cabaret rarely gets television coverage, which would help enormously, but we also only have 80-to-100 seats to fill, as opposed to a Broadway house or movie theatres across the country. The mainstream media doesn't know what it's missing out on. Ultimately, in spite of some wrinkles, I think the future looks good for cabaret.
Performer
What are the biggest differences in cabaret then and now?
I was fortunate because my "then" was Reno Sweeney, the club that recaptured the intimacy of an evening of musical discovery or rediscovery, an evening of affordable fun, and an evening experiencing live entertainment. It was the kind of evening that had been eclipsed by the Vietnam War, campus riots, and assassinations. My "then" was also the Ballroom, the Grand Finale, Les Mouches, and Tramps. My "then" was getting paid. My "then" was hopeful. The clubs had their own press person who promoted the club itself. The reputation of the club, coupled with a reputation for presenting good talent, was what brought people in.
When I returned to cabaret in 1991, after a 10-year hiatus, I was stupefied when I found you worked for the door with no guarantee. I had not experienced the new "do-it-yourself" cabaret. To me, fliers were things that clubs like Reno Sweeney did that were smaller versions of the famed posters that so defined that club—and an era. They took out ads and, as the club became better known, so did the logo. I also had to learn about fliers, mailing lists, scary networking, and, in many cases, working for a percentage of the cover charge. It was a whole new ball game. Suddenly, performing was secondary to making calls to pull in an audience. Speaking for myself, I feel I must focus on my song list rather than my mailing list.
I performed very long runs at Eighty Eight's in the '90s. I also worked at the Russian Tea Room, Rainbow & Stars, Joe's Pub, Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, blues and jazz festivals, and high-end clubs around the country. I work on the creative all the time. It's life. And life is the music.
What can clubs do now to help performers?
I know it is hard enough to keep the doors open and maintain all the expenses involved in running a club. But, if the clubs would promote their venues more and advertise in local papers and magazines, that would benefit both the club and the artist financially. For example, Don't Tell Mama takes a small ad in the theatre programs [Playbill]. While they are located conveniently for the theatre crowd, I think that little ad has made a difference. Whatever a club can do to build a good reputation just helps. It's not one single thing; it's a lot of things.
Where do you see cabaret going in the future?
If performers can't afford the money involved in mailings, publicity, rehearsals, and other expenses of putting a show together, we're going to lose some terrific talents who might just give up. Working for a percentage of the door isn't working; it's compromising. It was never the ideal arrangement to begin with.
Erv Raible
Executive Director of the Cabaret Conference at Yale, Director, Publicist, Co-Founder of Manhattan Association of Cabarets, and Former Owner of Eighty Eight's, Brandy's, the Duplex, and Don't Tell Mama
What is your view of the current state of cabaret?
Cabaret is obviously not in the best shape now. It's at the lowest point since the early '90s, when there was an economic crunch. Of course, there was Sept. 11, which obviously changed so much. When the public tightened its belt, entertainment, especially cabaret, was one of the first things to be hit. Also, the advent of videos, DVDs, and other forms of high-tech entertainment didn't help things. Suddenly, there was nothing that couldn't be bought to view at home, like concerts and even special "live" events that included cabaret artists on PBS, etc.
I also think the cover charges in the major rooms are absurd and most people cannot afford to go into those rooms on a regular basis. To spend $150 a couple to see a show in a high-end room is hurting the cabaret community in general. Audiences are dwindling.
Is the cabaret landscape in good health?
The main problem remains the economy. Too many talented people cannot afford the expense involved in putting together a show. And, on the other side of the coin, some less-talented people, who have excessive amounts of money to spend, shouldn't be doing shows to begin with. It hurts the credibility of the art form. Anyone doing it for a lark—shouldn't.
Where do you think it is all headed?
Fortunately, there are always new performers on the horizon who will embrace cabaret, either as a career move or a steppingstone to other entertainment ventures. Consequently, there will always be a need for cabaret. Broadway doesn't have the same opportunities for new performers to be in the spotlight and hone their craft in front of a live audience.
Musically, it is also headed in different directions. Over the last 10 or 12 years, many pop singers have found a home in cabaret. This is fine if the singers can adjust to the intimacies of small rooms and interpret lyrics to an audience that's really paying attention. "Big and loud" is thrilling, but cabaret audiences who pay attention want more than loud sounds. As Sylvia Syms always said, "It's about the words first."
Is the torch being passed or has a new one been lit?
The torch of great music is always being passed. As far as a new one, I don't think there is a new one. Truthfully, there are not enough potential Liza Minnellis or Bette Midlers on the scene today who have that magic star power to entertain the masses and become household words. However, there are still wonderful people entering the arena every day. And, yes, they are grabbing for that star and willing to learn. My experiences teaching at the Cabaret Conference at Yale have been rewarding. The very fact that this kind of teaching program has been accepted at Yale is unprecedented in the history of cabaret. It is one of the single most positive and successful endeavors today and brings cabaret to a new level.
Yes, cabaret has a future. There are downsides to the business, but there are some revolutionary things in the works. The seeds have finally been planted for a prestigious new national music and cabaret organization that will be announced once the legal paperwork has been processed. Yes, the torch will be passed.
Phil Geoffrey Bond
Booking Manager of the Duplex
Other than organizations like the Manhattan Association of Cabarets & Clubs (MAC), what is being done to improve the state of cabaret today?
It would be nice if the economics of it could change. If people with lots of money—producers, hotel owners, restaurant owners, etc.—could realize the importance and the marketability of cabaret and invest in promoting and featuring performers in their venues. It would be nice if the mainstream media would reinvest themselves in this art form. It would also be nice if really amazing performers met up with people who can help them on a more frequent basis. And it would be nice if we stopped differentiating between "major" rooms and "minor" rooms, and started to blur those audiences.
Is MAC doing enough to help expose the public to cabaret? Any suggestions?
Now, the whole MAC argument is an interesting one that could go on for pages and never reach a clear conclusion. There are scores of folks who come to the Duplex—I'd say 60-70%—who have never heard of MAC, nor do they care to. They still have a great time, and they've discovered a show they came there to see from other sources. That question is akin to asking, "Do I think Actors' Equity has done enough to expose theatre?" I'm not sure that should be MAC's primary focus. I think producers are needed in cabaret desperately. MAC is not a producer. Regardless, there are interesting things currently afoot in the organization, and I look forward to seeing how they pan out.
Who are the real advocates in the cabaret community today?
I suppose I see the real advocates as the folks who continually show up in my audiences. They're a dying breed, and they're rare in that they appreciate the beauty and the elegance of this art form. There once were a lot more of them. We need to cultivate more folks who gamble and show up and experience new things.
What have you done in booking to improve cabaret on the landscape?
I've made a conscious effort to meld the theatre and cabaret worlds, because I think the things we at the Duplex share are a very common bond. We've had a myriad of legendary composers in the space, as well as new songwriters. I've also tried to make the space more theatrical by hosting plays and musical projects, not only singers and vocal ensembles. I've also made an effort to bring artists downtown who normally play the really expensive rooms, for a much smaller cover, in order to make their work more accessible to everyone. It's been a wonderful experience and experiment in audience crossover. It's a hoot to see these nice (and really charming, might I add) Algonquin people in rhinestones and pearls (sometimes they wear them together!) sitting at the upstairs bar at the Duplex drinking Heineken from a bottle.
I've also made an effort to garner increased exposure for the room in the media (I spent three years as a publicist). Further, I've tried to bring together cabaret and theatre performers from all walks of life with projects like the upcoming Hoboken Cabaret Festival, which only broadens the public's awareness of the art form.
What do you see in the future for cabaret?
The popularity of cabaret, like most anything of quality, will always come and go and continue to rebound as generations pass. I think that the art form will continue to reinvent itself, and garner a new generation of artists and audiences who can appreciate the subtle art of work in an intimate venue, with or without the use of a "fourth wall." The possibilities are endless. We have only to create them.
—John Hoglund