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Award winning cabaret performer and member of the 92Y Music Faculty, Michael Kirk Lane curates a series of conversations about the art form of cabaret in New York City.
Welcoming performers, directors, and journalists, these conversations will delve into the history and current state of this unique performance style. Each conversation will also include a Q&A session for the participants. These conversations may be purchased individually, or as a package of 3 at a discounted price!
Featuring award winning composer, lyricist, and playwright Joe Iconis. His musical, Be More Chill (with Joe Tracz) is currently playing London’s West End, after running at Broadway’s Lyceum Theatre and off-Broadway’s The Pershing Square Signature Center after a world premiere at Two River Theater.
Join in the conversation with internationally recognized master musical theater and commercial music voice technique teacher and performer, David Sabella, and award-winning cabaret/jazz singer Sue Matsuki, who has performed in virtually every NYC cabaret room! David and Sue are the editor and co-editor of CabaretHotspot.com, and authors of the book So you Want to Sing Cabaret.
Join Cabaret Conversations with Broadway, off-Broadway, television and recording artist Karen Mason, who has garnered rave reviews starring as The Queen of Hearts in Wonderland and originating the role of Tanya in Abba’s Mamma Mia, and many more!
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Michael Kirk Lane is an award-winning cabaret artist, having won the 2020 Manhattan Association of Cabaret Award for Male Musical Comedy Performer. Along with 3 previous MAC nominations, Lane has been nominated for 3 BroadwayWorld Cabaret Awards, winning in 2018 for Best Show. Stephen Mosher of BroadwayWorld Cabaret has called Lane “one of the most popular performers and people working in cabaret today.” Cabaret Scenes Magazine has deemed Lane’s work “musical comedy heaven.”
Beyond his own experience performing in cabaret, Lane’s e ...
Beyond his own experience performing in cabaret, Lane’s experience managing two of the city’s most renowned cabaret venues (The Laurie Beechman Theatre, Don’t Tell Mama) offers him a unique vantage point and perspective on the art form.
As a teaching artist for over 20 years, Lane has taught all ages from pre-school to retirement homes. In each class he brings the same philosophy to his teaching, no matter the age of the students. “Art, Theatre, and Music are ways for us to connect with our most authentic self, and to explore the world around us.”
Cabaret Conversations
Cabaret History and Great Performances
Joe Iconis is a musical theater writer and performer. He has been nominated for a Tony Award, four Drama Desk Awards, two Lucille Lortel Awards, two Outer Critics’ Circle Awards …
Joe Iconis is a musical theater writer and performer. He has been nominated for a Tony Award, four Drama Desk Awards, two Lucille Lortel Awards, two Outer Critics’ Circle Awards, and is the recipient of an Ed Kleban Award, a Jonathan Larson Award, and a Richard Rodgers Award. Be More Chill (with Joe Tracz) is currently playing London’s West End, after running at Broadway’s Lyceum Theatre and off-Broadway’s The Pershing Square Signature Center after a world premiere at Two River Theater. He is the author of Love in Hate Nation (directed by John Simpkins; Two River Theater), Broadway Bounty Hunter (with Lance Rubin and Jason SweetTooth Williams; Barrington Stage Company and Greenwich House Theater Off-Broadway), Bloodsong of Love (Ars Nova, NAMT), The Black Suits (with Robert Maddock; Center Theater Group, Barrington Stage Company), ReWrite (Urban Stages, Goodspeed Opera House), and Theaterworks USA’s The Plant That Ate Dirty Socks and We the People. Musicals currently in development include The Untitled Unauthorized Hunter S. Thompson for La Jolla Playhouse (directed by Christopher Ashley), Punk Rock Girl. His music appeared on season two of NBC’s Smash. Albums: Be More Chill (OCR), which has been streamed over 350 million times; Be More Chill (Broadway Cast Recording); Things to Ruin (OCR); Two-Player Game, The Joe Iconis Rock & Roll Jamboree, and the upcoming Broadway Bounty Hunter (OCR) all available on Sh-K-Boom/Ghostlight Records. Joe is hugely inspired by Robert Altman, Dolly Parton, The Muppets, and the Family of artists he frequently surrounds himself with. www.MrJoeIconis.com
David Sabella is internationally recognized as a master teacher in music theater and contemporary commercial music voice techniques …
David Sabella is internationally recognized as a master teacher in music theater and contemporary commercial music voice techniques. He served as a two-term president of the New York Singing Teachers’ Association (NYSTA) and as an executive director of the Broadway Theatre Project. Sabella is the owner and editor in chief of CabaretHotspot.com, an online magazine and educational resource dedicated to the art and craft of cabaret and small venue performance. He is also a reviewer for BistroAwards.com.
As a performer, Sabella has enjoyed a long and varied career. In 1996 he originated the starring role of “Mary Sunshine” in the 1996 revival of Chicago. Sabella also worked on the developmental workshops of Kander and Ebb’s last collaboration, The Visit. Off-Broadway, Sabella has performed leading roles in many productions including The Phillie Trilogy (Winner – Outstanding Lead Actor in a Play, Fresh Fruit Festival 2017); The Green Room (HBO Productions); Hexed in The City, Foxy, Watch Your Step, So Long 174th Street (Musicals Tonight!); As a voiceover artist, Sabella has worked on several network television cartoon series, including Peter Pan and the Pirates for FOX and Teacher’s Pet for Disney. He also has performed his critically acclaimed cabaret work in many clubs around New York City.
Sue Matsuki is the recipient of the first Julie Wilson Award, given by the Mabel Mercer Foundation in 2004 …
Sue Matsuki is the recipient of the first Julie Wilson Award, given by the Mabel Mercer Foundation in 2004, and was personally chosen to receive this award by Julie Wilson herself. She is also a three-time MAC Award winner: 2002 for Female Jazz/Pop/R&B Vocalist; 2006 for Jazz Duo/Special Productions for Ten Years in the Making with her music director Gregory Toroian; and 2008 for Specialty Song with “One Stop Shopping” (Matsuki/Toroian/Page).
Matsuki is a thirty-five-year veteran cabaret/jazz singer and has also performed in virtually every New York City cabaret room. Matsuki has toured nationally and appeared in numerous jazz and cabaret clubs throughout the United States. Matsuki has recorded two albums: A New Take and Sue & Edd’s Fabulous Christmas (with Edd Clark).
Matsuki is a managing coeditor, reviewer, and a columnist for CabaretHotspot.com, an online entertainment and educational resource for cabaret and small venue performance. She has also written for Cabaret Hotline Online and Nightlife Exchange. Matsuki is highly regarded as a teacher of cabaret and has presented workshops and seminars for the Manhattan Association of Cabarets (MAC), the Ridgefield Theater Barn, the University of Connecticut, and the Canadian School of Performing Arts. She has also served on the board of directors for MAC.
Karen Mason has starred on Broadway, Off-Broadway, television, and recording …
Karen Mason has starred on Broadway, Off-Broadway, television, and recording and “has few peers when it comes to ripping the roof off with her amazing voice that knows no bounds!” She is “an American Idol!” (New York Times)
Karen, the recipient of the 2019 MAC Lifetime Achievement Award, is a 12-time MAC Award winner and has won the MAC Award for Major Female Vocalist of the Year for six consecutive years. Her highly acclaimed recordings include her newest single, “It’s About Time.” She has also won the 2006 Nightlife Award for Major Female Vocalist and has three Bistro Awards.
On Broadway, she garnered rave reviews starring as The Queen of Hearts in Wonderland and she originated the role of Tanya in Abba’s Mamma Mia! (Drama Desk nomination). Her other leading roles include Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard; Velma von Tussel in the final Broadway company of Hairspray; “Monotony” singer, Mazeppa in Jerome Robbins’ Broadway; Rosalie in Carnival (Drama Desk nomination); plus featured roles in Broadway’s Torch Song Trilogy; and Play Me a Country Song.
Karen won the Outer Critics Circle Award for her performance in And the World Goes ‘Round, and starred Off-Broadway in her own show Karen Mason Sings Broadway, Beatles and Brian.
Karen has headlined Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Feinstein’s, Rainbow & Stars, The Algonquin, Arci’s Place, The Supper Club and The Ballroom in NYC; The Plush Room, The Fairmont Hotel, The Orinda in San Francisco; and The Park West, Davenport’s in Chicago.
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