Bay Area Cabaret has announced its 2022-23 season starring five exceptional and critically acclaimed cabaret, jazz and Broadway artists, all to be presented at the famed Venetian Room, Fairmont San Francisco, beginning Sunday, October 30 through Sunday, May 14.
Bay Area Cabaret’s 12th Season will launch in grand style with the incomparable Australian chanteuse extraordinaire, Meow Meow; followed by award-winning Carole J. Bufford’s frothy hit show, Vintage Pop!; Grammy Award-winning jazz star Catherine Russell’s new show, Send for Me; the Bay Area debut of sensational Julie Benko (Fanny Brice standby in Funny Girl) and Jason Yeager performing Hand in Hand; and the return of extraordinary artist, guitarist and singer John Pizzarelli with Jessica Molaskey in A Pizzarelli Family Reunion.
Bay Area Cabaret Founder and Executive Producer Marilyn Levinson said, “The new season will welcome the exciting debut of new artists alongside the heartfelt return of stars special to the Bay Area Cabaret family all in the splendor of the elegant and legendary Venetian Room. With all of these absolutely fabulous artists, I look forward to sharing their singing, their stories and their talent and creating new memories for all of us who cherish this artform.”
MEOW MEOW, Sunday October 30, 2022 at 7.30 p.m.
What better way to begin the Bay Area Cabaret season than with something a little different, and a lot of fun! World renowned, post-post-modern diva MEOW MEOW has hypnotized, inspired and terrified audiences around the globe with sell-out performances of her unique creations. A frequent collaborator with Rufus Wainwright, Pink Martini’s Thomas Lauderdale (her 2019 album entitled Hotel Amour), Barry Humphries and symphony orchestras in San Francisco and around the world, she has been named a “Performer of the Year” by The New Yorker. A prolific original theatre, music and dance creator, Meow Meow specializes in repertoire of the 1920s German Weimar-era and has been called the “Queen of chanson.” Her universal praise includes “She is sensational; 5 Stars!” (The Times, London) and “She is that rare combination – devilish funny bones and heavenly vocal cords.” (Evening Standard, London) The artist has famously described her performance experience as: “You may not be moved, but you will be touched!”
MEOW TV: https://meowmeowrevolution.com/media
CAROLE J. BUFFORD, Sunday November 20, 2022 at 5 p.m.
Carole J. Bufford is the recipient of Broadway World’s “Vocalist of the Year,” a Mabel Mercer Foundation award winner and the recipient of adoring praise from the Wall Street Journal and New York Times (“The real thing: You know it when you see it.” – Stephen Holden.) Her new hit show, Vintage Pop!, explores how the style and sound of pop music developed over the years spanning the decades of the 1920s to ‘80s. Expect to hear fresh takes on music originally made famous by Judy Garland, Sophie Tucker, Louis Armstrong, Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley, The Animals, The Beatles, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Sting, Tina Turner, and more! – https://youtu.be/p1Y6G2yzmUI and – https://youtu.be/LFKCx911TFw
CATHERINE RUSSELL, Sunday, February 26, 2023 at 7.30 p.m.
Back by popular demand, Grammy Award-winning jazz artist Catherine Russell returns with selections from her newest album Send for Me, along with reprisals of a few wildly popular numbers from Harlem on my Mind (“The Right Key/Wrong Keyhole,” “I Can’t Believe that You’re in Love with Me”). A native New Yorker, she was born into jazz royalty, and has established herself as one of the very best song interpreters alive. The peripatetic singer continues to be in demand across the nation performing at leading jazz festivals (SFJAZZ included), Tanglewood, the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, and Carnegie Hall. The San Francisco Chronicle called her “One of jazz’s most celebrated vocalists…a dogged song sleuth with a vast and varied book of salty blues, swooning ballads, pre-World War II pop tunes, and vintage R&B.” – https://youtu.be/USQJyiakLUU and – https://youtu.be/v5s5CPYAm0I
JULIE BENKO AND JASON YEAGER, Sunday, April 16 at 5 p.m.
Who is this season’s star Broadway audiences can’t stop talking about? Funny Girl’s multi-talented standby- to-breakout star, Julie Benko! Watch her assume the role of Fanny Brice every Thursday night on Broadway). Having just released an eclectic album of American standards and original songs, or “Quarantunes”, Julie and her talented musical director/husband Jason Yeager will perform selections from their Club 44 release Hand in Hand, like “All I’ve Ever Known” (Anais Mitchell), Nina Simone’s “It Might as Well be Spring” and Janis Joplin’s “Mercedes Benz,” A gracious and multi-talented artist, often compared to Sutton Foster, Julie will demonstrate the wide range of colors in her voice, and play clarinet, flute and percussion with Jason on piano, from their brilliant album debut.
– Hand in Hand): https://youtu.be/pE8MFh6LexM and – https://youtu.be/dMSJYC4E7qI
New York Time’s story of Broadway’s latest breakout star: https://time.com/6205372/julie-benko-funny-girl-interview/
JOHN PIZZARELLI AND JESSICA MOLASKEY, Sunday, May 14, 2023 at 7.30 p.m. (Mother’s Day)
John Pizzarelli and his wife Jessica Molaskey take the stage of the Venetian Room for a beloved tradition, performing songs made popular by the late Bucky Pizzarelli, along with familiar selections by contemporary singer/songwriters. The pair will be accompanied by a third multitalented young guitarist and vocalist, making her Bay Area Cabaret debut. – https://youtu.be/VBSTuXo6OOM and – https://youtu.be/l2-miJDBTBE
Tickets for all five Bay Area Cabaret shows are now on sale and are available via www.cityboxoffice.com. A four-show subscription package with discounted prices is currently available, excluding Meow Meow, by calling the Bay Area Cabaret Box Office, (415)927-4636.
Full COVID-19 vaccination and masks are strongly recommended in the Venetian Room, except while actively drinking. Drinks are available at the Laurel Court bar and may be brought into the Venetian Room. Bay Area Cabaret and the Venetian Room masking and vaccination policies are subject to change based on infection rates, severity of cases and government regulations. Ticket-buyers are encouraged to check the BAC website for possible updates.
The Venetian Room, Fairmont San Francisco is located at 950 Mason Street atop Nob Hill.
For more information about the Bay Area Cabaret 2022-23 season, visit www.bayareacabaret.org