Pizza on the Park - London, UK By Harold Sanditen
Any performer runs a major risk when he provides previous press quotes to a reviewer, or for that matter, any audience member. He has a lot to live up to in those quotes, and Craig Pomranz has quotes which even God Himself would envy.
We have two male singers: Craig Pomranz and Steven Pasquale, both singing in especially sweet, lyrical voices and both including composers Gershwin, Rodgers, Berlin, and Strouse.
cabaret-hotline by Stu Hamstra
I did get to see one cabaret show since Monday, and that was last nights show by Craig Pomranz at The Metropolitan Room at 7:30 pm. I must immediately add that musical director was Stephen Bocchino, who not only provided accompaniment, but also served as both foil and accomplice in much of the funny banter that spiced up the show. The show was also a celebration and release of Craig's long awaited new CD, titled MORE THAN A SEASONAL THING and the show included most of the songs from the album.
What is cabaret to me?
Essentially, it's the chance to communicate, really communicate, with an audience, intimately and emotionally. Nothing's needed except the singer, the song, of course a musician or two, and the give and take of the audience. You have the rare opportunity to express your own self with lyrics that mean something and music that shapes those lyrics indelibly. You can explore a vast treasury of great songs that are sometimes lost and yet found again and can be retold in a new way.
"At the Ritz.com" (Satellite radio/internet program) by Lynn DiMenna
Craig Pomranz 'More Than A Seasonal Thing' Metropolitan Room
I had heard the "buzz", read the "hype" and listened to his first CD and I was very anxious to see and hear Craig Pomranz perform in his latest outing at The Metropolitan Club in New York debuting the songs from a much anticipated new "concept" CD entitled "More Than A Seasonal Thing." As a performer, he proved himself to be a "triple threat," a "singer for all seasons," if you will, who has clearly earned the glowing reviews he's received since returning to the cabaret stage.
It's all about Entertainment! by Rob Lester
So the new year is a few days old. Have you broken your New Year's Resolution yet? Or is it breaking you? Hopefully, it's making your life better and richer. The replies were a mix of the serious and tongue-in-cheek and some were uplifting and upbeat. It's a nice balance, just like a cabaret show with a nice mix of serious songs, and some tongue-in-cheek ones, and some uplifting, upbeat numbers. There is no cover and no minimum to read this column. But you might be interested in getting to know a little of what these cabaret folks have on their minds as you keep track of whose show you might want to note in your brand-new 2009 desk calendar:
Cabaret Scenes by Elliot Zwiebach
Craig Pomranz makes an audience sigh at the sheer beauty with which he sings. It doesn’t happen just once or twice, as it’s bound to in a show by any decent singer. It happens repeatedly — not only because of the precision and artistry with which he sings but also from the strong choices he makes in selecting material.
Tenor of the Times
Presently hitting high notes at hot spots around Manhattan... is tenor Craig Pomranz. Under Leslie Lipton's exceptional musical direction, the sensitive singer delivers a potpourri of old and new songs, among them an uproarious version of Jule Styne's 'People' with original lyrics, a nostalgic handling of Irving Berlin's 'Count Your Blessings' and a sleek, sexy rendition of Robert Freedman's 'Do You Wanna Dance?'... Pomranz is almost effortlessly shivering timbres on high C's.
© GQ
