• Talkin Broadway Sound Advice: Nominee Next To Normal And Weight
• Talkin Broadway Sound Advice: Nominee Next To Normal And Time

He is a skilled pianist, having played in a dozen Broadway shows, and is also a frequent accompanist for Broadway stars in concerts around the world, including four shows this coming season at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts. Penned by the creators of the Tony and Pulitzer-winning 'Next to Normal', Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey, “If/Then” began Broadway previews March 4 after trying out at Washington, D.C.' S National Theater.

Tickets go on sale to the general public on Monday, June 26 at 10:00am ET for SpongeBob SquarePants on Broadway at The Palace Theatre (1564 Broadway - Broadway at 47th Street). Preview performances begin Monday, November 6th with an official opening on Monday, December 4th. For tickets visit or call 877-250-2929. Citi is the official U.S.

Credit card of SpongeBob SquarePants on Broadway. Citi cardmembers will have access to Preferred Seating beginning June 26th at 10:00 AM EDT through Citi’s Private Pass® program. For complete details visit. SpongeBob SquarePants cast will include Ethan Slater as SpongeBob SquarePants, Gavin Lee as Squidward, Lilli Cooper as Sandy Cheeks and Danny Skinner as Patrick.

The full cast will be announced at a later date. A legendary roster of Grammy Award winners. A visionary director and Tony Award®-winning design team. One of the world’s most beloved and unforgettable characters.

Turn them all loose on Broadway and what do you get? SpongeBob SquarePants! Acclaimed Steppenwolf director Tina Landau and the groundbreaking designers behind Fun Home, Hedwig, and Spring Awakening have brilliantly reimagined Bikini Bottom for the Broadway stage, bringing the spirit of SpongeBob to life with humanity, heart, and pure theatricality. With an original score from some of the biggest names in pop and rock, SpongeBob SquarePants explodes with energy. SpongeBob SquarePants is a musical production conceived and directed by Tina Landau, book by Kyle Jarrow, orchestrations, arrangements & music supervision by Tom Kitt, with choreography by Christopher Gattelli.

SpongeBob SquarePants is a one-of-a-kind musical event with original songs by Yolanda Adams, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of AEROSMITH, Sara Bareilles, Jonathan Coulton, Alexander Ebert of Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, The Flaming Lips, John Legend, Lady Antebellum, Cyndi Lauper, Panic! At the Disco, Plain White T’s, They Might Be Giants and T.I., and a song by David Bowie. With additional lyrics by Jonathan Coulton and an additional song by Tom Kenny and Andy Paley.

The design team includes scenic and costume design by David Zinn, lighting design by Kevin Adams, projection design by Peter Nigrini, sound design by Walter Trarbach, hair and wig design by Charles G. LaPointe and casting by Telsey + Company/Patrick Goodwin, CSA. Nickelodeon and Sony Masterworks Broadway have recorded the cast album of SpongeBob SquarePants and will announce its release shortly.

SpongeBob SquarePants will be produced by Nickelodeon with The Araca Group, Sony Music Masterworks and Kelp on the Road. Since its launch in July 1999, SpongeBob SquarePants has reigned as a pop culture phenomenon.

The series has been the most-watched animated program with kids 2-11 for more than 15 consecutive years, and over the past several years, it has averaged more than 100,000,000 total viewers every quarter across all Nickelodeon networks. SpongeBob SquarePants is the most widely distributed property in Viacom history, seen in more than 208 countries and territories and translated in 55+ languages. Paramount Pictures’ second feature film based on the property, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, in 2015 at #1 opening weekend. A third feature has been announced for 2019, timed to the series’ landmark 20th anniversary.

The character-driven cartoon chronicles the nautical and sometimes nonsensical adventures of SpongeBob, an incurably optimist and earnest sea sponge, and his undersea friends. For more information on SpongeBob SquarePants, visit TICKET INFORMATION Tickets will be available to the general public online via, or by calling 877-250-2929 on Monday, June 26th, or at The Palace Theatre box office (1564 Broadway - Broadway at 47th Street) beginning in Fall 2017. Ticket prices range from $49 to $159.

Talkin Broadway Sound Advice: Nominee Next To Normal And Weight

Group discounts are available for groups of 12 or more through Group Sales Box Office at Broadway.com by calling 1-800-BROADWAY x2 or online at. PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE Week of November 6: Monday at 8PM, Tuesday at 8PM, Wednesday at 8PM, Thursday at 8PM, Friday at 8PM, Saturday at 2PM and 8PM. Week of November 13: Wednesday at 8PM, Thursday at 8PM, Friday at 8PM, Saturday at 2PM and 8PM, Sunday at 1PM and 6:30PM. Week of November 20: Monday at 8PM, Tuesday at 8PM, Wednesday at 8PM, Friday at 2PM and 8PM, Saturday at 2PM and 8PM, Sunday at 3PM Week of November 27: Tuesday at 7PM, Wednesday at 2PM and 8PM, Thursday at 7PM, Friday at 8PM, Saturday at 2PM and 8PM, Sunday at 3PM. Week of December 4: Monday at 6:30PM, Wednesday at 2PM and 8PM, Thursday at 7PM, Friday at 8PM, Saturday at 2PM and 8PM, Sunday at 1PM. Week of December 11: Tuesday at 7PM, Wednesday at 2PM, Thursday at 7PM, Friday at 8PM, Saturday at 2PM and 8PM, Sunday at 1PM and 6:30PM. Week of December 18: Tuesday at 7PM, Wednesday at 2PM and 8PM, Thursday at 7PM, Friday at 8PM, Saturday at 2PM and 8PM, Sunday at 3PM.

Week of December 25: Tuesday at 7PM, Wednesday at 2PM and 8PM, Thursday at 7PM, Friday at 2PM or 8PM, Saturday at 2PM and 8PM. Week of January 1: Tuesday at 7PM, Wednesday at 2PM, Thursday at 7PM, Friday at 8PM, Saturday at 2PM and 8PM, Sunday at 1PM and 6:30PM. Beginning week of January 8: Tuesday at 7PM, Wednesday at 2PM, Thursday at 7PM, Friday at 8PM, Saturday at 2PM and 8PM, Sunday at 1PM and 6:30PM. ETHAN SLATER ( SpongeBob SquarePants) is beyond thrilled to be making his Broadway debut (!) as “SpongeBob” in SpongeBob SquarePants! Recent credits: World Premiere of SpongeBob in Chicago (BroadwayWorld Chicago Best Actor Award), and 'Modell' in Diner at DTC (Dir. Kathleen Marshall); Off-Broadway: Baghdaddy (St. Luke's), PEMDAS (59e59), Claudio Quest (NYMF), What We Know (Teatro Circulo), Independents (FringeNYC); Film: “Lightning Bugs in a Jar” (Cannes 2015), “EVOL”; Web Series: “Redheads Anonymous”, “New Mayor of New York”.

Ethan is a Vassar graduate and member of OYL. LILLI COOPER ( Sandy Cheeks). Ecstatic to be back in Bikini bottom! Broadway: Spring Awakening (OBC), Wicked (Elphaba). Theater favorites: Sundown, Yellow Moon (WP Theater), Natasha, Pierre.Great Comet (ART), The Wildness (Ars Nova), Noir (NYSF & NAMT), The Threepenny Opera (Atlantic Theater), LMNOP (Goodspeed). TV: Bull (CBS), Elementary (CBS), creator and star of the web-series: 'It’s Not Okay, Cupid” (Glamour.com). Proud LaGuardia Arts and Vassar alum.

Incredibly grateful to Stone Manners Salners, Telsey & Co. And Ann Kelly. For Paulie and Dubdub. DANNY SKINNER ( Patrick) is excited to be making his Broadway debut as Patrick in SpongeBob SquarePants.

Off-Broadway: Pluck the Day (Inaugural Season of The Araca Project); Film: Allison Clemens; Web Series: “New Mayor of New York”, “Professional Friend”. He holds a BFA from Syracuse University. YOLANDA ADAMS: Billboard Magazine's Gospel Artist of the last decade, Yolanda Adams is a 5 time Grammy Award winning artist who believes that her music heals.

Not only is Yolanda a phenomenal vocalist, she is the host of the award winning, nationally syndicated radio show “The Yolanda Adams Morning Show”. A renaissance lady, she is an author Points of Power, designer of a coffee line Yolanda Adams coffee, and bath & body products line, Simply Yolanda. Most of all she is a proud mom. Twitter/IG: YolandaAdams AEROSMITH’S STEVEN TYLER AND JOE PERRY: As members of AEROSMITH-America’s Greatest Rock & Roll Band-the songwriting team of Steven Tyler and Joe Perry have sold more than 150 million albums worldwide and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They are the recipients of countless awards including four Grammys, eight American Music Awards, six Billboard Awards, 12 MTV Video Music Awards and an Emmy, among many other honors. In 2013 Tyler and Perry were awarded with the Founder's Award at the ASCAP Pop Awards and inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame.

With scores of multi-platinum albums, AEROSMITH continues to inspire generations to get their wings, to get a grip and to just push play. It’s no wonder their songs remain relevant to this day and they’re one of the most beloved bands of all time. SARA BAREILLES: Sara Bareilles first achieved mainstream critical praise in 2007 with her widely successful hit 'Love Song,” which reached No.

Talkin Broadway Sound Advice: Nominee Next To Normal And Time

1 in 22 countries around the world from her debut album “Little Voice.” Since then, Sara has gone on to receive six Grammy nominations, which include Song of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for “Love Song” and one Album of the Year for her highly acclaimed third studio album, “The Blessed Unrest.” Her book, Sounds Like Me: My Life (So Far) in Song, was released in the fall of 2015 by Simon & Schuster and is a NY Times best seller. Making her Broadway debut, Sara composed the music and lyrics for “Waitress,” for which she received her first Tony Award nomination for Best Score and a 2017 Grammy Award nomination for Best Musical Theater Album. She is also making her Broadway acting debut as the lead in “Waitress” for a limited engagement through June 11, 2017. “What’s Inside: Songs from Waitress,” her most recent solo studio album, is out on Epic Records. For more information, please visit. DAVID BOWIE (1947-2016): David Bowie’s first hit was the song 'Space Oddity' in 1969. The original pop chameleon, Bowie became a science-fiction character for his breakout Ziggy Stardust album.

He later co-wrote 'Fame' with John Lennon, which became his first American #1 single. An accomplished actor, Bowie starred in The Man Who Fell to Earth, in 1976.

He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. Driven by an entirely deeper dynamic than most pop artists, Bowie inhabits a very special world of extraordinary sounds and endless vision. In 2013, it was announced that the David Bowie Archive had given unprecedented access to the prestigious Victoria and Albert Museum for David Bowie is., an exhibition to be curated solely by the V&A in London. Marking the first time a museum has been given access to the David Bowie Archive, the exhibition has gone on to break records in the US, Berlin and France. David Bowie is. Will continue to tour the world for the foreseeable future. JONATHAN COULTON: Jonathan Coulton is from the Internet.

While a struggling music industry fell to pieces over file sharing and shifting business models, he quietly and independently amassed a small army of techies, nerds, and dedicated superfans. His songs cover an eclectic range of subjects, from zombies and mad scientists to marriage and parenthood (and now, Spongebob!). You may know him from many things, including the songs from the Portal games, his work on the NPR quiz show “Ask Me Another,” or his annual comedy music cruise, the JoCo Cruise. His latest release is “Solid State,” a sci-fi concept album (with a companion graphic novel by Matt Fraction and Albert Monteys) about internet culture, trolls, and how love and empathy may yet keep the world from ending. ALEXANDER EBERT: is an award winning singer, songwriter, composer and front man of the popular folk-rock band Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros (and formerly of Ima Robot).In 2014, he won the Golden Globe for Best Original Score to J.C.

Chandor’s film All Is Lost starring Robert Redford. He followed that up by scoring Chandor’s next film A Most Violent Year. Additionally, he scored the Oscar winning Disney animated short Feast. Ebert was born in Los Angeles in 1978 and currently resides in New Orleans, LA. In 2011, he released his first solo album as Alexander. After the success of the band’s 4th studio album, PersonA; Alex Ebert has recently released ‘Broken Record’. This is the first song off his latest solo project.

TOM KENNY: voices the TV lead role of “SpongeBob SquarePants” an incurably optimistic sea sponge who lives in a pineapple under the sea, in Nickelodeon’s iconic hit series SpongeBob SquarePants. The notable voice actor is familiar to Nick viewers as the voice of “Dog” in CatDog, and “Heffer” on Rocko’s Modern Life. He has been the recipient of two Annie Awards for his voice work on SpongeBob SquarePants and Adventure Time.

In addition to his prolific voice work, Kenny has appeared as a standup comic on such television shows as The Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Conan O'Brian, Premiere Blend and Comic Strip Live. Kenny was a regular cast member of HBO’s critically acclaimed sketch program Mr. Show with Bob and David and appeared as the office loser “Persky” on Just Shoot Me. He has also guest-starred on The Drew Carey Show, Brotherly Love and Unhappily Ever After.

He lives in Los Angeles with his wife Jill Talley, son McKinley and daughter Nora. THE FLAMING LIPS: The Flaming Lips are an American rock band, formed in Norman, OK., in 1983. Melodically, their sound contains lush, multi-layered, psychedelic rock arrangements. Lyrically, their compositions have elements of space rock, including unusual song and album titles.

They are acclaimed for their elaborate live shows, which feature costumes, balloons, puppets, video projections, complex stage light configurations, giant hands, large amounts of confetti, and frontman Wayne Coyne's signature man-sized plastic bubble, in which he traverses the audience. Q magazine named The Flaming Lips one of the '50 bands to see before you die'. The group has garnered three Grammy Awards, including two for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. JOHN LEGEND: Ohio-born Legend is a critically acclaimed, multi-award winning, platinum-selling singer-songwriter. His work has garnered him nine Grammy Awards, an Academy Award®, a Golden Globe Award, the BET Award for Best New Artist and the special Starlight Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame, among others. Most recently, Legend won his first Academy Award, first Golden Globe Award, and won the 2015 Critic’s Choice Award for his song “Glory,” that he wrote and performed with Common, for the film Selma.

LADY ANTEBELLUM: With a new sense of history and possibilities, Lady Antebellum's sixth studio album HEART BREAK, had Dave Haywood, Charles Kelley and Hillary Scott on a new mission — setting aside time to put themselves in new surroundings, and concentrate on writing and exploring musical endeavors with no distractions. With busbee in the producer’s chair, the trio had a hand in writing eleven songs on HEART BREAK, resulting in their most intimate and heartfelt work to date. The new music follows more than 18 million units, nine No. One hits, ACM and CMA 'Vocal Group of the Year” trophies three years in a row, and countless other honors including Billboard Music Awards, People’s Choice Awards and Teen Choice Awards.

This week Lady Antebellum also received a 2017 CMT Awards nomination for Group Video of the Year for the lyric video for “You Look Good.' For more information about new music and upcoming tour dates, visit. CYNDI LAUPER: Lauper is a Grammy, Emmy and Tony Award-winning ( Kinky Boots) artist who, after 30 sterling years and global record sales in excess of 50 million albums. With her first album, She's So Unusual, Lauper won a Grammy Award for Best New Artist and became the first female in history to have four top-five singles from a debut album. Since then, Lauper has released ten additional studio albums and was recently inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Overall, during her storied music career, Lauper has been nominated for 15 Grammy Awards, two American Music Awards, seven American Video Awards and 18 MTV Awards. ANDY PALEY: is the veteran pop/rock composer-producer whose songs have been covered by everyone from Madonna to Brian Wilson as well as the Beach Boys, the Ramones and, of course, SpongeBob Squarepants.

He and Tom Kenny, the voice of SpongeBob, have written two albums worth of buoyant songs for the character including “Don’t Be A Jerk (It’s Christmas)' and, of course, “The Best Day Ever.” PANIC! AT THE DISCO: Award-winning internationally acclaimed rock band Panic!

At The Disco released their latest album, Death Of A Bachelor, in January 2016. The album debuted at No.

1 on the Billboard 200 chart, with their single 'Victorious' debuting at No. 1 on iTunes Top Songs, iTunes Alternative Songs, and Billboard and Twitter's Trending 140 charts just hours after its release. The platinum-certified album was nominated for 'Best Rock Album' at this year’s Grammys, was the #4 biggest selling album released in 2016 just behind Drake, Beyonce, and Rihanna respectively, and has amassed over 500 million streams. Most recently, the band is coming off their headline Death Of A Bachelor Tour which sold out arenas across the U.S.

Including NYC (Madison Square Garden), Chicago (Allstate Arena), LA (The Forum), and many more. PLAIN WHITE T’S: Hailing from the suburbs of Chicago, the punk-pop outfit Plain White T's began taking shape in 1997, a full ten years before the acoustic ballad 'Hey There Delilah' made them Grammy-nominated stars. 'Hey There Delilah' topped the charts in ten different countries and helped jump-start sales of their album, Every Second Counts. Plain White T's received two Grammy nominations for the song, and the band returned in 2008 with Big Bad World, featuring the band's usual mix of spunky energy and pop/rock craft. The band returned to action with the 2013 EP Should've Gone to Bed before delivering the full-length American Nights in April 2015.

Plain White T’s recently resigned to Fearless Records and they are back in the studio working on a new album. “Land of the Living” is the first track to be released by Fearless Records this year, and there is more new music to come. THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS: From Brooklyn, New York, They Might Be Giants have been performing together for 33 years and drink more coffee than most. They have made some albums and won some awards. They are presenting a brand new, top quality song every week at their web site,. T.I.: Never one to march behind anyone else, rapper/songwriter/producer T.I. Has crafted a standard-setting career that includes three Grammy Awards and status as a hip-hop icon.

His distinct flow and lyrical skills drew widespread national attention with 2003’s Trap Muzik. His eight-album catalog includes three consecutive No. 1 debuts on the Billboard 200 (2006’s King, 2007’s T.I. And 2008’s Paper Trail). His most recent album was 2012’s “Trouble Man: Heavy Is the Head.

The rapper also counts a string of hit singles, among them “Bring ‘Em Out,” “What You Know,” “Whatever You Like,” “Live Your Life” featuring Rihanna and “Dead and Gone” featuring Justin Timberlake. His multi-platinum tally includes a total of four Billboard Hot 100 No. 1’s plus sales of more than 30 million singles and 14 million albums.

Next to Normal is nominated for various theatre awards, and its cast album has a winning combination of a solid cast and solid material, expertly produced for its recorded legacy. In the cabaret world, Monday is the annual presentation of the MAC Awards, and some of their nominees are newly represented on disc. Ghostlight Records In a Broadway climate where musicals are often frothy or flimsy film retreads or revivals, a grown-up musical that is serious and emotional—and new—is a welcome guest.

You might think a musical about coping with a psychiatric disorder would turn into a murky, moribund melodrama or a cheesy Fringe Festival candidate, but Next to Normal goes to neither extreme. Handling a very heavy subject that might be hard for some audiences to handle, and a hard sell, nobody sells out here. Unquestionably, it is intense and at times chilling. But it is also quite accessible and flows naturally, the characters seeming real, and many of the songs conversational rather than arty or ponderous. Tenderness tempers the torment, and the blessedly nuanced and calibrated work by the performers makes their characters immensely sympathetic and believable.

Angst and singing that is achingly beautiful or exciting aren't mutually exclusive. The convincing and riveting performances by the cast make for compelling listening.

Lyricist/bookwriter Brian Yorkey and composer Tom Kitt have given them rich, often artful material to work with in this highly emotional work. Quite palpable are some characters' desires to seize the day, with so many challenges to just get through the day. Perhaps part of what keeps this from feeling like a relentless roller coaster ride in Angstville is the variety of musical colors; and having characters build to highs and pause to reflect, even if raging inside, is wise, as the tension and engagement remain. When things get explosive or shrill, with storms of fury, it usually seems justified, and most of that falls to Alice Ripley as Diana, the psychiatrically troubled and medicated woman.

It's appropriate for the character to sound edgy—she is on the edge; she does lose control and rail and wail. Ripley rips into the arias of breaking-point explosion, like 'The Break' and 'You Don't Know,' dramatically, causing chills to go up the spine. One might wish her vocals didn't quite sound so steely and harsh so often, but it works for the story and character. Notably, many of the tracks are short (under two minutes). When there's a break from the shrillness and keening quality in the numerous moments, it's all the more effective as she expertly conveys the woman's bewilderment, energy-sapped lamenting and sense of loss. The many moments when we see the more stable and happy marriage relationship that had been present, it is truly heartbreaking. As Diana's husband Dan, J.

Robert Spencer turns in a remarkable acting/vocal performance, with much variety in tone. Sounding gorgeous and loving and sincere in his prettier, high voice or showing grit in the lower gutsier sound, he brings us a man we care about. Similarly, Alice Ripley's fearless performance and their interaction make it hit us that tragedy and heavy medication effects have caused both of them to feel the loss of the woman who once was. In other roles, Jennifer Damiano and Adam Chanler-Berat are believable and disarming as teenagers in a developing but awkward attraction. Then there's the dazzling Aaron Tveit, in a role that has aspects of the metaphysical or imagined presence, alternately revealing a wailing rock star quality and a beautifully controlled and just beautiful voice (as the situation requires).

Either way, it's his haunting kind of pleading that is the highlight of this recording that truly sticks in the mind. In a more non-showy, down-to-earth role, Louis Hobson adds an interesting and appealing vocal color as the doctor Kudos to the very present, connected playing of the seven-person band, led by pianist Charlie Alterman. The excellent orchestrations, by the composer himself and a Goliath in that field, Michael Starobin, sound superb, especially in the theatrical but intimate ambience created by the producers and engineer.

Be prepared for high class, highly skilled enterprise with this listen—and a heartwrenching one. And now for some quick looks at several nominees for awards from MAC (Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs), nominated either for their CDs or live performances (a few nominees for Outstanding Recording in cabaret or jazz, were already on my: Stacy Sullivan, Elli Fordyce, and Shaynee Rainbolt). Original Cast Records An artful singer-pianist who presents a song with real panache and great joy, Barry Lloyd's collection of live performances over the years is smart and sassy entertainment.

Best known in San Francisco as a performer and a musical director for various singers, he's made some forays to New York City in recent times. His first CD as solo singer is nominated as Outstanding Cabaret CD and it shows his comfort level with audiences and his stylish and playfully saucy presentations of high class show tunes and standards. He has a taste for dusting off neglected show tunes by the greats, like Rodgers & Hart, who are well represented on this album. At will, he can go from innuendo-laced glee to a convincing, no-gimmicks delineation of a dramatic ballad of loss. His singing and piano playing are clearly the work of a man who knows the material inside out and loves it like a cherished friend. There's something rather grand about it all, in his dishy, devilish bursting-at-the-seams love for the repertoire, that's all part of the showman personality.

This album, with a generous bounty of songs, is great fun and the guy is a real pro—old school but full of juice and jumping with joy. In crooner and classic bandsinger mode, Todd Murray presents a mixed bag of tricks. The smooth bass-baritone takes it easy and breezy and sometimes splashy. I think he's best here on the simpler romantic ballads like 'Stardust,' and I'm pleased to see another recording of one of the strongest new songs of recent years, 'Time' by Barry Kleinbort and Joseph Thalken. I would prefer to see Todd go deeper into the lyrics more often, as he does successfully and with 'swoon-ability' on a marvelous 'I Fall in Love Too Easily.' Though I'm not crazy about all the songs and arrangements (some of the uptempos have some bright appeal musically but get a bit 'busy' and brash at the expense of a lyric's sensitive sides), his exuberance and goodwill win points and start to nearly win me over at times. Notably, there are two duets that are great to hear.

One is the album's highlight as he combines forces in 'Teach Me Tonight' with the dazzling Marilyn Maye; this is a deluxe, energizing sparkler. Musical theatre fans will be pleased to know that, with a casual but earnest conviction, he and partner Douglas Sills share the responsibility of global domination with a duo power play on 'If I Ruled the World.' This is another Cabaret CD nominee. Quannacut Records There's another take on 'If I Ruled the World' on Baby Jane Dexter's just-released CD. She's nominated in the Major Artist category for her live shows, and this is a live recording of her latest act. With the exception of her first recording, all of Baby Jane's albums are recorded live in clubs where one gets a sense of her connection with audiences and outsized personality, often seeming a steamroller at full steam.

Something new and refreshingly mature and more disciplined has characterized her recent work, quite evident in her new show/CD, If. For those who like singing on the bombastic and boisterousness side, this bluesy diva has always found fans in a long career. Now, there's much more and, though she still has her hurricane moments, it's not always that approach as a matter of course (or coarse) and there is, yes, subtlety, but it's so much more than a wild ride on a one-trick pony. And it's all more in control.

If is a theme show. Most of the songs explore some aspect of 'what would happen if.' Or 'if only.' So, there are regret and resentment, bittersweet moments and longing, and she really goes to all those places. In her tender, serene 'Why Did I Choose You?'

From the Broadway musicalization of The Yearling (Michael Leonard/ Herb Martin), the 'if' in the last line gets the focus because of the show title, as Baby Jane sings, ' If I had to choose again, I would still choose you.' Likewise, in her moving rendition of South Pacific's 'This Nearly Was Mine,' we don't so much bemoan the lost chance but wonder what might have been different if.

There are only two musicians here, and both are top notch: bass player Boots Maleson and pianist/musical director Ross Patterson (whose skillful work some TalkinBroadwayites know from the Broadway by the Year concerts and CDs). The album sounds great, with the live cabaret audience experience really felt. Merci beaucoup for the skillful work of album producer Jean-Pierre (J-P) Perreaux, who has not just talent but a head start, as he is the sound technician at the Metropolitan Room, where the act was recorded, and is nominated for (another) MAC Award for his cabaret sounds and lights work.

Brannock Productions The only MAC Debut nominee to have a solo CD album in release, Kevin Dozier's is a lovely, lovely, love-filled listen. Projecting a gentle soul, even a butterfly-fragile one, and with a rhapsodically romantic spirit, his voice is an exceptionally pretty one, and very musical. With breathy, close-to-the-mic singing, he is all sincerity and heart on the sleeve. But a certain modesty, not mawkishness, rules the day because, though fervent, he shows taste and restraint.

He has employed Christopher Marlowe, the simpatico sensitive arranger-pianist-producer who was so successfully partnered with the late cabaret favorite Nancy LaMott. In fact, one of the tracks is a medley of two Irving Berlin classics that Nancy and Christopher had worked up for her, but didn't record: Combined and intertwined, 'Always' is not just the usual vow of mutually felt eternal bliss; dominated and haunted by the love-loss lament of 'Remember,' it becomes a song of unrequited love. It's just one example of the thoughtfulness and drama in the renditions on an album that includes show tunes 'Soon It's Gonna Rain' ( The Fantasticks), the mantra 'Love Changes Everything' and Oklahoma!'

S 'People Will Say We're in Love.' Though much is high-voiced, gentle spirit crooning and cooing, Kevin occasionally opens up and uses a stronger, bigger sound in a few numbers that build dramatically.

Occasionally, instrumental figures become distracting, like the uncharacteristically too-insistent piercing piano figure in part of 'Over the Rainbow,' but it is redeemed by the creativity that follows (various instruments, most effectively a cello, appear in different combinations throughout the album). Perhaps saving the best for last, the CD concludes with a warm rendition of an excellent song, 'Before We Say Goodbye,' by Tom Andersen and Ian Herman. Kevin projects thoughtful intelligence as he and Marlowe set and sustain a mood, knowing the value of a pause. This album is worth the pause in any day to relish the honeyed and wise Love-Wise.

Hullarious Records Nominated for her jazz performances, Laura Hull's third CD is a professionally competent effort and quite enjoyable. She has a rather clean, open sound with some widening vibrato on notes here and there. Not groundbreaking or showy, she doesn't reinvent tunes or copy a certain jazz diva; a drinking-in of various influences is evident. For new, she goes for nuance rather than reinventing a wheel that has for years merrily rolled along. There's a sense of joy and taking it easy.

Even the potentially lonely lament, 'I Keep Going Back to Joe's' is relatively cool, calm and collected. Guys and Dolls's 'I've Never Been in Love Before' avoids any sense of awestruck discovery of first time or trepidation; she's just pretty darn happy about it and celebrating.

Easygoing and no frills seems to be her M.O. And it makes for a cheery, if undemanding, listening date with ten tracks.

Two pretty much share a title, but they are two different songs called 'How Little We Know.' The one with music by Philip Springer and lyrics by Carolyn Leigh had actually been published as ('How Little It Matters) How Little We Know' so as not to be confused with the one that preceded it in songwriting history, by Hoagy Carmichael and Johnny Mercer.

Laura skims through each, like a skater gliding over the ice. The album was arranged and produced by the singer and her pianist, the ace Pat Firth. The title tune, by Tom Waits, would be more effective without the laconic drum beats and loungey string additions that distract from the emoting. Otherwise, we're in piano-bass-drums territory. If a light romp is your jazz tempo, Laura is your gal. Kopaesthetics Records Spider Saloff's all-Cole Porter CD is nominated as Outstanding Jazz CD, and she will honor her commitment to perform at the Metropolitan Room at the end of May and perform at the MAC Awards on Monday with MAC President Ricky Ritzel despite the tragic loss this week of Bob Drake, her husband and co-producer of the album. Spider and Porter seem a logical match, as this jazz-singing veteran has a taste for the playful and jazzy.

This is a live recording, and there is lots of talk, but it is tracked separately, so skipping/programming is very do-able. Sounding casual but enthused about the 17 chosen songs, she zips through the program with an easy confident air. She may have been more focused on entertaining than staying diligently true to every aspect of musicality, as some notes here and there seem lazy or not quite precise. It's the kind of thing that wouldn't fly in a studio recording, but one often has to have the trade-off of losing some musical solid ground for flying free and fast in an in-person recording. Spider is accompanied by pianist Jeremy Kahn who matches some of her spunk and splash with the zingier Porter picks. However, sometimes he just seems to be kind of banging away where we'd want more creativity or more warmth. The program is mostly the famous, well-covered Cole classics: 'Night and Day,' 'Love for Sale' 'Just One of Those Things,' but there are some less-oft tackled excellent pieces like 'Weren't We Fools' and the odd little 'Tale of the Oyster.'

Spider gets some laughs and puts on her fun hat just fine for that and 'The Laziest Gal in Town.' Hip, jazzy Spider Saloff is a dedicated and devoted cheerleader for Cole Porter—and three cheers for that shared passion. Ever-ardent Scot Albertson is MAC-nominated as a jazz singer, although to me he seems very much the more straightforward old-fashioned crooner or band singer.

He has consistently worked with the adept jazz-leaning pianist/arranger Daryl Kojak (also nominated for a MAC for his collaborations with various singers). He can be oh-so-serious in his love songs, sincere to a fault.

In looking at the potential for romance, his cup is always half-full—of rose petals. A deep-voiced singer, he also employs light head tones. His repertoire on this fourth album is mixed, with jaunty pick-me-ups like 'Save the Bones for Henry Jones' to give us a break from the florid or torrid renditions.

I could have done without yet another version of Phantom of the Opera's 'Music of the Night'. But there are some gallant and grand flourishes here. Scot is a fan of the medley, and gets in a very full program of music that way. He sounds more comfortable with some songs and styles than others, gamely driving down jazzy upbeat avenues, but I think Scot is a lot more at home on the street of dreams—a romantic thoroughfare washed with tears occasionally but lined with long-lived love songs. Recorded at the Manhattan cabaret venue where she is also the singing co-host of the weekly 'After Party' late night open mic, powerhouse singer Alysha Umphress' Live at the Laurie Beechman sizzles. A belter with a knack for raising the roof (and a few goosebumps), she can also scale back and, to employ the title of one of the tracks, 'Try a Little Tenderness.' She's quite successful whether luxuriating in cozy cooing or taking on something she can blare with flair like Funny Girl's 'Cornet Man.'

Things get off to a strong start with 'Celebrate' by Jeff Blumenkrantz and she establishes right away that she's a force to be reckoned with; luckily, she also knows just belting for its own sake is not enough. With the added advantage of the musicianship of veteran pianist Barry Levitt leading the small group, there's a jazz leaning on some tracks and that's the category of MAC nomination for her live shows like this one, but this is a mixed-genre collection. What's striking about this CD is how differently Alysha these songs can be approached and arranged.

She has songs that appeared on no fewer than three of those by MAC nominees above. Her assertive, enthusiastic, brash, sassy-but-not-coy 'Teach Me Tonight' is quite different from Todd Murray's duet with Marilyn Maye. Like Kevin Dozier, she has 'Over the Rainbow,' here an intense, melisma-soaked version sung partly a capella as her encore. Like Baby Jane Dexter, she sings 'Spinning Wheel' but takes it for a wilder, noisier spin. Her sensitive side is revealed in 'I'll Close My Eyes,' a song she seems to be very at home with and it's a standout for its sensitivity. But when she chooses to belt and emote, hold on to your hats! Next: back to normal format of a few CDs explored in the column, including some show tunes from about half a century ago and a bit of today.

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