Of the cabaret singers participating in this year’s St. Louis Cabaret Festival, two have ties to pop culture: Marilyn Maye holds the record for the most appearances on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson,” and Ann Hampton Callaway wrote and sang the theme song to the ’90s sitcom “The Nanny.”
“It’s nice to be a part of pop culture,” Callaway said.
Cabaret Project of St. Louis produces the four-day festival, a monthly open mic night and an annual conference for aspiring cabaret singers.
“There’s a training program that happens for about five days going on during the day, and it’s just working on the art of song performance,” said Tim Schall, executive director of the Cabaret Project. “It’s a great artist retreat and it’s a professional development program for singers in the art of cabaret.”
This year’s conference includes 33 singers, who work with the festival’s four headliners, and then take the stage in a singer showcase on Aug. 2, the last day of festival.
Festival Headliners
The festival kicks off on July 30 with Tony winner Faith Prince, who makes her St. Louis cabaret debut. Schall called Prince a “brilliant, brilliant performer and singer.
Singer-songwriter Callaway follows on July 31, performing “The Streisand Songbook.” A longtime fan of Barbra Streisand, Callaway wrote “At the Same Time” in 1987.
“I knew when I finished the song that it belonged to Barbra Streisand,” Callaway said. Streisand recorded the song 10 years later.
“From that point on, I developed a relationship with Barbra,” Callaway said. “I think she’s one of the finest interpreters as an actress of the Great American Songbook. She has an extraordinary instrument; she’s a trailblazing woman.”
Callaway said in her show, she takes “great Barbra classics and put my own stamp on them.”
“She has a tremendous voice and tremendous connection with her audience,” Schall said of Callaway. “People are just thrilled and feel very connected to her.
Singer-pianist Billy Stritch and singer Marilyn Maye take over on Aug. 1.
“You won’t be the same after hearing Marilyn Maye,” Schall said.
Related Events
St. Louis Cabaret Festival presents Faith Prince and Alex Rybeck in "Have a Little Faith"
8 p.m. July 30, 2014
Sheldon Concert Hall, 3648 Washington Blvd.
St. Louis Cabaret Festival presents Ann Hampton Callaway in "The Streisand Songbook"
8 p.m. July 31, 2014
Sheldon Concert Hall, 3648 Washington Blvd.
St. Louis Cabaret Festival presents a double header: Billy Stritch in "I’ve Got Your Number: The Jazz of Cy Coleman" and "An Evening with the Marvelous Marilyn Maye"
8 p.m. Aug. 1, 2014
Sheldon Concert Hall, 3648 Washington Blvd.
The Cabaret Project of St. Louis presents St. Louis Cabaret Conference Showcase
7 p.m. Aug. 2, 2014
Kranzberg Arts Center, 501 N. Grand Blvd. at Olive
Cityscape is produced by Mary Edwards and Alex Heuer and sponsored in part by the Missouri Arts Council, the Regional Arts Commission, and the Arts and Education Council of Greater St. Louis.
