The "Gala Opening Night" features the talents of Klea Blackhurst, Carole Bufford, Barbara Carroll, Jeff Harnar, Nicole Henry, Barb Jungr, Amanda King, Sue Mathys, Marilyn Maye and T. Oliver Reid. The evening will also feature the presentation of the Award of Appreciation Citation to Marian Seldes by Angela Lansbury.

The Oct. 8 performance, entitled If Love Were All, will celebrate the songs of the late Noel Coward. Tony and Emmy winner Elaine Stritch, who appeared on Broadway in Coward's Sail Away, will make a special appearance, and the concert will include performances by Nancy Anderson, Christine Ebersole, Gregg Edelman, Nicolas King, Sidney Myer, Sarah Rice, Steve Ross, Craig Rubano, Jennifer Sheehan and KT Sullivan.

This evening will also include the presentation of the first Noel Coward Cabaret Award: A grant of $5,000 will be given to singer Jennifer Sheehan; the award is funded by the Noel Coward Foundation and administered by the Mabel Mercer Foundation.

The convention will conclude Oct. 9 with Songs for a Saturday Night. Performers are scheduled to include Karen Akers, Kevin Dozier, Malcolm Gets, Tanya Holt, Karen Mason, Stearns Matthews, Karen Oberlin, Johnny Rodgers, Isabel Rose, Avery Sommers, Anne Steele and Lumiri Tubo.

For more information about the convention, visit www.mabelmercer.org or call (212) 980-3026.

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Produced by the Mabel Mercer Foundation, the first annual Cabaret Convention was mounted in 1989. Since that time similar events have been produced in Chicago, Palm Springs, Los Angeles and Philadelphia. Donald F. Smith is executive director of the Foundation, which is the "first to perpetuate the American popular song through the art of cabaret."