One of the cabaret world’s most regal performers, Karen Akers, will kick off the debut cabaret series at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center’s new cabaret space, The Chase Room. Akers, who starred on Broadway in Nine and Grand Hotel, will perform songs from her latest CD, “Feels Like Home,” as well as tunes from her most recent Algonquin cabaret act, You and the Night and the Music. Cabaret-goers can expect to hear Akers wrap her deep, rich contralto — which was once likened to “silver bells wrapped in velvet” — around works by Michel Legrand, Dietz & Schwartz, Johnny Mercer, Harold Arlen, Tom Waits and many others.

Featuring musical direction and arrangements by Don Rebic, Akers will perform in NJPAC’s Chase Room on March 24 at 5 PM and 8 PM. The new room will feature cabaret seating with bars set up so patrons may purchase assorted drinks. Tickets are priced at $25 and may be purchased by calling 1 888-GO-NJPAC or at the theatre’s box office at One Center Street in downtown Newark.

—By Andrew Gans