Not yet a month old, the "Garrick Gaieties" series of shows at the Garrick restaurant of New York City's Mayfair Hotel will host its first multi performance show, We'll Take Manhattan...a Holiday Cabaret, starring cabaret favorites Claiborne Cary and Phillip Officer, Dec. 15-Jan. 31.
The new Garrick, an intimate 50-seat space with the wood-paneled feel of classic urban cabaret rooms, began hosting performances Dec. 1 with one-person shows by mostly lesser-known, newcomer singers.
The more established Cary and Officer, performing together for the first time, will sing holiday and musical theatre favorites, including "Baby, It's Cold Outside," "Let it Snow" and "My Favorite Things."
Cary was a Bob Fosse dancer in the Broadway company of New Girl in Town, and appeared in Silk Stockings, Beg, Borrow or Steal and The Supporting Cast. Her act has been seen at the Plush Room in San Francisco, the Cinegrill in Los Angles, The Russian Tea Room and Maxim's in New York City.
Officer's gentle vocals have been heard on two CDs, "Many a New Day, the Lyrics of Oscar Hammerstein II" and "Fancy Meeting You, the Lyrics of E.Y. Yip Harburg." He has performed in Broadway's Side Show, in Starcrossed at the Goodspeed Opera House and in concert and cabaret gigs at the Oak Room at the Algonquin Hotel, the Firebird, Rainbow & Stars and elsewhere. Showtimes are 9 PM, Tuesday-Thursday and 9 PM &11 PM Friday-Saturday (No shows Dec. 24-25). Cover is $20 with a $15 food/beverage minimum. A $65 New Year's Eve show will be held (dinner 10 PM, show 11 PM).
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The "new faces" series of lesser-known talents continues Dec. 11 with Randi Megibow and Dec. 12 with Alyssa Kay, both at 9 PM.
"Garrick Gaieties" producer Scott Perrin said the newcomer shows will likely switch to Sunday nights in January, allowing longer runs of more established players, like Officer and Cary, Tuesdays-Saturdays.
All performances at the space are under the heading "Garrick Gaieties," producer Perrin told Playbill On-Line. The Garrick, a 49th Street restaurant, is nestled in the recently renovated Mayfair Hotel, built in 1906.
Perrin is the producer of Off-Broadway's Secrets Every Smart Traveler Should Know and past cabaret shows at places such as Rainbow & Stars. The new Garrick has a "classic" feel, he said.
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The "Garrick Gaieties" began Dec. 1 with Tori Lynn Palazola (star of Always...Patsy Cline) and continued Dec. 5 with Meg Flather. A Dec. 6 Emily Loesser gig was cancelled.
"Some [of our] performers are on Broadway, some not," Perrin said. "We'll have fresh faces -- the youngest, the newest, the greatest. The stars of tomorrow."
He said his mission is not necessarily showcase an Audra McDonald (Ragtime), but to ask, "Who's the next Audra McDonald?"
Admission to "new faces" acts is $10 per show plus two drink minimum. The Garrick is on 49th Street between Broadway and 8th Avenue, next door to the Eugene O'Neill Theatre.
For information or reservations, call (212) 489-8600.
-- By Kenneth Jones
and David Lefkowitz
