The First Annual Nightlife Awards, celebrating the best in New York's cabaret, jazz and comedy, will be presented at Town Hall on Monday, Jan. 27, 2003.

Co-hosted by cabaret veteran Andrea Marcovicci and other yet-to-be-named celebrities, the awards presentation will also include performances from several of the winners. Living Legend Awards will also be presented to famous entertainers in the worlds of cabaret, jazz and comedy.

The Nightlife Awards are judged by members of the New York press, including The New York Times' Stephen Holden, The New York Observer's Rex Reed, Variety's Robert L. Daniels, Theatermania.com's Barbara and Scott Siegel and Cabaret Scenes Magazine's Keith Meritz. More than one-dozen judges will take part in the nominating-voting process.

In a statement critic Scott Siegel said, "It is our particular intention to give New York City's nightlife — its clubs and performers — the same importance in the public mindset as Broadway. This is an award that will have immediate credibility and importance because it will be given by the broadest possible spectrum of this city's most influential authorities on cabaret, jazz, and comedy from those who see acts in the big rooms to those who cover the nightlife waterfront."

Co-host Andrea Marcovicci starred on Broadway in the short-lived musical Ambassador and in Frank D. Gilroy's Any Given Day. Her screen credits include roles in "The Front," "Someone to Love," "Jack the Bear," "Who Is Henry Jaglom?," "The Water Engine" and "Trapper John, M.D." It has been the cabaret stage, however, where she has received the most acclaim. The singer-actress has performed at Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall and in concert halls throughout the world, and she has spent over a decade performing at the Algonquin's Oak Room. Her solo albums are numerous and include "Marcovicci Loves Movies," "What Is Love?," "Just Kern," "December Songs," "New Words," "Live from London" and "Some Other Time." Tickets for the Nightlife Awards are priced at $25, $50 and $75 and will be available at the Town Hall box office (123 W. 23rd Street) during the annual Cabaret Convention (Oct. 21-Oct. 27). Tickets will also be available through Ticketmaster and Theatermania.com. Post-show party tickets are priced at $50 and are available by calling Scott Siegel at (212) 752-4119.

—By Andrew Gans