National Capital Cabaret Festival 2024
New Artist Showcase – Friday, March 29, 2024 – 7:00pm
A hand selected group of up and coming talent in the DC area, curated by Cabaret Sensation and American University Adjunct Instructor Susan Derry. Twelve artists took to the stage to amaze the audience with their talent and get a chance to taste what it is to perform on a stage.
Our wonderful performers this year were:
| Alexandra Fabbri | Rhiannon Rueda |
| Gavin Shuman | Sabrina Neff |
| Quinn Volpe | Makayla Fetterman |
| Parker Chase | Christine Kaufmann |
| Michael Mazey | Julia Lupi |
| Olivia Levin | Bryn Underwoord |
Craig Pomranz – Friday, March 29, 2024 – 8:30pm
“Tenor of the Times” * GQ Magazine * One of New York’s most critically-acclaimed saloon singers” * New York Magazine * “The BEST male singer…his four-octave voice is alternately affecting, powerful, and nuanced; one of the finest instruments in the city.” * New York Post *
Winner of the MAC Award for New York’s Best Male Vocalist, internationally renowned singer and author Craig Pomranz pays tribute to the Jewish songwriters who have shaped America’s musical landscape. From vaudeville classics like “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” by Irving Berlin to the works of Broadway legend Stephen Sondheim, and the iconic pop sounds of Simon & Garfunkel, Pomranz’s show, Berlin to Dylan to Simon & Garfunkel: It’s All Kosher!, celebrates their profound contributions to the Great American Songbook. With his extensive vocal range, Pomranz delivers an entertaining and uplifting performance that explores the intersections of Jewish identity and popular music.
Roger Schmelzer, Saturday, March 30, 2024 – 7:00pm
Roger’s Washington D.C. debut, with musical direction by Jeffrey Harris (accompanist for Ms. Maye, Michael Feinstein and Bernadette Peters and music director for Jack Jones, Maureen McGovern and Lea Salonga), was punctuated by new arrangements of popular songs from the mid-20th Century and a tribute to Indiana composers Cole Porter and Hoagy Carmichael.
Roger Schmelzer leans into the American Songbook to deliver an upbeat message of hope and kindness. Directed by the legendary Marilyn Maye, he brings fresh interpretations of timeless standards to create a warm and intimate evening. In Ms. Maye’s words, “Roger makes it his business to entertain you. He is fun, festive, fervent, and friendly. His love for the music is contagious and you’ll love the man who presents it.”
His critically acclaimed NYC solo debut in 2017 at the Metropolitan Room led to an appearance at Carnegie Hall and performances around the U.S. and a 2022 Broadway World nomination for Best Cabaret/Solo Performance.
Anna Bergman – Saturday, March 30, 2024 – 8:30pm
Anna Bergman “thrills you with the sheer aural sensation of her voice” (THE WALL STREET JOURNAL) and is hailed by THE WASHINGTON POST as “a vocal citizen of the world who has triumphed in everything from Broadway tunes to opera arias and the sultry innuendoes of a cabaret chanteuse.”
Anna is thrilled to be performing in her 2nd Capital Cabaret Festival and returning to the Arts Club of Washington with her new show THE SONG IS YOU with musical director Howard Breitbart. Anna will serenade you with songs by Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, Jerome Kern, Maury Yeston, George & Ira Gershwin, Richard Rodgers with Lorenz Hart & Oscar Hammerstein, as well as Michel Legrand, Charles Trenet, Franz Lehar and contemporary songwriters.
