films. As a freshman in high school he auditioned for the school production of How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying and was given a role in the show. He subsequently studied music and drama at Curry College in Milton, Massachusetts and then found success as an actor on such hit television series as “The Sopranos,” “Spin City,” “All My Children” and “One Life to Live,” among others. In regional theatre he starred in productions such as Deathtrap and The Subject Was Roses. In 1985 Holbrook began performing in cabaret, going on to appearing in major rooms in New York City. In 2004, he released his first CD entitled Richard Holbrook Steps Out. Holbrook is presenting his annual holiday show at Dont Tell Mama on Sunday, December 18 and on Monday, December 19, both shows at 7:00 PM. Entitled Christmas Magic in the Big Apple, the show features The Tom Nelson Trio—music director Tom Nelson on piano, Tom Kirchmer on bass and John Redsecker on drums.
NiteLife Exchange (NLE) asks Richard Holbrook (RH) Six Questions
NLE: Amid a successful acting career, in 1985 you decided to enter the world of cabaret. What was the driver/motivation for that decision?
RH: At that time, I was doing quite a bit of community theatre in Rockland County and had landed some good roles in plays such as My Fat Friend, Da, The Diary of Anne Frank, The Time of Your Life and Deathtrap. However, what propelled me to start performing in cabaret actually began in 1984 when I auditioned for the role of J. Pierpont Finch in the musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying at The Bergen County Players in Oradell, New Jersey. I hadn’t sung in a while and I missed it. So, I really wanted that part. When I didn’t get it, I was really disappointed. Then, I got an idea. I thought if I really wanted to sing, why not do a concert? So, I presented my first solo show at my local library in New City, NY. It was so successful that I did a few more concerts in Rockland County. By the summer of 1985 , I felt I was ready to spread my wings and perform in the City. That’s when I landed my first gig. It was at The Horn of Plenty on Charles Street in Greenwich Village.
NLE: You had a profoundly serious life event in 2013 when you were diagnosed with cancer of the jaw. Having successfully recovered, and looking back now, did you ever think you wouldn’t sing again? What helped you through such a difficult period?
RH: At that time, I tried not to let that thought ever enter my mind. When I was diagnosed and had to travel down to Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia in the fall of 2013 for the surgery, I kept saying to myself, “I’m coming back. I’m not done yet, I still have things to do, songs to sing, and cabaret shows to perform.” My operation lasted thirteen hours in which my left jaw was removed and replaced with the fibula of my left leg. I was then intubated for a whole week which meant I could not vocally communicate at all. After the surgery, my recovery at first was slow and the doctors were uncertain as to whether I would be able to talk at all, much less sing.
However, I have always felt that singing has been my great passion and that made me even more motivated and determined to get well, so I spent two months undergoing extensive herbal chemotherapy, radiation, and physical therapy. I relied heavily on prayer which was a great comfort to me. I also had a wonderful family who was and still is very loving and supportive to me. During that time, 
since I could not ingest food and liquids normally, I was given a feeding tube as well as a tracheostomy. Well, my hard work and diligence paid off. That Christmas of 2013, my doctors were thrilled and ecstatic with my progress. They removed the feeding tube and the tracheostomy and happily told me that my diagnosis had miraculously changed from a Stage 4 to a Stage 3 (curable). That was the greatest gift I ever received. I continued to work on my recovery with great zeal. As a result, two months later in February, 2014, I returned to New York City to resume my life. In the fall of 2014, I presented a Fred Astaire cabaret show at Don’t Tell Mama and was invited for the first time to appear at The Mabel Mercer Cabaret Convention at Jazz at Lincoln Center
NLE: When did you begin presenting your annual Christmas show? What meaning does the Season hold for you?
RH: I actually began performing Christmas concerts (after my first solo show) in 1984 in Rockland Count,y and from that point on, I continued that tradition for the next fourteen 
years. I moved down to Orlando, Florida in 1989 and sang in annual Christmas concerts in hospitals, churches and retirement homes. When I moved back to New York City in 1999, I gradually began to start performing Christmas cabaret shows, which I still do today. I have always loved the Christmas season. It’s a magical time of year for me but no matter how crazy or hectic the season can be, when I hear the beautiful music associated with Christmas, I immediately become serene and calm and it puts a smile on my face. I especially love hearing and singing the lovely classical English carols that are performed by The Kings College Choir of Cambridge, England.
NLE: Over your cabaret career, you’ve seen a considerable amount of prime venues disappear. What’s your take on that? Is there a now-closed room you would have loved to have played but didn’t?
RH: I think it is an awful shame that over the past several years, the number of cabaret venues have gotten increasingly smaller. There used to be such a plethora of performing venues where any cabaret singer could get themselves booked. I started out at The Horn of Plenty in Greenwich Village, then
I auditioned for the wonderful Sidney Myer in 1986 where I was booked at Panache on East 57th Street. By the late 1980’s, both The Horn of Plenty and Panache closed. Then Sidney presented another cabaret boite called Panache/Encore on West 45th Street right near where Ted Hook’s Backstage used to be. Those venues were also short-lived. We also had such rooms as Eighty Eights, Jan Wallman’s, Judy’s, Judy’s Chelsea, Arci’s Place, and Danny’s Skylight Room, on Restaurant Row. All of those venues were wonderful performing spaces, but they, too shut down.
Sidney Myer and Tanya Moberly are now the bookers at Don’t Tell Mama, which has been operating since the early 1980’s and is still going strong—thank God. But within those thirty-odd years so many venues opened with a flourish then closed suddenly. For many years, I was constantly told that cabaret is a dying art form. I don’t believe that. I think that the real estate rates have gone up so much that it is difficult for cabaret venues to survive. It is difficult to find the perfect space for a cabaret venue to flourish 
successfully. Also, there are so many events happening in the city that are available—especially for the younger crowd—so the competition has been formidable. One of the main reasons Don’t Tell Mama has succeeded all these years is that it is right in the heart of the theater district and has been the perfect after-theater spot to go and have a drink and enjoy listening to music and hearing singers.
A few years ago, we had The Metropolitan Room, which was a fantastic place. It was located in the Chelsea district between 5th and 6th Avenue and was classy and elegant, but even that couldn’t survive skyrocketing inflation. I felt extremely lucky to get to perform at Feinstein’s at Loews Regency before it closed. However, I wish I’d had the opportunity to perform at The Firebird. That was a stunning room and it was located next to Don’t Tell Mama and across the street from Danny’s Skylight Room. it’s very sad it did not survive. However, I am grateful that we still have such nightspots as Don’t Tell Mama, 54 Below, The Duplex, The Triad, Birdland and a relatively new venue Chelsea Table+Stage. So, cabaret is definitely not dead. It is still here and despite the lumps and bumps it has gone through, I believe that it will survive and will always be an important part of New York.
NLE: How did you come to work with Tom Nelson and his trio? What’s the key to having forged such a long-term ongoing musical relationship such as yours and the trio?
RH: I met Tom through an unscrupulous man posing as a “manager” for performers. He booked me with Tom and his trio of musicians for a one-night engagement at Danny’s Skylight Room in the summer of 2001, which was successful. During the rehearsal period, Tom and I immediately liked each other and we developed an instant rapport. Shortly after that one-night performance, Tom and I learned that our “manager” had absconded with money he had stolen from other performers and completely disappeared. Tom and I never heard from him again. Surprisingly, he didn’t swindle Tom or myself so when the dust finally cleared, Tom and I thought, well, we both enjoyed working with each other, why not continue on our own? So, we began a musical partnership that has lasted for almost twenty-three years. Tom has been such a gift to me. His arrangements and accompaniment have always been first-rate and I consider myself so lucky that we connected when we did. He also happens to be a very nice guy and a very good friend. So, I have been extremely blessed.
I think the key to forging such a long-term, ongoing musical relationship is that you have to treat it like a musical marriage. You have to trust that your pianist/musical director is 
always going to be right there beside you giving you his/her valued support and it is very important for your pianist /musical director to know that you are there for him /her. There not only has to be that one-on-one communication between the two of you, but there has to be a TRUST between the performer and the musical director, which is crucial to the success of any cabaret show. I don’t work regularly with our bassist and drummer. Tom and I meet with them at the rehearsal studio the day before the show. Then, the four of us rehearse for two hours. The next day is the night of the show. We have a 30-minute sound check before the performance and then we do the show. It is not that important for me to rehearse with the other musicians as it is for me to constantly rehearse with Tom. It’s important that we have that one-on-one relationship, Then, we add the other musicians and with their wonderful musical contribution, they augment Tom’s arrangements and add greatly to the show.
NLE: The set list for your upcoming Christmas Magic in the Big Apple is eclectic and beautifully chosen. How do you decide on the theme and songs you’ll sing for your shows?
RH: That is a very good question; I’m glad you asked it. As mentioned, I love Christmas music. The main challenge in doing a Christmas 
cabaret show is that you have to make it generic. As we know, not everyone celebrates Christmas and I don’t want people coming to my show being made to feel uncomfortable. In a cabaret setting, you can’t very well sing “Adeste Fidelis” or “O Holy Night” without raising a few eyebrows. That is why I make my holiday themes more universal. For instance, this year, the title of my show is Christmas Magic in the Big Apple and many of my songs focus on what the Christmas season can be like in New York City. Well, as we know, it can be very happy and joyful and at the same time, frustrating and irritable. So, I am including in my repertoire a mashup of Cole Porter’s “I Happen To Like New York” with the holiday classic “Silver Bells.” I am also performing Portia Nelson’s classic “Confessions of a New Yorker (Hate-Love New York),” a medley of Cole Porter’s “Use Your Imagination” with Leslie Bricusse’s “Pure Imagination,” as well as songs from two Stephen Sondheim shows Sweeney Todd and Into the Woods, which I feel fit very nicely into the holiday season. So, in putting together my holiday cabaret shows each year, I try to make them appealing and enjoyable for everyone.
