Urban Stages Winter Rhythms 2025: Reviews Are in for Tuesday, December 9 -

Urban Stages Winter Rhythms 2025: the 17th annual award-winning series for the benefit of Urban Stages’ Outreach Programs, running from Wednesday, December 3 through Sunday, December 14, 2025

Here are comments about two terrific shows on Tuesday, December 9. Don’t forget to check back for updates and more reviews!

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 9 at 7:00 PM: Scott Barbarino & The BevNaps Take a Holiday Cruise

“This show was so much fun. The vocals were fantastic and they had the theater really rockin’! Cruise Director, Scott Barbarino, along with: Anna Anderson, Dylan Bershire and singer-Musical Director, JD Smurthwaite, brought back the nostalgia, fun and joy of holidays past… All Aboard!” – By Sue Matsuki for NiteLife Exchange

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 9 at 9:00 PM: Steve Schalchlin in Living in the Bonus Round

“How can a show make you laugh until it hurts and then move you to tears in the very next second? Well this one can! Steve Schalchlin and his very impressive cast: Blake Lee Zolfo, Alicia Irving, Brian Krinsky, Mark Janas (piano for one song and the audition scene), Jim Brochu with “Christmastime,” Bill Goffi and Gavin Gold (guitar and back up vocals), presented a show that deserves an Off-Broadway run. Living in the Bonus Round is about Schalchlin’s journey from acknowledging he’s gay to being on death’s door and meeting Dr. Bruce Dorsey, the chemist who created Crixivan and saved his life. Dorsey was in the house and was honord from the stage, as Schalchlin brought his story to TODAY… living in the Bonus Round… just wow! – By Sue Matsuki for NiteLife Exchange

To learn more about Winter Rhythms, here are two interviews with producer, Sue Matsuki: by Jack Quinn of Cabaret Scenes and James Manley of Artists Weekly.

About Sue Matsuki 82 Articles

SUE MATSUKI is an award-winning singer and songwriter, producer, open mic host, educator, columnist and the author of So You Want to Sing Cabaret. She is a Bistro Award winner for Outstanding Collaboration with her Musical Director, Gregory Toroian; she is the very first recipient of the Julie Wilson Award given by the Mabel Mercer Foundation; and she is a multi-award-winning MAC Award winner (Manhattan Association of Cabarets & Clubs) for Jazz Vocalist, Special Events, and Songwriter and has been nominated 11 times in 8 different categories. Matsuki is a Cabaret/Jazz singing veteran who has played every NYC Cabaret room including: Feinstein’s at the Regency, 54 Below, Town Hall, and several major Jazz Clubs including: the legendary Village Gate, Birdland, The Iridium and Sweet Rhythm. She’s even played Carnegie Hall and appeared in five seasons as a Diva Double at the Metropolitan Opera. She plays many theaters across the country and has appeared at Crazy Coqs in London. As an educator she has taught Cabaret and performance/business classes at: Mac-to-School, Cabaret Hotspot! Cabaret U, The Ridgefield Theater Barn, Peddie Town School (Town Heights, NJ), UCONN’s Osher’s Lifelong Learning Institute, the Vancouver School of Performing Arts and at Fordham University at Lincoln Center. Matsuki is the Producer of the annual Urban Stages’ Winter Rhythms series, NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singers) NMTC National Musical Theater Competition as well as many other benefits and shows. Sue’s Views has been an on-going Cabaret advice column that has appeared in Cabaret Hotline On-Line, NiteLife Exchange and Cabaret Hotspot, It now lives on her website. Sue’s Muse comes back to the NiteLife Exchange family in May. For more information please visit: www.SueMatsuki.com