This was the name of one of the most enjoyable Osher classes I have taken in recent years. It was taught by my friend Susan, who moved to Williamsburg with her husband a few years ago after spending a lifetime involved in arts organizations in New York City. Susan is a Founding Director of Artists in Partnership, and she brings a wealth of experience to the classes that she teaches for Osher.
I took her class in 2017, I think it was, and it was just a lot of fun. The class focused on the cabaret scene in New York, and I have to confess it’s something I knew almost nothing about. She started out by asking the class what came to mind when we heard the word “cabaret.” She knew that we would answer by talking about the dark 1972 musical starring Liza Minelli and Joel Grey, and she was prepared for this — she showed us Willkommen in response to our comments. I know you’re singing it in your head right now.
And off we went!
For three weeks, she gave us some background on New York City cabarets, and presented dozens of clips of cabaret artists — some we had heard of, some we knew nothing about — as they sang songs that comprise The Great American Songbook. I learned that this is actually a “thing,” defined in Wikipedia as “the loosely defined canon of significant early-20th-century American jazz standards, popular songs, and show tunes.” Check it out here.
WARNING! Make sure you carve out some time before you visit this website. You won’t be able to leave until you’ve sung a bunch of the songs you’ll see on this site. You’ll dive down a rabbit hole of youtube videos. Pack a lunch. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
There were over 100 of us in this class, which met in the auditorium of our local public library. We are all “of a certain age” and we all sang along. People were blissing out in (eyes closed, gentle smiles, swaying heads) in response to the sultry ballads. There may or may not have been dancing in the aisles. I believe there was some swooning. What happens in the library auditorium stays in the library auditorium.
PS: You might want to check out Michael Feinstein’s PBS series on The Great American Songbook.
Now, that's just terrific. I know you were singing along with your pleasant voice.