"The Line Up" with Susie Mosher at Birdland - New York City Article

"The Line Up" with Susie Mosher
Birdland
315 W 44th Street, (212) 581-3080
Tuesdays, going forward

The “variety show” is the latest format that’s coming to all the major clubs like Birdland, Feinstein’s / 54 Below, and the Green Room; as the title suggests, it aggregates a variety of performers, mostly singers (and mostly Broadway-oriented), but also more than a few jazz artists and / or comedians. What distinguishes the variety show idea from the more familiar “open mic” format (of which Jim Caruso’s “Cast Party” at Birdland remains the gold standard) is that all the acts are curated by the host / producer in advance, which still means some pleasant surprises for the audience but, hopefully. no disappointments for anybody. Hosted by comedian and singer Susie Mosher (rhymes with “kosher”), who might be described as the emminently-likable Lesbian love child of Carol Burnett and Jackie Hoffman, “The Line-Up,” holds forth on Tuesdays in the late-ish slot (10 PM) at Birdland. It represents the younger and more LGBT-centric side of Birdland; the patrons at the line-up often seem like the nieces and nephews of those of us veteran Birdlanders digging bebop upstairs. So far I’ve only been once, and I was impressed by the general high quality of the performances, and especially by Ms. Mosher herself, she seems to have launched a vogue for high-energy multiple-threat performance artists who can sing and simultaneously improvise spontaneous comedy routines in song. (With musical director Brad Simmons.) Highly recommended.

Hot tip: rumor has it that the wonderful Veronica Swift - who is appearing this Thanksgiving week at her home base (Birdland) is making a guest shot at the line-up tonight (Tuesday November 26).  Just saying!

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