Broadway World
June 2, 2010
article written by Kelly Cameron
Sharron Matthews is getting ready to take over the world CABARET STYLE! Well-known in Canada as one of the country’s greatest Cabaret artists, Sharron has been wowing Toronto audiences with her unique Cabaret evenings and amazing vocal styling for years, and now she is taking her show on the road for her World Domination tour! Sharron landed in NYC on Monday and plays her first gigs at Joe’s Pub this weekend!
New York Magazine has raved that “you never know what you’ll find next at Joe’s Pub, but you can count on the fact that it will be very very good.” Those of us in Canada already know that a night out at one of Sharron’s Cabaret’s is a fantastically good time, and now New Yorkers will have the chance to experience her unique style, humour and amazing voice first-hand.
Sharron received tons of support from Broadway veterans such as Sutton Foster and Louise Pitre in order to secure the gig at Joe’s Pub, and once she is done in NYC she is off to the world’s LARGEST arts festival The Edinburgh Festival in Scotland from August 16th to the 28th.
While getting settled in NYC, Sharron was kind enough to speak to BWW about her upcoming show, as well as about what she plans to do while she visits the Great White Way.
You have officially landed in NYC – what was the first thing you did when you hit the Great White Way?
Honestly, I went searching for food and ended up at one of my fave family burger joints at Broadway and 76th – Nicks!!! No fries though. After that I headed up to Birdland.
Any plans to see any shows while you are here? If so, what’s on your list?
I am ALL cabaret ALL THE TIME while I’m in NYC. I have plans to be at The Metropolitan Room, Jim Caruso’s Cast Party, Joe’s Pub – I will be out all night every night so I must pace myself. I would love to see Everyday Rapture if I can find the time, and the Addams Family since I’m fascinated by it. That show goes back to my 70’s TV watching!
You are going to be playing your first ever gig at Joe’s Pub, a very popular spot for Broadway stars and lovers of Broadway in general. What can the people of NYC expect if they come out to see you?
They will hear fabulous and interesting arrangements of old and new songs by artists like Radiohead, Queen, Styx, Britney Spears and Nirvana. You can be uber pleased if you are the first one to figure out what the song is! You don’t have to know the song in order to get my story. In between the songs I might talk about my obsession with all that is pop culture – my love for Madonna and Shirley Bassey at the same time – my obsession with Charlie’s Angels – and how a young man named Ed Wills saved me from total High School Dance humiliation and what the movie Helter Skelter means to me. Literally, a mixed bag of awesomeness with something for everyone!
Is your show going to be tweaked at all for an American audience?
Not really! I am just going to make sure that if there is a Canadian reference it’s made clear – although to be fair, I don’t even know where Nunavut is, or how to spell it! I believe that my show appeals to a broad audience, that has been my plan from the beginning.
Since you are in NYC – could we find out a bit more about you and how you feel about the city? What are the top 5 things on your list of things to see/do?
Well, I love love love NYC! From my very first visit in 1994 when I saw Miss Saigon and had the good fortune of seeing Billy Porter do one of his first cabarets I have been hooked. I can walk 100 blocks and it seems like nothing because there is so much to see and do here. I love to just walk around this city. And Times Square! Love Times Square. I have been here one day and everyone I have met in the Cabaret community has been so welcoming and helpful, it really is wonderful.
There are some things I must ALWAYS do when I come to NYC though and I don’t want to miss those things. It all starts with food, and I’m not going to apologize for that:
1. China Regency across from Carnegie Hall has the best spring rolls in the world…
2. Ray’s Original Pizza has the best cheese slice in the world!
3. After my show at Joe’s Pub on Sunday night I will get everyone who is there to come with me to my favourite place (IN THE WORLD) … Marie’s Crisis Café in the Village. It’s the best piano bar in the basement of a brownstone, you never know who you will see there.
4. I will go to the music store Colony and look through all the music
5. I will go and visit the Penguins at the Central Park Zoo. I really love that zoo! A Canadian composer/lyricist team just wrote a fabulous musical about those penguins, so that can all tie into an afternoon in Central Park.
Finally, to celebrate your time on the Great White Way, top 5 Dream Broadway roles? Past or Present…
1. Dot in Sunday in the Park
2. Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar
3. Queenie in Andrew Lippa’s Wild Party
4. Mama Rose in Gypsy
5. The Leading Player in Pippin