IT ALL HAPPENED THEN: A WALK DOWN CABARET'S MEMORY LANE (Meg Flather)

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We all know by now that one of the very best things about Facebook is the chance to reconnect with people we haven't seen in a long time and have missed, and such was the case two days ago when I found my old friend Meg Flather. Now, I want to explain a few things about my friendship with Meg.

When I burst onto the cabaret scene in '86-87, she was already more or less an established personality; she'd won a Bistro Award for being one half of the vocal duo Leather & Flather (Leather was the brilliant singer-pianist Christian Daizey) and had a huge following in the clubs. I myself never got to see them work together, although I got to see her a time or two at the Duplex piano bar, but in general I had the feeling she'd be unapproachable, because she's very tall and extremely beautiful besides having one of the most remarkable voices in New York City. (Honestly, and here's where I put on my old reviewer's cap, it's a truly unique voice, with a solid tone, terrific pitch, and just enough vibrato to be really earthy without containing a showy distraction. Quite remarkable).

Then, when the now-defunct Eighty Eight's opened, they held a major event: it was a two-night benefit concert for the recently-deceased pianist Timmy Moore, whom we lost in the health crisis. And they had an absolutely marvelous roster of performers, including Amy Ryder, George Sanders, Terri White, Lina Koutrakos, Kevin Pititto, and the late Scott Traudt. One of the most chilling moments of all, however, was Meg singing "Millwork" from the Broadway musical Working. This was not merely a performance, it was a happening event. It was a capacity crowd, and she had us all in the palm of her lovely hand. That was the first time I ever approached her after a show, because I simply had to compliment the performance. I was about as surprised as I could ever be to find out that she was just as lovely a person as she was gorgeous and talented, was thrilled that I'd take the time to say such nice things, and that we were both native New Yorkers. She also freelanced at cosmetic counters at various department stores, which made perfect sense. Needless to say, we stayed friendly.

In 1990, I landed my first job in journalism, writing cabaret reviews and entertainment features for Night & Day Magazine, which folded after six months. I was transferred over to writing for the New York Native weekly newspaper, and left there after a year to publish my own monthly magazine, CaB. And I never missed an opportunity to review Meg if she was doing a show somewhere. One that sticks out in particular was a show she did at Don't Tell Mama in 1991, because it was obvious that she was a true original. Rather than delve into the Great American Songbook or concentrate on such standard cabaret fare as the catalogs of Rodgers & Hammerstein, Cole Porter and Sondheim, she bravely chose to infuse pop songs with a tremendous theatricality. In just that one hour of music, she could run the gamut from songs like "Floundering" and the country hit "Where've You Been?" to Marc Blitzstein's translation of Brel's "La Valse A Mille Temps" and Bianca Miller's humorous "Gay, Married Or Sick" and weave it all together in so seamless a fashion that the result was no less than astonishingly spectacular.

Once CaB had established its foothold on the international cabaret community, one of the most exciting times of the year became the planning of that season's CaB Magazine Awards. We had run an awards list every season, but April of 1994 was the first time it was presented as an actual ceremony, at Steve McGraw's (formerly Palsson's, later The Triad). We had five categories: Best New Artist, Sustained Cabaret Achievement, Lifetime Cabaret Achievement, Special Service, and Entertainers Of The Year. And I made it a point not to be dictatorial about who the winners would be; I merely combed through every issue from the previous twelve months, composed a ballot, and allowed my twelve cabaret critics to vote in secret for whom they thought should win. And I was overjoyed to tally the votes and discover that Meg was one of our recipients for Sustained Achievement. It was a magical night that I'll never forget regardless, but a true highlight was Meg's performance of (I may be getting the title wrong) "Late Night Confessions From The Holiday Inn On I-95," which was written masterfully by John Kroner. It was very soon after that she became a true toast of New York at The Ballroom, which I also attended and couldn't have been more proud.

However, times do change. CaB closed, I drifted off the scene, and though I didn't know it at the time, Meg did as well; she'd opted to begin singing in the rock'n'roll clubs of New York for the next ten years. Along the way, and aside from appearing in skits on such television programs as "Late Night With Conan O'Brien" and "The Rosie O'Donnell Show," she also found work as a hostess on home shopping channels like HSN and QVC, and a steady gig (which continues to this day) hawking cosmetics on both Canadian and Australian TV.

But...fairly recently, she made a return to cabaret that was met with a not-inconsiderable amount of acclaim. As such, she is returning to the Metropolitan Room with a brand-new show, and I would be remiss as both a devoted friend and a loyal fan if I didn't help spread the word. Following below is her press release for the show. Please, please attend...and be sure to tell her that I, and NiteLifeExchange.com, sent you. Thanks.