Listening to People You May Know

Many of the cabaret concerts covered on this blog are initiated by the songwriters themselves or by theatre companies specifically interested in showcasing new writing talent. People You May Know cabaret series is a collection of three actors-- Julia Burrows, Michael Deleget, and Leslie Henstock-- who choose three songwriters/songwriting teams to feature in each iteration of their concerts (their last was version 4.0).

People You May Know is an interesting glimpse into what it is about new work that inspires and interests actors, as the performers takes turns tackling some of the writers' songs and other songs that have influenced the writers' work. When it comes to the latter, sometimes this leads to a rousing cover of classics like "I Can't Make You Love Me," but other times it can lead to interesting new arrangements (usually by musical director Andrew Byrne) like a mashup of "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" and "One and Only." Overall, the shows are great for any musical theatre enthusiast because they welcome new interpretations of newer work, with a fresh stamp by the performers themselves.

I had the pleasure of attending People You May Know 4.0, which featured personal favorite writers of mine: Michael Mahler, Will Van Dyke, and Joe Iconis. Below are some highlights, but feel free to watch all the videos from the show on People You May Know's Youtube channel or on their website (there's videos from past shows too!)

Michael and Julia singing Michael Mahler's "Couldn't You Stay":

Michael singing Will Van Dyke's "Settle":

Leslie singing Joe Iconis' "The Actress":

And because it's too manic and delicious not to share, Julia singing Joe Iconis' "Ammonia":