Marci Kraft’s auspicious appearance at Don’t Tell Mama Cabaret is a great beginning for a vocalist making her performance debut. Ms. Kraft is a Vice President and Assistant General Counsel at The New York Times and realizes her dream to sing on a cabaret stage with “Singing Again for the First Time” an extensive review of 1920’s and 1930’s songs from The American Songbook.

After completing a Master Class with Marilyn Maye, Ms. Kraft expressed to her teacher that she wanted to continue to work toward a stage performance and her collaboration with Marilyn Maye has resulted in a stellar program of songs which transition one from another with delightful special lyrics and broad audience appeal. Throughout her performance, Marci Kraft exhibits remarkable phrasing and vocal control.

After an engaging opening set, Marci Kraft makes a strong opening argument with “Everything Old Is New Again” the song she reprises as her closing argument at the end of her program. In between, her argument is strong for the importance of the songs from the 20’s and 30’s. Highlights of her performance are “Some of These Days” (Shelton Brooks), the Perry Como Medley which includes charming key changes and examples of vocal control in “Catch a Falling Star” and “Stairway to the Stars,” and “Give Me the Simple Life” (Rube Bloom/Harry Ruby).

Ms. Kraft is accompanied by pianist and conductor Tex Arnold, bassist Tom Hubbard, and drummer Ron Vincent.

To say that Marci is precisely where she needs to be as a cabaret performer would be unfair to her, to her mentor, and to her audience. But she is on her way to that goal. To be able to appear on an iconic cabaret stage and give the controlled performance she does at Don’t Tell Mama is not only commendable but also a formidable accomplishment. What Marci Kraft needs now is to commit to move forward with her dream and to perform for an audience of strangers who can appreciate her craft anew and without prejudice.