Singer-actress Lorna Luft makes her Birdland cabaret debut in “Lorna's Living Room,” with two different shows, February 11 and 18, 2013, both at 7pm. “It’s like having old friends over,” she says. “We make merry, laugh, and sing. I’m the hostess-with-the-mostest, so to speak. And anything can happen.”

Tonight, the Eleventh, the “boys” drop by – specifically James Clow and Tony Yazbeck (Tulsa in the 2008 Gypsy revival). Both have six degrees of separation with Luft (she appeared opposite them in Paper Mill Playhouse’s 2011 White Christmas). They’ll perform songs by Berlin, Rodgers and Hart, and, among others, Burt Bacharach.

On February 18th, it's girl's night with guests Ann Hampton Callaway and country/pop star Kelly King (“I Don’t Wanna Sing That Song”). Expect tunes by legendary lyricists Betty Comden and Dorothy Fields; as well as pop’s Laura Nyro.

Luft, who’s performed on Broadway, Carnegie Hall, throughout the U.K., and regionally, made her TV debut at 11, singing side-by-side her legendary mom on “The Judy Garland Show.” She has done White Christmas extensively in the U.K. Her voice is heard in the TV animated series “Rick and Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple in All the World.”

She brought her acclaimed, award-winning West Coast multi-media concert, “Songs My Mother Taught Me — The Judy Garland Songbook,” to the Regency, with music direction by her husband, Colin Freeman. The songs and some of her family reminisces were captured for a CD.

Tickets for Lorna Luft’s Lorna's Living Room are $25 and $35, with a $10 food/drink minimum. To reserve, call 212-581-3080. Following Luft’s shows is Jim Caruso’s popular Monday night staple, “Cast Party,” at 10pm. You never know who might drop by, and almost everyone who’s anyone has. Stick around and parteeee!

Image: 
Writer: 
Ellis Nassour
Date: 
February 2013
Key Subjects: 
Lorna Luft
Secondary Subjects: 
Barbra Streisand