Born in Germany, raised in New York and a Texan for 15 years, the iconoclastic Karen Kohler has won all three major New York cabaret awards ? Nightlife, MAC and Backstage Bistro - and has performed in cabarets, concert halls, consulates and embassies across the U.S. and in Europe, England and Australia. Her new one-woman show, Little Death: Songs of Coming and Going, in which the singer and actress crossbreeds a decadent range of theatrical and musical influences including jazz, Delta blues, classical, rock-folk and cabaret in five languages, is the recipient of the "2009 Backstage Bistro Award for Outstanding Theme Show." Stephen Holden (NY Times) wrote of the show: ?...as cosmopolitan a work of musical theater as I can remember?Ms. Kohler?s exquisite taste in songs and her band?s ability to play them in any style leaves you open-mouthed with admiration.? Known for bridging distinctly different sensibilities and songbooks, Karen has been a leading exponent of European cabaret in New York City for nearly a decade. She is director of the award-winning Kabarett Kollektif, an ensemble devoted to European cabaret in its many forms, as well as the founding producer of Kabarett Fête, a widely praised and award-winning festival that debuted in 2007 and immersed audiences in a breathtaking habitat of international styles. Her commitment to cabaret extends to directing and teaching master classes on stagecraft and the history of cabaret. In 2007, she and her husband Robert established the Peter E. Kohler Scholarship in Cabaret Performance at Long Island University, the first scholarship of its kind in the world.

Tonight?s program features her signature interpretations of German cabaret, French chansons and American Songbook classics.