Cameron Edmiston and Friends: Changes

Post author:Bart Greenberg
Post published:January 16, 2026
Reading time:3 mins read

Cameron Edmiston and Friends

Changes

Don’t Tell Mama, NYC, January 13, 2026

Reviewed by Bart Greenberg

Composer/lyricist Cameron Edmiston, who also served as music director for the evening, presented a dozen samples (plus one encore) of his work, performed by a group of “friends”—a collection of young, charming, joyful, talented new faces. Edmiston’s work does show signs of his influences: a bit of Sondheim here in the complexity of his dense lyrics and a bit of Maltby and Shire in his choice of subjects and his compassion for the characters he creates. But he is clearly moving forward in finding his unique voice, and that is a journey worth tracking.

A quartet of talented performers anchored the show: Karyna Richter, Cabe Parrish, Mark Montgomery, and Thomas Lightsey. They worked well together in various combinations and made a great deal of their solo spots. Three more “guest stars” showed up for one solo each—Nathan Diaz, Sabrina Reed, and Minju Lee—and they added even more variety to the show. Every number was introduced by each performer briefly and succinctly and with good humor as when Lightsey returned to the stage to announce, “I’m still Thomas!,” which kept things moving along quickly. Edmiston spoke only once to concentrate on the music. For a production with so many moving pieces, it ran surprisingly smoothly.

Diaz scored with “If It All Works Out” about as an adorable nervous wreck on his way to a meeting with someone he met a dating app. In a very different mood, Reed brought out all the emotions felt by a student on her vacation back home from college where she can’t be who she is at school because you “Can’t Be Sad on Christmas.” The lyrics of the very offbeat “Afraid of the Dark,” intensely sung by Lee, featured the unique imagery typical of Edmiston; they matched becoming sure of oneself with horror-movie icons.

The members of the central quartet had their own moments, such as when Richter, Montgomery, and Lightsey experienced the eternal triangle in “Never Be in Love with Me” with its twist in a tale of sexual frustration. Parrish and Lightsey had a happier time as two lab partners discovering “Chemistry” with the aid of the periodic table. Montgomery brought a powerful yearning to her portrayal of a person who just wants to be “Part of the Band,” and Lightsey showed off his ability to build a number while dealing with a huge flow of words as he declared “I Am Here Today” (“Here I am. Am I here? I am here!”). Edmiston’s theatrical flair was evident in a trio that declared “I Hate Musical Theater,” which was filled with many inside jokes and rhymes (“I’d rather be hit by a meteor than hear Ann Hathaway sing about France” and a pairing of “appendectomy” with “Actors’ Equity”) and including the expected encore verse. Despite these words, it is highly evident that Edmiston loves musical theater and will keep moving forward with his work for the delight of the audience.

Tags: Sabrina Reed, American Songbook Association, ASA, Don’t Tell Mama, Cameron Edmiston, Changes, Karyna Richter, Cabe Parrish, Mark Montgomery, Thomas Lightsey, Nathan Diaz, Minju Lee, If It All Works Out, Can’t Be Sad on Christmas, Never Be in Love with Me, Chemistry, Periodic Table, Part of the Band, I Am Here Today, I Hate Musical Theater, Ann Hathaway, Actors Equity, Cabaret Scenes, Sondheim, Broadway, Cabaret, Broadway Musicals, American Songbook, Lyricist, NYC, CD, France, Cabaret Reviews, CD Reviews, Clubs, composer, Maltby and Shire, Bart Greenberg

Bart Greenberg

Bart Greenberg first discovered cabaret a few weeks after arriving in New York City by seeing Julie Wilson and William Roy performing Stephen Sondheim and Cole Porter outdoors at Rockefeller Center. It was instant love for both Ms. Wilson and the art form. Some years later, he was given the opportunity to create his own series of cabaret shows while working at Tower Records. "Any Wednesday" was born, a weekly half-hour performance by a singer promoting a new CD release. Ann Hampton Callaway launched the series. When Tower shut down, Bart was lucky to move the program across the street to Barnes & Noble, where it thrived under the generous support of the company. The series received both The MAC Board of Directors Award and The Bistro Award. Some of the performers who took part in "Any Wednesday" include Barbara Fasano and Eric Comstock, Tony Desare, Andrea Marcovicci, Carole Bufford, the Karens, Akers, Mason and Oberlin, and Julie Wilson. Privately, Greenberg is happily married to writer/photographer Mark Wallis, who as a performance artist in his native England gathered a major following as "I Am Cereal Killer."