Ann Kittredge: Love for Sale: Celebrating 10 Years in Cabaret

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Ann Kittredge

Love for Sale:  Celebrating 10 Years in Cabaret

Don’t Tell Mama, NYC, February 11, 2026

Reviewed by Jacqueline Parker

Ann Kittredge
Photo by James Gavin

“A class act” is not a phrase one hears often anymore, but it kept popping into my mind as I watched Ann Kittredge celebrate her tenth anniversary in the wondrous playland we call cabaret. She has the natural ebullience of a young woman who tries to mask her youthful emotions with a fake veneer of sophistication even as her enthusiasm wins out. She seemed to jump onto the stage at Don’t Tell Mama where she made her debut a decade ago. (Jeff Harnar had done the same thing the week before and the week after when he celebrated his DTM anniversary.) They both proved that one can indeed go home again, and that Don’t Tell Mama under the generous and loving guidance of Sidney Myer—has launched the careers of many cabaret luminaries.

Dressed simply in basic black slacks and a rich cherry-red shirt, Kittredge displayed a wide-eyed natural confidence that made the audience trust that she would lead them into a wondrous adventure. and she didn’t disappoint. She understood that many of the songs she chose were stories, and her interpretations made it easy to “turn the page” on each one. She did this masterfully with “Mr. Tambourine Man” (Bob Dylan), which she felt was Dylan’s love song to music itself.

With more than a dozen pieces from various songwriters such as Ahrens & Flaherty and Consuelo Velazquez, she displayed a delicate strength, as when she imbued Christopher Denny’s arrangement of “I Feel the Earth Move” (Carole King) with a subtle drama that was unexpected and but welcome. She did this more than once; “Where’ve You Been” (Don Henry/Jon Vezner) was sweet and suddenly evoked tears through her ability to bring forth the full and unexpected emotion of a tune.

Full of girlish wonder, which is a rare strength, she revealed her full womanly nature in Cole Porter’s “Love for Sale,” which she had used when she auditioned for Sidney Myer as she began her career in cabaret. She told us that she was “baring her musical soul,” which she did most convincingly in “Sons of” (Gérard Jouannest/Jacques Brel; English words by Eric Blau and Mort Shuman), in a poignant interpretation that sent a shiver up our spines.

In addition to Christopher Denny at the piano and Barry Kleinbort directing, Kittredge had a surprise guest accompany her on the final offering. Sean Harkness strummed his guitar as he walked up to the stage, and together they performed “Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life” (Victor Herbert/Rida Johnson Young) with a subtle and a welcome injection of modernity. She touched every base for a successful show and topped off the evening by having daffodils on the tables, the flower that celebrates tenth anniversaries.

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Jacqueline Parker

Like Ethel Merman, lifelong New Yorker Jacqueline Parker began her career as a stenographer. She spent more than two decades at the city's premier public agency, progressing through positions of increased responsibility after earning her BA in English from New York University (3.5 GPA/Dean’s List). She won national awards for her work in public relations and communication and had the privilege of working in the House of Commons for Stephen Ross, later Lord Ross of Newport. In the second half of her career, Jacqueline brought her innate organizational skills and creative talents to a variety of positions. While distinguishing herself in executive search, she also gave her talents to publishing, politics, writing, radio broadcasting and Delmonico's Restaurant. Most recently, she hosted Anything Goes! a radio show that paid homage to Cole Porter and by extension the world of Broadway musicals and the Great American Songbook. Other features of the show were New York living, classical music, books, restaurants, architecture and politics. This show highlighted the current Broadway scene, both in New York and around the country through performances and interviews with luminaries including Len Cariou, Charles Strouse, Laura Osnes, Steve Ross and Joan Copeland. Her pandemic project was immersion into the life, times and work of Alfred Hitchcock, about whom she has written a soon-to-be-published article. Jacqueline has been involved in a myriad of charitable causes, most notably the Walt Frazier Youth Foundation, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Sisters of Life, York Theatre, and the New Jersey Shakespeare Festival. She is a proud Founder of Hidden Water. Her greatest accomplishment is the parenting of her son, a lawyer specializing in mediation. She has many pretend grandchildren, nieces and nephews, on whom she dotes shamelessly, as well as a large circle of friends to whom she is devoted. Her interests in addition to theater and cabaret are cooking, entertaining, reading, and spending time on Queen Mary 2.