Miss Maybell and Her Ragtime Romeos

Post author:Bart Greenberg
Post published:July 12, 2026
Reading time:3 mins read

Miss Maybell and Her Ragtime Romeos

Birdland, NYC, July 8, 2026

Reviewed by Bart Greenberg

The charming Miss Maybell (aka Lauren Sansaricq) and her spirited band of jazz, blues, and ragtime musicians known as the Ragtime Romeos returned to Birdland to celebrate the release of their new album (and an accompanying collection of sheet music) of previously unrecorded songs from 1880 –1920. Some of the songs were real gems, some were more generic, and only one—“How Ya Gonna Keep ’em Down on the Farm” (Walter Donaldson/Joe Young/Sam M. Lewis)—was at all familiar. It all added up to an unusual and delightful evening at the cabaret.

There was nothing generic about the septet of people on stage. All of them were gifted musicians who were equally strong as solo performers and as ensemble members. Clad in fun suggestions of period clothing, they all seemed to be having a great time on stage as they performed this obscure material. Miss Maybell and Charlie Judkins shared hosting duties; he also played the piano and served as a music arranger. Maybell provided the lead vocals on most numbers; she also playing banjo, guitar, and a highly versatile washboard. Gavin Rice (banjo, alto sax, trumpet), Mike Davis (trumpet, trombone), Dan Levinson (C melody saxophone, clarinet), Andy Stein (violin), and Brian Nalepka (bass) all had their moments to shine, both instrumentally and vocally, and they took full advantage of them.

Among the best discoveries were “Sadie, the Princess of Tenement Row” (Chas Horwitz/Frederick Bowers), which was reminiscent of the Tin Pan Alley output of Irving Berlin, and a passionate “Unknown Blues” (Clarence Williams). They moved away from such urban-sounding numbers with “Plain Country Rose” (Irving & Jack Kaufman), which had a genuine country twang, and the southern ragtime of “Georgia Lee” (Ruth Fernandez Such).

While Maybell took care of most of the solo vocal work, Nalepka had a grand time with the previously mentioned “How Ya Gonna Keep ’em Down on the Farm,” and Stein offered a hysterical “Hula Lou” (Jack Yellen/Milton Charles/Wayne King). As a wildly politically incorrect take on an ersatz Hawaiian folk song, this one had a “hillbilly” arrangement that was as happily wacky as it sounds. To bring the program to a close, “Happy Feet” (Yellen/Milton Ager) direct from the King of Jazz, a musical film from the earliest age of talkies, was blended with “Down in Honky Tonky Town” (Chris Smith/Charles McCarron) for a joyous ending to a unique cabaret evening.

Tags: Gavin Rice, Bart Greenberg, American Songbook Association, ASA, Mike Davis, Wayne King, Happy Feet, Brian Nalepka, Chris Smith, Miss Maybell and Her Ragtime Romeos, Lauren Sansaricq, How Ya Gonna Keep ’em Down on the Farm, Charlie Judkins, Hula Lou, Andy Stein, Sadie the Princess of Tenement Row, Chas Horwitz, Frederick Bowers, Unknown Blues, Plain Country Rose, Irving & Jack Kaufman, Georgia Lee, Ruth Fernandez Such, Milton Charles, King of Jazz, Down in Honky Tonky Town, Charles McCarron, Joe Young, Cabaret Scenes, Birdland, Broadway, Cabaret, Broadway Musicals, Dan Levinson, Irving Berlin, American Songbook, Lyricist, NYC, Milton Ager, Jack Yellen, CD, Reviews, Walter Donaldson, Cabaret Reviews, Tin Pan Alley, Clubs, composer, Clarence Williams, Sam M. Lewis

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."