By John Hayden
Boys will be boys, and Anne Steele will be right by their side singing their songs. One of the brightest stars of New York’s vibrant cabaret scene, she’s taking her show, Where the Boys Are, on the road. It would be remiss for any tour bearing that name to skip Fort Lauderdale, the home of the cinematic classic of the same title. “It’s all songs that were either written or recorded by men.”
Steele is appearing at Sunshine Cathedral Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday, February 24, 2024, at 8pm, and people of a certain age will be able to sing along with her. Songs include Boys of Summer by Don Henley, Peter Gabriel’s In Your Eyes, and more, including As Long As You Love Me by the Backstreet Boys.
She’s chosen these songs because the notes, the lyrics, the rhythm, all trigger memories. Songs transport us back to the time in our lives when we heard them all the time on radio or television or, now, streaming.
“I always say music is the most powerful thing in the world. I can remember, when I hear I Drove All Night by Cyndi Lauper, being at the public pool, the green tile walls in the changing room. It takes me there immediately and that feeling of getting ready for the pool. It’s that feeling of transporting you,” she told OutClique. “Music does that for all of us, but especially certain songs that hit you. Now this is me telling the story through music.”
She originally planned to launch Where the Boys Are in 2020. Pandemic delayed the curtain by three years. Time made the heart, and the notes, grow fonder. “I was so thrilled, you have no idea. I was thinking about launching this show for three years to get it out there. It felt really great and now we’re touring with it,” Steele said. Like many people, COVID altered her outlook on the world. “It did change a bit. We all changed so much during the pandemic. The way I look at music has changed a lot. I don’t take anything for granted. I have a different perspective.”
Maturing Through Music
The iconic lyric says ‘life is a cabaret.’ For Steele, a cabaret is life. Now a Cabaret Queen, she’s a long way from her childhood home of Shelbyville, IN, outside Indianapolis. While not overtly anti-LGBTQIA+ in the eighties and nineties when she was growing up, there wasn’t a lot of cultural support to help her figure out who she was.
“Being an out lesbian, I didn’t understand my sexuality when I was young. I was so drawn to songs done by men and didn’t know why that was so important to me. Now, knowing that I’m a lesbian and knowing, at that point, it was men singing about women and loving women and longing for women and the beauty of a woman. I didn’t know why that meant something to me at that point. Now, of course, I do.”
After graduating from Ball State University, she moved to Nashville and auditioned at one of music’s most sacred spaces: Opryland. The experience changed her trajectory. “I decided not to get my masters and was gonna move to New York. I’d never had a job other than performing.” She decided to hone an essential skill for working in NYC. “I worked at Chili’s for about six months and did the Christmas show at Opryland Hotel and then I moved to New York in 1997.”
She worked at the iconic Don’t Tell Mama piano bar for about 13 years. “It was a great way to audition and make a lot of money.” Like many others, she had dreams of making it big on the Great White Way, but it wasn’t meant to be. Accepting that, she realized other, better doors would open. “I got close to Broadway many times and never quite made it. So, I started doing my own shows. I was sick of trying to be somebody else. I wanted to be myself for a minute. I feel when you’re dealing with piano bar performers, we’re just being ourselves. I’m not playing a part. I’m playing myself.”
Her big break came in 2010, in the form of a talent contest called Metro Star. Like The Voice but for cabaret singers. Steele won a fully produced show and album. The New York Times reviewed her show, leading to an extended, sold out run.
Then a blast from the past affected her future. Opryland started doing cruises and began booking her. Now Steele’s high seas resumé includes work on Atlantis, RSVP, and Our Family Vacations.
Amongst all that, she still produces several new shows a year. One, like Where the Boys Are, is meant for touring. A version of this show, but featuring songs written or performed by women, could be next. She’s also working on a Barry Manilow tribute show, Back to Barry. She knows her audience.
After her show at Sunshine, she hopes to hit up Wilton Manors. She knows the gayborhood well and, like in NYC, will go out to local cabaret bars. That’s where she feels most at home.
