Abbey Crawford's cabaret in the Civic's Studio Theater

Can you tell who I just got off the phone with?

She'll perform cabarets on Oct. 7-8 and Nov. 18-19 -- weekends when the Studio is dark -- and for four months thereafter as well.

She describes it as "more intimate, just like a conversation -- it's more of a storytelling show, where I can get going where I want to go with the music."

Just her and an accompanist, in the intimate confines of the Firth J. Chew.

The Nov. show will have a food theme. You'll be able to bring your wine right into the theater, and there will be hors d'oeuvres.

Yvonne Johnson really went to bat to get Crawford six months' worth of cabaret dates, over the Civic board's initial objections. But Crawford will be renting the place for her paired dates.