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By David Patrick Columbia, NYSDOL

Last Thursday night I went over to 54 Below on West 54th between 7th and 8th, where Yanna Avis was performing her program of cabaret. Yanna, who is French, was married for a long time to Warren Avis, the rent-a-car tycoon. I can’t remember if we first met in Los Angeles or here in New York, but we have a lot of mutual good friends and have known each other a long time.

Yanna 54 below NYSD

Yanna had been an actress before she married Warren, but she put that away to have time to spend with her husband. Warren died at the ripe old age of 92 eight years ago this last April. It was about that time that Yanna began to focus once again on her love of performing. I call her The Chantouze.

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via 6.17.15 | LIZ SMITH: Hot, High-Heeled Women | New York Social Diary.

New York Social Diary
New York Social Diary

“Tomorrow night, chanteuse supreme, Yanna Avis returns to Manhattan’s 54 Below with her “Make Some Magic” set of sultry, naughty numbers. Go to www.54below.com for tix info. Yanna brings back the soigné vibe of all those legendary ladies who lounged against pianos in the halcyon days of New York cabaret.”

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YA 6.18.2015 54Below

YANNA AVIS, June 18 at 9:30PM:

“Ah Paree! Evoking ’50s glamour through teasing taunts, statuesque French chanteuse Yanna Avis sings with a wry understanding… The show’s essence is distilled in a word heard less and less nowadays: chic.” – Stephen Holden, The New York Times. With her new show “Make Some Magic” Yanna Avis takes us on a romantic journey through the landscape of love in her own continental cabaret style. She says: “No matter where it is, no matter what the language is, the feeling is always the same! I believe in the power of a love-song, even when it is only a dream or…an illusion!” “This cosmopolitan femme fatale sings sultry torch songs with equal ease in French, German, Spanish and, of course English… Nobody else is carrying on the European tradition quite so well. Ms. Avis has a raw, unrefined talent, and an admirable resolve to make time stand still.” – Rex Reed, New York Observer.

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Photo by Aaron Cobettvia Yanna Avis: Make Some Magic | Eddie Parsons, Huffington Post

Yanna Avis is a magical person blessed with equal parts physical beauty and inner beauty. The kind of woman who reminds you of an elegance that has been lost in modern society but a kindness and intelligence that is very much present. I have known Yanna for years and witnessed her navigate the sophisticated politics of international crowds in multiple languages without losing the everyday realness that would inspire her to hold an in depth conversation with someone who might be working at one of the many social events her busy schedule allows. Her audience has included Liza Minnelli, John Guare, Arlene Dahl, authors such as Dominick Dunne and legendary socialites such as Daisy Soros, Pat Buckley, Ivana Trump, Nan Kempner, Taki Theorocopulos, Carolyne Roehm and legendary record executive Clive Davis. Or you may find politicos such as Vernon Jordan or fashion royalty’s Mary McFadden, Carolina & Reinaldo Herrera and actual royalty Princess Firyal of Jordan. It is only fitting that this Renaissance Lady would title her latest cabaret show at 54 Below “Make Some Magic.” I sat down with “La Chantouze” to find out a little more about what drives her in this mission to entertain, inspire and bewitch…

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theaterlife.com | June 4, 2015

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French chanteuse Yanna Avis will return to 54 Below, Broadway’s Supper Club, with her new show Make Some Magic on Thursday, June 18 at 9:30PM. Her previous appearance in April sold-out completely.

Make Some Magic takes the audience on a romantic journey through the landscape of love in Yanna’s signature continental cabaret style. She says, “No matter where it is, no matter what the language is, the feeling is always the same! I believe in the power of a love-song, even when it is only a dream or…an illusion!”

A noted stage and television French actress before she came to the United States, Avis is a chanteuse in the European style;her sets, peppered with French, English, Spanish, Italian and German songs sizzle in any time zone and her unique style of international cabaret has made her a must-see in some of the most prestigious rooms around the world including New York’s Feinstein at the Regency, Café Carlyle and London’s Jermyn Street Theatre.

After maestro Gian Carlo Menotti heard her album Easy Come, Easy Go he invited her to sing at Italy’s famed Spoleto Music Festival becoming the first cabaret performer invited to the legendary festival, and after overwhelming success, was asked to return to perform at the “Cafe Chantant” on the Piazza.

Ms. Avis was trained at the National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts in Paris. She performed in various productions both classical and contemporary, including John Guare’s House of Blue Leaves and Boeing-Boeing and appeared in films and plays on French television.

Yanna’s third album Speak Love to Me under the musical direction of Lee Musiker was released March 2009 and is available in selected stores and on the internet at CD Baby, iTunes, Rhapsody, and Amazon as well as her own website at http://www.yannaavis.com.

Yanna Avis plays 54 Below (254 West 54th Street) on Thursday,June 18th at 9:30 PM. Cover charge starts at $25 and there is a $25 food and beverage minimum. Tickets and information are available at www.54Below.com.

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