Press

"Jana Robbins has had a colorful Broadway career as an actress and singer; now she has capsulized it into a thoroughly entertaining, warm-hearted cabaret hour, packed with songs and lively reminiscences. One of her most popular roles was Mazeppa, the sexy stripper “with a gimmick” in the Tyne Daly production of Gypsy; Jana was also Daly’s standby. In her cabaret performance, she relives her experiences through several of the show’s numbers, such as Everything’s Coming Up Roses, Small World, You’ll Never Get Away From Me and Together, Wherever We Go – singing and acting them so well that it seems as if her original co-performers were still on stage with her. Among her other top numbers are a moving My Mother Was a Singer, a graphic Zip, and a powerful version of I’m Still Here. Performing unmiked, Jana fills the room easily with her vibrant personality. Doyle Newmeyer shines with fine musical and vocal accompaniment."
Peter Haas Cabaret Scenes

Phil Geoffrey Bond has begun a once-a-month series of dramatized and musicalized versions of short stories that he has written at The Duplex. On one recent evening, Bond narrated a tale that bore a striking resemblance to (take your pick) the Judy Garland story or the Liza Minnelli story. This old warhorse was given extraordinary sensitivity and pathos by Jana Robbins's soulful acting in the role of the soused, deeply vulnerable star. Put a lesser actress in the part, with a spotlight on her face for the entire show, and the whole thing have been a disaster.
Theatermania.com The Seigel Column

The As If Body Loop at Louisville Humana Festival

"Loop starred the engaging Marc Grapey as the eldest of three grown children of a woman called Attic Lady, played to a fare-thee-well by Jana Robbins" at Back Stage - New York,NY,USA

Awake and Sing at Arena Stage

"Robbins, is a model of tension under glass as Bessie" at Washinton Post

And Somewhere Men are Laughing at World Premiere NY Fringe Festival

"Better still is Jana Robbins, who as Pearl, Dot's meddling aunt and Danny's doting admirer, finds every laugh in a character that could too easily become a stereotypical Jewish busybody. With a core of intelligence surrounded by a thin shell of sex appeal and drenched in kindness, Robbins's Pearl is a delectable confection. " By Matthew Murray at Talkin Broadway

Awake and Sing

Arena Stage's Awake and Sing!, with Prosky and Robbins, Begins Run Jan. 20 By: BWW News Desk

A Moon to Dance By

Emotions flow in 'A Moon to Dance By' By: Rodger McBain
Theater Review of A MOON TO DANCE BY at Courierpress.com

World Premiere A Moon to Dance By Plays New Harmony Theatre July 8-24 By Kenneth Jones at Playbill.com

Jana Robbins: One Hell of a Ride

"Jana Heaves a Cy" By: Barbara & Scott Siegel
Review of ONE HELL OF A RIDE at Theatremania.com

"What's New On The Rialto?" Interview with Jana Robbins by Nancy Rosati at Talkin' Broadway.com

PHOTO CALL: Robbins' Cabaret Brings Out The Allergist's Wife Photo by Aubrey Reuben at Playbill.com

After Arci's, Jana Robbins Resurfaces with Cy Coleman Show at Danny's Skylight,
March 31 Kenneth Jones' News Item at Playbill.com

Jana Robbins: Cy's Matters Peter Filichia Review at Theatermania.com

Nothing to Sneeze At: Jana Robbins Stands By for 'Allergist's Wife' and Friend, and Begins Club Act at Arci's Place Andy Propst Review at Americantheaterweb.com

Nobody Does It Like Her: Jana Robbins Sing Cy Coleman At Arci's Kenneth Jones' News Item at Playbill.com

JANA ROBBINS is a powerhouse of personality and pizazz! In her show, One Hell of a Ride!, she salutes the music of legendary Cy Coleman and his ability to write songs for women. With a solid respect and admiration for the gentleman and his work, Robbins graces the stage at Danny's Skylight Room with enduring songs, such as "You Fascinate Me So," "Witchcraft," "The Best Is Yet To Come," and "Baby Dream Your Dream." She possesses a clear, mellow voice with belting capabilities that rival Ethel Merman and Liza Minnelli. Effervescent with just enough sass to pull off the sophisticated humor of Coleman and his talented lyricists, she weaves anecdotes of her career and encounters with the composer into her song repertoire so well that at times you have to remind yourself that it's not a mini-Broadway show. It's Jana Robbins, and that m! akes for a thoroughly entertaining evening.
-Laurie Lawson- electroniclink.com

Tale of the Allergist's Wife

Denver Debut Brings Actress Center Stage - John Moore - Denver Post

"Eve Harrington was accused of sending out foot-runners to alert the media that she was going on for Margo Channing; Jana Robbins just uses a word processor. (So much less wear ‘n’ tear on the soles, I say.) This very talented lady tells me she’ll be going on for Michele Lee in The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife tonight (Friday, February 8), twice on Saturday, and on Sunday afternoon—plus she’s braced to go on for Valerie Harper should the star not make it back to the Barrymore for Tuesday night’s performance. That’s right: Jana stands by for both, and if that’s not an indication of how gifted she is, check her out on Sunday nights at Arci’s Place (March 10-31, 8pm). Turns out she is a terrific cabaret performer, to boot. " - Charles Nelsons's Casts And Forecasts - TheaterMania.com

"Jana Robbins...is one of the most respected performers on Broadway. " - Dana Kennedy - The New York Times - June 3, 2001

First Person: Standing by on Broadway
Broadway Stories by Broadway Stars at Broadway.com

"NEW YORK --I saw a standby go on for the star the other night, and feel privileged to have been there. Linda Lavin was out of THE TALE OF THE ALLERGIST'S WIFE, allowing me to see Jana Robbins play her role. Now I'll admit that if I hadn't seen Lavin play the role before, I might have felt a bit cheated--but then again, maybe not. For I've seen Robbins give some wonderful performances over the years.

I first noticed her in the 1973 GOOD NEWS revival, at its opening night in Boston, when she and the rest of the cast played the show with the confidence that they were in a smash. I'm not the only one who's speculated over the years that if that show had come into town right away -- instead of embarking on a year-long tour--it would have been a smash.

I've since seen Robbins a dozen or so times, as well as in her super cabaret act, where she talked about dreaming to play Rose in GYPSY on Broadway some day -- and eventually doing just that. Granted it was in a standby situation, when Tyne Daly couldn't go on........

So I was anticipating that Robbins would be good as Marjorie, the frazzled housewife desperate to find her identity and life. In fact she was terrific.

So substantially before Robbins had to say, "I don't need to be reminded of my own mediocrity," she had already probed that she is anything but mediocre. Should you find that she's in as you arrive at the Barrymore, I urge you to go in and take your seat." - Peter Filichia - Theatre.com - Robbins the Standby Stands Tall

"Extremely witty play witten by Charles Bush of Vampire Lesbians of Sodom fame with a perfectly cast ensemble led by Linda Lavin, Tony Roberts and Michele Lee. Wish I could say that I found Ms. Lavin as incredible as many others have raved, but at the performance I caught, her understudy, Jana Robbins took over (Ms. Robbins was great!)." - KG - Genre magazine

"Michele Lee plays Lee (although she was replaced during a snowstorm by the elegant Jana Robbins)." - Jan Handelman - Sarasota Herald Tribune

"Michele Lee was out the day I was there, so Lee (no relation) was played with delicious assurance by Johnstown's Jana Robbins." - Christopher Rawson - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Prior Musicals and Plays

"Playing Mary Martin is an actress whom many New Jerseyans got a good look at earlier this season: Jana Robbins, who filled in for Betty Buckley when the star couldn't do her Gypsy performances at the Papermill Playhouse. Robbins is marvelous ..." - NJ Star-Ledger

"Best known for musical roles (Mazeppa in Gypsy at the Papermill Playhouse last fall, as well as standby for Betty Buckley in that production and for Tyne Daly on Broadway) Ms. Robbins plays the star. That means she can be temperamental, scheming and very accomplished at getting what she wants when she want it. When much is made of her character's forgetting her lines - a post-mortem on her offstage onstage memory lapse is very funny. When she is put down as the 'queen of stage waits,' Ms Robbins's presence and timing affirm that the accent is on queen." - NY Times

"Jana Robbins as the mother brought delicious fresh life to the prototypical Jewish Mother" - Backstage

"Jana Robbins masterfully scales both the dark, bitter fury of Aldonza and the more dulcet tones of Dulcinea" - Los Angeles Times

"Jana Robbins is a marked delight!" - NY Daily News

"... first and always a superb actress. She sings with authority & panache ... " - Rex Reed

" ... a captivating musical comedy talent" - NY Post

"But the lady who held the show together, with a voice stronger and more penetrating than Ethel Merman at her peak, and a body that any ballet dancer might envy for it's grace, was Jana Robbins" - Myron Galloway - Montreal Star

"Jana Robbins ... is the quintessential musical comedy actress" - Charles Librizzi - Atlantic City Evening Bulletin

If the star of the show is out ill, never despair. You will at least witness the unexpected, the nerve-wracking and, one hopes, the triumphant. This was the situation when I went to Gypsy, starring Tyne Daly, who had been praised to the skies in that King Lear of musical roles, Rose, made famous by Ethel Merman thirty years ago.

The revival must be seen, and the Jule Styne-Stephen Sondheim score is arguably the best Broadway score ever written. Unfortunately, just before the curtain went up an announcement was made. "The role of Rose will be played by Jana Robbins." The groan from the packed house could have been heard, I feared, in her dressing room. But when Ms. Robbins made her entrance, the audience applauded her - partly because of guilt, partly because when the chips are down, New Yorkers will always root for the underdog; and partly because well they didn't want to waste their money. Well, the understudy, Jana Robbins, was just swell. In a thrilling way, the superior of Tyne Daly.

For Rose herself is the permanent understudy. Rose, the quintessential stage Mother, never got her break. So when it came to her final emotional wallop of a number, "Rose's Turn" instead of witnessing the star's screaming for her turn in the spotlight, we were doubly knocked for six because the cry from the heart was true. The understudy in fact and fiction had got her break. - Manhattan, Inc. magazine