by Karen Tortora-Lee on November 2, 2011
It’s astonishing that with all Liat Ron and Shelly Feldman have in common they haven’t met already. They are both talented Israeli-American women working in theater in New York and happen to have shows which are opening presently. But even though the world of Off-Off Broadway is a small one there’s still a chance to make new bonds and form new bridges. That’s why when we added up the body of work, history, common background and upcoming shows of these two women it was almost a no-brainer – let’s have them connect! More than connect – we thought it would be a fantastic idea for them to interview each other to see where they merge and where they diverge.
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by Karen Tortora-Lee on October 31, 2011
Champagne Pam is The Dog Walking Diva!
Vocalist “Champagne Pam” returns to Don’t Tell Mama’s in her cabaret show The Dog-Walking Diva. Bubbling with a spectrum of sound from contemporary music to jazz, this show is intended to pop with the cabaret devotee as well as dog lovers everywhere!
Donald Rebic, piano, and John Hurley, guitar – 3 night run
Thursday – Saturday November 3rd, 4th & 5th *7:30 shows
at Legendary Cabaret Room – Don’t Tell Mama – 343 West 46th Street, NYC
$20 + 2 drink minimum – CASH ONLY
Click Here to reserve your ticket or make reservations by phone: (212) 757-0788
$5 off for MAC & Cabaret Hotline Online Members
Find out more at www.champagnepam.com
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by Karen Tortora-Lee on October 27, 2011
If you’re fortunate enough to live in one of those apartment buildings with a decent sized lobby, chances are you’ve come across the characters who populate Kenneth Lonergan’s Lobby Hero currently running at The Gloria Maddox Theatre. At first glance there’s nothing special about this lobby. Neat, a bit shabby, in need of a coat of paint and some new furniture, it’s maintained by the security officer who sits behind the desk there.
Who is that guy? The one asking your guests to sign in, accepting your packages for you, holding the door open for you when your hands are full? What’s his story? Unless you’ve had more than a perfunctory interaction with your lobby security guard chances are it would be as disconcerting to run into him out of uniform as it was for you when, as a child, you saw your teacher in the grocery story. Yet you know he must have a life when he’s not in uniform, right?
What’s his name again? This lobby’s hero is named Jeff. Jeff (a natural, solid Michael Black) is working the graveyard shift and seems friendly enough; affable if a bit plain. But he’s as ubiquitous to us as any other guy who sits in a lobby in a bland uniform with a blank stare and a deliberate smile. Jeff spends his time thumbing through a paper back, catching a nap (if he can get away with it) and keeping an eye out for his manager, William (Nasay Ano) who is working the graveyard shift to “weed out the bad apples”. Every so often he gets a visit from the local cops on the beat as they make their rounds. That would be Officer Bill (Joshua Sienkiewicz) and his young partner Officer Dawn (Olivia Rorick). For Dawn this is a routine check-in, but for Bill his stop to Apartment 22J is of a more personal nature.
Cops and guards – just some of the random people you pass every day. As long as they keep trouble out of your way, you’re happy. But what if trouble follows them?
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by Karen Tortora-Lee on October 14, 2011
It’s easy to point out the obvious – that Bianca Leigh is transgendered, gorgeous and talented. But what lies beyond the sequins, the lively productions numbers and the hilarious anecdotes which pepper her one-woman show, BUSTED: The Musical is the simply stated – but nevertheless complex – concept that how we see ourselves is not always how other see us.
As Ms. Leigh points out in catchy songs (co-written by a team of talented writers: Jeff Whitty, Taylor Mac and Ellen Maddow, Jeff Domoto, Super Buddha, and Matty Pritchard and Isam Rum, along with William TN Hall, who also serves as musical director) sometimes that chasm between perception and reality can be vast. Luckily, BUSTED is set around dozens of charismatic characters who are all ready to be thrust into the spotlight via Ms. Leigh’s seemingly endless ability to channel yet another ghost from the 80s. With lightening speed they make their appearance: aging dungeon mistress, Latin drag queen, tough prison guard, or anyone else Leigh encountered who can lend color and texture to her story.
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by Karen Tortora-Lee on October 13, 2011
Thinking about cheating on your wife? Maybe first you should take in Andy James Hoover’s Corner Pocket (directed by Bridget R. Durkin). After an evening of watching recently murdered professional pool player Glen O’Hara (James Liebman) juggle the ghost of the wife who is accused of murdering him (murdered herself soon after), his not-so-grieving girlfriend (who bounces back surprisingly fast), and the two sisters who work to make sense of his tragic ending (one wild and flaky, one ordered and logical) one can easily see that Glen might have been better off keeping his cue stick in his own pocket. Because nothing about what leads up to his chalk outline seems to have been worth it.
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by Karen Tortora-Lee on October 9, 2011
Doric Wilson passed away May 7th of this year. Some may know him as an American playwright, director, producer, critic and gay rights activist. Others may know him as the founder of TOSOS (The Other Side Of Silence) which was the first professional gay theatre company. But to many he was much, much more … and so to honor this man A Celebration of the Life of Doric Wilson will be held on Monday, October 10th at the Lucille Lortel Theater, 121 Christopher St., New York City, from 6-8pm. The event is free and open to the public; reservations are not required.
Alex Bond was one of the many people who was able to experience Doric Wilson in a personal way. Today she shares a tribute she’d written not long after his death which highlights how the energy of this man shone over her and how privileged she felt for the few months she was able to share with him.
Dear Friends of Doric,
The first time I saw Doric Wilson was when he made his acceptance speech for a lifetime achievement award at the Fresh Fruit of Distinction Awards in July 2010. He was so charming, intelligent, witty and irreverent (four of my favorite qualities in a human being) that I gathered up my courage (I am extremely shy) and emailed him. I hoped some day to meet him.
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by Karen Tortora-Lee on October 2, 2011
Champagne Pam is The Dog Walking Diva!
Vocalist “Champagne Pam” returns to Don’t Tell Mama’s in her cabaret show The Dog-Walking Diva. Bubbling with a spectrum of sound from contemporary music to jazz, this show is intended to pop with the cabaret devotee as well as dog lovers everywhere!
Donald Rebic, piano, and John Hurley, guitar – 3 night run
Thursday – Saturday November 3rd, 4th & 5th *7:30 shows
at Legendary Cabaret Room – Don’t Tell Mama – 343 West 46th Street, NYC
$20 + 2 drink minimum – CASH ONLY
Click Here to reserve your ticket or make reservations by phone: (212) 757-0788
$5 off for MAC & Cabaret Hotline Online Members
Find out more at www.champagnepam.com
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by Karen Tortora-Lee on September 25, 2011
I’d say that Mark Gindick had me at “hello” with his one-man comedy performance Wing-Man (directed by Barry Lubin) but he actually never said “hello”. In fact, he didn’t say anything. For a solid hour Mark Gindick doesn’t really say a word but as surely as he arrives on the scene with a rose and a heart-shaped box of candy there’s no mistaking that he’s there to win your heart. And frankly, were I not happily married I’d readily have given my heart (and a kiss – but more on that in a minute) to this man as easily as I gave him my laughter — because Mark Gindick just happens to be that engaging, magnetic and sweet. And frankly, if anyone deserves your love, it’s him.
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by Karen Tortora-Lee on September 25, 2011
I don’t even know how to start explaining how or why Neon Lights (created and performed by Chris Manley and Jeff Seal) became the show that had me laughing so hard that I was literally wheezing. Truthfully, if I gave you a rundown of everything they did in their act it would sound like I’m describing a show where two crazy lunatics mostly run around the stage for around an hour performing foolish antics, emitting crazy noises, flipping themselves around like pinballs and telling nonsensical stories – all for a laugh. But you know how some people open their mouth to hit a high note and it sounds like a screech – but when Pavarotti did the same thing it was magic? Yeah. That’s Neon Lights. Somehow, they’ve found the magic. Or – as they would tell you – the Magik.
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by Karen Tortora-Lee on September 24, 2011
Ever wonder what it might be like to hang out for a weekend with the casually wealthy? Ever yearn to be part of a clique of old friends who sit around and poke fun at each other for small transgressions such as packing five pairs of shoes for a four day trip or dropping, say, 30K on a Birkin bag? Then meet the people of playwright Molly Moroney’s Kithless In Paradise now playing at the Lion Theatre at Theatre Row. Hosts Tim McCall (David Wirth) and his wife Janice (Liz Forst) open their comfortable San Francisco home – as they do each year – to old friends Phil (Brit Herring) and Polly Barrett (Tracy Newirth) who come from Texas for the yearly shindig. Casual. It’s all very casual. The way they catch up on what’s been going on since they last met, the way they drink and drink … and drink. And drink. The way they bring up their successes as well as their failures. It’s all tossed off casually as they pass around the three thousand dollar bottle of wine and enjoy the hors d’oeuvres. Drop in on them briefly and you’d wish you were one of them. But stay awhile and you’ll start to miss your cramped apartment where the wine may come out of a box but at least you’re guaranteed a far better quality of kith.
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