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CABARET HOTLINE ONLINE #030401
- Tuesday, April 1, 2003
Since 1990 Your First, Best, and Only Complete Farce of Cabaret News
If it's anything to do
with cabaret, you'll probably get confused here!
Once again here's an early
issue of CABARET HOTLINE ONLINE - things have been happening so fast
a furious, I can hardly keep up with them! Officially, CABARET MONTH
will continue until the MAC AWARDS show on Monday, April 14th at SYMPHONY
SPACE (Broadway at 95th Street - 212-864-1414), but in point of fact,
March actually ended last night with the presentation of the Back
Stage BISTRO awards. CABARET HOTLINE ONLINE was not invited to cover
this year's BISTRO Awards show. However, I have not been able to find
my tuxedo since I moved to my new apartment, so at least I didn't
have to rent one.
On Saturday, the 29th,
I was in Boston to catch their CABARET MONTH finale, the Second Annual
Boston Cabaret Festival at THE NATIONAL HERITAGE MUSEUM (33 Marrett
Road, Lexington, MA - 508-652-9834), but the folks in Boston also
have some more events connected with the March celebrations. I will
return to Beantown on Wednesday the 2nd of April where I will attend
"At The Movies" at SCULLERS JAZZ CLUB (400 Soldiers Field Road, Allston,
MA - 617-562-4111 - http://www.scullersjazz.com/).
Will McMillan, Brian Patton, Michael Ricca, and Nina Vansuch will
release their long awaited CD, featuring songs from their highly acclaimed
revues: "Music of the 1950s & 60s" and "Fully Animated." Showtime
is 8:00 pm. They are also performing a few new numbers, to be included,
I assume, on their next CD.
Then, on Thursday night,
the 3rd, I will be at THE REGATTABAR in the Charles Hotel (One Bennett
Street, Cambridge, MA - 617-876-777 - http://www.regattabar.com)
where international recording artists Jim Porcella and Ida Zecco will
present an exciting evening of music and nostalgia at 8:30 pm. With
their six piece band led by music director and arranger Jim Rice,
this show promises to bring back the wild 1950s and 60s of Louis Prima
and Keely Smith in Las Vegas with the swinging music of Sam Butera
& the Witnesses! I can't wait to attend this show!
The next issue of CABARET
HOTLINE ONLINE will have to wait until after I get back to NYC on
Thursday night, the 4th of April. I shall probably write it using
my trusty iMac on the 5-hour train ride home from Boston via AMTRAK.
Looking ahead, on July
1st I will be moving to my new apartment in the Back Bay section of
Boston, and in the future issues CABARET HOTLINE ONLINE will originate
from there. We will miss all of our NYC friends. I will be posting
my new mailing address on the CABARET HOTLINE ONLINE website (http://www.cabarethotlineonline.com/)
as soon as I get my new phone/fax/DSL installed.
On with the news:
Just before I left for
Boston I received a call from Margaret Whiting, who was quite perturbed
by my editorial comments in the last issue of CABARET HOTLINE ONLINE
and insisted that I meet with MAC (Manhattan Association of Cabarets
& Clubs - http://www.macnyc.com/)
Board of Directors President Michael Estwanik to straighten out all
misunderstandings. So yesterday, March 31st, Michael and I met at
2:00 pm at Margaret's apartment. She told us that she and Jack were
going to take a walk in the sunshine and would be back in one hour,
and we had just that much time to settle our differences, or else
(she was waving a cane, but there was a smile on her face and a she
gave a slight chuckle as she said this). Still, one does not disobey
a diva!
Well, in what was probably
a surprise to both of us, before Margaret and Jack returned, Michael
and I had ironed out solutions to all the items raised in my comments,
and in addition, he and I forged a partnership between MAC and CABARET
HOTLINE ONLINE somewhat along the lines of the MAC/TIME OUT NY venture.
In fact, we will shortly be adding the MAC logo to our website in
place of the American flags, and MAC will include a CABARET HOTLINE
ONLINE logo on all their promotional materials and advertising. In
addition, CABARET HOTLINE ONLINE will be presenting a special MAC/CHO
award at this year's show! (Now, where did I store my tux?)
Since CABARET HOTLINE
ONLINE can't afford a cash stipend along with its award, Michael and
I decided that CABARET HOTLINE ONLINE would present an award for the
WORST cabaret show of 2002, and this award would include a $500 fine
to the recipient, payable to the MAC Outreach Fund. The fine will
be waived if the recipient can show that they have attended a cabaret
workshop, class, symposium or conference within 3 months of April
14th. Until they either pay the fine or attend cabaret training, they
will be forbidden to present any more shows at any MAC-member club
or even appear at an open mike in any MAC-member piano bar or lounge.
More details on this in the next issue.
In a MAC-Award related
story, there is a case wending its way through the court system that
may have implications for the way future MAC-Award events are structured.
This year, in the Stand Up Comedy category, two former friends found
themselves competitors on the preliminary ballot. Mark McCombs and
Craig Coursey used to be regularly found sharing a happy-hour chat
at the DON'T TELL MAMA, but no more. Accusations, recriminations and
disgusting descriptions were distributed on opposing cabaret fliers,
and each day they got more acrimonious. Each charged the other with
things like beastiality, devil worship, animal cruelty, flag burning,
joke stealing, poor taste in wardrobe and lack of decorum. Soon the
lawyers got involved, and suits and counter-suits were filed, witnesses
were served with subpoenas and depositions were taken. In an exclusive
interview with CABARET HOTLINE ONLINE Coursey stated "I may not have
won on the preliminary ballot, but I shall have my day in court!"
McCombs was on vacation rabbit hunting in Florida and could not be
reached for comment by press time.
ITEMS OF NOTE
This Sunday, April 6th,
EVERYTHING OLD IS NEW AGAIN, on the Radio over WBAI 99.5 FM and on
the Internet at http://www.2600.com/offthehook/hot2.ram,
heard from 9:00 to 11:00 pm (ET), host David Kenney will feature "Minority
Report" with interviews with performers from the Hispanic and Asian
communities currently appearing in cabaret and on Broadway. For the
remaining 90 minutes David will be playing cuts from both of their
CDs. You are invited to e-mail your comments and suggestions to David
Kenney at: oldisnew@earthlink.net.
For more information, see http://www.oldisnew.org/.
David also announced that
starting with the show on Sunday, April 13th he will devote one hour
each week to hip-hop and rap recordings and performer interviews.
In an exclusive interview with CABARET HOTLINE ONLINE David said "My
feelings are that folks looking for a hip-hop song might stay tuned
and then be exposed to songs from the Great American Songbook. Who
knows, they might become new fans of musical theater and cabaret.
And in the same way, my regular audience will have a chance to hear
some of the latest hit songs heard on the airwaves today." Sounds
logical to me.
Seth Rudetsky's BROADWAY
CHATTERBOX at DON'T TELL MAMA (343 West 46th Street, NYC - 1-212-757-0788
- http://www.donttellmama.com/)
on Thursday night at 6:00 pm will have as guest Maryann Lopinto, who
has the most extensive privately-owned collection of Broadway memorabilia
in the US - rivaling the collections of museums and libraries here
in NYC and Philadelphia. Unfortunately, Maryann won't be able to show
any of her collection, since it is still packed in boxes from when
she moved to her new apartment in July, 2002, and she hasn't had a
chance to unpack to sort things out. Seth will also introduce a new
segment to the show - interviews with professional wrestlers. "Most
of my audience," Seth explains, in an exclusive interview with CABARET
HOTLINE ONLINE "have no idea of the hours of training and rehearsal
spent preparing for WWF events. I want to show them that there is
more to entertainment than the Broadway musical. In the same way,
many wrestling fans think that theater can only be performed inside
'the square circle,' and who knows, they may discover the Broadway
musical by attending my newly formatted show." Sounds logical to me.
For details, see: http://www.geocities.com/broadwaychatterbox/.
NEW ON THE WEBSITE
Information about other
shows around the country and around the world can be found on the
BREAKING NEWS page of the CABARET HOTLINE ONLINE website (http://www.cabarethotlineonline.com/).
New items are added whenever I feel like it! Here are some of the
articles added since we sent out the last issue of CABARET HOTLINE
ONLINE:
« FEINSTEIN'S ANNOUNCES
NEW $20 COVER FOR ALL SHOWS - NO MINIMUMS - posted April 1, 2003
« RON POOLE & NANCY WITTER ANNOUNCE JUNE WEDDING - posted April 1,
2003
« MAC AWARDS CANCEL RED CARPET PRE-SHOW EVENT - posted April 1, 2003
« CABARET HOTLINE ONLINE MESSAGE BOARD HACKED - posted April 1, 2003
« HBO TO FEATURE "JAMIE DEROY & FRIENDS" IN WEEKLY SERIES REPLACING
"THE SOPRANOS" - posted April 1, 2003
« HOLLYWOOD'S GARDENIA TO BE RENAMED "JULIE WILSON'S GARDENIA" - posted
April 1, 2003
How do you get an item
posted in the BREAKING NEWS section of the CABARET HOTLINE ONLINE
website (http://www.cabarethotlineonline.com/)?
Just e-mail me a press release of at least four paragraphs, giving
the complete information on your show, CD release or other cabaret
related event. It helps if you purchase a banner ad.
Good news for Piano Bars
owners and Piano Bar fans in NYC! Mayor Bloomberg announced late last
night that he was suspending the NO SMOKING rules for bars and clubs
after just a few days for at least a two-year period, due to the estimated
impact on the economy of New York City. Instead, he has decided to
impose a special $5-per-use tax on all rest rooms in bars and clubs
in the city - which would be collected by way of a sort of "Metro
Card" system, with magnetic-striped cards sold at a discount to NYC
residents and the main burden of this "head" tax borne by tourists
and out-of-towners. Folks will be unable to unlock the rest room door
without using the card, which will be available in $5, $20 & $100
denominations (for the heavy drinker). Bars & Clubs will be also able
to sell these cards to the public and make a slight profit on each
sale. Bloomberg stated that he got the inspiration for this new source
of income while at a Broadway show a few weeks back, and a study by
his budget committee estimates that the increase in revenue would
more than offset the losses caused by people voluntarily quitting
smoking. This new system will give new meaning to the phrase "swipe
again."
In 2002, ARCI'S PLACE
received the BACK STAGE Bistro Award for Outstanding Cabaret Room,
and then promptly closed its doors a few weeks later. In 2003, the
same award went to JUDY'S CHELSEA, which closed shop even before the
Bistro Awards Ceremony was held. So we understand that the remaining
NYC cabaret club owners have been posting special instructions to
their employees regarding BACK STAGE critics and editors who might
be attending shows in their clubs. They are to be ignored, seated
in seats with bad sight lines, their drink orders are to be lost,
or the wrong drinks served, and they should be seated right in front
of Barry Z whenever he is taping a cabaret show. In fact, all employees
have been told that, when it comes to folks from BACK STAGE, they
should act as though they have been trained as waiters at the FireBird.
You may have missed the
item in the Real Estate section of this Sunday's NEW YORK TIMES regarding
the purchase by Barbara & Scott Siegel of THE TOWN HALL (123 West
43rd Street, NYC). The Siegels have sold their palatial triplex co-op
apartment on the upper East Side and will be converting one of the
large spaces above the main stage to a fabulous 10,000 sq. ft. loft
apartment. Scott is quoted in the article as saying that since he
and Barbara have 71 shows already scheduled for production at THE
TOWN HALL for the remainder of 2003, and they have been spending most
of their time in this NYC landmark anyway, they "might as well buy
the place!" What they save in taxi costs they will apply to sumptuous
furnishings for their new apartment. Scott & Barbara are already scheduling
their 2004 season, with over 200 shows in various stages of planning
and production. However, in an exclusive interview with CABARET HOTLINE
ONLINE, they pledged to continue to cover film, theater, off-Broadway,
cabaret, comedy, jazz, ballet, opera, sports, wrestling and puppetry
for all 22 publications they currently write for.
Here at CABARET HOTLINE
ONLINE we have some sad news to report. Under orders of the Homeland
Security department, we have had to shut down the famous CABARET HOTLINE
ONLINE web cam, which has been operating since we relocated our offices
to Long Island City. The camera is aimed out the office window towards
several back yards on the block, but now it seems that one of our
neighbors has been hanging out laundry nearly every day two doors
over, and the arrangement of the laundry is suspected to contain secret
code messages to terrorist operatives around the world. So we informed
the CIA agent who phoned us with the request that starting next week,
the camera will be aimed INTO the office of CABARET HOTLINE ONLINE
- which doubles as my bedroom - on a 24-hour basis. Soon you will
be able to watch me at work, at sleep, and everything in between,
around the clock (unless I am attending a cabaret show), seven days
a week! Not to worry, I have finally bought a pair of pajamas, and
I promise to change the bed linens quarterly, whether they need changing
or not.
The vocal group formerly
known as EASTERN STANDARD TIME, is changing its name again. Their
original name was already being used by a rock group and so last year
the trio changed their name to BOULEVARD EAST. Unfortunately, they
now were informed that this name has been used by a country/gospel
group out of Kansas for over 20 years, and they have been sent a warning
by a lawyer representing the group. So Beth Covell, Christopher Howatt
and Dana Merritt have been working for several weeks to come up with
a new name. Yesterday, Christopher told CABARET HOTLINE ONLINE, in
an exclusive interview, that the trio finally came up with a catchy
name, and already had a new logo designed, stationary printed, and
on Monday they sent out post cards to about 20,000 folks on their
mailing list. He asked me to help spread the word. "We decided to
call ourselves 'O-Town,'" he stated. "No one would ever think to call
a vocal group something as silly as that!" he noted.
Kelly Briggs and Jerry
Christakos will be celebrating the 2,000th performance of their NY
Nightlife Award-winning and MAC Award nominated show "Lovely" next
Monday night, April 7th at REGENTS (317 East 53rd Street, NYC - 212-593-3091)
at 8:30 pm. The show, which had its debut less than a year ago, tells
the story of a pair of cabaret performers, Dar and Kristy Van De Kamp,
planning a reunion tour of their act of 20 years earlier. In an exclusive
interview with CABARET HOTLINE ONLINE, Briggs revealed that FOX has
decided to contract them for a 26-week reality-TV sitcom, and beginning
this summer Kelly & Jerry will be taping episodes at cabaret clubs
all over the USA. Each episode will feature "the girls" having a spat
in the dressing room, with one of them "walking out" (they will take
turns in this role), and the other forced to go on alone. Then just
after the first song, the "absent" member of the vocal duo will come
running down the aisle in tears, the two will hug, make up, "kissy
kissy" and then do a rollicking musical number with a 6-piece band
and special lighting effects that will appear as if by magic. Each
show will feature fabulous new costumes and furs, great shoes, sparkling
jewels, new original songs, and an appearance by musical director
John McMahon wearing a different funny hat. The series will be directed
by Lennie Watts, who is branching out into TV, after having directed
shows in theater, cabaret, ballet, sumo wrestling and arena concerts.
McMahon's funny hats will be designed by Elaine Brier. Jewelry by
Mark Norton.
Save the date: July 4th,
2003, when the award-winning duo of Karen Mack and Michael Holland
will present "GASHOLE SALUTES THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION!- a musical
celebration of the year 1776." To capture the spirit of the era, both
Michael and Karen will appear barefoot in tattered uniforms and will
be accompanied by a 3-piece fife & drum band, as well as a flag carrier.
The show will feature such 1776-era hits as "Yankee Doodle" and "The
Star Spangled Banner." Special feature will be an inspired medley
of bawdy bar songs popular in that time, with Karen impersonating
a promiscuous bar wench and Michael acting the part of a lascivious
bar patron. They have been rehearsing for weeks. The show will also
feature a new drink, called "Kerosine!" - 5-parts grain alcohol, 1-part
sterno-extract (for color). Jan Wallman, an expert on that era, directs.
Fireworks by the Gucci's.
TIME OUT NEW YORK has
announced that in order to make room for a new section featuring the
best restaurants that DON'T advertise in their magazine, they will
merge the Opera and Sports sections into one combined "Fine Arts &
Fun Sports" section. By doing this, they stated that now folks who
normally skip over the Opera section looking for Sports, may be tempted
to try out an unfamiliar entertainment option. And folks looking for
Opera listings might be tempted to head out to Shea Stadium instead!
Sounds logical to me.
Here at CABARET HOTLINE
ONLINE we will be undergoing some changes as well. In addition to
covering cabaret, we will also begin a special section on Auto Repair,
featuring tips and tricks on saving fuel, replacing spark plugs, adjusting
your transmission, etc. Our thought is that folks who spend most of
their time in cabaret shows might like to see what others are doing
in their spare time outside of Manhattan. And who knows, folks looking
for an easier way to change a tire, or choose the proper weight motor
oil might discover the wonderful world of cabaret. Sounds logical
to me.
And thus we begin another
April with another special issue of CABARET HOTLINE ONLINE devoted
to the arrival of Spring and for the entertainment of our readers.
Fear not, a real issue, with real news, will be sent you later this
week.
And that is just about
the way it wasn't.
Hugs & Stuff,
STU
Event listings
are provided for the information of users only. They are not provided
with the intention that users rely upon the information therein for
any purposes. Accordingly, Cabaret Hotline Online, and/or Stuart V.
Hamstra shall under no circumstances be liable for any loss or damage,
including but not limited to loss of profits, goodwill or indirect
or consequential loss arising out of any use of or inaccuracies in
this information. All warranties express or implied are excluded to
the fullest extent permissible by law.
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