Category Archives: Drag
WIG NIGHT OUT comes to New York for POINT Foundation Benefit
WIG NIGHT OUT!
kids! The Supreme Wig Council invites you to wear your most outlandish
wig and come over to the Stonewall Inn for the inaugural Wig Night Out
New York to benefit Point Foundation.
What began three years
ago in Washington, DC as a small group of friends donning wigs and
donating to charity has blossomed into an innovative and quirky, annual
event. Now we’re taking the fun on the road and coming to New York on
June 15.
Wig Night Out promises regular Joes in street clothes and outlandish wigs, all in an effort to raise money for scholarships for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) youth.
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The suggested donation is $10 and includes a complimentary cocktail. Out of town? Wig in the shop? Out of Aquanet? No worries–you can still support WNO and Point Foundation. Just visit http:// Since 2011, Wig Night Out has raised nearly $20,000 for Point For more information, visit us at www.wignightout.org |
After Sandy-A Night of A Thousand Midlers at LIPS May 15th
A NIGHT OF BETTE!
Lips Restaurant, “The Ultimate in Drag Dining,” is proud to announce that on Wednesday, May 15th,
it will host a tribute
showcase for the legendary Bette Midler to benefit her charity, the New
York Restoration Project (NYRP), a non-profit organization, founded by
Midler, dedicated to restoring parks, gardens and open space in
underserved communities throughout New York City.
A portion of the funds raised from the evening will be used towards the
NYRP’s “MillionTreesNYC” initiative which aims to plant and care for
one million new trees in NYC by 2017. Particularly after so many of the
city’s trees were destroyed in the wake of
Hurricane Sandy, this is a particularly meaningful cause that Lips
Restaurant is proud to be a part of.
Guests
in attendance will receive the full star treatment as they walk the red
carpet upon arrival where they will be greeted by Joan Rivers look
alike, Jessie Volt, as she conducts
interviews and poses for paparazzi souvenir photos. Once inside, the
cocktail hour will feature cocktails by Absolut, Vueve Cliquot Champagne
and hors d’oeuvres provided by J Kings Foodservice. A silent auction
will be on site with items graciously donated
by Bette Midler including her 2012 Hulaween Costume, signed albums,
CD’s and memorabilia, a Florida vacation, Beauty Salon Experiences,
Restaurant gift certificates, Hulaween and Garden Party Event Tickets,
and more.
Following
the cocktail hour, a three-course dinner will be served by the
legendary “drag” waitresses of Lips, culminating with a fabulous NYRP
tree cake created by TLC’s Cake Boss, Buddy
Valastro for dessert. The evening’s highlight, a “Night of a Thousand
Midler’s” tribute revue dedicated to the Divine Miss M, will be hosted
by drag sensation, Ginger Snapt and feature the world’s foremost Bette
Midler tribute artist, Donna Maxon, along with
the Ladies of Lips.
Tickets for the charitable evening are available online at www.1000Midlers.com,
by phone at 212-675-7710, or by mail at: LIPS RESTAURANT, 227 East 56th Street, NYC, NY 10022.
The Center SUMMER CAMP Events
summer, the Center is sending you back to CAMP with our annual Summer
“Camp” Festival. But not the kind of icky outdoor camp with tents and
mosquitoes – instead, we’re serving up drag queens and NO WIRE HANGERS!
Jump start your summer with fun, games and a celebration of the elusive
queer aesthetic known simply as “camp.”
FOURPLAY – Thursday, May 9; 7:30 p.m.
Giving John Waters a run for his sleazy money, Kyle Henry’s raucous
independent film, Fourplay presents a quartet of sex tales in four
American cities. Henry and Paul Soileau (Christeene) host.
HOLLY WOODLAWN: A LOW LIFE IN HIGH HEELS – Thursday, May 16; 7 p.m.
Once appearing alongside Candy Darling and Jackie Curtis, the legendary
Andy Warhol superstar Holly Woodlawn will read from her biography and
screen her 1973 short film Broken Goddess.
DRAG BINGO WITH HEDDA LETTUCE – Tuesday, May 21; 7 p.m. Drag bingo returns to the Center for one night only with kooky prizes, double entendre and a cash jackpot. Time to get lucky!
BRINI MAXWELL DOES BARBARELLA – Tuesday, May 28; 7 p.m.
Wall-to-wall shag carpeting, evil Lava Lamp goo and glittery spacesuits
that fall off at a moment’s notice? Forget Jane Fonda…we’ve got the
mod-tastic Brini Maxwell to help us through this camp classic.
MATCH GAME LIVE – Thursday, June 13; 7:30 p.m.
A live stage version of the campiest, kitschiest game show in history —
The “Match Game”! Match Frank DeCaro, Jackie Hoffman and other celebs
for prizes. Get ready to laugh your _BLANK_ off!
THE CENTER
Jackie Beat is Back in New York City for a Holiday Show
NYC’s favorite Grinch returns to serve up her 15th annual holiday show.
for her 15th annual holiday show. Beginning December 12th, the
self-professed bastard child of “Weird” Al Yankovic and Bette Midler
will premiere JACKIE BEAT: COME, THEY TOLD ME
at The Laurie Beechman Theater (inside West Bank Cafe at 407 West 42nd
Street — at Ninth Avenue, accessible from the A,C,E,N,R,V,F,1,2,3
trains at 42nd Street). This limited engagement runs for 6 performances
only: Wednesday, Dec. 12 – Sunday, Dec. 16 at 7:30pm, except for Friday,
Dec. 14, which is at 10pm. Tickets are $22 plus a $15 food/drink
minimum. To purchase tickets call 212-352-3101 or visit www.SpinCycleNYC.com. Note: advance purchase highly recommended; Beat has sold out every holiday show in the last 11 years.
JACKIE BEAT: COME, THEY TOLD ME
continues Jackie Beat’s mission to poison every sacred belief and
holiday tradition. Whether you celebrate Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa or
Ramadan, an evening with Jackie Beat is always the perfect antidote to
holiday cheer. This comic celebration is a virtual stocking stuffed with
hilarious new seasonal material and some classic Christmas Jackie
including the right-wing pregnancy confessional “Santa’s Baby,” a
menorah-loving “Jew Christmas,” a booze-infused spin on “Happy Holidays”
called “Alcoholidaze,” and the self-explanatory “It’s Beginning To Look
A Lot Like Syphilis.”
Sherry Vine and Joey Arias Reunion at New Yorks XL Nightlclub
Joey Arias & Sherry Vine:
A Twist) and Sherry Vine (star of Here TV’s She’s Living For This),
will be performing their all live cabaret extravaganza at XL on November
20-21 & 23-24 at 8pm. Although they have toured the world with
their sold out, scandalous shows, Joey and Sherry have not presented a
full length event together in NYC in over 10 years!!
StarLust, SINsation, and Cherchez La Femme will now be turning it out in
Looking Back At The Future – a sexy, over-the-top spectacle featuring
new original material as well as Broadway, Rock, Joey’s infamous Billie
Holiday, Sherry’s trashy parodies, dancers, videos by Francis Legge and
many surprises! These sisters in crime have dazzled crowds in
Australia, Germany, Italy, Spain, Finland, Austria, Switzerland, Canada,
all over the USA and even Estonia!
in NYC!
Bette Midler and Barry Manilow Back to the Bathhouse
Bette Midler and Barry Manilow go back to
their roots in bawdy tribute comedy
BETTE & BARRY: BACK TO THE BATHHOUSE
August 1 & 15 at Laurie Beechman Theatre
Bette Midler tribute artist Donna Maxon revisits the glorious 70’s
with her new cabaret show BETTE & BARRY: BACK TO THE BATHHOUSE co-written by Maxon and director Michael Schiralli. Maxon stars as the Divine Miss M, performing a hilariously bawdy act of tunes, monologues, and jokes.
The show co-stars musical director Fonda
Feingold as Barry Manilow, and the duo proudly pays homage to the
partnership that Midler and Manilow began at New York’s Continental
Baths in 1970.
BETTE & BARRY: BACK TO THE BATHHOUSE
runs Wednesdays, August 1 and 15
at 7:30 PM at the Laurie Beechman Theatre inside West Bank Cafe (407 West 42 Street at 9th Avenue).
Tickets are $20. A full dinner menu and a full bar are available; there is a $15 per person food/drink
minimum. To purchase tickets call 212-352-3101 or visit www.SpinCycleNYC.com
BETTE & BARRY: BACK TO THE BATHHOUSE is a theatrical imagining of
current-day Midler and Manilow returning for “one more show, for old
times sake” at the legendary Continental Bathhouse. Incorporating
songs from throughout both Midler’s career (Wind Beneath My Wings,
Delta Dawn, Friends, and more) and Manilow’s (Copacabana, Looks Like
We Made It, Mandy, and others), the banter between the pair touches on
highlights of their career, including a touching reminiscence of
friends from their bathhouse days lost to AIDS. While Maxon has a
long career as a Bette Midler tribute artist, this show marks the
theatrical debut of Fonda Feingold (a woman) as Barry Manilow —
America’s foremost professional Barry Manilow drag king!
Hedda Lettuce – What is Gay Pride
This week, HEDDA LETTUCE Said, “The gay community owns the month of June. Yea bitches, that’s how we
roll. City after city celebrate gay pride consisting of a parades
teeming with half clad men; lesbians flashing their tits; drag queens
flashing their asses in colorful head dresses and six inch stilettos;
and leather queens in harnesses showing more skin than necessary. I am
still blind in my right eye after glimpsing a 75 year old mans sagging
ass in a pair of leather chaps. Personally that does not say pride to
me. It says lipo and perhaps a good stretch mark cream.”
DOES THIS SAY PRIDE?
When you hear a word used so often, one forgets the meaning. So I
went to my handy dandy dictionary to look up the word pride; here is
what popped up.
PRIDE
1. A sense of one’s own proper dignity or value; self-respect. (How a dimpled ass in chaps says self-respect I will never know)
2. Pleasure or satisfaction taken in an achievement.
(When I satisfy a man, and the gentleman sends me a card afterward
telling me what I great job I did, my chest does swell with pride)
3. Arrogant or disdainful conduct or treatment;
haughtiness. (There have been times when I have mistaken arrogance with
pride. For instance, when I am in a room filled with other drag queens
and I look around and say to myself, “What a sick group of people.
Standing there with their balls shoved up their asses and razor bumps on
their tits. I am so much better than these deviants.” Then I catch a
glimpse of my five o’clock shadow in a mirror and I am snapped back into
humility)
4. A flamboyant or impressive group. (This is my favorite definition, which I believe accurately describes our community)
Read about Hedda’s great pride float story!
Lady Bunnys New York Show Wrapping Up! GO SEE IT!
Her successful 6 month run is coming to an end! So it isn’t so 🙁
The raunchy, demented drag diva of Wigstock fame presented her
full-length one wo-man show last fall, at the popular latin
nightspot La Escuelita. It was extended, and extended, and extended. Now the final show dates have been announced.
Fast-paced and action-packed with glitzy
costumes and Bunny’s trademark gravity-defying bouffant wig, THAT AIN’T
NO LADY! is a cabaret designed for a night club crowd–no lengthy
monologues or sappy show tunes here. For mature audiences who enjoy
irreverent humor! Since there are a lot of pop music parodies, this show
is especially well-suited to audiences who have some familiarity with
pop music so that they’ll know the original versions which are being
parodied.
VLADA is New and Improved
Hello New York!
I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to share with you the many excited things coming up at Vlada Lounge, but first let me thank you for being a loyal customer for the last 6 years and making Vlada the best vodka bar in NYC (New York Magazine, Best Of New York issue). I believe you will be excited to learn what our little Russian elves have been up to and the ways in which Vlada is expanding for the new 2012/2013 season.
Much like Lindsay Lohan (girl, did you see her on SNL?!) we have given Vlada a face lift: classy new furniture, a fantastic staff comprised of some of the sexiest, smartest, and talented men in New York, and added new flavors to our extensive, home-made, organic, infused vodka menu. All in all, I’d say we pulled it off better than she did. To continue with the Russian theme, we have made some delicious additions to our food menu. Be sure to try some of my favorites: Beef Stroganoff, Chicken Kiev, Siberian Pelmeni, Poached Salmon, Blini with Caviar, and several Traditional Russian Salads created by the award winning, original chef from the Russian Samovar. Check out photos of the new menu here.
As owner of the only Authentic Russian Gay Bar outside of Moscow, equality for the gay community has always been my highest priority. Minutes after the gay marriage law passed in New York I became an Ordained Minister so I could marry same sex couples at our beautiful and elegant upstairs event space. We’ve had many successful and beautiful ceremonies in 2011 and I anticipate many more to come! Please email vlada@ministervlada.com if you or someone you know is looking to tie the knot in a memorable way. We have also expanded into highend catering, so we are able to fulfill any and all requests for parties of any size. Please email vlada@vvscatering.com for all catering inquiries.
You can also take advantage of our all new upstairs for private events of all shapes and sizes! From fundraisers to birthday parties to Russian language classes, our upstairs is ideal for your party. The space comes with its own private floor, ipod connection and CD players, projector, piano, available microphones, artwork from community artists, and much more! Email billy@vladaloungeny.com
For a limited time we are offering a 20% discount on our select services to make your experience even more memorable. Call Billy, Ernie, or Vlada Von Shats at 212-974-8030 and let’s have a meaningful date (we like to cuddle).
Peace & Love,
Vlada Von Shats
Billy Hannon, Jr.
Ernie Cote
Connect with us
Nick Adams Dishes Drag Tips and Diet Tricks at Broadway.com
SUPERSTAR Nick Adams has worked consistently in Broadway ensembles for the past five years, showing off his dancing skills in shows such as La Cage Aux Folles, Guys & Dolls, The Pirate Queen, Chicago, and of course Priscilla Queen of the Desert.
Priscilla will celebrate a year on Broadway next month.
NICK SAY’S , “It’s been amazing. I’m still having a fantastic time, and the show is going
well. This is the longest amount of time I’ve been with a show, and it’s
still really fulfilling.“
Check out the interview with Broadway.com where Nick talks drag tips, diet tips, Social Media and MORE.
Follow Nick on Twitter and Facebook and keep up with him!
WATCH FOR HIM TO MAKE AN APPEARANCE ON THE NEW SHOW SMASH!
GET TICKETS for Priscilla on Broadway – Winter Savings Now Tickets from $43!
Lady Bunny in New York for Hanukkah and Christmas
HO HO HO!
She’s Back!
“I like offensive humor and I’m sure this will offend some. I may even be
called anti-semitic. But organized religion bashes gay people every
damn day, so I’m really not too concerned with their feelings. From the
horrific widespread child abuse by priests in the Catholic church to the
bizarre practice of forcing your women to wear wigs and screwing them
through a hole in a sheet, organized religions often deserve to be
mocked.
I have relatives who are Jehovah’s Witnesses who would rather
let their own kid die rather than share their blood with them via a
“sinful” transfusion. It’s all insane to me. Believe whatever you
choose, but don’t deny my right to make fun of it. Besides, I feel a
real kinship with women of the orthodox jewish faith: my men prefer me
in wigs, too! And while they don’t use a sheet, from time to time they
have put paper bags over my head.“
WATCH LADY BUNNY NOW!
CATCH HER LIVE IN NEW YORK on TUESDAYS!
Her one
woman show THAT AIN’T NO LADY! is such a hit! it has been extended!
“Every Tuesday at 8PM at La Nueva
Escuelita in the heart of Times Square. The show is extended
indefinitely and this video is for one of the Christmas songs which I’ve
added to the show through the holidays. For more info/tickets click
here: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/198296
Lady Bunny – Tuesdays in Oct. & Nov.at Escualita
Last Tuesday was the first in a series of Lady Bunny shows at Esculita. Bunny is performing That Ain’t No Lady every Tuesday this month.
SHOWS ARE SELLING OUT!
EXTENDED THRU NOVEMBER!
The opening night audience was filled with movers and shakers and the show got a big thumbs up from everyone in attendance!
We caught up with Bunny this week!
We know that you travel ALL OF THE TIME. You are the hardest working queen we know! In know you DJ at times in NYC, When is the last time you performed your act in NYC?
I’ve done bits and pieces here and there, but it’s been a decade since my last full-length show at Fez in NYC. I’ve tried a lot of new stuff out while gigging around the country and feel that I have enough material to mount a new full-length cabaret show.
Why the series of shows in NYC now, 4 weeks in a row? – How did that come about?
It’s Year Of The Rabbit! And while I enjoyed being on Drag U, I think I’m better when I’m uncensored–as I definitely am in this show. A cabaret audience is very different for me because I normally play clubs–but with a great stage and lighting, Escuelita is a perfect mix of club and cabaret. Since they do a strip night called Hunk-O-Mania for ladies on weekends, they have very comfortable cabaret seating with tables, chairs and couches. Sometimes the ladies leave the seats a little moist, though!
Another reason to check this show out is that drag shows have become very expensive. The price of mine is as cheap as my humor–$14.98–and there’s only a 1 drink minimum. But since my singing has been known to drive people to drink, there is a strictly enforced 25 drink maximum!
We just saw you in Chicago – and you did sort of a 2 act show…will the NY show be like that? or something different?
This show is more of a production with lighting cues, sound cues, a fog machine, videos which play while I change costumes, etc. And I’m singing everything live–which is a challenge when you are juggling a microphone, lighter and Whitney Houston’s crackpipe!
I have some new snippets in my parody medleys by CeeLo, Britney, Katy Perry, Taio Cruz and Kelly Rowland. And my Laugh-In joke routine has been updated to include jokes about Gaga, Kardashian, Justin Bieber and today’s celebs. It’s actually a very ‘young” show–despite it’s ancient star! And I’m joined onstage by several sexy dancers from La Escuelita. They are so gorgeous that it’s tough to focus on my work at times!
Are you taking time off the road – or still traveling in between shows?
Within two months, I’m either deejaying or performing in Atlanta, Palm Springs, Boston, Denver, Detroit, Hawaii, San Francisco, Houston, Sao Paolo and Toronto. But all of these gigs are on the weekend so I can always make it back for my Tuesday cabaret show and then hit the road again. I’ve never been to Brazil so I can’t wait!
Will Wigstock ever return?
There has been some talk about it but it’s very tricky. We stopped it after getting rained out two years in a row. Also, in a recession, sponsors aren’t as flush with cash and as our crowds grew into the tens of thousands, the stage, sound and jumbotron video screen rental sent our production costs to the moon. And honestly, I’m not sure that NYC is the same place it once was. Like every other city it feels corporate and not nearly as funky and bohemian as it used to be. The great thing about Wigstock is that drag queens would mix with homeless people, transsexuals, pier queens, club kids and average New Yorkers. Now average Manhattanites are trust fund kids wearing Prada who act like Sex And The City wannabes. They want to be Kim Kardashian–do you really think they could appreciate Leigh Bowery or Kevin Aviance? Still, we never say never. But it helped when New York was filled with creative people who now can’t afford to live here. If we are going to do the festival again, we need an appreciative audinece.
I heard about a new DVD coming – of the parody songs…can you tell us more??
I have a lot of new videos that have been popular online so I am cutting together a new dvd to be ready December 1st. Like A Cheese Stick, Firework, My salutes to Burlesque, Sarah Palin, Amy Winehouse will all be on there. As well as the new Laugh-In routine. And I’m also cobbling together some outrageous footage of my recent trip to San Francisco’s Folsom Street fair.
And there’s a guy in NYC named Jonah Falcon with a 13 inch cock and he’s going to co-star in a video set to How Can I Ease The Pain by Lisa Fischer. A new genre–comedy porn! The perfect gift to horrify religious relatives with!
BRAVO King (Queen?) Andy Cohen was there last week. “Tuesday night I went to the opening of The Lady Bunny’s first new stage show in ten long years called “That Ain’t no Lady” at Escualita. It was as filthy as all get out and a ton of fun. Do not go if you are averse to filth!”
“Bunny had me shaking with laughter.”
–Michael J. Fox
“My jaw dropped.”
–Roger Ebert
“I laughed my tits off.”
–Chaz Bono
“No one can remove dog cum from a wig like Lady Bunny.”
–Martha Stewart
“Wait! Bunny performs more than fellatio?”
–The Harlem Globetrotters
“Bunny is such a classy lady that I wanted to take her home.”
–Eddie Murphy
“I would have personally driven her mother to Planned Parenthood.”
–Michele Bachmann
“Halfway through this show, we were hoping a tiger would run out into the audience and kill us.”
–Siegfried and Roy
GET A SNEAK PEAK from Opening NIght
That Ain’t No Lady! at La Escuelita (301 W. 39th Street), 8 PM every Tuesday in October.
Advance reservations highly suggested!
Lady Bunny in THAT AIN’T NO LADY! Tuesdays in October at La Escuelita
The raunchy, demented drag diva LADY BUNNY, of Wigstock fame presents her first full-length one wo-man show in almost a decade at the popular latin nightspot La Escuelita every Tuesday in October at 8PM. Fast-paced and action-packed with glitzy costumes and Bunny’s trademark gravity-defying bouffant wig, THAT AIN’T NO LADY is a cabaret designed for a night club crowd–no lengthy monologues or sappy show tunes here. For mature audiences who enjoy irreverent humor! Though she just finished her second season of RUPAUL’S DRAG U on LOGO as the Dean Of Drag giving contestants “Lady Lessons”, Bunny’s deliciously bawdy brand humor is far from ladylike. Bunny re-works pop songs into hysterical parodies, using recent smashes like Ke$ha’s TIK TOK (which Bunny transforms into BIG COCK) to classics like ALL THAT JIZZ. No musical genre is sacred so expect to hear from everyone from Katy Perry to Taio Cruz to Britney and Whitney. Sprinkle in zany Laugh-In style joke routines for added politically incorrect fun. The wacky blonde will also re-create some of her hit youtube videos, including her rap debut with a parody of Like A G6–the ode to uncircumcised men entitled Like A Cheese Stick, which was featured on Perez Hilton and Dlisted. Finally, a tribute to recently departed musical giants Amy Winehouse and Nick Ashford of Ashford and Simpson. And just wait until you get a load of Bunny as the monstrous “Scare” in a wicked spoof of Cher in BURLESQUE. With a ticket price of $14.98 that’s as cheap as her humor and a recession-friendly 1 drink minimum, THAT AIN’T NO LADY provides over an hour of laughs for a decidedly affordable price. However, since Bunny’s singing has been known to drive audiences to drink, there is a strictly-enforced 25 drink maximum. And this show re-introduces a quintessentially NYC venue with a great stage and atmosphere while bringing some much-needed trash back to the increasingly Disney-fied Times Square area. After the show on opening night, Bunny will spin a dj set to satisfy the everyone’s gripe that they hate today’s dance music. So expect to hear dance classics like Deee-Lite, Crystal Waters, Whitney Houston and absolutely no Rihanna, Ke$ha, Gaga, Katy Perry or Britney. GET YOUR TICKETS FOR LADY BUNNY NOW!
For 1 hour after the show, 2-4-1 drinks will be offered.
PLEASE NOTE: Online ticket sales end 2 hour before showtime–ie 6PM. No credit cards are accepted at the door– Cash payments for admission only. Credit cards are accepted for drink purchases.
MORE LADY BUNNY
Priscilla On Broadway Hits 100! And Nick Adams Tells All!
It appears that producer Bette Midler, has a hit on her hands! Following hit productions in Australia, London and Toronto, Priscilla Queen of the Desert opened to critical acclaim on March 20 at the Palace Theatre and recently celebrated it’s 100th performance on Broadway. It’s the feel-good, happy joyous show of the year! Sequins and lights, feathers and fringe, it’s a spectacular big party, not to be missed!
Priscilla’s global success and now Broadway is growing at leaps and bounds. #1 Cast recording on Billboard charts; #1 selling new musical on Broadway this season; Priscilla recently joined the Millionaires Club with box office earnings!
Heck, Governor Cuomo even held his fundraiser at Priscilla last week and Australian actor Tony Sheldon (Bernadette) is up for a Tony this weekend. Sheldon says, “after 3 years of edits of changes and revisions, I think this is the PRIMO PRISCILLA!” – Sheldon has played the part Bernadette over 1,000 times in Australia and London alone! FYI …Tony Sheldon has been nominated for every award he’s eligible for on Broadway this season including Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Drama League awards and a Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical. He has been honored with a Theatre World Award for his Broadway debut. And his AUNT is 70’s pop star Helen Reddy.
We caught up with Nick last week, who took time to chat with BestGayNewYork.com about the show and other New York things….
BGNY: 20 dance-floor classics and a dazzling array of more than 500 outrageous costumes, 200 hats and headdresses and 72 wigs ! And you wear 21 costumes! WOW!
Nick: I have a dresser who helps me backstage. He is with me the entire show, but we sometimes have 4 people hidden in the bus helping me make a quick change. My favorite is the silver suit I wear atop the shoe.
I know, it’s crazy! When we started rehearsing the show – without even adding in the costumes or lighting – I lost like 15 pounds. It’s like non-stop dancing, cardio and sweating. It’s quite a workout, so I don’t have worry about about cardio – which I hate. And they wanted to me to lose a bit of my muscle – so that has been nice – not having to spend so much time at the gym!
And Nick comments on his co-stars Tony and Will : They are a dream team. I love those men like family. We are a family. The chemistry onstage is so true because we are thick as thieves offstage. I have never worked with such encouraging, inspiring actors. They make me better every night.
BGNY: How does it feel to create an original leading Broadway role?
Nick: Well, it’s interesting cause anytime anybody ever said like, “Do you have a dream role?” That’s what I would say is that “I wanted to originate a role and in a new Broadway show.” I think it’s been the most like exciting and freeing experience because I’ve had the liberty to sort of just play in and bring a lot of like what I thought I wanted to bring to it, and our creative team, our director really allowed me to kind of have my own spin on it and bring a different energy to this part and then in the West End Production and what they had in Australia.
As actors, what we wanna do is to really feel like we’re creating character and not mimicking somebody else’s performance or fitting like a specific mold of a different actor, so to get to like build this person from the ground up has been awesome to know that, for always and like theatrical history that would have been my role. Pretty great.
BGNY: Your first love is Broadway – that’s obvious. But I saw you in An Englishman in New York and Sex and the City 2 , you have done a couple soaps….Do you want to do more acting on film?
Nick: Oh, absolutely. I mean I grew up wanting to be an actor and my dream was to do Broadway shows. I don’t know, I just love live theater and I love that like instant sort of gratification of an audience sitting there and getting to see their response, that’s really exciting to me.
To be completely honest, I mean the most lucrative side of acting is with TV and film, financially. So, absolutely. I absolutely want to explore more of that. I just kept notching off goals, each show that I did sort of fulfilled some type of goal of mine. At times I feel like I’ve maxed out on the Broadway scene and it’s like, what else can I do to top this now? Which is mind-blowing to me that I’ve done it. So now I’ve just set some new sites on some other things. Broadway is always gonna be where I feel like home and my place, but I definitely wanna move into some areas that could help me pay my rent a little bit more.
BGNY: Now that you’ve done so much, is your goal list getting longer or shorter?
Nick: I think it gets longer, ‘cause I think each one unlocks a new possibility. It’s longer ‘cause when I was a kid it was like, “I wanna be on Broadway.” And then it was, “I wanna be starring in a Broadway show.” And now it keeps growing. I think it’s healthy though, keeps me motivated, keeps me pro-active.
BGNY: What about more singing?? I saw (heard) some YouTubes Video of you singing…Is there a Nick Adams CD possibly in your future? ( NY State of Mind and After Party 2 and OnTheOtherSide )Nick: Actually…potentially…there could be. I did a concert at Birdland, it was a one man show, they invited me to come do a night. It was so much work to put together, but yet so much fun and so rewarding. It was like an hour and half of me singing, with a three piece band and it was great. And that was maybe the first time I really thought about a cd or recording….I am not a song writer by any means. But a lot of people have expressed interest in me possibly doing something. I started out as a singer first and foremost as a kid. And now with Priscilla, it’s given me a chance to really show people what I can do. So who knows – we’ll see!
BGNY: As an out actor, do you look to Broadway leading men like Cheyenne Jackson for inspiration?
Nick: Absolutely —If there was a career I could model mine after, it would be Cheyenne Jackson because he is fantastic, incredibly talented, and active in the gay community. I’ve just started to dabble in some TV and film, and I think it’s sort of the natural way it goes. If you have a successful theater career, it’s a much easier transition. I’ve always just wanted to be an actor… in any genre. I’m hoping the opportunities open up even more than they already have. I aspire to be like Cheyenne because he comes from the ensemble and was an understudy and then a leading man. It’s so surreal this is actually what’s happened to me.
On opening night, he sent me this huge bouquet of orchids to my dressing room and this amazing card that’s taped on my vanity. When I was in college, I came to the city and I saw “All Shook Up” and Cheyenne was the star and I thought he was amazing and knew that’s what I wanted to do. So now, being in the same theater and having him send me those flowers, its just crazy how things work out.
BGNY: Since this is Best Gay New York – we’re always looking for what’s hot, what’s new, what’s next – any favorite place you want to share with us?
Nick: There is this new place, I have been raving about! It’s right in the theatre district, in Hells Kitchen, on 9th Avenue between 45-46th, and it’s called Ember Room. It just opened a couple months ago and is some of the best food I have ever had!
It’s sort of an Asian American Fusion sort of Barbeque…they have things like Chocolate Ribs, Red Chilli Sea Bass, Bacon wrapped meatloaf…everything is so beautifully presented and the flavor is unlike anything I have ever had. I have been there three times in the last week! I am trying to get through everything on the menu! And it’s reasonable – especially for this neighborhood. The other night we had 3 appetizers, 2 entrees and a bottle of Proseco, for under $100. The portions are hearty and the quality is amazing. I’m obsessed with the place!
BGNY: Obviously, theater keeps you in NY – do you love, love, love NY? Or could you see yourself anywhere else?
Nick: I love this city. I think even if I didn’t do this, I would still want to be here. When I was about 15 years old, I came here for the first time, and I knew I wanted to do theater and be an actor, but I had never been here. We drove here from Pennsylvania with my family, and the minute I could see the city, the minute the skyline came into view, I was just overwhelmed with this sense of…that’s my home, that’s where I am going to live. And I never get tired or over it here. If leave or go on vacation, I can’t wait to get back. Even though it can be hectic here and the energy like…maniacal at times…I guess I crave that. I love the warm weather and the beaches in Los Angels and California…and that is something I could definitely get into – but I could never not have a place here in the city. I think I will always have to have a place here.
BGNY: It’s the same thing for us when we come to NY – there is this ENERGY here.
Nick: Yeah, it’s like the center of the universe. I love it that someone can come to this city and make shit happen! It’s so crazy to think that I came here from this little small town and now doing the things I dreamt of as a little kid – and this is where I made it happen – and I think with any profession – you come here, and everything is at your fingertips. It really is a magical place. I love it here!
Thank you! Nick Adams for sharing your time with us!
Special links of interest –
For more of Nick Adams check out his blog.
Priscilla on Broadway Tickets, info and news
Plan a Party at Priscialla – use the exclusive Concierge Service!
Sneak peaks backstage at Priscialla from Broadway.com
and Nicks video blog Muscles and Mascara series – over 20 videos!
PBS to show Stonewall Uprising April 25th
I talked with two people recently under the age of 25, who had no clue!
When police raided the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar in the Greenwich Village section of New York City on June 28, 1969, the street erupted into violent protests that lasted for the next six days. The Stonewall riots, as they came to be known, marked a major turning point in the modern gay civil rights movement in the United States and around the world.
DID YOU KNOW? In the late 1960s, the American Psychiatric Association still classified homosexuality as a mental disorder, and gay men and lesbian women received almost universal moral condemnation from mainstream religions. The act of homosexual sex, even in private homes, was punishable by a light fine, 20 years in prison, or even a life sentence!!
New York City had the largest gay population in the United States. It was also the city that most aggressively upheld anti-sodomy laws. In the mid-1960s New York created police vice squads to raid gay bars and baths, and began using decoys to solicit and entrap gays. By 1966 over 100 men a week were arrested as a result of this effort. “It was a nightmare for the lesbian or gay man who was arrested and caught up in the juggernaut but it was also a nightmare for the lesbians or gay men who lived in the closet,” Yale Law School professor William Eskridge says in the film. “This produced an enormous amount of anger within the lesbian and gay community in New York City. Eventually something was bound to blow.”
STONEWALL UPRISING is a very important film we should all see! PBS and AMERICAN EXPERIENCE is airing it on Monday, April 25th! Check your local listings! GET A SNEAK PEAK ONLINE.
Coming soon to DVD!
BestGayNewYork.com
La Cage Aux Folles’ Cagelles Hit Times Square
On Monday, April 11, members of “The Cagelles” from the Broadway revival of La Cage Aux Folles joined tourists in Times Square to kick off Garnier’s Cleaner Greener World Tour, which will collect and recycle used beauty products.
Millions of pieces of waste are expected to be collected by Garnier during the tour, which will continue on into Cincinnati, Nashville, Fort Worth, Detroit, and New Orleans.
LA CAGE
Theater Mania
Lady Bunny and Charo on RuPauls Drag U
and her wigs!
Are in Los Angeles this
week on the set of RuPauls DRAG U Season 2.
Outfitter Wigs on Hollywood Boulevard saves the day! And my goodness, it looks as if Thairin is holding Lady Bunny’s ACTUAL HEAD in his hand!
I guess CHARO was a guest judge…and this is the wig(s) Lady Bunny wore at a recent taping of the show.
Go Girl!
Sherry Vine Does GAGA….More This Way
Sherry Vine has come a long way from the Amish country she was born in!
Running away from home to be a “show girl” in Las Vegas before relocating to NYC where she has established herself as one of the leading ladies performing her all live singing and comedy show internationally on stage, TV and film.
When she is not traveling round the world she finds time to put up hilarious spoof videos of pop songs.
Last month we showed you FIRECROTCH and this month we present MORE THIS WAY, a take off of the GAGA anthem, Born This Way.
See all the fabulous videos at her site SHERRY VINE. You can also download the music right on her site in the shopping boutique!
Best Gay New York.com
Mimi Imfurst and XELLE at Therapy March 3rd
Blending the Spice Girls
with a hint of Ke$ha and a little RuPaul, the
ground-breaking new girl group XELLE is poised to take the pop anddance music charts by storm with the debut of the video for their first single “PARTY GIRL”.
After a chance meeting at a karoke party,powerhouse female vocalists JC Cassis and Rony Goffer teamed with drag sensation Mimi Imfurst to create XELLE, a unique girl group for the newish millennium.
Written and produced by Zach Adam, the fun-loving dance floor anthem “PARTY GIRL” is already a favorite amongst nightclub DJs and major market pop radio stations throughout the US. The song has also been
featured on MTV’s The Seven. It is currently available for sale on iTunes. The video will be available on YouTube beginning March 4.
The video, directed by Hilarion Banks and choreographed by Ryan McNally with costumes by Geoffrey Mac was filmed in a single take, without permit (gasp!) on a moving New York City subway train (the N/Q line
in, appropriately, Queens, to be exact).
With 40 extras, strobe lights, confetti cannons, glowsticks, follow spots, dancers and anyone else who happened to be riding the, XELLE turned the subway train into a moving dance party. In the spirit of NYC’s infamous outlaw parties of the 1990s, the music video is a love letter to NYC nightlife and to party girls everywhere.
TONIGHT! Thursday March 3rd. 9:30
Join XELLE for a release party at Therapy as the group debuts their first music video for their hit song “Party Girl”
Featuring: A screening of the documentary “Party Girls,” a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the “Party Girl” video, plus A live performance by XELLE. The worldwide debut of the music video for “Party Girl”.
Free admission and drink specials
XELLE MUSIC
Watch The PARTY GIRL VIDEO
Lady Bunny and Friends do Burlesque Tribute
Lady Bunny and friends
are back this with week
with a parody of
Cher in Burlesque!
Written by and directed by Lady Bunny, and she also stars as “Scare”.
Bunny Says, “Before you rabid fans attack, just wanted to let you know that I am aware that my Cher voice sounds more like Elvis and that unlike me, Cher was never fat.
I love Cher. She’s been putting out quality material for most of my life. Of course, she’s older now and has gone overboard on the surgery so I don’t mind making fun of a genuinely talented performer who has a few quirks. With older glamorpussses like Cher and Dolly Parton, it’s hard to tell whether constant surgeries are their own personal obsession or whether they simply know that their looks are a big part of their appeal and so they MUST correct any signs of aging. As much as we criticize their transformations, we’d be the first to mock them if they developed a turkey neck , jowl or bag which wasn’t instantly sucked out, yanked up or smoothed. It’s a Catch-22 situation.
I’m also a fan of Xtina’s phenomenal voice–when someone can get it through her head that you don’t need to show off and riff on every single note as the producers of her hit Beautiful did. Xtina sings a hauntingly beautiful power ballad in Burlesque which is quite similar to Beautiful with some gorgeous chords. And Christina gives a compelling performance while singing it, I think her “acting” is best suited to selling a song in music videos, which Burlesque is really a string of with a tired storyline binding the whole thing together.”
Beloved downtown NYC clown David Ilku appears in the Stanley Tucci role. In addition to being 1/2 of the ridiculously funny Duelling Bankheads, David is 1/3 of the demented comedy troupe Unitard .
(Unitard on Facebook .)
Versatile Greg Scarnici plays Christina Hag-uilera to the hilt as well as many other kooky characters. He’s published an outrageous parody of Madonna’s Sex book called Sex In Drag as well as starred in dozens of youtube videos. His youtube channel is a must see !
A very special thanks to Louie Garay, Kriss and Big Ben from La Escuelita, NYC’s premiere latin dance club which has the best drag stage in town. It was the perfect setting for this madness.
Watch Lady Bunny on YouTube Now in her salute (?) to Cher !
Bunny wrote a full review (yes! she can write!) of Burlesque for Out.com
Check out all her other crazy videos on youtube and be sure to visit Lady Bunny on her site .
Facebook page Lady Bunny Forever .
Best Gay New York.com
