Today is the birthday of the incomparable Bill Robinson, a.k.a “Bojangles”. (For my full article on him, go here. It happens to be the first vaudeville article I ever wrote; the first work I did on No Applause). Here’s Robinson doing a version of his famous stair dance:
To find out more about the history of vaudeville, consult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and wherever nutty books are sold.
Three days only — opening tonight at at Pier 25 South Street Seaport…
Dead upon a Wind, a Pirate Burlesque, continues the exploits of Calico Jack, Anne Bonny, and Mary Read; historical pirates let loose upon a modern world, who find today’s corporate world very familiar. In this show the pirates face a new and familiar enemy, as infighting over the naming rights to a new island (now that all those troublesome residents are no longer a concern) threatens to turn ugly. The situation is not improved when a traveling slave salesman (he also offers insurance) shows up and throws a few more colorful characters in the mix. Shows will be performed in-the-round aboard the Gazela, the oldest wooden square-rigger still sailing in America. For information and tickets, yo ho hither.
Tonight thru June 10: Jukebox Jackie: Snatches of Jackie Curtis starring the incredible Justin Vivian Bond, Bridget Everett, Cole Escola, and Steel Burkhardt, in a show conceived and directed by Scott Wittman. Jackie was the gender-ambiguous Warhol Factory-ite immortalized by Lou Reed in “Walk on the Wild Side” as the one who “thought she was James Dean for a day.” Many credit her/him as one of the progenitors of Glam, so they’ve picked a fitting cast to make this tribute. We’re also promised special guests at certain performances, including Penny Arcade, Jayne County, Cherry Vanilla & Agosto Machado. It’s all at La Mama: lamama.org.
As we told you a few days ago, The Maestrosities, a.k.a. the Coolest Band in the World are starting a new web series and they need your help! Just one more day to go, and they are just shy of their Kickstarter goal. Go here to learn more about the project, and how you can be an angel to five good-looking but very dumb clowns…
Today is the birthday of the great Douglas Fairbanks (1883-1939). For some on his early career, including his vaudeville background go here. And for a sample of what he did best, a snippet from Robin Hood (1922):
To find out more about the history of vaudeville, consult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and wherever nutty books are sold. Also please keep a look out for Chain of Fools: Silent Comedy and Its Legacies From Nickelodeon to Youtube, coming out in September 2012
Today is the birthday of Artie Shaw, the Thinking Man’s Big Band Leader (1910-2004). The famously difficult Shaw went through 8 wives, including Lana Turner and Ava Gardner. Some insight into his character may be derived from the fact that he called his theme song (still one of his best known tunes) “Nightmare”.
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