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AARON GRANT LAUNCHES NEW PLAY DEVELOPMENT SERIES.

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HELEN REDDY Performing At The Crown And Anchor!

Showbiz Spotlight: Interview with Andrea Martin

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The 69th Annual Theatre World Awards.

Theater

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Ben Rimalower

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News Flash: Random

“The Nance” Review

By Clover Lalehzar

“Theatricalization” is the word that comes to mind when watching Douglas Carter Beane’s new play on Broadway. “The Nance” starring Nathan Lane is a tribute to theatre, as much as it is a composite dramatization of a homosexual man (Chauncey) who plays a decidedly homosexual man in the burlesque theatre circuit in New York in the thirties. It is a play within a play we’re watching – and the spectacle of Chauncey playing a “nance” safely on stage with his set brand of high jinks, and extravagant over-the-top gesticulations and asides are all well and good, until, once off-stage, is stripped of his facade and has to contend with the real life drama and stigma of being a gay man in an era that was entirely unsympathetic, to put it mildly.

But throughout this theatrical saga of a man finding himself off-stage, I kept returning to the notional catch-phrase “for the love of theatre,” where director Jack O’Brien pays homage to the inner-workings of show-biz and the stage. John Lee Beatty’s brilliant revolving set, that takes us into the very artery of performance, on stage, and in the wings, and then yanks us back out again – into the city’s less nurturing environs – a desolate automat, or a depressing apartment in Hell’s Kitchen, is all metaphor for why we keep going and getting enthralled at the gate. We’re inherent spectacle seekers, not only in anticipation of a reverberated image of ourselves and our lives thrown back at us through artful manipulation, but also want of larger-than-life antics, glitter, glamour, and when possible, some magic, that is provided to us by dramatic kismet.

With “The Nance” - we have the show, and we have the show within a show that gives us the dancing girls including Broadway flame Cady Huffman, and the glitter, and the glamour. We also have at the very end of the play, one of the most esteemed and recognizable actors of this generation – Nathan Lane, up there, on stage alone, otherwise abandoned, with only a ghost-light. As he stood there as Chauncey, trying to find his way in the relative darkness – I was faked out for a moment or two – as there was no differentiating Lane from his character. The actor playing the actor ceased to be. And there was only the story, and then it went dark.

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Nightlife

Night Life

On The Town Column

A BONE-A-FIT FOR JACKIE BEAT.

Details: Published on Tuesday, 12 February 2013 13:54; Written by Press release

Photo by Charles W.Bush

Photo supplied by Miss Jackie Beat.

Hope you feel better soon, darling.

Joan Rivers, Debbie Harry, Parker Posey & More Support Ailing Drag Star
HIP HIP HOORAY: A BONE-A-FIT FOR JACKIE BEAT
Sunday, March 3 at The Cutting Room

Legendary drag entertainer Jackie Beat is known for her bigger-than-life talent and her ballsy and blustery persona, but it turns out she managed to make a few friends along the road to her bilious stardom. Beat, who has no health insurance, needs to have both hips replaced, and faces a hospital bill of up to $50,000. Time for a benefit! Joan Rivers, Debbie Harry, Parker Posey, Fred Schneider, and a gaggle of downtown performers are joining Jackie onstage for HIP HIP HOORAY: A BONE-A-FIT FOR JACKIE BEAT on Sunday, March 3 at The Cutting Room, 44 East 32 Street. Tickets are $30 (with VIP options available), and may be purchased online at www.SpinCycleNYC.com or at 212-352-3101.

Expected onstage alongside Jackie Beat at HIP HIP HOORAY (in alphabetical order) are Lady Bunny, Formika, The Glamazons, Debbie Harry, Murray Hill, Parker Posey, Joan Rivers, Fred Schneider, Sherry Vine, and The World Famous Bob, with video messages from Roseanne Barr, Margaret Cho, and Joey Arias. Producer Chip Duckett says "Expect a few surprises as the evening goes on -- Jackie Beat has friends in the highest ... and lowest ... places you can imagine!"

Award-winning drag darling JACKIE BEAT has been wowing unsuspecting audiences since 1989. She has toured with Roseanne Barr -- as the comic legend’s opening act -- including a 7-week run at The New York New York in Las Vegas; written for TV (Hype! and The Sci Fi Channel’s Tripping The Rift) and collaborated on special material with the like of Roseanne, Rosie O’Donnell and Jennifer Coolidge; appeared in countless TV shows (Sex and the City), movies (Grief, Wigstock The Movie, Flawless, Adam & Steve) and Off-Broadway hits (Valley of the Dolls, Tell-Tale!). She has been named Best Drag Queen by New York Press and Best Live Performance by HX Magazine. Jackie has also been a columnist, lead singer for the electro-rock band, Dirty Sanchez, and the subject of the documentary film My Name is Jackie Beat including commentary from Joan Rivers, Margaret Cho, and Roseanne. She is currently a writer on E!'s Fashion Police starring Joan Rivers. For more information on Jackie Beat visit www.JackieBeatRules.com.

HIP HIP HOORAY: A BONE-A-FIT FOR JACKIE BEAT takes place Sunday, March 3 at The Cutting Room, 44 East 32 Street. Doors open at 7 PM, with showtime at 8 PM. General admission tickets are $30, with VIP Golden Circle tables for two available for $200, including a gift bag of autographed items. Tickets are available online at www.SpinCycleNYC.com, or by calling 212-352-3101.