The Fab Marquee: A Theatre Site With Class and Pizazz!

Just to let you know, I've been asked to be a contributor for The Fab Marquee and I'm very excited about this opportunity. I sometimes do reviews of various entertainment venues on here on Voodoo Jive - usually it's music or sometimes places to go/eat or in NYC; I haven't done a theatre review on Voodoo Jive in...well, hell, I don't know when. Which is ironic since I'm immersed in the NYC theatre world it seems now...and have been immersed in the entertainment industry to some extent my whole life through my family.

Please stop by The Fab Marquee - it is run by amazing people, one of whom is an incredible whirlwind of energy in the PR industry, Antonio Miniño; another is a fabulous playwright who recently wrote the smash hit "Anaïs Nin Goes to Hell" produced by their theatre company, MTWorks. It includes several talented writers.

I'm so very thrilled to be asked to come on board as a theatre reviewer for their site, which is already considered to be an important place to see works reviewed and latest news on the pulse of NYC Theatre Scene. Please stop by, and check it out! I have just started, so as of this post, I only have one review on there, but will be reviewing two shows I saw this past week that will be coming up this week. I hope you'll come by and make comments (like how AWESOME I am) and enjoy the site as a whole.

:)
Dianna
aka Billychic

I Present My New Kitten...Miss Laretta Kincaid

Photo: Dale Harris

Well, I didn't go with little Rain, the kitty I mentioned that was available for adoption from www.zanisfurryfriends.org that I found on Petfinder.com - that I mentioned in a previous post; things didn't work out that way. The lady who was fostering her was in Long Island, they were going to have to come over and do a "house check" - which I don't fault them for, that's understandable; but I have been adopting and owning pets for 16 years and I just don't have time to wait for them to bring her over just to see if I liked her...and then have a complete stranger come into my house and tell me "your place is a shithole and not good enough for our pet" - because, to be honest, my place is not the epitome of Better Homes & Gardens.

However, my pets seem to dig it, and they seem to dig having a Mom who loves them and makes sure that they get to eat before she does. Considering that I saved all these critters (I have four, now including Miss Laretta)from either death or living in a cage, and that they get the best food and health care...well, that speaks for itself. I was not responsible for Nina getting cancer and dying. I have to accept that...and move on. Did she have symptoms? Sure, but I am not a vet and I didn't see them. I did drop 6k on her two years ago to save her from diabetes and got two extra years of life out of her and gave her shots religiously twice a day for two years...so I think I'm a good pet owner.

Anyhoo, I hope that Rain finds a home - she looks really precious and please click on the link above and check her out for yourself or someone you know.

Here's the story on Miss Laretta: I was, after a weekend in which I was despondent over things in my life, leaving for work and heading toward the train at Union Square. On one side is the subway station, where I was intending to go. On the other side, is a Petco that has a KittyKind adopting station, where you'll find anywhere up to 25 cats in cages, many kittens, waiting for a new home. As I started walking towards the train, my feet suddenly seemed to have a life of their own and I headed in the opposite direction - toward the Petco.

An hour later, I emerged, beaming, with a small little girl kitten in a carrier...headed for home with me.

She is four months and two weeks. I have named her Laretta in honor of my old friend Larry C. Sullivan, a.k.a. Laretta Kincaid to his close friends. Her name in the shelter was "Loretta" and it seemed like a perfect idea to me.

She is a spunky little critter and I adore her...and the other pets are taking to her just fine. Spud is starting to groom her.

I think all is right with the world.

Royal Pink: A Chick Band for All Seasons - New Monthly NYC Gig in LES

Royal Pink, one of my fav chick bands in NYC, (they are so nice and so naughty) is playing a regular monthly gig on the Lower East Side at Mehanata (a.k.a. the bulgarian bar) - 113 Ludlow Street between Delancey & Rivington. There's one this Sunday, the 19th; doors open at 8.



From the email:
Are you ready for the queer punk dance party of your dreams? Because this Sunday night your pinks are playing at the first ever anonymous, the new and extremely fabulous monthly party at mehanata. Yes, it's a school night, but we know you will risk being a little sleepy on Monday morning in exchange for some quality debauchery. Here are the details:

please join us for the first night of a new monthly party:

a dance party for queerpunx and our friends.
bands. djs. plenty of dark corners.
wear something you can get dirty in.

sunday, october 19, 2008 – doors at 8 pm
and the third sunday of the month from now on

october 19 - MIX Festival closing night afterparty

featuring
Inner Princess (genderfuck/genrefuck punks)
Royal Pink (dirty-girl feminist rockers)
and more...

plus projections by the MIX Festival crew!

just $5

at mehanata (a.k.a. the bulgarian bar)
113 ludlow street between delancey & rivington
F/J/M/Z to delancey/essex; B/D/Q to grand; V to 2nd avenue

[inspired by - and we hope in the spirit of - Homocorps, the Clit Club, Rock n Roll Fag Bar, and all the other parties where the dance floor and the dark room are both alive and well]


NOW THAT SOUNDS LIKE A PAR-TAY.

:)

Oberon Theatre Ensemble's Fall Frolic: A Fabulous Fundraiser!

Try saying "Fall Frolic Fabulous Fundraiser" six times. Now add some awesome wine, gourmet cheese, and really scrumptious dessert chocolates; throw in mingling with a great theatre crowd, and you have the recipe for a wonderful evening.

A little from the website (which I just started helping with):

An Evening of Mingling, Wine, Gourmet Cheeses, & Decadent Dessert Samplings!

All to benefit Oberon Theatre Ensemble and our upcoming 2009 Season!

Purchase your ticket today!

When:Tuesday October 21, 7-10 pm
Where:Professor Thom's
219 2nd Ave, between 13th & 14th Streets

Tickets will be *$35* if purchased before Oct. 14
and *$45* if purchased after.

Please go to www.OberonTheatre.org/Fall-Frolic/ to use the PayPal link. I couldn't get it to look groovy on my site here.

Gourmet foods generously sponsored by:

Ideal Cheese Gourmet Cheese Shop (www.IdealCheese.com): Ideal Cheese offers the finest cheeses of the world. Our cheeses are available per lb, per full wheel, or even in specialty cheese baskets for gifts or great treats. Ideal Cheese also offer specialty products, such as fine Cooking Oils, Vinegars and specialty meats.

Our Cheese and Specialty Products are of the highest quality and we pride ourselves on offering our customers the very best cheeses of the world and specialty foods, online today. The Ideal Taste...The Ideal Choice.

and

Sweet Muse (www.SweetMuse.com): Sweet Muse celebrates the creative, playful spirit in all of us with handmade treats to indulge the senses and inspire. The fudgy, gourmet brownies are freshly baked from scratch using only the finest ingredients and then carefully hand-packaged into gift tins and gift boxes perfect for both personal and corporate gifts.

Swirl Events will be at the party to provide information about the wine and wine pairings.

Swirl Events (www.SwirlEvents.com): A SWIRL EVENTS WINE TASTING is a festive and elegant idea for Holiday Parties. In this tough financial climate, we are an affordable option, allowing you to still celebrate with style while maintaining your budget. Swirl makes your entertaining effortless. We provide EVERYTHING for your event including a selection of amazing wine, gourmet chocolate and cheese pairings, elegant stemware, and our professionally-trained team of Swirl wine experts.

Cash bar will also be available.

It just keeps getting better: you don't want to miss out on our RAFFLE, so be sure to get your tickets early when you arrive!

There will be raffle prizes donated by our headlining sponsors, Ideal Cheese and Sweet Muse, as well as other fabulous and generous raffle donors including:

Maieutic Theatre Works (MTWorks),

Hotsy Totsy Burlesque,

Barnes & Noble,

Lansdowne Road Sports Bar

and many more!

It's going to be a lot of fun, and for a good cause: Oberon Theatre Ensemble is a great theatre company, who has gone out on a limb to put me in productions and work with me...and has 12 years worth of incredible plays and staged readings - two of which I will be in coming up this Fall, I think...

So if you can, come on out! The raffle gifts are going to ROCK and the cheese, wine, and desserts will be amazing.

xo
D

MT Works - Into The Underworld

One of my favorite theatre companies (besides my own, Oberon, of course! LOL) is Maieutic Theatre Works(MT Works), which has put out amazing productions like the recent Anais Nin Goes to Hell - one of the best productions I've seen in NYC OB/OOB theatre in a long while. I have a post I started about it and didn't finish; I have to put it up, but since its already past, let me talk a bit about what they have coming up: Into the Underworld.

I suppose what would do it justice is to take from the TicketMaster synopsis, for proceeds from the event will not only go to raise funds for MT Works; it will go for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids (which Mom was a part of about four years ago signing autographs).

A Broadway Understudy Tell All...With Music. MAIEUTIC THEATRE WORKS (MTWorks) is pleased to announce their one-night only benefit event, Into the Underworld: A Broadway Understudy Tell All...With Music, once again under the musical direction of Matt Doebler (Wicked). Last Spring's Underworld included performances by David Garry (Company, Sweeney Todd Tour), Carly Hughes (The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee), Chelsea Krombach (Wicked), Lindsay Northen (Wicked), Jacqui Polk (Hairspray, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee), Heather Spore (Wicked), Andrew Varela (Sunday in the Park with George), Katrina Yaukey (Company, Cabaret) and Catherine Walker (Mary Poppins). The proceeds from this event will go to funding MTWorks Season 08-09, including The Third Annual National NewBorn Festival in January 2009, and the production of Jacqueline Goldfinger's The Oath in April 2009 at The Arclight Theater. A portion of the proceeds from this event will be donated to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids.

Please try to check it out.

Keep your eyes open for another benefit coming up that I will be posting: Oberon Theatre Ensemble will be having a "Fall Frolic" on October 21st...a benefit including wine, cheese, scrumptious desserts, and awesome raffles as we get ready to announce our upcoming season at the Beckett Theatre on Theatre Row.

More to come...