Raquel Cion Brings GILDING THE LONELY to Joe's Pub, 8/18

Joe's Pub Presents Performer-Comedienne-Chanteuse Raquel Cion's, Gilding the Lonely, for one night only, August 18th at 9:30 pm. Join Ms. Cion as she brings to the stage the glitter-ball performance, wry humor, open-heartedness, passion and singing she's known for. She'll face a wall of loneliness with the help and artistry of Zecca on keyboards and the driving drums and percussion of Bill Gerstel. Gilding the Lonely will take you on an unexpected journey that is intoxicating, hysterical and filled with pathos-and we do mean that in full Greek Realness.

Raquel Cion has performed extensively in the theatre in Paris, Russia, the Bay Area and such downtown NYC venues as Joe's Pub, New York Theatre Workshop, PS 122, The Kitchen, New York Theatre Workshop, Fez, HERE, La Mama, Etc., 3LD and Dance Theatre Workshop to name a few. Recent projects include: Fête (Writer/Performer), Manhattan InterNational Theatre Festival; Cou-Cou Bijoux: Pour Vous (Writer/Performer); Galapagos Art Space, Dixon Place; Gilding the Lonely, Dixon Place. Recognition for her work includes a Dramalogue Award for Charles Mee Jr.'s Orestes, as well as a Bay Area Theatre Critic's Circle Award for her work in the interdisciplinary work Bake Sale.

Drummer Bill Gerstel has performed in the NYC Downtown scene since 1980. An alumnus of 3 Teens Kill 4, Mad Scene, Joe Hurley's Rogues March and, most recently, Pinataland, Mary Lorson, and Emily Duff(Gods & Monsters). He's performed theatrically with Antony Hegarty, Huck Snyder and John Kelly, Marlene Manard, Joseph Papp's Shakespeare in the Park(Merry Wives of Windsor) and the Riverside Shakespeare Company's Lear. He thanks his son, Sawyer, for keeping the rock n' roll flame alive.

Zecca is a Brazilian born composer, arranger and musical director, Zecca has been a fixture on the downtown theater scene for decades, but his first tours in the US were with large funk bands. After touring and recording in Europe with Cherry Vanilla (RCA London), for which he received glowing mentions in Sting's autobiography "Broken Music", his song "Just So Lonely" for his own band GET WET rose to the top 40 in Billboard and top 10 overseas. He also toured for 5 years with blues legend Garland Jeffreys and is particularly known for his collaborations with award-winning performance artist John Kelly (US and Europe).

Hillary Spector (director). As a director: Prelude Festival, Tivoli Theatre (Copenhagen), Alice Tully Hall, National Theatre of Cataluña (Barcelona) Princeton University, Brown University, PEN World Voices Festival, EST. As a choreographer: Spoleto Festival USA, L' Opera D' Angers, L' Opera de Nantes, L' Opera de Nice, Seattle Opera, AOP/Classic Stage Company & Guggenheim's Works & Process Series, La Mama, HERE, P.S. 122. Hillary is also a member of the Hotel Savant, Nomad Theatrical and Pan Theatre (Paris). She is a past member of the Women's Project & Productions Directors' Lab and the Lincoln Center Directors Lab. She has an MFA from CalArts.