Season 2, Episode 5: Behind every summer is a community that keeps Fire Island alive. This episode explores the history of the beloved Pines Pantry through the eyes of its iconic Pantry Girls, alongside the volunteer firefighters of The Pines and Cherry Grove who protect the island from fires, hurricanes, beach erosion, and an uncertain future.
JOHNNY MATHIS: DIFFERENT STANDS ALONE Will Return to Don't Tell Mama
The show features musical direction by Nick Schlueter and direction by Lina Koutrakos.
By: Stephi Wild
Steve Brammeier will reprise his tribute show, Johnny Mathis: Different Stands Alone, at Don't Tell Mama on Saturday, November 21st at 7:00 PM. Brammeier, a native of St. Louis, grew up in the 1950s and 1960s listening to Johnny Mathis and has fond memories of dancing to his “make out” music at the McCluer High School Homecoming dance. Musical Director is Nick Schlueter; Directed by Lina Koutrakos.
The November 21st show also celebrates the release of Brammeier's debut album Songs That Found Me, featuring selected songs from his four solo cabaret shows, including five songs from Johnny Mathis: Different Stands Alone. Released September 1, 2026, the 13-track album is available to stream on major platforms, including Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Deezer, iHeartRadio, and Pandora.
Biographies
Johnny Mathis, with 74 studio albums and 113 singles to his name, retired from touring in May 2025, at the age of 89. The velvet-voiced king of schmooze, he remains a singular talent and an enduring icon. In Rocking the Closet: How Little Richard, Johnny Ray, Liberace and Johnny Mathis Queered Pop Music (November 11, 2019), Vincent L. Stephens writes that Mathis was “sandwiched between black and white social norms, older and younger musical tastes, and gender norms and gender transgressions.” As Stephens further observes, “Ambiguity provided a safe way for Mathis to negotiate a torrent of social expectations. His ability to exist between cultural and musical poles, especially notions of gender, racial, and musical norms, helped him stand out and appeal to multiple audiences.”
Steve “Etienne” Brammeier grew up in St. Louis, inspired by family sing-alongs and his mother's beautiful soprano voice. Given the name Etienne in seventh-grade French, he has reclaimed it to reconnect with the joyful 13-year-old who first discovered the magic of singing. A graduate of the University of Missouri, where he earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine in 1975, Brammeier owned and operated Kingsbury Animal Hospital for 37 years and sang with the Gateway Men's Chorus for 14 years. He discovered cabaret through the St. Louis Cabaret Conference. He was fortunate to study with Lina Koutrakos and Rick Jensen and to work with an extraordinary roster of artists, including Beckie Menzie, Alex Rybeck, Gregory Toroian, Patrick DeGennaro, Marilyn Maye, and Jeff Harnar. Since debuting Dancing at Keukenhof in 2016, he has created three additional shows: 68: Then and Now, Songs That Found Me, and Johnny Mathis: Different Stands Alone, which premiered April 11, 2024 at Blue Strawberry, and on November 9, 2024 at Don't Tell Mama. Brammeier is delighted to work with musical director Nick Schlueter and grateful for the support of his husband of 35 years, Hugh Pavitt. His album, Songs That Found Me, features 13 songs from his four cabaret shows—a dream come true and a celebration of a lifelong love of music and storytelling.
Nick Schlueter is a St. Louis-based pianist, composer, educator, and performer whose work spans jazz, classical, pop, and improvisational music. He has performed with artists including Pavlov's Dog, Charles Glenn, Corey Christiansen, and Dawn Weber, while his compositions and arrangements have been featured by ensembles and performers in the U.S. and abroad. In addition to teaching piano, theory, and songwriting, Schlueter is the founder of Dueling Hobbits Productions, bringing his creativity, versatility, and collaborative spirit to stages, classrooms, and audiences nationwide.
Lina Koutrakos is an award-winning New York City–based singer, songwriter, director, and master teacher. Acclaimed by The New York Times and Billboard, she has earned multiple honors for both performance and direction, including Cabaret's Best Female Vocalist and Entertainer of the Year, four MAC Awards for Best Director, and a Bistro Lifetime Achievement Award. For three decades, Koutrakos has shaped the cabaret world as a performer, director, and sought-after performance coach. A master teacher at the Eugene O'Neill Cabaret Symposium and Yale Cabaret Conference, she founded Performance Connection, developing award-winning performers and shows through workshops, seminars, and individualized coaching. She also founded the Midwest Cabaret Conference in Chicago, earning the Chicago Cabaret Professionals' Gold Coast Award in 2019, and leads an annual Advanced Performance Workshop in Mykonos. Named a “Walking Master Class” by Billboard, Koutrakos continues to inspire artists through her teaching, original material, and acclaimed solo shows.
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