PANGEA Signature Acts Gather For 1st Winter Alt-Fest
By: Stephi Wild Dec. 18, 2017
Downtown alternative supper club Pangea -- a leader of the burgeoning alt-cabaret movement -- will showcase some of its most distinguished signature artists in a one-week festival of innovative cabaret art in January. Pangea's "Winter Alt-Fest," running from Wednesday January 10 to Tuesday January 16, is programmed by Pangea's booker and co-owner Stephen Shanaghan.
Featuring a mix of new shows and special encores of acclaimed productions seen in recent months, the seven-day Festival shines the spotlight on the unusual ways actors, singers and musicians are currently experimenting with unique combinations of theatre, music, spoken word and performance. Among the Festival headliners are the iconoclasts Salty Brine and Zachary Clause; experimental vocalist Carol Lipnik; the improvisational singer-satirist Tammy Faye Starlite; downtown legend Penny Arcade, the Chicago-based jazz vocalist Tammy McCann; European cabaret star Sven Ratze and the alternative folk-rock trio Vicki Kristina Barcelona.
These are the new standard bearers of a growing faction of performing artists in New York theatres and clubs, who are fanning out across the city -- especially in January - to reclaim the counter-cultural advantage. "All of these shows are boldly original," says Shanaghan, "but they are sophisticated, beautiful and wise. Some of them push the boundaries to fearlessly provoke and engage, but the point is never to offend; Pangea audiences come to be deeply enriched."
1/ Opening the Festival is the haute camp sorcerer Salty Brine in the latest edition of his Living Record Collection, a perennial Critic's Pick from Time Out NY, which calls Salty, "the love child of Paul Lynde, Liza Minnelli and Joel Grey in a cabaret three-way!" Check out "How Strange It Is!" a mash-up of Neutral Milk Hotel's indie rock triumph, "The Aeroplane Over the Sea" with odd stories about the heroes of World War II.
Salty Brine in "How Strange It Is" -- Wed Jan 10, 7pm Cover $20
This show repeats Wed's Jan 17, 24, 31 and Feb 7, all at 7:30pm
https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3207184
2/ Avant-gardist extraordinaire Penny Arcade returns in a special two-night encore of "Longing Lasts Longer," her award-winning solo show co-created with Steve Zehentner. The show's been performed internationally in 32 cities and counting. After sparking near pandemonium earlier this month, this captivating blend of media is now back in NYC at long last!
Penny Arcade in "Longing Lasts Longer" -- Thur Jan 11 and Sun Jan 14, both at 7pm. Cover $20
https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3192906
3/ The Chicago-based jazz singer Tammy McCann is "Back by Popular Demand." A 2017 Broadwayworld Cabaret Awards nominee, she often brings to mind Sarah Vaughan for her seemingly bottomless vocal inventiveness. For one night and back-to-back shows, McCann continues to blaze her singular trail, blending style and substance and finding magic all along the way. Tammy McCann -- Fri Jan 12, two shows, at 7pm & 9pm. Cover $20
4/ Vicki Kristina Barcelona is Rachelle Garniez, Amanda Homi, and Terry Radigan, a power trio dedicated to re-imagining the songs of Tom Waits via gorgeous three-part harmonies, and a treasure trove of instruments including banjos, bottles and bells. Imagine the Triplets of Belleville disguised as Depression era hobos, riding the rails across America, and stopping to play dance parties and funerals along the road to nowhere.
Vicki Kristina Barcelona in "Yesterday Is Here" The Songs of Tom Waits -- Sat Jan 13, at 7pm. Cover $20
https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3207050
5/ Carol Lipnik, with Matt Kanelos on piano, synths, and loops, have enjoyed an unprecedented three year run as artists in residence at Pangea. Their once-monthly Sunday séances are produced by Kevin Malony's TWEED TheaterWorks. In the new "Songs from a Stone Tower," Carol brings us a fresh batch of theatrical art songs written this summer in the foothills of the Adirondacks. Throughout these dreamlike landscapes run sly allusions to the perils and possibilities of contemporary life, encouraging us to mourn, be comforted and reach for another ecstatic moment of joy. "An ethereal vocal phenomenon!" The NY Times.
Carol Lipnik in "Songs from a Stone Tower" with Matt Kanelos -- Sat Jan 13, 9pm. Cover $20
https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3206329
6/ European cabaret star Sven Ratzke makes a special appearance at Pangea with a one-night-only performance of "From Amsterdam to Mars" a galaxy-hopping journey showcasing his eclectic musical repertoire. From Weimar-era cabaret to glam rock, to 60's diva ballads, to a handful of original songs, Ratke crosses musical genres and traverses historical eras with panache. The Stage in London calls him, "surreal, funny and musically sublime."
Sven Ratzke -- Sun Jan 14, at 9pm. Cover $20
https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3207214
7/ Zachary Clause takes you to The Baths to meet Bette Midler and Barry Manilow and all the others in "Zachary Clause Does Bette Midler at the Continental Baths, 1971." One of the funniest performance-satirists on the scene today, Clause is that rare bird who can pull off a FULL portrayal of those bigger-than-life queer icons. It's not just the look, it's the ability to riff in character.
Zachary Clause in "Zachary Clause Does Bette Midler at the Continental Baths, 1971" -- Mon Jan 15, at 7pm. Cover $20
Also Sat's Jan 27, and Feb 3, both at 7pm
https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3207171
8/ It's the performance The NY Times calls, "remarkable and howlingly funny!" Tammy Faye Starlite, the fearless and celebrated New York-based rock/cabaret/performance artist, reprises her acclaimed portrayal of Nico, the Warhol-era siren, muse and tragicomic figure.
Accompanied by Keith Hartel, Starlite eerily channels Nico -- chanteuse from the Velvet Underground - delving into her better-known and lesser-known songs, and portraying with dazzling accuracy and Tammy Faye in "Nico: An Evening of Light" (abridged), Tue Jan 16, 7pm. Cover $20
https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3201760
ALSO IN JANUARY
It's a second chance for "Never Say Never" Evangelia Kingsley and Chip Prince's shocker of a show, which Pangea is proud to bring back later in January, on the 20th in fact, marking the one-year anniversary of the ignominious ascent of our common nightmare, the swamp filler himself. Evangelia Kingsley in "Never Say Never" - Sat Jan 20, 7pm. Cover $20
https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3180568
Pangea - The Ultimate in Alt -- was recently called "a bohemian oasis not unlike the fabled Max's Kansas City from days gone by" by The NY Times. It has been programming music and performance since January 2015. For one week only it's Pangea's "Winter Alt-Fest" from January 10 to 16. There is a $20 food and drink minimum for all shows. To purchase tickets online visit www.pangeanyc.com , or for info call 212/995-0900. Pangea is located at 178 Second Avenue (between 11th & 12th Streets).
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