Troy Frisby - Page 4

Early on in her Cafe Carlyle debut this past month, Mandy Gonzalez remarked on how excited she was to be uptown, though, while the HAMILTON star was at the mic, it was anything but quiet.

Bubbly and charming as all hell, from the moment Rita Wilson took the stage at Cafe Carlyle, it was as if there was nowhere else she'd rather be.

A unique queen in the pantheon of RUPAUL'S DRAG RACE queens, in just a few years' time, Trixie Mattel has risen from promising also-ran to cult fave to full-blown drag superstar (with a number one folk album, to boot). Fans coming in expecting to hear tracks off of that album, TWO BIRDS, during Mattel's new show, NOW WITH MOVING PARTS, won't get them, but the show maintained the spirit of those songs. Beyond that, her bold performance at the Laurie Beechman Theatre on September 22 marked the rare show where the musical numbers were few and far between, and, yet, there was nothing lacking.

Over the course of the September 19 performance, Agron split her time between a whole host of male-fronted acts of the '70s, though, technically, many of the songs did hail from the decade prior.

Raja's debut one-woman show, RAJA: GAWDESS, was an exercise in charisma, in the best possible sense of the phrase.

From the minute BLAKE SINGS BARBRA: THE CONCERT began, Blake McIver truly tapped into-and never lost-the magic in Barbra Streisand's music.

Welcome to CAMP KWEEN, where Sutton Lee Seymour is devoted to teaching the mystical art of drag. At the Laurie Beechman Theatre on August 11, the drag queen's methods were a little unconventional-just look at the list of scheduled activities, which include 'throwing shade' and 'water sports'-and, at times, perhaps a little haphazard.

Creating and starring in a solo show in which the late Whitney Houston, an undeniable legend with a complicated legacy, 'comes down from heaven and is reincarnated' in your body is a swing for the fences. But Kevin Smith Kirkwood does just that in CLASSIC WHITNEY: ALIVE!, which mostly sets the darkness of the singer's later years aside to focus on Whitney's 'good times.'

Part coming-of-age story and part lighthearted Hollywood expose, one thing you can't say about Leslie Jordan's latest show is that the star is lacking in material.

'These songs are fucking great, even if you don't like me.' Seth Sikes was right, and humility aside, during SETH SIKES SINGS JUDY, LIZA, BARBRA, ETC. at Feinstein's/54 Below, he was pretty great, too.

What do you get when you cross Mad Libs with Clue, add a group of theatre vets, and sprinkle in a dash of philanthropy? Why, it must be VILLAIN: DEBLANKS! The comedy event, held at Feinstein's/54 Below, served as a benefit for the ACLU, with Billy Mitchell, who wrote the skeleton script for the show, serving as the night's emcee.

It's often been pointed out that love and hate aren't exactly polar opposites, considering each feeling originates from a place of passion. And now more than ever, we've come to a point where, everyday, living can feel like an extreme sport and everything seems to be superlative, for best or worst. In Migguel Anggelo's latest show, SO CLOSE: LOVE & HATE, at Joe's Pub on May 23, he distilled this moment in time and made something beautiful out of our less-than-certain reality.

Salty Brine's shows may be the closest thing you'll get to an M. Night Shyamalan-level twist in cabaret, though you could never accuse him of prizing shock value over story. Because, above all, Brine's shows in THE LIVING RECORD COLLECTION are conceptually taut, including his latest, WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE. Even when, to the audience, it may seem like he's about to drive over a cliff, he has an escape hatch at the ready.

From just about the moment Alexis Michelle walked into the workroom, the RUPAUL'S DRAG RACE contestant was clocked as a Broadway queen. While performing at Feinstein's/54 Below in IT TAKES A WOMAN with her rich, husky singing voice, that proved to be a well-earned title. But, as seen on TV, comedy seems to come a bit harder for Michelle. Well, don't blame it entirely on the edit, because that duality took center stage at the May 16 show, her solo debut at the venue.

A cyclone of camp with a true gift for one-liners and an even stronger voice, Courtney Act followed the yellow brick road past the crowd to hit the stage in THE GIRL FROM OZ. Despite several homages to THE WIZARD OF OZ, the May 4 show at the Laurie Beechman Theatre was centered on that other, no less magical Oz: Australia. In fact, the RUPAUL'S DRAG RACE alum's entire set list was comprised of songs famously written or sung by Aussies.

Justin Sayre is calling the final editions of THE MEETING* to order. For eight seasons, over seven-and-a-half years, he has led the International Order of Sodomites---the IOS for short---as the Chairman of the "centuries-old organization promoting the lives and legacies of the LGBTQIA community." The final two shows of the acclaimed comedy/variety show, set for Sunday, May 14 at 7:00 and 9:30 pm at Joe's Pub, have long sold out. Yet they'll be broadcast online via Joe's Pub Livestream, with Sayre also taking over the Joe's Pub Instagram account that same day. Before he flew over from Los Angeles for those final shows, we spoke with Justin over the phone about what THE MEETING* has meant to him over the years, why it's time to call it quits, and what's next.

"This is the first time I've ever seen Shaina Taub in anything other than in a play." This comment, made shortly before Taub (primarily known for her work in the theatre, including TWELFTH NIGHT, AS YOU LIKE IT, and OLD HATS) took the stage to perform original songs, distilled exactly what was so thrilling about the singer/songwriter's show at Joe's Pub on April 28, the latest installment in her year-long residency at the venue.

If showstoppers are the sugary-sweet dessert of any Broadway show, you might think eating nothing but cake would leave you sick to your stomach. But in the case of THE GREAT BROADWAY BELT SHOW! at Feinstein's/54 Below, you'd be wrong. At the April 25 show, dessert for dinner never looked so good.

Between the two of them, drag icons Sherry Vine and Joey Arias have more than 50 years of performing experience combined. Not only that, but their working relationship and enduring friendship began more than 20 years ago. Though they've toured with one another around the world over the years, it's been a few years since they've teamed up for a big show in New York, where they first met. Thankfully, the legendary divas will reunite onstage in the city for a new show at Feinstein's/54 Below, as part of Garth Schilling's (also known as Miss Vodka Stinger) drag-themed Thursday night series called LATE NIGHT DRAG. The run will also include Cacophony Daniels, Marti Gould Cummings, Varla Jean Merman, Ray DeForest, RUPAUL'S DRAG RACE star Alexis Michelle, and Miss Vodka Stinger herself with the Martha Rayes. Prior to Vine and Arias' show, the pair pressed pause on their first day of rehearsal to speak with us over the phone about their individual careers, more than two decades of collaboration, and reuniting onstage in the city that brought them together.

With a regal violet gown covered in jewels for days and a mile-high bouffant that would leave Priscilla Presley gagging, Latrice Royale ambled up to the stage of the Laurie Beechman Theatre. When her hair, teased to the gods, soon brushed against the ceiling, she said, with a cackle, "My hair's too high, and I'm not." But, as the title of the show says, LIFE GOES ON, and so did Royale.