MetroStar Billie Roe and Tom Waits Take Us Back to 1978

By: Apr. 29, 2013
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Step lively! For four nights in May, Billie Roe, the 2012 MetroStar Talent Challenge winner, takes us back to a New York many of us remember with a mixture of fear and affection. The world premiere of "1978 NYC Underground," with direction by Lennie Watts, uses the music of Tom Waits to journey back to an urban twilight when artists and eccentrics of all stripes colluded to make art, news, and headlines. Music director Tracy Stark on piano leads a 5-person combo that includes Peter Calo on guitar, Saadi Zain on bass, David Silliman on drums and Roxy Coss on sax.

Roe began her singing career in this New York, playing such rock and cabaret rooms as Trax, Reno Sweeney's, The Grand Finale, and Les Mouches. She returns to the scene with a show that blends rock, jazz and blues and uses several Tom Waits "classics" to take her there. The world premiere of "1978 NYC Underground" plays Wednesday through Friday, May 15, 16 and 17, all at 7pm and Saturday May 18 at 9:30pm.

In 2012 Roe completed a stunning comeback after a nearly 30-year hiatus from performing. In addition to her MetroStar win, she nabbed a Bistro Award for outstanding theme show ("Dangerous Women -- Life in Film Noir"), and she earned a 2012 MAC nomination for Best Female Vocalist. An audience favorite throughout the MetroStar competition, Roe spoke candidly about her reasons for straying from and coming back to performing. With "1978 NYC Underground" she is by no means starting over. In this soulful, honest, and often funny show, the long and mysterious journey continues.

Opening for Roe will be her MetroStar co-finalists Tommy J. Dose (the first runner-up) and second runner-up Elisabeth Cernadas, who will perform short sets on alternating nights.

There is a $20 music charge and a two-drink minimum. For reservations call the Metropolitan Room, 34 West 22nd Street (between 5th & 6th Avenues), at 212/206-0440 or to order online visit www.metropolitanroom.com



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