Holiday Cabaret Fundraiser Will Raise Funds To Save Historic Theatre 80 In East Village

Actors, singers and dancers dedicated to saving the historic Theatre 80 in the East Village will perform in a Holiday Cabaret Fundraiser on Monday, December 19, 2022 at 9 p.m. at 80 St. Marks Place, NY, NY 10003. All proceeds go to the Save Theatre 80 Fund. Tickets are $20 at the door and $25 in advance via Venmo @SaveTheater80Showcase.

"Theatre 80 at St. Marks is a beloved artistic home to me and has been to hundreds of other performers throughout its incredible history of presenting live theater for the last six decades," said Zane Kent Michael, coproducer of the Holiday Cabaret Fundraiser with Moira Johnston. "My talented friends and I are excited to produce this show to help the owners raise the funds they need to continue making great art in this legendary East Village institution."

Holiday Cabaret attendees will be treated to a spectacular evening of song, dance and acting by 15 diverse performers. The troupe is busy rehearsing tap dancing, modern dance, original songs, American Songbook standards, showtunes, short scenes and much more.

This is the second fundraiser coproduced by the same team of Zane Kent Michael and Moira Johnston. The first smash-hit benefit show wowed a packed house on November 2 and raised enough for the struggling venue to stay open another month.

Zane Kent Michael has performed on stages in Los Angeles, Pittsburgh and New York. He portrayed Randy in the off-Broadway production of Gemini at the Lion Theatre on Theatre Row. He was cast as Action in The Chrysalis Stage Pittsburg production of West Side Story. Earlier roles include Lord Bigot in the American Theatre of Actors New York production of The Tragedy of King John, and Theban Herald in a New York American Thymele Theatre production of The Suppliant Women. He recently earned a BFA in Musical Theater from The New School and previously graduated from the American Music and Dramatic Academy (AMDA) Musical Theatre program.

Theatre 80 carries on a generational cultural function, which has helped to create the East Village from the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City. When Theatre 80 was first envisioned and built at 80 Saint Marks Place, the neighborhood of the Lower East Side was a blighted area and the term East Village had yet to be coined. Theatre 80 was among the first of the cultural institutions, which began the Lower East Side Arts Movement resulting in the neighborhood now being referred to as the East Village.

Beginning during Prohibition, the venue at 80 Saint Marks Place was a vital destination for performers of all kinds. Jazz greats such as Thelonious Monk, Harry "Sweets" Edison, John Coltrane and Frank Sinatra performed on stage before Theatre 80 was established in the former nightclub. The tradition of excellence continues at Theatre 80 where the careers of many famous performers were launched including Gary Burghoff, Bob Balaban and even an usher, Billy Crystal. During the 1970s and 80s as a film revival house, audiences were able to see vintage films on a movie screen in Theatre 80. It was also visited by a host of great names in theater, many of whom left their names, foot and hand prints in the cement of the sidewalk. A partial list includes Gloria Swanson, Joan Crawford, Myrna Loy, Ruby Keeler, Joan Blondell, Kitty Carlisle, Allan Jones, Winnie Shaw, Joan Rivers and Fifi D'Orsay.

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