Review: BARBARINO’S BIG NITE OUT at Lips Is a Throwback to Old NYC Nightlife

Barbarino’s Big Night Out Has Everything!

The monthly Barbarino’s Big Night Out at Lips NYC (lipsnyc.com) is a throwback to a wilder, crazier New York nightlife. The show, produced by producer and performer Scott Barbarino, is one of those old-school shows you might have heard happened “back in the day” that always induces retroactive “FOMO.” In these increasingly dystopian times, this show might be just what the doctor ordered.

Lips, on a quiet, mostly residential street in Midtown East, is, like the Tardis: much bigger on the inside. The décor is very red, the overstuffed stage bookended by garish red Harlequin figures. There’s even a red curtain. Most tables are meant for groups, but this writer and guest were seated up front at a two-top.

Though Lips is best known as a drag bar, the show is something like a Bizarro World Ed Sullivan show. As Bill Hader’s SNL character Stefon would say, “This show has everything.” The September 30, 2025 edition had acts from theater kids, a female burlesque dancer, singers of skill sets ranging from singing in the wrong key to fabulous, a comic reading new material off her phone and another who should be a household name, a vaudeville singer, a funny magic act, a perversely funny drag performer, and even a toothless elderly contortionist who would have fit in nicely in a Coney Island freak show in another time.

Pianist/singer Darnell White and bassist Martin Doykin supplied the accompaniment for most of the acts.

The 6’4” Barbarino made a big entrance, sporting a white beard and wearing a white tuxedo jacket. He started the show with his reconstituted doo-wop group, the Bev-Naps (Anna Anderson and Dylan Berkshire), for the song “Sea Cruise” (Huey “Piano” Smith) before bringing up the popular emcee and performer Josh Chachi. Berkshire and Anderson each performed solo numbers, with Anderson’s powerful voice raising the roof on “All Jacked Up” (Gretchen Wilson).

The debonair Chachi has a very “Vegas lounge” vibe and made for a fun host. His performing style is reminiscent of Will Ferrell’s impersonation of Robert Goulet on SNL.

Rising cabaret star Hannah Jane is a regular at these shows. She killed with “Good Life” by Sammy Rae & The Friends. Its repeating lyric, "I was in a taxi on the Cross Island Parkway,” made this a very “New York meta” piece. With a wireless mic, Hannah Jane worked the room, to great effect.

Liz Davis and Cameron Mitchell Bell, with "theater kids" energy, teamed up for the Eurythmics hit “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This),” with Bell, in shorts, dressed as if this were August in Fire Island. 

The show broke from the music for what used to be called the specialty acts. Cameras were banned for the stunning dancer billed as “April Tits” (Rachael Caron) when she came up for a stripper burlesque act that was something like a mashup of a non-singing Gypsy Rose Lee number with Jennifer Beals in Flashdance.

Comedian Maureen Langan did a very tight ten. Nearly every line was gold. Langan, who, like Tom Cotter, lost America’s Got Talent to a dog act, is hysterical, with impeccable timing. Why she isn’t a major headliner is a head scratcher.

Magic Brian is a funny entertainer who uses mentalism and magic, along with good timing. Initially making Chachi his foil, he then brought up several volunteers for a bit that might make the late Kreskin nod with approval.

Comic Michele Balan was an unbilled extra performer. She read some new material off her phone, some of which was funny. The audience, however, was quite responsive.

Contortionist Amazing Amy had heads spinning with her act. Who doesn’t love a double-jointed woman who can bend over backwards for you? Amy ended her bit by listing a host of crippling medical procedures and broken bones that she overcame thanks to yoga, which gives her a lithe, muscular appearance and the ability to do an impression of a pretzel.

George Winters did the old song and dance number, “Cincinnati,” accompanied by pianist Alex Barylski. Though not much of a singer and a bit pitchy, he was wonderfully entertaining. He hammed it up, he was fun, and the audience ate him up.

The impossibly tall Patrick Pevehouse has a rich baritone and knows how to deliver a comedic piece with physical comedy. His take on the political and sexually charged “Republicans” (William Finn) - “I had never met a Republican ‘til I went to college…” - brought the house down. It’s the kind of song Tom Lehrer might have written if he were channeling Dan Savage.

Diva LaMarr, in a red (of course) outfit with very high heels, is a dynamic performer with an excellent voice and presence. LaMarr utilized a red throne, and worked the audience on “When You’re Good to Mama” from Chicago. The act could have served as the high-point finale, but it instead was the tasty appetizer to the craziest, most-drag act in the show.

Drag performer Avant Garbage seemed to channel Lypsinka with a brilliant piece that had her lip sync Faye Dunaway’s most infamous and unintentionally funny Mommie Dearest lines, while stunt slapping random audience members in the face, perfectly timed to the slapping sound effects. Every person she slapped went along with the gag, which made this especially delightful and deliciously perverse.

Hannah Jane returned for a finale, unplugged acoustic guitar in hand, for the 4 Non Blondes song “What’s Up?” (which you might think is called “What’s Going On”).

Some acts were good, a few were excellent, and a few “so bad it was good.” All of it, however, made for a terrific night out.