See Mark Nadler, Dame Edna, David Cale & More at Pangea in December

In the month of December Pangea vaults ever further into the outer reaches of the cabaret genre with a number of rarefied multi-disciplinary delights.  Some are holiday themed; some are not.  All are impeccably staged in our jewel-box Cabaret Room, and ALL, we are sure, cannot be see anywhere else.

The holiday headliners are Zachary Clause (Dec 1 and 8); Dame Edna (Dec 15); David Cale (Dec 17); Rachelle Garniez (Dec 28 and Jan 4), and Mark Nadler, who hosts New Year’s Eve (Dec 31, one show at 8pm). 

In a special encore of her new Marianne Faithfull show (on Dec 22), Tammy Faye Starlite donates all ticket proceeds to support Marianne Faithfull herself who is battling long COVID.

Tickets are now on sale at www.pangeanyc.com The East Village supper club -- a vital incubator for new work crossing boundaries between theatre, music and elsewhere -- is located at 178 Second Avenue (between 11th & 12th Streets).

HIGHLIGHTS

The haute camp provocateur, and frequent Time Out Critics Pick Zachary Clause (“Hey Girl” and “Zachary Clause Does Bette Midler at the Continental Baths, 1971”) hosts an effervescent holiday shindig, that has none of the formulaic cheesiness of the current crop of Hallmark and Netflix Holiday specials … In “Christmas After All,” which is co-written and directed by Reed Whitney, Zachary and company evoke an old-timey, Golden Age TV Christmas revue with a succession of surprise guests, spontaneous merriment, and flights of Downtown fancy… with music direction by Karl St. Lucy! Fri Dec 1 and 8, both at 7pm
Barry Humphries dopelganger Scott F. Mason is Dame Edna’s official understudy (since 2010, possums) and we are pleased to have all of them on our tiny stage for what is sure to be an uproariously roasty send-up of… everything!  Directed by Tanya Moberly, “ChristmaHanuKwanzaka” is truly a holiday show that leaves out no-one out… I said no one!  Fri Dec 15, 7pm

Any time we can luxuriate in the presence of the acclaimed writer-monologuist and songwriter David Cale we consider ourselves lucky and well-taken care of.  Tonight we gather by the hearth of his deep hearted imagination to hear a selection of his monologues, stories and songs about gay men in love…  this year’s Cale birthday show – a holiday tradition -- is called “Darling, You’re Blooming.”  For one night only on Sun Dec 17 at 7pm and brought to us by TWEED TheaterWorks.

Tammy Faye Starlite’s newest character-driven depiction of rock ‘n roll icon Marianne Faithfull, “She’s a Rainbow,” played one sold-out night in October and is coming back for one night to benefit Marianne Faithfull herself, who is coping with long COVID. In this new show Tammy reprises songs from previous Faithfull shows while adding several new ones.  (Elisabeth Vincentelli of The Times called the last Faithfull show “extraordinary.”) Here Tammy’s joined by bandmates Richard Feridun, Joe McGinty, Jared Michael Nickerson, and Barry Reynolds. All proceeds of this already sold-out one-nighter go to support Faithfull. Fri Dec 22, 7pm.

Our run-up to New Year’s features the boistereously funny singer-songwriter Rachelle Garniez, who is back from the dead for the seventh edition of her year-end countdown of the amazing musicians and personalities who left us in 2023. With bassist Derek Nievergelt and violinist Karen Waltuch at her side, the Bistro Award-winning multi-instrumentalist is beloved for these often trippy musical sceances, and for being part of the Tom Waits girl-band Vicki Kristina Barcelona. The Farewell Party ’23 Edition plays two nights -- Thurs Dec 28 and Jan 4, both at 7pm

Cabaret’s beloved enfant terrible Mark Nadler will swing from the chandeliers in a fun and exhuberent New Year’s Eve soirée.  A modern-day vaudevillian of the highest order, Nadler has recently been dubbed “the Wild Card” because he is in fact a card who’s wild.  His volcanic imagination and musical facility mix scholarship and sophisticated mayhem like there is no tomorrow… So what better time to bring him on than the last day of the year when there’s no more 2023! Sun Dec 31, 8pm.  And our NYE lounge entertainer is Jackson Scott who will holds court in the Front Lounge from 10pm to 1am