A day-job plug

Every day I'm lucky enough to go to a sunny, plant-filled office, full of incredibly talented people who work in a field I know virtually nothing about-although I'm learning! One of them is Alex Feleppa, the Director of Horticulture here; Alex runs a terrific blog, answering people's questions about their own plants, gardens, etc. I don't own a single plant (why did they hire me?), but I find it theraputic just to read it and look at the pictures urging me to check out the magnolia trees while they're in bloom. And he can tell you how to save that dying rhodedendron you have shoved on the shelf above your radiator. Check it out: hsny.blogspot.com.

Just keep telling yourself: it's only a burlesque show...it's only a burlesque show...it's only a burlesque show....

This week writing a press release for Bump 'n' Grindhouse, (which takes the stage at Coney Island in less then a month!)and it was a lot of fun riffing on the language from old schlock 'n' shock drive-in movies (incidentally, Last House on the Left, where that famous "it's only a movie" tag line comes from, is not fun at all, in fact it's pretty grueling and the early '70's camp doesn't overcome the verite grotesque-also, fun fact, it's based on Bergman's Virgin Spring!) It's going to be a really fun night and we've got a really great lineup of performers, as well as a possible appearance by a special celebrity guest that I'm very, very excited about and really, really wish I could share with you all...but you might just have to come out to the seashore and see for yourself.

Meanwhile, deep into the planning for Exotic World Weekend, which is going to be an enormous event this year, the weekend of June 8-10; much more to come about that!

My alter ego is more popular then I am, and I've accepted that.

I'm happy to report that Neil O'Fortune will be the special guest of the The Night Cap (which I wrote about a few weeks back), next Wednesday night, 9:00 at Rose Live Music in Williamsburg. I'm thoroughly honored to be asked. Come out and join us! It's a lot of fun and there's drinking, also. Click the flier for a close up on the details!

New York City now officially slightly less classy.

Kitty Carlisle Hart has passed away at 96. Kitty of course a frequent panelist on the original TV What's My Line?, and I'll be raising a glass in her honor at our show tonight, for sure.

Tonight: What's My Line?

I'm still recovering from the triumph that was Delicious Burlesque! at Galapagos on Monday night; the debut production by Clams Casino and Cherry Bomb; they put together a fantastic lineup that blew the roof off the packed house. And last night was the annual benefit gala for my day job, which was also fun and exhausting...and very different. Two very different nights in a row.

But tonight, it's What's My Line? Live in NYC! We have a really fantastic show lined up for tonight, and I'm very excited to get onstage and do it. But I must express, the reason we've got a great lineup of contestants scheduled is because of the hardest-working lovely assistant in New York, Miss Precious Little. When two of my scheduled contestants bailed out on the show this week (Hey, things come up! A little more notice would be nice.), Precious hooked me up with two people within 24 hours who not only want to come do the show on short notice, but who, I'm not embarrassed to admit, are in fact more interesting contestants then the ones I had booked! This is just one more great example of how to make an independent production successful: ask passionate, conscientious, creative, quick-thinking people to get involved. When you need help the most, they kick in the most.

Along with making our show possible every month (even when she's not booking the contestants for me), Precious is an immensely talented burlesque performer that I must plug here-this Friday and Saturday she's in Pinchbottom Burlesque's "Pinch Brothers" show, performing a really great magic act with Albert Cadabra, and I'm also very excited that she'll be performing in our Bump 'n' Grindhouse show at Coney Island in May. Come check her out!

Tell my family I love them, and I regret nothing!

It's Friday the 13th, and I'm sitting in my office...on the 13th floor! I feel that anything could happen at any time.

We'll sell you the whole seat, but you'll only need the edge!

I'm not sure I could be more excited about an upcoming project; Clams, that darling of the sideshow Lady Aye and I have been having brunch meetings over the past few months, scheming over the plans for a burlesque show. A burlesque show dedicated to the campy, gorey b-movie horror flicks and thrillers of a past era, the love of the drive-in, the old-school ballyhoo of the double feature experience...after much deliberation, we dubbed it: Bump 'n' Grindhouse! Timely, ain't it?

We finally dove right in; we asked a group of performers, all known for being some of the sweetest, most adorable--and genius--on any stage in town, but who we knew, deep down (or not so deep) would be inspired to dive right into the schlock along with us!

We always felt like the perfect place for this show: Coney Island. And today, Bambi the Mermaid gave us the good news that Bump 'n' Grindhouse is in the lineup of Burlesque at the Beach this summer, for Friday May 25th, Memorial Day weekend! I'm so fucking psyched about this! To get to do this show, on Coney's stage, during the last summer before old-school Coney disappears forever....it means a lot. It's going to be a hell of a kick-off to an amazing summer-two weeks later we head to Vegas for the Miss Exotic World weekend!

So, there will be lot's more to come about this. But here's an idea of the mood we'll be setting, courtesy of Youtube.

But, but I have things to get done!

ESPN Classics has started a daily schedule of the greatest television show in history.

Spring swings into action, despite the fact that I see fucking snow outside my window.

A very exciting week is coming up for me personally, that I want to share with all of you, my loyal cadre of readers, because it all involves events that we can share with each other...assuming you live in/plan to visit New York City in two weeks...and want to pay to get in. Start planning ahead now!

On Monday April 16, my significant other the delectible Miss Clams Casino, is presenting her first burlesque production. Delicious Burlesque! is produced by the team of Clams and her partner-in-pasties Cherry Bomb; they've gotten together a killer lineup of performers, all connected by the fact that....wait for it...their names have food in them! I love that, seriously. And it really is killer; along with Clams and Cherry you've got the fantastic duo of Anita Cookie and Dirty Martini (and possibly some other players to be named later), and your host, Figgy-who's this town's newest drag queen sensation and who'll be making like a demented Martha Stewart at this show. It's onstage at Galapagos Art Space, as part of their weekly burlesque series; come show Clams some love for five bucks.

Then on Wednesday the 18th, it's What's My Line! You should come, I hear it's a fun show.

And, on Friday the 20th and Saturday the 21st, Pinchbottom Burlesque presents the Pinch Brothers in: the Bawdy House! I've written about Pinchbottom before of course (along with everybody else, including New York magazine, which picked them as the Best Burlesque in their 2007 Best of New York issue); this show is their tribute to the Marx Brothers, and promises to be outstanding as always. Because I'm always in the audience, Jonny and Nasty have frequently called on me when they need someone to say a line or two, and I freely admit I get a kick out of it-sooner or later they recruit everybody and everybody says yes. And this month, they're giving me more to do, as the burly foil (your beat cop/hotel manager type) of our heroes. I have no idea exactly what this will entail but it will be fun and slightly embarrassing, as always. As always, it will sell out-but check out their website, tickets should still be available!

And on Saturday the 21st we'll be running from Pinchbottom in Tribeca over to Bowery Poetry Club, where Clams will be making her debut appearance at BadAss! Burlesque, for a very special occasion, the birthday of the one and only World Famous *BOB*! The show's around midnight or so, and will be crazy.

So...see you there, maybe.

See, I told you, that's a fun week.

We're huge in Staten Island!

What's My Line is prominently featured in this article about game shows in bars, from yesterday's issue of the Staten Island Advance! So continues our borough-by-borough media domination! Read it quickly, because sadly they only archive articles online for 2 weeks.