MIght as well jump

Even as my partners in Casino O'Fortune Cookie Productions prepare to hit the road today on their Spring tour with the Dangerous Curves Ahead: Burlesque on the Go-Go, here's our latest epic adventure scheduled for Joe's Pub on Saturday, May 14th!

You remember this, right?

Check it:

Don't miss it!

Finally, Michael Myers meets the Breakfast Club

Yeah, remember this?

Well, check it:

Yeah. John Hughes vs. John Carpenter Burlesque. At Joe's Pub on the 26th. Holy shit. I mean, yes, I know, it's my show. And I love all of our shows. But this one...yeah. Just get your tickets now, ok?

Grateful

It's hard to believe that the year is rapidly coming to a close. There have been plenty of ups and downs, but as we fly toward the New Year things have been hitting a lot of high notes. Up there, that's the cast of Material Girls: The Burlesque Tribute to Madonna, backstage at Joe's Pub before the sold-out show. And below is the cast of the All-Star Burlesque Birthday Bash, backstage in the brand-new dressing room before we brought it to the brand-new stage at the Red Palace (the venue formerly known as the Palace of Wonders) in DC for a packed, crazy audience that may have been the most enthusiastic we've ever had anywhere.

Then Casino O'Fortune Cookie launched our new series of shows at another new home, Crash Mansion on the Bowery, with another All-Star Burlesque Birthday Bash, this one doubling as a going-away party for our partner the beloved Anita Cookie as she heads to Los Angeles for a (hopefully!) brief winter sojourn.

I share these shots not just to make you envious of how I spend my time, but because this network of amazing, beautiful, talented, frequently naked performers make our shows as fantastic as they are, and in these dizzyingly busy weeks at the close of the year I've been surrounded by these friends and collaborators, and we all embrace and support each other, and I'm very lucky. Here's to a whole hell of a lot more of that in 2011.

Ok, that's enough heavy shit for now!

Speaking of The Frisky, the Burlesque movie, and our SOLD-OUT show this weekend...

Clams and Anita were invited to watch the flick and provide their commentary.

Update: Jezebel picked it up too.

Blonde Ambition

And there's more! Casino O'Fortune Cookie returns to Joe's Pub on November 27th! This might give you a hint:

Yes, that's right. The second-ever Casino O'Fortune Cookie Production was a Madonna tribute, and this time it's bigger and better, with an all-new cast and a whole lot more! Check it:

Tickets available now!

Tonight!

Summer weather persists, so might as well come out and join the girls for more late night cinematic fun!

Come out to play-eee-ay!!

There's so much more to being a successful independent producer than booking venues and casts, more than even having great concepts and themes, than writing a great press release and building a press list, even more than creating a great, fun, sexy, hilarious show. You have to build an audience, you can't take it for granted. And one of the reasons that Casino O'Fortune Cookie Productions keeps packing houses in NYC and beyond is because we're good at creatively expanding the parameters of how to reach an audience, how to build our brand and how to have fun doing it. Case in point, two fun nights out that you should join your hosts Anita Cookie and Clams Casino for this month! The Sunshine midnight movie gig is a recurring monthly thing now that keeps getting better and better (and of course, don't miss one of the all-time great NYC cult classics), and working with Satellite Lounge is a fun new venture (they have SIX pinball machines! It's like heaven). Oh, and there will be competitions at both to win pairs of free tickets to our next show at Joe's Pub, Man in Black Burlesque, of course!

All the way across the sky, so intense.

Another nice slideshow in the Village Voice, featuring official burlesque star of Poundsign, Clams Casino, from last Saturday's presentation of Pinchbottom Burlesque at P.S. 122. It captures her most of-the-moment performance ever, dedicated to this WEEK's hot meme.

Come get some.

I may be more excited about this show than any other that we've produced. I know that's bold statement. But on August 5th, Casino O'Fortune Cookie Productions makes its Coney Island USA debut, part of the historic 15th year of Burlesque at the Beach:

I cannot. frickin'. wait. Lot's more to come.

Hop in our Chrysler, it's as big as a whale.

Hey, you've heard of these guys, right?

Check it, the next Casino O'Fortune Cookie Production at Joe's Pub!

We're in one business: selling out venues.

This is me, shouting "die motherfucker" and shooting at Anita and Clams in the opening number of the sold out ROYALE WITH CHEESE: The Burlesque Tribute to Pulp Fiction at Joe's Pub on Saturday night--while Fisherman's trio plays Misirlou. Of course, I missed, and it's a fucking miracle and I want to acknowledge it!

The whole show was a fucking miracle; yup, sold out Joe's Pub, and a tremendous night with a fantastic cast. Some of Clint Hild's excellent shots of the whole show can be seen here on my Flickr page.

A January of Adventure (in which I mostly stay home.)

January is an epic beginning to the new year, when Clams Casino and her cohorts (including yours truly) are bringing NYC burlesque down the entire Eastern Seaboard! Clams and Anita Cookie are bringing Little Brooklyn and hooking up with Baltimore's acrobatic king and queen, Trixie Little and the Evil Hate Monkey, for the Party Show tour!

That epic journey through the sultry South culminates in the weekend-long Key West Burlesque Holiday Extravaganza! Clams is performing in the Saturday night all-star bash.

After that, she catches her breath back in NYC, and then Casino O'Fortune Entertainments heads to Washington DC for the return of the Battle of the Burlesque Stars!

2010: the excitement starts now.

A very busy December culminated in our triumphant burlesque tribute to the late, great Patrick Swayze last night at the Kraine Theater: Swayze For You!

There's a whole lot happening to kickstart the new year (including, I don't know, maybe more frequent blog posts. I hate resolutions.) But here's a taste of the next Casino O'Fortune Cookie production, coming in February!


Look familiar? How about this?

Shot by the fabulous Ted D'Ottavio. More to come...this is gonna be good.

December!

The upcoming shows by Casino O'Fortune Cookie Productions:

Sadly, I'm going to be out of town for that one (well, maybe "sadly" is the wrong word, since I'll be in Miami for the Basel art fair...), but you should definitely not miss it! And I will definitely be here for this one:


Be prepared to have...the time of your life!

Oh, and look who made Dirty Doll of the month!

Why, none other than Clams Casino!

We'll pull the trigger on your love gun

Well, Clams is on her way up north this weekend for the Toronto Burlesque Festival, and I'm not. But that means I have plenty of time to start getting you excited for our next show at Joe's Pub! KISS THIS: Burlesque Rock City. You can probably guess who this show is dedicated to. We're going to rock and roll all night...and party every day.

What, you've got plans?

In the midst of our many July shows, I'm happy to say that Clams Casino makes her debut at P.S. 122 tonight! As part of Pinchbottom Burlesque's first-ever five night run, of their fabulous show Pretencion. Here's a taste:

We're calling that an official endorsement, baby!

This afternoon, Clams Casino was told personally by one Mr. Elvis Costello that he was honored to be the subject of The Costello Show: A Burlesque Tribute to the Other Elvis. I don't think it gets any better than that.

Indoor fireworks

So, what's next? Why funny you should ask. We're back to Joe's Pub for the next Casino O'Fortune Cookie Production. Look at that card up there (shot by the fabulous Ted D'Ottavio). Don't you want to see that show? Look, here are the details.

Photos and design by the amazing Ted D'Ottavio

Many more details to come, but the best possible ending to a story about losing a venue for your show is to bring it, on the same date, to Joe's Pub at the Public Theater instead.