11,878 stories by "Trav S.D."
Does this not sound charming? This  afternoon, and every Sunday through the end of October, environmental theatre with dolls at high tea! Stolen Chair Theatre Company is presenting …
Tonight at 7pm, my old buddy Adam Gertsacov will be performing his solo show Buffoon Anonymous: 12 Steps to Inanity in the New York Clown Theatre Festival. It is a fictional autobiographical…
Isaac Sidney Caesar (born this day in 1922) came along too late to be in vaudeville proper (hence his exclusion from the “Stars of Vaudeville” series). He got his start in Catski…
This piece has involved more than my usual (and preferred minimal) amount of research, but it has been rewarding and I (or someone) would do well to do still more and get it out there. Mostl…
Well, this is the fiorst I’ve heard of the Spleen Theatre (with a name that makes me wanna say “Bleccch!”) but I must say this new production of theirs is a stroke of geniu…
Tonight the Manhattan Mayhem takes on the Queens of Pain (of Queens. Of Pain. Of Queens. Of Pain….) at City College’s Nat Holman Gymnasium. Doors open 6pm, first whistle is at 8p…
Jennifer Miller’s Circus Amok launches its new show Moo today at 2pm with a performance at Coffee Park in Red Hook. The free outdoor show will tour city parks through September 23. For…
In this Issue: *Â Chain of Fools Pre-Launch Event * Freak Fiction at the FAB! Festival * Downtown Theatre Column for September * This Month on Travalanche * Coming Up in October! CHAIN OF …
The New York Clown Theatre Festival 2012 September 7 " 30, 2012 The NY Clown Theatre Festival is New York’s preeminent annual, international Clown Theatre festival since its incepti…
Tonight! Starring Wasabassco’s Performer Of the Month: Madame Rosebud, with Evelyn Vinyl, Go-Go Harder, Magdalena Fox, Marlo Marquise, Nasty Canasta, Special guests: Kristina Nekyia, L…
This is one in a series of posts on the hundreds of performers I have presented at the American Vaudeville Theatre . As imposing a physical presence as Bob Greenberg is, I heard hi…
The reason I have been frantic to get my new book Chain of Fools to market is that this month marks the Centennial of the first releases by Mack Sennett’s Keystone pictures. For …
Today is the birthday of Charles E. “Charlie” Evans (1856-1945). He got his start in the rough-and-tumble minstrel/ saloon variety scene of Lower Manhattan in the 1870s, playing …
Today is the birthday of the great songwriter and impresario Billy Rose (for my full article on him go here). Now here’s some very cool home movie footage of his contribution to the 19…
I’ve been kicking this around a bit….perhaps it can be added to. This a short list of horrible song lyrics that were by definition written to fulfill an assignment, namely the cr…
On Tuesday, September 4 at 7 p.m. The Barnum Museum will feature a fascinating program, Frauds, Myths and Mysteries presented by Central Connecticut State University Professor Kenneth Feder,…
I first encountered Mantan Moreland (born on this day in 1902) in the camp horror classic Spider Baby courtesy Mr. Pinnock. It wasn’t until much later that I learned about his history …
Well, the bad, bad men took away Jerry’s annual telethon, but the good nice people of Antenna TV have made things right by promising an all day  ”Jerry Lewis Labor Day Maratho…
“Don’t take any pictures of the burlesque dancers,” the Countess admonished last night as we settled in at our cafe table at the Triad last night to check out Gotham Burles…
One of my best buddies in high school Matt Cohen was the camera op for (and played the mayor in) in Assisted Fishing, a comedy that features banjo music, bird shit, babes in bikini…
A slice of New York busking magic. I caught this gentleman showboating with two trumpets in Washington Square Park last Friday: To find out more about the variety arts past and present, cons…
Today is the birthday of blues singer Edith Wilson (for more on her and her background in the black vaudeville circuits go here). Here she is laying down the “Rules and Regulations of …
Today is the birthday of Hollywood character actor Jack Norton (for more on him and his background in vaudeville go here). One of his most beloved turns is as the drunken film director in W.…
A multiplicity of uni’s! I caught a bunch of the grand unicycle parade on the Brooklyn Bridge yesterday (the opening leg of the NYC Unicycle Festival, now under way today and tomorrow …
