11,936 stories by "Trav S.d."
Today is the birthday of Lillian Russell (full bio here). Here’s an extremely cool COLOR clip of her from 1913! She’s well past her prime but that hardly diminishes the other…
Today is the birthday of Connee Boswell, who, along with her sisters Martha (1905-58), and Helvetia (1909-88) made up one of the most innovative and popular vocal groups of the 1930s. The…
The Beat Rats (whom I rave about here) don’t go on til 11:30 (which means after midnight in rock and roll time), by which time I’ve normally been asleep for hours. Still, I may t…
Tonight at Coney Island USA… Coney Artland Productions presents A CONEY ISLAND OF THE BEHIND, an evening of poetry, storytelling, comedy, dance, burlesque, music and mayhem about Coney…
This is a cause of which I approve HIGHLY. Bibioball is an annual event that raises money for literacy for incarcerated teens. Books have straightened many a confused person out, and inspire…
Esther Crow as Johnny Guitar illustrates the hazard of rock and roll singing in this rehearsal of my show Beach Blanket Bluebeard, which we’re presenting at Coney Island USA on Decembe…
I endorse nor encourage nothing. I merely state that from 6pm tonight until some time tomorrow (or such time as they are busted), a bevy of renegade theatre folks promise to stage an Occupyi…
Bai Xi, the world famous acrobats of Cirque Shanghai open at the New Victory tonight. The run is through New Year’s. More info can be found here. And here’s a video teaser!
Get it? “Revives” Snow White? Because, she’s — oh, never mind. The Countess and I love the magical Company XIV. I profiled them here a couple of years ago, and review…
Today is the birthday of the much loved Ruth Draper (full bio here). The home movie below doesnt depict the art she’s best loved for (vocal characterizations) but does convey her playf…
Today is the birthday of Broadway star William Gaxton (full bio here). See him in action in this 1945 clip with Beatrice Kay: To find out more about the history of vaudeville, consult…
Today is the birthday of Harry Rose, the Broadway Jester (for a full bio go here). You can see his vaudeville hosting skills in this Fox Movietone, along with the notorious song “Frank…
Pauline Des Landes, a.k.a “Bonita” was born this day in 1886. A dancer from age 12, she began performing in Atlanta and St. Louis before coming to New York to play Koster & B…
I keep wanting to catch the Chinese Opera when it plays Pace University. We’ll probably miss this go-round too, but I share the info with you for your intercultural delectation:
A rehearsal fragment from our upcoming reading of Beach Blanket Bluebeard at Coney Island USA December 8. In this, Esther Crow as Johnny Guitar tells us how to “Shuck the Clam”.
To be my age and a nerd (there, I said it) is to have been a big fan of The Muppet Show during its initial run (1976-1981). Though he is seldom categorized this way, I think Jim Henson ou…
This is part of a little series of post-Thanksgiving mini-posts I'm doing about items you might want to consider as Holiday gifts. Frank Cullen is the author of the indispensable Vaudeville …
Alex Emanuel as Boy-O, rehearsing a snippet of one of the tunes from Beach Blanket Bluebeard (with Sarah Engelke in wig). We do hope you can attend and drink beers with us at the sideshow! G…
Thursday, December 8, please come see a reading of my show Beach Blanket Bluebeard at Coney Island USA! Johnny Guitar’s a way-out cat. A little TOO way-out: it’s pretty obvious h…
Alreet, shet yer yap! Maybe St. Andrew’s Day isn’t near as popular as St. Patrick’s, but somewhere under all this greasepaint there lies a card-carryin’, kilt-wearin&…
I’ll be writing about another version Victor Herbert’s 1903 operetta Babes in Toyland (yes, the Laurel and Hardy version) in a few weeks. Meantime, this version opens at the Bric…
The Three X Sisters were actually The Hamilton Sisters and Fordyce (i.e., Jessie Fordyce) who were later renamed to add glamor and mystery to their radio careers. Pearl Hamilton (1900-1978) …
Lee Morse (born Lena Corinne Taylor on this day in 1897) was a big time vaudeville singer and star of Broadway revues in the 1920s. She was the daughter of a preacher; her four older brother…
