The Stonewall Inn, located at 53 Christopher Street in the heart of New York City's Greenwich Village, is thrilled to celebrate New Year's Eve with an evening billed as "a night of mayhem and talent." Bistro, MAC, and Nightlife Award Winner Brandon Cutrell co-hosts with Uncut's MELISSA E. DRISCOL. Miss Fire Island Ariel Sinclair and Miss Stonewall CHOCOLATINA will also be featured. All will be joined by ROBBY STAMPER at the piano and DJ CT COOK. Doors will open at 9pm, the show will begin at 9:30, and at 11:55 we will cut to Times Square on the big screen to count down to the new year. The show will feature musical performances by Brandon Cutrell and Melissa E. Driscol, as well as variety acts by Ariel Sinclair and Chocolatina. The Stonewall insists "this is not your grandma's New Year's Eve party" and no one under 21 will be admitted. There are two ticket options available for this event at this historical and recently renovated venue. $100 includes open bar until 2am, a casual buffet, and the show. $35 includes a cash bar and the show. Tickets are available at www.SmartTix.com.
Brandon Cutrell is a Nightlife Award, Bistro Award and two-time MAC Award winner. New York credits: Broadway By The Year at Town Hall, The 2nd Annual Broadway Unplugged at Town Hall, Pippin (with Ben Vereen and Rosie O'Donnell), La Gioconda at TheatreSource, David Friedman's King Island Christmas, and Liz Swados' Waiting For Lefty. National: Theatre of the Stars, Goodspeed Musicals, the Human Race Theatre and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. For nearly two years, Brandon was the original host of the MAC Award nominated show, Mostly Sondheim. In December of 2005, Brandon made his debut in the world-famous Oak Room at The Algonquin Hotel. In June of 2006, Brandon made his solo debut at Feinstein's, New York's legendary nightclub on Park Avenue. Currently, Brandon can be seen every Friday night at The Laurie Beechman Theatre on 42nd Street as the host of The After Party, a weekly open-mic, musical theatre soiree. Brandon's self-titled cd is available on iTunes and www.BrandonCutrell.com.
MELISSA E. DRISCOL, a native of Lorain, Ohio, graduated from the University of Kentucky with a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance. Immediately after graduation, Melissa traveled to Germany to sing in the International Elspe Festival. Melissa has also sailed the high seas performing as a headliner in her own one-woman show Red Hot Mama. While residing in Los Angeles, Melissa was cast at Reprise! as Young Vanessa in Follies w/ Patty Duke and Donna Mckecknie, The Hollywood Bowl in The Music Man w/ Eric McCormack and Kristen Chenoweth, and My Fair Lady w/ John Lithgow and Roger Daltry. She spent two years entertaining active duty military and veterans as a member of the USO Liberty Belles. A staple in the West Village community, Melissa currently spends her nights entertaining in the world famous Duplex Piano Bar. Over the past 6 years she has written, produced and performed in three of her own shows: For a Good Time Call, 20 Years of Dating and her latest project Uncut.
The Stonewall Inn, the historic Christopher Street landmark of gay liberation, is the birthplace of the famous "Stonewall Riots". During the last weekend of June of 1969, police and Alcoholic Beverage Control Board agents entered a gay bar--The Stonewall Inn, on Christopher Street, in New York City. Allegedly there to look for violations of the alcohol control laws, they made homophobic comments and then, after checking identification, threw the patrons out of the bar, one by one. Instead of quietly leaving, as the patrons had done for years, hustlers, drag queens, students and other patrons held their ground and fought back. Someone uprooted a parking meter and used it to barricade the door. The agents and police were trapped inside and, thus, wrecked the place and called in reinforcements. NYPD vehicles raced to the scene with lights glaring and sirens blaring. The crowd grew. Someone set a fire. More people came. For three days, people protested. For the first time in American history, after innumerable years of oppression, the chant, Gay Power, rang out.
