The Zipper Factory Theater, which offers an eclectic lineup of theatrical events, music, cabaret, comedy, dance, variety and burlesque, proudly presents the following attractions in JULY:
JASON ST. LITTLE AS TITS FISHER WITH KITTEN'S KISS
A Cabaret Voltaire
Thursday, July 3 and Thursday, July 10 at 11 p.m.
Tickets: $20
Back to score another triumph at The Zipper—legendary troubadour Jason St. Little as TITS FISHER is back out on artistic parole and anyone is fair game to TITS. Part Vaudeville, part Dada, and all rock and roll, JASON ST. LITTLE as TITS FISHER with KITTEN'S KISS - A Cabaret Voltaire is a mad triptych through the mind of one of our most beloved show biz figures. Taking a cue from Tristan Tzara and the New York Dolls, TITS FISHER attempts to decipher the current state of our lost world with bravery, bon mots, and a healthy dose of synth and bass. Radical chic exists, and the party is over circa 1985. TITS FISHER is also extremely proud to welcome his special guests: that foxy Ric Ryder on July 3 and Hairspray's Susan Mosher, recording artist John Boswell as Johny Niagra and Pepper Cole from CASHINO on July 10.
BROADWAY FOR MUSIKIDS
All Proceeds benefit Musikids CT
Sunday, July 6 at 7 p.m.
Tickets: $20 in advance / $40 at the door
Featuring Kathy Brier ("One Life to Live", Hairspray), Julia Murney (Saved, Wicked), Kate Pazakis, The Broadway Boys and Andrea McArdle.
Hosted by: Colin Sheehan
Musical Direction: Brian Nash
An evening of music that celebrates Broadway and raises money for MusiKids CT, Inc., a non-profit arts organization founded by Colin Sheehan that supports the nurturing of musically gifted students (4th-12th grades) by providing musical instruments, private lessons, camps, etc. to disadvantaged and diversely talented children with special needs who reside in Branford, CT. MusiKids also focuses on bringing the performing arts to the community to further stimulate the minds and enrich the lives of local youth. Since it was established in 2002, MusiKids has provided 15 students with over $15,000 in scholarships for lessons. It also has awarded musical instruments and allowed over 100 students to perform in productions that featured professional talent and workshops throughout each school in Branford, Connecticut.
THE MAESTROSITIES: Caught In The Zipper!
Monday, July 7 at 8 p.m.
IN THE ZIPPER TAVERN
Tickets: $12 in advance / $15 at the door (no minimum)
Selected as a Village Voice "Voice Choice."
The Maestrosities are a fictional band who performs real concerts loaded with character driven comedy, hilarious dysfunction, excellent music and top-notch variety acts (imagine Spinal Tap meets The Muppets). The band is portrayed by six of New York City's top clown-comedians who collaborate as a well-oiled comic team to bring you an exciting and genre-bending evening. This month's Special Guests include Revolutionary Cabaret Comedienne Amy G (she turns around a lot!) and mind reader Torkova (reading your thoughts!). For more on The Maestrosities and for links to their guests please visit www.maestrosities.com/caught.
MUSÉE DES FEMMES:
Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque
Presented by The Desert Sin Dance Company
Tuesday, July 8 at 8 p.m.
Tickets: $20
The Desert Sin Dance Company returns to The Zipper with their acclaimed production of Musée des Femmes - Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque. An erotic and edgy fusion of dance and theater, Musée des Femmes (Museum of Women) is a sideshow-stylized psychological spectacle that retells the tales of some of the boldest and most intriguing women throughout time – both fictional and historical. The story line lends and emotional and human twist on fantastic characters such as legendary film starlet Mata Hari, the Hindu Goddess Kali, The Three Fates and Joan of Arc. Musée des Femmes had its World Premiere at Hollywood's historic Ivar Theater in 2004, where it was revived the following year.
LADY, LADY, LADY: Mid-Summer Madness
Starring Yana Chupenko, Angela DiCarlo & Lizzy Yoder
With John Gregorio
Directed by Kate Valentine
Wednesday, July 9 at 9 p.m.
Tickets: $25
The Ladies return to The Zipper having debuted their first show, All For You last November. Hearkening back to a time when a show was a show and a broad was a broad, LADY, LADY, LADY: Mid-Summer Madness is a high-octane homage to the female-fronted music-variety television specials of the 1960s. Three unique lady vocalists - Soviet refugee and punk metal goddess Yana Chupenko (PMS, Wench, Shiny Mama), Angela Di Carlo ("The Ang Show," Chaos & Candy) and Lizzy Yoder (Fischerspooner, "Losers Weepers") - are the Valkyries at the center of the storm, presenting a combination of original songs and old favorites, with comic transitions, glamorous costume changes and electrifying man dancers. Featuring comedian/singer John Gregorio (The Nuclear Family) and directed by Kate Valentine (The Va Va Voom Room). With other special guests all summer long, LADY, LADY, LADY: Mid-Summer Madness is an evening of explosive visual and vocal entertainment that will leave audiences shivering with delight all summer long.
Murray Hill's 8th Annual MISS LEZ PAGEANT
Saturday, July 12 at 10:30 p.m.
$15 advance / $20 at the door
MURRAY "Mr. Showbiz" HILL, is proud, damn proud, to present and host THE LEGENDARY 8TH ANNUAL MISS LEZ PAGEANT. THE MISS LEZ PAGEANT is a wildly provocative, insane, jaw-dropping alternative beauty pageant for queer womyn in NYC that takes the traditional, "straight" and out-dated beauty pageants and turns it upside down, inside-out, outside-in, by giving queer womyn the chance to interpret what beauty and a pageant means to them. The five contestants representing the different "scenes" in the community are MISS SNAPSHOT (Trina Rose), MISS I HEART BROOKLYN GIRLS (Cherry Bomb), MISS CHOICE CU*TS (Scout Durwood), MISS VICTORIA (Laryssa Husiak), and MISS WILDCARD (Sequinette). There will be guest performances, celebrity judges, go-go dancing, beer and DJ's to keep the party going post-pageant. Don't miss this on-the-edge, all-inclusive, unpredictable, anything goes lez extravaganza!
DANIEL ZAICHIK
Monday, July 14 at 10:30 p.m.
Ticket: $15
Singer/Songwriter Daniel Zaitchik (Saved) brings his poetic blend of rich, dreamy melodies to The Zipper Factory for ROCKETSHIP, a whimsical musical bash featuring his summer blonde back-ups, Carey Anderson, Whitney Bashor, Jody Flader and Emily Walton and special guest Maddy Wyatt. Daniel has been described as the prodigious love child of Tom Waits and Claude Debussy, and his music has garnered comparisons to Rufus Wainwright and Jeff Buckley.
STORY PIRATES - After Dark
Saturday, June 21 at 10:30 p.m.
Tickets: $15
Everything the Story Pirates perform is based on a story written by a New York City elementary school student - from the shame of chronic bedwetting to the tender love between the devil and some guy she met at Starbucks. With music, puppets, and a David Bowie-style tribute to a good Hebrew School education, the Story Pirates have blown the minds of 100,000 second graders. You're next.
THE INTER ARTS VARIETY SHOW
Hosted by Shelly Watson
Tuesday, July 22 at 10 p.m.
Tickets: $10
Shelly Watson, a producer/performer hailed as "Rambunctious, over the top and of considerable charm" by The New York Times premieres a new monthly cross cultural, multi media, all art encompassing variety show featuring artists of every ilk who collaboratively present new and unexpected artistic experiences. Video installations, fabric inspirations, string quartets, sound specialists, fire breathers, opera singers, hula hoop slingers, magicians, musicians, burlesque and ballet dancers, film makers, composers, contortionists, actors, sculptors and painters are just a few of the skill sets joining forces for the series. Unlike any other venue, the audience will have the chance to engage in a Q & A segment with each artist as well.
OUR LADY J
The Gospel of Our Lady J: A Summer Revival
With The Pink Champagne Orchestra and The Train To Kill Gospel Choir
And Special Guest Novice Theory
Wednesday, July 23 at 8 p.m.
Tickets: $25
Acclaimed singer-songwriter Our Lady J, once again backed by The Pink Champagne Orchestra and The Train To Kill Gospel Choir, returns to The Zipper Factory this summer for a series of monthly concerts that bring gospel music into the 21st century. Our Lady J has been performing regularly at The Zipper since last July, and she recently released her first EP, "Our Lady J: Live From The Zipper Factory" (recorded in October, '07), which includes Our Lady J favorites "Picture of a Man" and "Pink Prada Purse." She also recently recorded with Jake Shears and Scissor Sisters.
DEAN AND BRITTA
Thursday, July 24 at 10 p.m.
Tickets: $20
Dean Wareham & Britta Phillips are former members of Luna. Started by Wareham in 1992, Luna recorded seven studio albums and played their final shows in February 2005. The Best Of Luna was recently released by Rhino and Beggar's Banquet. Prior to Luna, Dean fronted Galaxie 500 from 1987 to 1991. Britta joined Luna in 1999 after playing in several bands: Belltower, Ultrababyfat, and Ben Lee. Britta was also the singing voice of 80s cartoon character, JEM, and starred in the movie Satisfaction, with Julia Roberts and Steve Cropper. In 2003, Dean and Britta released L'Avventura, an album of covers and duets produced by Tony Visconti (Bowie, T. Rex). This was followed by Sonic Souvenirs, an EP of remixes by Sonic Boom. D&B released their second album, Back Numbers, again with Visconti producing, in February 2007. They have also been active composing for film, notably scoring Noah Baumbach's The Squid & the Whale in 2004. Dean & Britta's touring band (aka the Back Numbers) currently includes Anthony LaMarca on drums and Matt Sumrow on keyboards.
HAPPY SUNSHINE KUNG FU FLOWER
Saturday, July 26 at 10:30 pm
Tickets: $20
With Lynn Andrews, Brooke Ishibashi, Matthew-Lee Erlbach, Stephen Reyes and Stephen Sheffer
Written by Matthew-Lee Erlbach
Directed by Darren Katz
Music Arranger/Supervisor: Ian Aster Wehrle
Contributing Writer/Creative Consultant: Heath Calvert
Production Manager: Kelli Jo Claxton
Happy Sunshine Kung Fu Flower is a multimedia sociopolitical satire that follows a group of outsourced Japanese Ninjas hired by China, as they infiltrate the American Psyche for the coming takeover by taking on roles in the Media, Pop Culture, and Politics.
AN EVENING WITH THE WET SPOTS
Starring Cass King and John Woods
Sunday, July 27 at 8 p.m.
Tickets: $20
Canadian bisexual, polyamorous husband-and-wife musical comedy duo The Wet Spots bring their critically acclaimed show to the Zipper Factory after a smashing run at the Sydney Opera House. Prepare for a lively affair, featuring songs, monologue, sing-a-longs and spankings. The Wet Spots' mixture of lyrical wit and lusty subject matter reclaims the original meaning of adult entertainment. The Sydney Morning Herald calls them "Burt Bacharach on Amyl Nitrate" and the Vancouver Sun suggests "To call the show burlesque would be too mild but the seamless harmonizing and sophisticated showmanship of this pair keep it from being merely raunchy". They first came to public attention when their YouTube video Do You Take It (In the Ass?) was downloaded more than three million times, and their live show has won critical acclaim across four continents. The duo has also been endorsed by progressive sex educators such as Susie Bright (Best American Erotica) who describes the Wet Spots as "Savage Love meets Schoolhouse Rock", and Dr. Carol Queen (Good Vibrations Guide to Sex) who says: "These guys are musically adept, hilarious and super-cute... They are a pair of the best sex educators currently working in the Americas."
Ian Herman: ALONE AT LAST
Proceeds benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS
Wednesday, July 30 at 8 p.m.
Tickets: $25
Join us as we celebrate the debut solo performance of the pianist/composer Ian Herman playing his exciting, humorous and moving original musical compositions. Ian has been musical director for many performers including Donna McKechnie, Judy Kaye, Tom Andersen, Carole Demas, Sharon McNight and Joy Behar. Ian's Broadway credits include Jelly's Last Jam, The Who's Tommy, Grease, and Laughing Room Only. Ian also wrote vocal and dance arrangements for the Broadway hit Swing.
BASH'd!
The Gay Rap Opera
2008 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding NY Theater
Created by and starring Chris Craddock and Nathan Cuckow
Music by Aaron Macri
Directed by Ron Jenkins
Mondays at 8 p.m., Thursdays at 8 p.m., Fridays at 7:30 & 10 p.m. and Saturdays at 8 p.m.
Tickets: $25 - $55
BASH'd! chronicles the tale of Jack and Dillon; two star-crossed lovers who must cope with the reality of hatred when one is brutally beaten. It is told entirely through rap, spoken word and poetry, turning the often-homophobic musical genre on its ear. Even though the topic is serious, the musical is high energy, irreverent, and provocative. BASH'd! is the winner of a 2008 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding NY Theater. It was named Outstanding Musical of the 2007 NY International Fringe Festival, and was Patron's Pick Award winner and Now Magazine's 'Pick of The Fringe' at the 2007 Toronto Fringe Festival. It also received the 2007 Sterling Award for Outstanding Independent Production.
FOR TICKETS TO ALL ZIPPER FACTORY EVENTS:
Call OvationTix at 212-352-3101 or buy online at www.thezipperfactory.com.
IN-PERSON: Box office opens one hour prior to curtain for all events.
Located on the site of a restored zipper factory in the heart of the garment district, The Zipper Factory houses a theater, a performance studio, a restaurant, three bars and two lounges, making it one of the city's most unique entertainment and dining complexes.
The Zipper Factory Tavern is directly accessible to/from the theater space. The tavern presents a simple, seasonal menu. The Zipper Factory Tavern is open Monday through Saturday from 5 pm – close (kitchen open until 10 p.m.). For reservations for the Zipper Factory Tavern, call (212) 695-4600.
