Mae West: Empress, Meet the King

After assuming the ermine mantle of Russian ruler Catherine the Great in 1944, MAE WEST acquired a new nickname on Broadway — — The Empress of Sex.
• • It was wonderful to see so many news articles about this broad-minded broad, and her annual birthday festivities, printed before her birthday. And it was sensational to have so many reporters sitting in the press box on the 14th of August. What Mae herself would have found truly exceptional, however, was that a king was in the audience — — yes, the incomparable actor, singer, voice-over artist Elli the King of Broadway came up to see Mae. Here is his review for Nite Life Exchange.
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• • Mae West’s Birthday Tribute The Actor’s Temple • •
• • Elli writes: In the 1933 film "I’m No Angel," Mae West says, "When I’m good I’m very, very, good — — and when I’m bad, I’m better.” This past Saturday night [14 August 2010], Anne Marie Finnie, as Mae West, showed us just how very good she is at bringing Mae back to life.
• • The delightful evening at The Actor's Temple began with event organizer LindaAnn Loschiavo, author of the play, Courting Mae West: Sex, Censorship & Secrets, welcoming the audience and providing a brief history of the neighborhood. She then introduced Miss Sophie Tucker (played by Maggie Worsdale). Miss Tucker was a member of, and headlined an annual benefit for The Actor's Temple at a Broadway theatre every year.
• • After delighting the audience with some funny songs and jokes, we got to meet the bawdy, flamboyant, and way ahead of her time Mae West. Ms. Finnie captured not only the look, with her flamboyant gown and signature platinum blonde hair and makeup, but also embodied the voice, mannerisms and spirit of the great Miss West, who died in 1980 at the age of 87.
• • Ms. Tucker was excellent as the "straight man" to Ms. West, providing the setup for many of the great Mae West lines, and jokes from her illustrious career on stage, screen and in the nightclubs and speakeasies of New York. The audience was treated to a variety of songs, duets and stories which all ended way too soon.
• • Shimmy Contest & 10 Prizes • •
• • The party ended with a "Shimmy" contest (which thankfully I did not enter) and a raffle for 10 outstanding prizes such as a Parol designer shawl scarf with the words, "When I’m good I’m very, very, good – and when I’m bad, I’m better!" knitted into the 25x200cm scarf, and an A-MAE-ZING teddy bear dressed to the nines, as Mae herself always did.
• • Of course there was time allotted after the finale and the well-earned encore for people to pose for a keepsake photo with two of the original divas of the stage.
• • Sadly, this was a one-night-only celebration, but the ladies do perform together quite often.
• • For more information on future events, check out http://www.thegaudygirls.com and http://www.maewest.blogspot.com
• • For complete info about the reviewer, please go to http://www.thekingofbroadway.com — — and you can also click on the link below to see Elli's fab photos from August 14th.
— — Source: — —
• • Article: " Mae West’s Birthday Tribute The Actor’s Temple"
• • By: Elli – The King Of Broadway
• • Published in: Nite Life Exchange — — http://NiteLifeExchange.com/
• • Published on: Saturday, 21 August 2010
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• • The raffle is part of the tradition at the Annual Mae West Birthday Tribute. Since Mae herself was a generous woman, it's fitting that she continues to give gifts to her loyal fans. Three of the most sought-after prizes on August 14th were donated by the German company Parol. The three scarf/ shawl winners were: (a) Mario Fratti, the Tony Award winner of the musical "Nine," who lives in Manhattan; (b) Linda Amiel Burns, The Singing Experience, of Manhattan, and (c) Garrett Ferguson of Mastic, NY. Thank you to the new Shimmy Queen Ella Smith, all the attendees, our ten prize winners, our media guests, and to Parol and also the other very gracious prize sponsors.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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