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There was sufficient enthusiasm over a new musical featuring MAE WEST and Duke Ellington to lure trendy Harlemites haloed by extravagant hats down to Greenwich Village a few night ago, where they galivanted past the stage door entrance, gad-zooking red nails and filtered smokes aloft, austerity pinched away and outweighed by the demands of glamour. We approve of adults who not only attend the theatre but also take pains with their evening attire. A swelling crowd of supporters, impressive bling, bejeweled cigarette lighters — — along with eye-catching garments onstage and in the audience — — alas, do not a stage hit make.
• • Here's one assessment by Talking Broadway's drama critic Matthew Murray:
— — http://maewest.blogspot.com/2009/08/mae-west-dutch-ducked.html — —• • Though Mae West has a pivotal role in "Scandalous People," which is part of the NY Fringe, the reviewer from Backstage left holding his nose.
• • Utter Ineptitude Quoth the Critic • •
• • Sparing no sparks when it comes to flaming outlandish folly, critic Erik Haagensen wrote this: The only thing scandalous about the musical "Scandalous People" is that the utter ineptitude of its writing didn't prevent someone from wildly overproducing it in the Fringe Festival.
• • Erik Haagensen elaborated: Myra Churchill's book attempts to tell the story of Dewey, proprietor, and star of Harlem's Do Drop Inn nightclub in the 1920s, who longs to present an interracial musical revue at a time when racial mixing on nightclub stages was forbidden by law. Mae West, Duke Ellington, and the gangster Dutch Schultz all figure into it, but the plotting is ludicrously obvious, the characterizations one-dimensional, the scene construction ragged, and the dialogue trite, particularly when lapsing into rhymed couplets for no discernible reason. Churchill's lyrics are even worse, so badly misaccented and rhymed that at times they sound like gibberish. Composer Benny Russell is clearly acquainted with the sounds of the period, but he has no sense of how to structure a song nor much of a gift for melody.
• • Erik Haagensen added: The talented cast includes Eugene Fleming as Dewey, but only Nicole Hill as his wife and star manages to rise above the authors' incompetence, which ultimately trivializes the important issues they raise.
• • Between August 19th — 29th, this musical will be offered by MyChurch Productions as part of the New York International Fringe Festival at the Minetta Lane Theatre, 18 Minetta Lane, NYC 10011. Dress to impress. You might, at least, meet an attractive ticket-holder posing by the bar.
— — Source: — —
• • Review: "Scandalous People"
• • BY: Erik Haagensen | Theatre Critic
• • Published in: Backstage — — www.backstage.com
• • Published on: Monday, 24 August 2009
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • none • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWestNYC
Mae West.
Fifty-five years ago, a book was published that discussed many aspects of MAE WEST's career in variety. Here is a tiny selection from a fascinating book written from a first-person perspective by Joe Laurie, Jr., who had worked with Mae and composer-pianist Raymond Walker [born 1883]..
• • Joe Laurie, Jr. writes: When vaude fell apart, many of the piano players did very well writing hit songs, and others spread around cafes and night clubs.
• • Many, too many, have changed their piano for a harp!
• • Of all the old-time vaude accompanists, there are still two who are working at their trade and doing great. Raymond Walker (writer of "Good Night, Nurse" in 1912 and other songs), who played for Sophie Tucker, Mae West, and Marie Fenton when they first started, and who has played everything from the Chatham Club in New York's Chinatown to vaude and then to night clubs, now at the age of seventy is still accompanying the future greats in the plush cafes of Florida. . . .
— — Excerpt: — —
• • Vaudeville: From the Honky-tonks to the Palace
• • Chapter: ACCOMPANIED BY . . .
• • Author: Joe Laurie, Jr.
• • [NY: Henry Holt and Company, 1953]• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • 1912 • •
NYC
Mae West.
MAE WEST "The Baby Vamp" is a new hot spot in Granada, Spain. 
• • Located on Centro Comercial Neptuno, the club has two rooms besides their Mae West "The Baby Vamp" Coffee Theatre, where stand-up comics entertain in an American-style playhouse; bar-flies can bend an elbow in Molly Malone's Sport Tavern or tango over to the Bribon de la Havana, where folks can groove to "ritmos latinos" and enjoy the Cuban atmosphere.
• • The colorful web site (focused on Mae's reputation, biography, and witticisms) is engaging.
• • Come up and see them – – and it helps if you read Spanish – – www.MaeWestGranada.com
• • Traes una pistola en el bolsillo o solo estas feliz de verme?
• • http://maewest.blogspot.com/2007/05/mae-west-granada.html
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • logo for the Granada club • •
NYC
Mae West.
It was on 9 April 1974 that young Janet Damita Jo Jackson [born in Indiana on 16 May 1966] stepped onstage dressed as MAE WEST.
• • The little girl was making her public debut performance at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas with the better-known members of her singing family. The adorable, chubby-cheeked 8-year-old soon became an audience favorite with her imitations of Mae West, Cher, Marie Osmond, Toni Tennille, etc. And by 1976, the Jackson family's Las Vegas act caught the attention of CBS president Fred Silverman.
• • Next month you could own Janet Jackson's Mae West costume along with other pieces of pop culture history. On May 30-31, 2007, "The Fabulous Jacksons Auction" will be held at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. Hundred of items once owned by Janet, the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, and their family are being auctioned.
• • Memorabilia up for sale will include handwritten lyrics, a wireless mike used by the gloved one, and - - most importantly - - Janet's MAE WEST costume.
• • Guernsey's auction catalogue [http://www.guernseys.com] described it like this:
• • • • JANET JACKSON'S "MAE WEST" COSTUME • • • •The young (approximately 8-10 years old) Janet Jackson wore this tailored Mae West costume while performing with her family in a Las Vegas stage act. The bodice is fashioned in shades of a pink satin-like material and embellished with sequins and layers of tulle at the hemline. Complete with matching ornate hat. Excellent condition.
• • Hard Rock Hotel: 4475 Paradise Road, Las Vegas, Nevada 89109.
• • The auction catalogue is for sale. For a copy, phone Guernsey in NYC: 212-794-2280.• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xmlMae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • to come • •NYC
Mae West.
