Richard Skipper Celebrates...Goldie Dver and so much More!

June 26, 2019

Richard Skipper Celebrates...Goldie Dver and so much More!

There is a logic of colors, and it is with this alone, and not with the logic of the brain, that the painter should conform.
-Paul Cezanne

June Is Bustin' Out All Over!
June 26 is the 177th day of the year . 188 days remain until the end of the year.

I feel radiant and glowing with happiness today. I]ve had a great month.
Most recently, Sunday night, I went to Asbury Park for a celebration of Judy Garland's famed Carnegie Hall concert. It was great to see friends both on stage and in the audience. The evening was hosted by Lorna Luft and featured Joan Ellison, Debbie Gravette, Karen Mason, and Gabrielle Stravelli: all at the top of their game.
They were all backed by a 41 piece orchestra. It was fun to see Jon Burr on bass, Ray Marchica on drums, and Don Rebic on piano.
A full weekend of music. This past weekend also was the fiftieth anniversary of Judy Garland's

passing. I was eight years old when she passed and I remember it like it was yesterday.
The decisions I made worked out for the best. The first was hiring Eugene Gwozdz to be our musical director. Also, asking Raina Sabella to open for us. And what a cast I assembled: Charles Karel, Nathan Robert Pecchia, Katie Dunn McGrath, Ann Kittredge, and Burke Moses (pictured below) !

Burke Moses

Let the good times roll!
I like to split my time between lively activities with others and more cerebral ones I can do alone.
Where does the time go? May was a great month, albeit a wet one!
Now, it's time to gear up for June and today's blog is a celebration of what is on the horizon...

My social calendar might be overwhelming with its demands today.
Boredom is the one thing you can’t abide by.

Today, I am celebrating the return of Goldie Dver to cabaret after an absence to deal with life. I saw her opening night show and I highly recommend this show. She takes us on a poignant but upbeat celebration of life.
She will be back at Don't Tell Mama tonight at 7PM.
She will also be there tonight, but she is sold out!
Music is the food of love.

What is the first show you remember singing in and your thoughts around that?
Ok - if we’re talking about the very first show?
I was 6 yrs old - and we used to spend summers in Atlantic City - back when AC was an innocent, family oriented vacation spot.

There was a weekly amateur show every

Goldie Dver

Wednesday night at Garden Pier, which was right next to the famous Steel Pier on the boardwalk.

Garden Pier had a beautiful band shell, similar to the one in Central Park and it had seating for 1000 people.
During the summer these talent nights were a big deal, and drew capacity crowds every week.
The shows were run by a professional musician, “Uncle Harry”, who played piano and directed - and the lovely and gracious “Aunt Lucy”, who was the MC.

The deal was - you auditioned on Wednesday afternoon and if they felt you were good enough - you were given a slot for that night’s show.
I had already imagined myself to be Judy Garland or Connie Francis, and felt it was high time for me

to be on stage!
So one Wednesday afternoon I decided to leave the beach and walk the four blocks along the boardwalk, by myself, to audition.
In those days I was actually allowed to walk on the boardwalk by myself, even at 6 yrs old - without the fear of being abducted, and without my mother being accused of child neglect.
It really was a different world back then!
I auditioned with the song “I’ll Follow The Boys”, which was a huge Connie Francis ballad at the time.
And Uncle Harry gave me the thumbs up!

But when I returned to the beach to tell the exciting news to my mother, she didn’t believe me! She thought I had been in the arcade playing pinball, which is where I usually was if I wasn’t on the beach.

No matter how much I kept saying we had to have dinner early so we could get to Garden Pier by 7:00, and that she had to help me choose which dress to wear, etc - she just didn’t think I had even had the nerve to go all by myself to audition.

Finally - just to stop what was becoming a full fledged melt done on my part - she got me dressed and took me to Garden Pier.
I’ll never forget the look on her face when she found out that I was, in fact, scheduled to sing that night!!
After the shock wore off she ran to the pay phone (it was a LONG time ago - lol) and called our apartment to tell everyone to come over immediately so they could see me sing.

How magical it felt that night to sing with a pro pianist, and hear my voice coming through the microphone as it washed over that sea of smiling faces. And the intoxication of getting my first applause - OMFG!

The performance bug bit me hard that night and has never lost its grip on my heart!

Seen any great documentaries I have to see?
I recently was captured by the documentary that was all about the year 1969 - it was the perfect combination of entertainment and information and was fascinating to watch.
Even though I was only 14 at the time, I remember that year very well.

It was one of the most important, socially pivotal years of our time.

1969 was the year of Woodstock, Man’s first walk on the Moon, Judy Garland’s death and the ensuing Stonewall riots, Chappaquiddick, Major race riots across the country — and that was all just in one summer!
The country seemed to be going through the same kind of growth and unrest as I was experiencing in my own life at the time.

You are coming back to entertain at Don’t Tell Mama. Is there a special reason why you chose this venue?
When I decided to come back home to cabaret I knew two things.

I wanted to do my show at DTM, which had always been like my cabaret home- and I wanted to call it “Back In Mama’s Arms”.
I love the feel of that back room at Mama’s - and I adore connecting with Sidney Myer again!
I love him (who doesn’t?)
He's always so helpful, and has made what can be a daunting experience as easy as possible.
He’s a true champion of artists.

I also feel that attitude and support extends through Tanya Moberly and the rest of the staff as well.

with director James Beaman

What has been the highlight of your day so far?
Waking up!
That’s always the highlight of my day! Everyday you wake up to bitch about something - it’s a good day!

Are you reading anything right now that you love?
These days I barely have the time to read my mail!
But I love reading, and miss it. Lately I’ve gotten into reading biographies (especially autobiographies).
There are a few that are on my immediate list -
- “Becoming” (Michelle Obama)
- “In Pieces” (Sally Field)
- “Whats So Funny - My Hilarious Life” (Tim Conway)
- Watching the series “VICTORIA” has reawakened my fascination with the British Monarchy.
So I’d like to read more about them, especially Queens Victoria and Elizabeth, and the whole Tudor line.
I have several of them sitting on my iPad, waiting patiently for me to get to them (the books - not the Tudor’s themselves - lol)
GOLDIE DVER: BACK IN MAMA’S ARMS 6/26/19
Click HERE to order tickets

HELP! Backpacks for The Street is doing a Pride outing for our LGBT youth and adults .
They could use help getting a few items from their Amazon Wish List. The most important items are at the top, as shown in the photos. The link is: http://tinyurl.com/bftsam

And Keep in Mind...

"Viola Davis, Chadwick Boseman Set for August Wilson Adaptation 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom'" by The Hollywood Reporter's Mia Galuppo - "Netflix is heading into production on a screen adaptation of August Wilson's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. Viola Davis ... will star in the feature, along with Chadwick Boseman. Emmy winner Glynn Turman, Tony and Olivier nominee Colman Domingo and Michael Potts round out the cast. " READ MORE

40 Days till Showtime! Reserve TODAY for best seats available! Richard Skipper at St. Luke's Theatre August 5th celebrating 40 years in New York August 5th One Night Only! Reserve TODAY for best seats available! Order tickets HERE.

Here are some of my OUT entertainer friends who are performing around town this week. Check them out.
Tym Moss

Michael T & Cathyland present
SUMMER SOUNDS OF ‘79: New Wave/Power Pop Explosion!
Wed, July 3rd
@Arlene's Grocery
95 Stanton St NYC
8pm doors $10 adv/$15 door
Join them for a rockin' 40th anniversary celebration of these iconic albums released in 1979!

MAE WEST wrote “The Drag” and was proud to put “seventeen fairies on stage.” Banned in her era,

the play has been making the rounds anew. This is Part 1 of 4 parts.
• • “The Drag” by Mae West in D.C. on Friday, 7 June 2019 • •
• • Sarah Hookey wrote: Celebrating Pride Month, Shakespeare Theatre Company will close out its 2018-2019 ReDiscovery Series on Monday, June 17, 2019 at 7:30 p.m. at Lansburgh Theatre with a free staged reading of Mae West's closet melodrama "The Drag" (1927). Read MORE

Barry Day (OBE/M.A. Vice President Coward Archive Trust/Literary Advisor Noel Coward Estate) has been involved with Noel Coward since he and his wife visited the icon’s Jamaican estate, Firefly, 38 years ago and found it a shambles. Appalled, he contacted legatee and former partner, Graham Payn. For some reason regularly sent funds had not been not utilized. Payn couldn’t bear to go back after his partner’s death. (Read MORE)

Bette Midler is set to appear at New York’s Pride Main Event this Saturday (June 29) at the Javits Center. In celebration of the 50th anniversary of Stonewall, she’ll perform a song accompanied by composer Marc Shaiman, of “Hairspray” and “Mary Poppins Returns” fame. Her stage time is set for 11 p.m. (Source: Variety)

Fred Aiese reprises his show, Ballads, Blues, and a Boy from Brooklyn on Sunday, July 15 at 7 PM at

Don’t Tell Mama, with insight, humor, and musicality. The show offers a wide variety of songs ranging from standards, rhythm and blues, jazz and gritty, down home blues, from the repertoires of Nat King Cole to Stevie Wonder. Interspersed in these songs are stories of growing up Catholic, Italian-American and gay with a backdrop of Brooklyn, with Aiese sharing different parts of himself. Ballads, Blues, and a Boy from Brooklyn offers an inventive, skillful singer combined with alternately funny and touching stories. Direction is by Lina Koutrakos and musical director is Rick Jensen. Read MORE

For Bette Midler, the early nineteen-eighties was a period of searching. Her début studio album, “The Divine Miss M,” from 1972, had catapulted her from cult

lounge singer to national star, and the record’s success had led to film projects, such as the starring role, as a reckless rock star, in “The Rose” (1979), which earned Midler an Oscar nomination and spawned a hit single. But her follow-up film, the comedy “Jinxed!” (1982), famously flopped. She wrote a memoir, “A View From a Broad,” which was published in 1980 and well received, but her show-biz career was at an impasse.
“I was waiting for something to happen, for something to come my way,” Midler told me recently by phone. One day, daydreaming at her home in Los Angeles, she came up with an idea for a children’s book: the origin story of a precocious baby, a tiny diva in the making, who combats self-doubt and learns to step into the limelight with the help of three heavily maquillage fairy godmothers. Midler shared the idea with her close friend Jerry Blatt, a composer and lyricist for “Sesame Street,” who had co-written Midler’s “Clams on the Half Shell Revue.” “In show-business parlance, he thought it had ‘legs,’ ” Midler told me. (Source: The New Yorker)

Betty Buckley is a Tony-winning Broadway, film and television star, but when she takes the cabaret stage, you’re undeniably in the hands of a master artist. Without fail, she knows when and where to let it ride, when to pull back or lean in. There are years of love poured into all of her song choices that come simply from a genuine admiration of music and storytelling. She truly connects with each and every moment, providing a rare gift of exquisite memories for her devoted fans. Click HERE to see her in concert

Four years ago today, the Supreme Court made same-sex marriage legal across the country. Pride

month is celebrated each year in June to recognize the progress of the LGBTQ community and what still needs to be done to achieve full equality. "CBS This Morning" spoke to prominent figures in the LGBTQ world, like "Pose" star Billy Porter and "Sex and the City" actor Mario Cantone, about what pride means to them. Click HERE for more

PAWS ON THE PIER🐾 is almost here! The weather looks to be sunny so a perfect morning to stroll the pier and enjoy the event! Online pre-registration strongly encouraged and assures quick check ✔️in for goodie bag https://www.piermontdogpark.com/paws-on-the-pier
🐾 There are no refunds, but if you register and don't attend, proceeds will be donated towards Hi Tor’s animals!🐾

Now, go and do something nice for someone

without expecting anything in return! Treat Them to see Adam Shapiro as Tevye in The Yiddish Fiddler on The Roof at Stage 42, 422 West 42nd Street on July 6 and 7
Order Tix HERE

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Thank you all! Here's To a Great End of June! Happy Pride!

A Few Audience Testimonials about Richard Skipper Celebrates

Richard Skipper is the host with the most: personality, hospitality, responsibility, congeniality... to

name a few. I have had the pleasure to share the stage with Richard in 'Showtune' and his recent production of 'Richard Skipper Celebrates May Flowers' and on both occasions, I had so much fun! I also know Richard personally as a sensitive and caring soul and our conversations have always been interesting, lively and left me wanting more time to talk. I highly recommend him for a variety of positions; publicist, talk show host, mentor/teacher... also to name a few!!!
JUDI MARK,NEW YORK, NY

I had the amazing privilege of musical-directing and playing piano for "LOVE, AQUARIAN STYLE" yesterday at the Laurie Beechman. Impressive cast of singers and instrumentalists, all Aquarians (with a Virgo rising!) starring/emcee'd by the positively charismatic Richard Skipper.

We all "painted the town red" this day!!!
Christine Talbott Sutin,Kew Gardens, NY

Richard Skipper's Facebook Live interview program from the YORK Theatre Oscar Hammerstein Awards Gala honoring Susan Stroman was great fun and Richard was, as always, a charming and skillful pro. I couldn’t help but think what a much needed service (and interesting and fun) it is for events like that one, smaller than the Tony Awards but important to many! And the Tony Awards and anyone else would be lucky to have Richard, too!
Betsyann Faiella, http://www.savoypr.com

With grateful XOXOXs,