Night of a Thousand Judys Press Kit

NYC CULTURE – JUNE 13, 2013
The Jazz Scene
Night of a Thousand Judys
Merkin Concert Hall (Kaufman Music Center)
Hello Yellow Brick Road! A year ago, the Night of a Thousand Judys concert (to benefit the Ali Forney Center)
was among the most rambunctious, uproarious, unpredictable all-star concerts of 2012. This year, for the third
annual edition, the love for La Garland is even more palpable and the lineup more celestial. Stars are drawn
from the worlds of pop music (Madeleine Peyroux), Broadway (Christiane Noll, Carolee Carmello and Nancy
Anderson) and cabaret (Maude Maggart, Molly Pope), and features a pair of exceptionally entertaining genre
benders in Justin Vivian Bond and Lea DeLaria. Last year, the centerpiece was “Toto’s Tale,” by host Justin
Sayre, a wickedly affectionate parody of “The Wizard of Oz” that would be worth spending a night in the
Emerald City dungeon to see again.
‘Night of a Thousand Judys’
Host Justin Sayre on the Legacy
of Gay Icon Judy Garland
By Tyler Coates, June 11, 2013
It’s National Gay Pride month, which is why you may be noticing a few more rainbows and equal signs than usual. But celebrating
gay culture is a year-round gig for Justin Sayre, who as host of The Meeting* of the International Order of Sodomites dedicates a
monthly variety show to the propagation of non-heterosexual contributions. Having just wrapped up the fourth season in the
cabaret space at the West Village bar The Duplex, Sayre is set to host his annual celebration of perhaps the most widely loved gay
icon: Judy Garland. Night of a Thousand Judys brings together a variety of performers, singers, musicians, and actors to pay
tribute to the venerable performer in a show that benefits the Ali Forney Center, a non-profit organization that supports the needs
of homeless LGBT youth in New York City. This year’s show, which takes place June 17 at the Merkin Concert Hall at
the Kaufman Center, includes Justin Vivian Bond, Carolee Carmello, Martha Wash, Molly Pope, Rachel Shukert,
and Madeleine Peyroux, among others. I spoke with Sayre last week to learn about the inception of both The Meeting* and
Night of a Thousand Judys, as well Garland’s enduring legacy and impact on the LGBT community.
Flavorwire: Night of a Thousand Judys is an extension of The Meeting*. Can you explain a little about what The
Meeting is and how you started the series?
Justin Sayre: The Meeting started about four years ago now, and it was in response to some talk about “gay culture.” I came up
with the idea of a secret gay society that would meet and celebrate gay icons. It was also really about celebrating people rather
than imitating them or anything like that. At the end of every season we wanted to do a charitable event. I always wanted to work
with the Ali Forney Center; it’s something I’m very passionate about — how we take care of our kids. We came up with the idea of
doing a show entirely around the music of Judy Garland and the allure around her. It was a big success and the Ali Forney people
were really behind us, so we went to Playwrights Horizons the year after that. And this year we’re at the Kaufman Center.
Judy Garland is such a major gay icon. What about her has the community latched onto and found in her?
There’s the tragic element and the camp element, as well as [an appreciation for] the larger-than-life, depressed female figure in
gay culture, sure. But she’s a once-in-a-lifetime performer. There’s never been anyone else like her. She was so unique. But unlike
so many other performers, she was able to really touch an audience and even people who just listened to her records. She really
sang to people as if they were the only people alive in the world. I’ve heard this from people who saw her live — I didn’t
experience it myself, but I have with her recordings. She has this sense of magic that makes you feel like the only two people in
the world, and that the only person who really understands you is this woman singing this particular song. There are other
performers who have done that, certainly, but there’s a certain reverence with Judy. She was like a comet that came and went.
People get choked up about her — I get choked up about her.
Let’s talk about the performers who have done the show and are doing it this year. Were they mostly peers and
colleagues at first? How did you pick the roster of performers who you wanted to be involved?
We always compile a list throughout the year of people we love in New York and would love to work with. We’ve been very lucky;
the first few years we always incorporated our friends; that’s something we’ve stayed really true to. It’s always a mix of uptown
and downtown performers. We’ve always tried to have a wide array of performers rather than a Broadway roster. We really cast
the net wide. New York is such a varied place where so many people are doing interesting things, and we wanted to make sure the
whole scene gets represented for a night.
What about the Ali Forney Center is so important to you? Why did you choose this organization as the
beneficiary of the event?
I think the work they do is visible on the ground. I think marriage and bills and laws are important, but I think how we take care
of our young people is a huge part of not only gay rights and equality but also how we survive and how we keep the culture going.
That was really important to me right off the bat: I wanted to work with a charity that was making a difference day-to-day in
people’s lives. There are a lot of gay organizations and causes, but being a persnickety old liberal, I’m not sure I’m on-board with
everything. I wanted something that I was totally on board with. Forty percent of all homeless kids in New York are [in the LGBT
community], and the Ali Forney Center doesn’t just place these kids in homes — they also help them get an education.
Is that the impetus behind celebrating Judy Garland at an event that will benefit a younger audience? I wonder
if Judy Garland’s legacy will continue to be relevant to future generations.
There’s a big debate over whether she is relevant or not. I feel she’s more relevant now than she was before. People have a lot
more access to old films; the Internet puts everything out there, and it’s not unforeseen that kids will go watch Judy Garland
movies and still get excited for them. Will she still be a gay icon? I think so! Right now, gay culture is at a weird point. We’re
becoming mainstream in a real way, and that’s changing the face of what makes up gay culture. There’s the weird thing about
exploitation — we seem drawn to things like Real Housewives, and I’m not sure why. It’s not Bette Midler; it’s a bunch of women
with a lot of money in New Jersey. I’m hoping there’ll still be a lot of torch-bearers like myself and people I know who will keep
responding to her in that way. That’s what’s important about the show we do; it’s not about doing the song like Judy did it, but
putting your own spin on it and letting your own voice be heard as a tribute to her.
Broadway’s Best Create Judy GarlandInspired Artwork
June 17, 2013 ● by Matt Crowley
Queer icon Judy Garland is being dutifully celebrated tonight at Night of a Thousand Judys,
featuring artwork and music from top Broadway names inspired by the Wizard of Oz star.
(Seems like a dream that we dared to dream really did come true.)
Hosted by Justin Sayre, the star-studded event includes art contributed by Charles Busch
and Tommy Tune, as well as performances by Tituss Burgess, Glee’s Telly Leung, Nathan
Lee Graham, and Tony nominees Carolee Carmello and Justin Vivian Bond. If you’re in New
York. make it your business to get to the Kaufman Music Center for the show. If you’re not,
check out some artwork below.
by Tommy Tune
by Robert W. Richards
by Ryan Martin
by Grant Shaffer
by Charles Busch
by Felix D’Eon
Judy Garland’s Legacy Honored
With ‘Night Of A Thousand Judys’ In NYC
by Curtis M. Wong - June 10, 2013
In what is becoming a New York tradition, the legacy of Judy Garland will be celebrated with an evening of eclectic
performances honoring lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth.
Now in its third year, “Night of a Thousand Judys” will feature Broadway’s Carolee Carmello and Christiane Noll along with
Manhattan cabaret stars Justin Vivian Bond and Molly Pope. Also making their “Judys” debut at the June 17 event are “Glee”
Warbler Telly Leung, original Weather Girl Martha Wash and singer Madeleine Peyroux.
Acknowledging that the evening’s set will comprise both classic tunes and lesser-known material from the Garland songbook,
the participating artists were nonetheless tight-lipped about the specifics of their performances; last year’s show featured
nods to Garland’s seminal 1961 Carnegie Hall concert as well as her starring roles in “Meet Me In St. Louis” and, of course,
“The Wizard of Oz.” Still, they nonetheless praised Garland as being more than just a stage and screen icon with the
troublesome private life.
“She wasn’t the kind of performer who teared up or was over-the-top about her emotional demonstration, but there was
something so heartbreaking about her performances when she was singing about love and relationships,” Carmello says. The
Tony nominee believes Garland’s much-publicized, behind-the-scenes turmoil only adds to the enduring myth: “Performers
who have their own personal struggles outside of their stage persona are appealing to people who are struggling themselves
because they see in that person a way to rise above. They feel a personal empathy from that performer.”
Added Leung: “Like many artists, Judy sought refuge from her personal life through the performing arts ... the best
performances are an escape, so I think everyone can relate to that.”
As in previous years, “Night of A Thousand Judys” -- which is a special presentation of New York-based actor, writer and
performer Justin Sayre’s variety show “The Meeting*” and timed to coincide with Pride month -- will benefit the Ali Forney
Center, a New York advocacy group dedicated to homeless LGBT youth. New to the event this year is an auction of artwork
based on Garland, which includes pieces donated by Charles Busch and Tommy Tune.
Sayre says his passion for Garland herself, who he deems the ultimate “comeback kid,” is matched only by his dedication to
the cause at hand, which is more relevant than ever following what appears to be a spate of disturbing attacks targeting the
city’s LGBT community.
“I really hope it’s a great Pride event to show how proud we are of everything the Ali Forney Center does,” Sayre says. Though
he points to the show’s emphasis on “honoring who Judy was and what she represents,” he adds, “Homeless LGBT kids can
be such a target for violence ... we’re all under attack right now and we really have to watch out for our kids, because our kids
are really the most vulnerable.”
Justin Sayre’s lively concert honors Judy Garland and benefits The Ali Forney Center
BY DOUG STRASSLER ON JUNE 18, 2013
On Monday night, some of New York’s best and brightest stars stepped out to honor one of their greatest heroes – Judy Garland.
The third annual “Night of a Thousand Judys,” taking place at the Merkin Concert Hall at the Upper West Side’s Kaufman Center,
is a Pride concert dedicated to the erstwhile Dorothy Gayle. Written and hosted by Justin Sayre, (with Lance Horne serving as
musical director), “Judys” features a wide array of performers from the New York stage, including Nancy Anderson, Justin Vivian
Bond, Carolee Carmello, Jaime Cepero, Lea DeLaria, Danielle Grabianowski, Telly Leung, Karen Mason, Scott Matthew,
Christiane Noll, Madeleine Peyroux, Molly Pope, and Martha Wash.
“Judys” is a special presentation of Sayre’s monthly cult variety show, “The Meeting,” paying tribute to the legend and gay icon
through a series of songs and sketches. “Every month at our regular show, we celebrate the life of a gay icon,” Sayre explained.
“But the goal of the show has always been creating community. From the very beginning, we sought out to end our season with a
large benefit for an organization doing good work for the LGBT community. When trying to figure out a way to celebrate Garland,
the ideas just kept coming. I thought this isn’t just one show, it’s a series. It’s an annual show! In that way we combined our benefit
with a way to celebrate perhaps the greatest gay icon of them all.”
And so in order to “celebrate the best gay icon with the best talent in New York,” Sayre amassed performers from all over the New
York theatre map. “Every year, we are continually blown away by the response of the New York performing community. And I’ll
tell you, something happens when you tell people it’s a Judy tribute,” he added. “Judy has a place in the hearts of so many
performers, from so many arenas, that a chance to pay tribute to this legend is a chance many jump at.”
“I have always been amazed by Judy Garland’s incredible vulnerability,” said Carmello, who just enjoyed her third career Drama
Desk and Tony nominations for Scandalous. “She had the ability to deliver sadness underneath joy, and the brilliance to layer
longing and pain with charm and smiles.”
Adding to the appeal of “Judys,” however, is a serious cause. The concert benefits The Ali Forney Center, the nation’s largest and
most comprehensive organization dedicated to homeless LGBT youth. “It goes back to community again,” Sayre explained. “The
Ali Forney Center does the work of caring for the most vulnerable of our community, our children. Brave kids, who came out, and
for that act of integrity, to live their lives fully and truthfully, are punished by their natural parents. The Ali Forney Center assists
these amazing kids find a place to live but also helps them rebuild their lives with education and careers.”
Community is a notion that runs deep for the “Judys” emcee. “When I moved to New York, I saw a community still dealing with
the devastation of AIDS. I felt like I had to discover gay culture alone. I loved so much of what I learned and saw and I wanted to
share that. I wanted an arena to talk about and celebrate what makes gay culture but also the politics, the love, the life, and
everything in between that makes up our gay experience. I wanted to revel in our difference but also bond in our similarity. It’s
become my own little version of the Carol Burnett show with a little Bill Maher thrown in.”
Sayre also theorized about why Garland’s legacy continues to resonate so strongly. “As a performer, Judy’s always represented the
depth of commitment to an audience. Yes, her voice is iconic and thrilling and beautiful and a thousand other beautiful words and
sensations, but beyond all that, she was able to make everyone in every audience she ever sang for feel a connection to her, to feel
as though the song she sang was made just for them. That’s unforgettable. It burns itself into your heart.”
Anderson, who can also be seen in Far From Heaven at Playwrights Horizons echoed that sentiment: “When I was five years old I
distinctly remember sitting six inches from the TV screen watching Judy sing “Over the Rainbow” in the yearly broadcast of The
Wizard of Oz and carefully identifying why I liked each and every nuance of her performance. She awakened in me a life-long
obsession with song delivery at an impossibly young age.”
“To be touched in that way, by a stranger, by a performer, is magic,” Sayre said. “There really isn’t any other word for it. I know it’s
magic for me. And I hear that echoed in the voices of so many performers and audience members who get just as excited about
Judy Garland as I do, all the while raising money for an organization that is doing the best work in caring for LGBT youth. It’s a
perfect fit and for a friend of Dorothy like me, it’s a dream come true.”
Justin Sayre on ‘Night of A Thousand Judys’ and singing for a good cause
by Claire Hannum, June 4, 2013
Night of A Thousand Judys, set for June 17 at New York’s Kaufman Center, is a one-of-a-kind event. The annual benefit concert
for the Ali Forney Center brings together some of Broadway’s best for a night celebrating the life of Judy Garland. The Ali Forney
Center assists New York’s homeless LGBT youth by providing a safe place to sleep, career planning assistance, medical checkups and other necessities for some of the city’s most vulnerable citizens. Each year, this great cause brings the theatre community
together as The Meeting* presents this special star-studded performance of Judy Garland’s work. Justin Sayre, the writer and host
of the evening, let Stage Door Dish in on the process behind putting the show together, the organization he is so passionate about
and who will be bringing all of those Judy songs to life.
SDD: I’d love to talk to you a bit about Night of A Thousand Judys. How did it all begin?
JS: Well, almost four years ago, I started my show called The Meeting*, and when I was first talking to producers and friends
about how to do this show, we wanted to celebrate gay icons every month. And at the end of the series, we always wanted to do a
benefit for the Ali Forney Center, who houses LGBT youth in the city. I really love the work that they do and I just wanted to get
involved in this way. So the first year we just did a regular benefit, and it went really well. But the year after, I really wanted to kind
of focus the show around an icon. Judy Garland was born and died in the month of June, which is Gay Pride Month here in New
York. You know, she’s really the biggest gay icon there probably ever was. So we thought that we would do an evening of just her
songs, and the first year was a fantastic success, and we’ve just been snowballing since then. Last year, we sold out Playwrights
Horizons, this year we’re up at the Kaufman Center with an amazing group of performers – Martha Wash, and Madeleine
Peyroux, Justin Vivian Bond, Carolee Carmello. So many great, amazing people. And it just keeps getting bigger and better. So
I’m really excited about the trajectory we’re on with this show, and also the fact that every year we come back to help the Ali
Forney Center, which is something I’m really passionate about.
SDD: When did you first discover their cause ?
JS: I had always kind of been interested in urban politics, especially as a gay person here in New York. I found out about the Ali
Forney center because I was interested in how to take care of our young people. The message of the Forney Center and the real
on-the-ground work that they do, which is not just getting people into homes but assisting them with getting education and getting
jobs and getting placed and you know, it’s tremendous. I always wanted to be part of that in any way I could. So it’s been several
years where I’ve been really been batting for them as much as I can. When we went to them the first year they were so ecstatic to
have us, and now we’ve formed a really solid bond with them, and three years in we’re doing a much bigger show and we hope to
get bigger next year. So it’s a bond that I hope really lasts for a long time.
SDD: You’ve written it and you are hosting, right?
JS: I write and host– you know, every month of The Meeting*, so it’s really kind of an extension of that. So, I work with my two
great producers, Adam Rosen and Dan Fortune, and we reached out to talent and got great responses. But I write the skits, I write
my opening monologue, I help people pick songs, I work with our great music director Lance Horne. I really try to be involved as
much as possible because it’s something I really care about, and because it’s an extension of the show I write every month, I
really want have my stamp on this as well.
SDD: Where do you draw inspiration when you’re writing?
JS: I think it’s different case by case to be totally honest. Sometimes for the regular editions of The Meeting*, I take something
from the headlines or something that’s kind of hitting me that week or something based on the icon. For Night of A Thousand
Judys, we’ve done now, for the past two years, parodies of her movies. So last year we did a version of The Wizard of Oz from
Toto’s perspective and he only has a couple hundred English words, so it’s great. It was really funny, and I was really blessed in
that way to have great performers like Flotilla DeBarge and Jenn Harris add so much to the material. This year we’re doing a
lesser-known Judy Garland movie. We’re doing The Harvey Girls, which is about Judy being a waitress on the Old West, which I
just thought was a very fun thing. We have some great people lined up for that as well. I think about how we’re going to make it
funny without ever making fun of Judy. That’s something that’s always really important to The Meeting* and to Night of A
Thousand Judys. We never get impersonators, we never have people doing their impressions. It’s really about what these icons
and what these performers mean to the fans and to other performers.
So we really love when our performers take their own spin on something that Judy Garland did. Last year Bridget Everett did an
unforgettable version of “Come Rain or Come Shine” and Molly Pope did Judy Garland’s arrangement of “Chicago” with all the
extra verses. But it’s really about – we really want the individuals to take on the legacy of Judy in some way and make it their own.
So I think when I’m looking for material of what we’re going do for Judy, I really kind of look to that and say “okay – how do we
want to make this funny in its own way?” And this year, The Harvey Girls just kind of won out because you can’t beat a waitress on
the Old West, you know?
SDD: Do you have specific performers in mind when you start putting it together or does that process come together
more organically after the fact?
JS: We always have a goal list, we always have people that we want to do Night of A Thousand Judys, we pursue them – but
we’re also just so open. There’s so much talent and so many amazing people in New York. So we really always try to think outside
the box quite a bit. That being said, I always have my certain goals for people that I want to get. This year I’ve gotten some of
them, and some had conflicts. But that’s the other thing we try to do, is not repeat performers from year to year. So we try to keep
the variety up as much as possible and really get amazing people from all corners to participate, and it’s really an amazing event,
it’s something I’m always really proud to be a part of.
SDD: Would you say there’s a very positive atmosphere because it’s such a great cause and everyone’s coming together?
JS: Oh, absolutely. I think that people have a ball. Backstage and front of house, everyone is just so excited to be a part of this amazing evening.
People give a lot – the performers especially give a lot of their time, and the musicians give a lot of their time for charity and you see how excited
they are. Lea DeLaria, who’s singing this year, is a huge Judy Garland fan and a friend, and she’s bursting at the seams to get to sing the song
she’s picked this year. And so many of the people that are in the concert are just really excited about getting a chance to pay tribute to this
amazing performer, but also to really give back to an organization that looks out for a lot of young people that are overlooked in New York. So I
can’t imagine a happier backstage really, and as for the audience, they laugh, they cry, they sing along, it’s a really – it’s an amazing event.
SDD: Has Liza Minnelli ever been involved?
JS: We’ve asked Liza every year and she isn’t involved, and I really understand that. Her mom is such a monolith, and so is she. I think that
Liza’s her own thing. I think Liza should be celebrated in her own way. She’s always been so gracious, and she’s an amazing performer and an
amazing humanitarian. But I really understand why maybe she wouldn’t want to be part of Judy’s night. That’s a little too personal and I really
respect her for that. So no, she hasn’t been involved. I’ve never met her but everything I’ve ever heard about her is true, she’s so warm and
loving and I can’t wait until the day I get a chance to.
SDD: Have you had a memory in the process of putting this show together in the past couple years where you felt like it was the most
triumphant moment of the whole show?
JS: Yeah. Last year we opened the show amidst a little bit of a controversy with End of the Rainbow. End of the Rainbow came out and it was a
huge success for Tracie Bennett. But there were articles in the New York Times, and then another website online, I don’t remember which. But it
talked about, you know, “Is Judy Garland even relevant? Why should we care anymore?” I was putting this show together and I was asked to
write some comments about it. So I wrote a little talk about it and when we were putting the show together, the director at the time, Ben
Rimalower, said “You know you should really put that in, it’s really great.” We put it in, but we also put in the song “A New World” from A Star Is
Born. So I did the little speech and it was great, and people laughed but they also really thought. I sang “A New World” center stage on the floor.
It was really gratifying because in a way, that’s what Judy Garland represents to me as a performer, that she was someone who was so in touch
with her audience. She was someone who was so a part of their emotional life, who understood them and spoke directly to them. And I felt like in
that moment I was able to do that, in my little way. Luckily that’s been – it’s on video, and people have commented to me about it and it’s just –
that meant a lot to me. So yeah, that’s definitely a moment for me.
SDD: If you could say one thing to Judy if she were here today, what would you say to her?
JS: “Let’s grab a drink!” No, I think one thing – I would just want to say “thank you.” To be really honest, there are very few performers who touch
you in that way and who make you want to be better in your own performances but also make you want to be a more accessible human being.
And I think that Judy Garland, for me, is somebody like that. She’s always so vulnerable but strong, and so wise but open. She’s someone that
just – I can’t explain it, she really touches me like very few other artists. So I think if I had one word it would probably – you know, one little
phrase, “thank you.” And then I’d say “could I buy you a drink?”
SDD: Is there anything else you’d like to add?
JS: I do write and I do host it, but I really work with an amazing team. That’s Dan Fortune and Adam Rosen and Lance Horne my musical
director, and Paul and everyone at the Ali Forney Center and everyone that’s volunteered. You know, I may be the one that’s credited as writing
and hosting but I am really just the guy that gets to stand up front as opposed to the really great group of people that help the show happen. So
I’d just like to thank them.
JUSTIN VIVIAN BOND ON NIGHT OF A THOUSAND JUDYS
by Max Kessler, June 17, 2013
Night of a Thousand Judys -- the charity variety
show which celebrates all things Judy Garland -- is
happening tonight (with tickets still available here)
and they’ve got quite the line-up. Of the many
performers who will grace the stage and give their
best Judy, Mx. Justin Vivian Bond may just be having
the biggest moment.
You’re doing Night of a Thousand Judys tonight.
Were you always a big Judy Garland fan?
Well, when I was little I’d see The Wizard of Oz on
TV every year and I always sort liked Judy Garland
because of that. Then when I was in high school,
there was this kooky weird girl named Michelle who
was obsessed with her. She was the one that got me
turned on to Judy. I like [Judy’s] combination of total
show business schmaltz and her crazy vulnerability,
none of which was real, I’m sure. But as someone
was who always being told that my emotions are too
much, it was comforting to see that she was being
that emotional and was celebrated for it. But I must
say she wasn’t one of my top idols. I liked her, but I
loved the stories about her.
Justin Vivian Bond performing at Night of a Thousand Judys
I Was The Tin Man Last Night
By Michael Musto Tue., Jun. 19 2012
Playwrights Horizons was filled to capacity for The Night of 1000 Judys, a combo concert/
comedy show benefiting the Ali Forney Center.
Host Justin Sayre--who’s sort of Oscar Wilde meets Whoopi Goldberg--was hilarious, with
his offhand monologues about the need for Judy Garland worship (and any other topic that
popped into his fertile mind).
The singers were stupendous--Karen Akers, Molly Pope, Tonya Pinkins, Jessica
Molaskey, Darius de Haas, Bridget Everett, Summer and Eve, Ashley Brown,
Daniel Reichard, Howard McGillin, Colleen McHugh, and Nellie McKay. Each one
delivered a Judy number with power, wit, and extraordinary skill.
And in between their showstopping homages, we acted out a sardonically retold version of
The Wizard of Oz--written by Sayre--in which Dorothy knew she wasn’t in Kansas anymore
because there were no bigots in sight.
Erin Markey was the wide-eyed Dorothy, Frank DeCaro was the dandy lion, Dan Fishback was the slow-witted
scarecrow, Flotilla DeBarge was a sass-talking Glinda (”Get your skinny white ass back to Kansas, girl!”), Murray Hill was
the imperial Wiz, a greenish Jenn Harris played the scary wicked witch, and Sayre narrated as the scampy Toto, who said
the Twister was scary, “but no scarier than when you people run the vacuum.”
And I?
I was the scarecrow, who said nasty shit to Dorothy like “A gingham dress? I can smell the poor on ya!”
I wore a sparkly silver jumpsuit I just happened to have in my closet, and we kicked it.
Thank you, Judy. Your memory is still helping the homeless gay kids.
PHOTO CALL: Stars of Night of a Thousand Judys 2012
Ashley Brown
Tonya Pinkins
Murray Hill
Randy Harrison
Howard McGillin
Nellie McKay
Karen Akers
Murray Hill, Jen Harris, Dan Fishback, Michael
Musto, Erin Markey and Frank DeCaro
Daniel Reichard
Bridget Everett
Jessica Molaskey & John Pizzarelli
SCENE + HEARD: Justin Sayre, Lady
Rizo, Jackie Hoffman Give it Up for
Judy Garland at Joe’s Pub
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
A room full of ‘friends of Dorothy’ packed Joe’s Pub Monday night for a
special edition of Justin Sayre’s monthly show, The Meeting*, dubbed
Night of a Thousand Judys. The Garland-travaganza doubled as a benefit
for the Ali Forney Center, with an all-star line-up paying homage to the
legendary actress/singer and raising bucks for the LGBT youth organization.
From Lady Rizo’s hilarious and dark rendition of “Smile” (during which she
drew a huge smile across her morose lips with red lipstick) to a showstopping “Get Happy / Happy Days Are Here Again” by Larry Hamilton and
Jamaal Wilson (who truly brought Garland and Streisand vocal realness to
the stage), it was a stellar show across the board. Cole Escola graced us
with a couple numbers including a duet with host Sayre (”A Couple of
Swells”) and Jackie Hoffman turned it out with a rendition of “Swanee.”
(Jeff Hiller, Randy Rainbow, Jack Ferver, Ryan 0’Connor and Justin Sayre @ Joe’s Pub)
As is the case any time you get a gaggle of gays together, we got lots of dish throughout the evening, like the story Natalie Joy Johnson told us about a veteran
Hollywood make-up artist who once made up Garland’s face while she was passed out. (Must’ve been Max Factor.) The crowd was eating up every number as each
performer seemed to channel the troubled, emotional, and incredibly talented singer in their own unique way. We asked Sayre why he chose to honor Garland. “Judy
is the ultimate gay icon, outrageously talented, bursting with tragedy and seething with life. She sang to those who feel lost in the world, to those who feel as if they
may never get to a mysterious place called home,” he opined. “I think for many years that was what drew her gay fans to her. But even today, she remains a singer
who can reach right to the heart of anyone who listens to her and tell them, ‘You are not alone.’ That is the marking of a great artist. And that is what Judy will
always be.”
We also got the scoop on Sayre’s future plans— including a version of The Meeting* coming to Fire Island and a show in September, when he’ll be celebrating
Madonna. From “Get Happy” to “Get Into The Groove”? We can get into that! —Wil Fisher
Judy Garland
‘Night of 1000 Judys Is Tonight! They’ll Sing ‘Em All!
By Michael Musto, June 13, 2011
No, not Judi Dench.
Anyway, tonight’s attractions:
Jackie Hoffman will sing “Swanee.” Tony winner Daisy Eagan will do “The Trolley
Song.” Emily Bergl (Desperate Housewives) will croon “Zing! Went the Strings of
My Heart”And there will be more. They’ll sing ‘em all and they’ll stay all night.
And now, the backstory: “The variety show The Meeting*, hosted by Justin Sayre -- which is the monthly gathering of the I.O.S.
(International Order of Sodomites), modeled after The Mattachine Society and other groups for gentlemen of a certain persuasion -- will honor
Judy Garland tonight at 7:00 PM at Joe’s Pub.
“The show is a benefit for the Ali Forney Center, an organization dedicated to homeless LGBT youth.”
Wear your ruby slippers, but don’t keep clicking them during the show. Annoying.
Happy pride. Happy Stonewall anniversary (almost). Happy Judy.