By Rex Reed 2/21 8:43am

cabaret

Adam Guettel. (The Guardian)

An Original Classic: Adam Guettel’s Musical Lines Run Deep, But For This Songwriter, It’s All About Carving It Out On His Own

You wouldn’t call him a chip off the old block, but Adam Guettel’s musical genes are unmistakable. Yes, his grandfather was the great Richard Rodgers, and his mother was Mary Rodgers, who wrote Once Upon a Mattress. He works hard not to imitate either of them, but I say if you’ve got the genes, flaunt ‘em. And that is exactly what the adventurous, spirited and always imaginative composer of The Light in the Piazza is doing all this week, for seven performances,  at 54 Below, New York’s glitzy nightclub beneath the street where the notorious Studio 54 used to be. It’s the most interesting mini-concert in town.

Actually, it’s less a concert than a kind of kickstarter to raise awareness of this extraordinary young songwriter’s talent and versatility. Read More

By Rex Reed 1/30 11:57am

cabaret

Christine Andreas at 54 Below.

No Surprise Here: Christine Andreas’s ‘Bemused’ Hits All the Right Notes

The venue 54 Below, New York’s beautiful new cabaret room in the renovated basement of the once-notorious Studio 54 disco, is playing host this week (through Feb. 2) to golden girl Christine Andreas. The ambience still retains the decadence of the space’s former tenant, but Ms. Andreas spreads nothing but sunshine. “Bemused,” the delightful, musically eclectic new act she has written for herself, is carefully designed to illustrate the varied definitions of that all-encompassing word. This gives the charming, multi-talented song stylist myriad moods to explore and a challenging repertoire of songs to explore them in. There’s something for everybody.

Webster’s uses for the word “bemused” include “immersed,” “surprised” and “thunderstruck”—but Ms. Andreas’s  favorite definition of “bemused,” she says, is the kind of spark that only occurs when the right singer meets the right song (or songwriter). Read More

By Rex Reed 7/17/12 7:15pm

cabaret

Vereen. (D Dipasupil/FilmMagic)

Overcoming All Odds: Ben Vereen at 54 Below

Opening last month with brassy Patti LuPone and continuing now with the jazzy, undulating Terpsichore of Fosse-trained Ben Vereen, the new Broadway nightclub called Below 54 (so named because it is located in the subterranean “VIP room” below Studio 54, where all the X-rated drugs, depravity and fun took place in the good old days) still has kinks to iron out before it becomes the smash it deserves to be. Read More

2/14/12 7:07pm

Fashion Week Observed

7 Photos

Even heavy-weights, Anna Wintour and Oscar de la Renta, curtsy and bow for DvF.

Lorenzo Martone Didn’t Want to Be Our Date for Diane von Fürstenberg’s Dinner at Indochine

Sunday afternoon at the Tents is always a scene. The climax is when legendary designer/aristocrat, Diane von Fürstenberg takes the stage. CFDA President-regnant; she is fashion royalty and attracts a fitting crowd:

Olivier Zahm from Purple magazine carried on with Terry Richardson…

“Could we get a word with you, Mr. Richardson?” we asked.

“No!” was Read More

By Adam Lindemann 8/11/10 1:44am

Art Collector

The ’80s, Through Warhol’s Eyes

I knew Andy Warhol for a short but lively stint in 1984 and ’85, while my then-fiancée was one of his best friends. We were out every night, all night. One night, my parents had their big summer party in Greenwich; I thought Andy would like it since I had invited a few Read More

By Gillian Reagan 7/28/08 4:26pm

It’s Showtime for Studio 54 Series

Showtime is delving into the depths of the 70′s with its new show Studio. While still in development, producers say the project will look at New York City nightlife through the lens of its oft-heralded dark heart: Studio 54.

"The show is less about the history of Studio 54 than it is about New Read More