In this cold, cruel, economically punishing more-Precious-than-Pinocchio-world it's rare that dreams ever come true anymore. But don't tell that to Rocky Bennett, a 21-year-old British chap who starred in his own real life fairy tale last week when he met Prince Harry at a bar and convinced the royal fire crotch to trade a kiss for a Stella Artois.
Bennett told News of the World, "I went up to him and told him I would love to buy him a drink
-- if he gave me a kiss. Harry just burst out laughing, threw his arms around
me and kissed me on the left cheek. I'm not going to wash my face for a month now!"
A rep for Prince Harry confirmed that he was enjoying a night out with his friends at Liquid night club located in Stevenage, Herts.
"He was with about eight other guys and security was tight but when I went
over to him he was lovely. I told him how much I had admired his mother
Princess Diana and how I thought she would be proud of him. He seemed very merry but he was still willing to talk to people," Bennett said. Sam Smith, a friend out with Bennett added, "Afterwards we saw him in the McDonald's across the road. Harry ordered a
quarter pounder meal with a coke -- I think he wanted to sober up."
Because famous or not famous, royal or commoner, gay or straight, the thing that unites us all is McDonald's French fries.
Unable -- or refuse -- to grow up? If you're in New York City this weekend indulge your inner child and head to Kid Robot's MUNNYWORLD custom toy exhibit at the Eloquent Delinquents Gallery, 41 Wooster Street, NYC.
The three day event, running from November 13-15, celebrates the launch of Kid Robot's all-new do-it-yourself toy line at the world's most prestigious custom vinyl extravaganza and will feature over sixty international artists.
To ensure you get first dibs on the collectible pieces you can't live without, drop by the opening night party on Thursday, November 12, from 8-10 pm. There will be DJs, drinks, and the chance to meet some of the most important artists in the game.
When Rent premiered off-Broadway in 1996, it was still possible to find an apartment in the East Village that might not break the bank. There was just the faintest glimpse of hope in the HIV drug development pipeline that would eventually pump out protease inhibitors that changed the narrative arc of the AIDS epidemic. And Rent felt like a revolution, an unapologetic, raucous rock musical about queers and junkies doing their best to survive in a cruel world.
After 12 years ruling the Great White Way and winning every award for which it was eligible, the show finally closed -- but a touring production currently making its way cross country reunites a majority of the original cast for one last curtain call. There are still day-of cheap tickets for the struggling artists and students among us, impassioned pitches by cast post-show for donations to charitable organizations -- but now the tour also has a Twitter and, for real this time, an expiration date.
The show still stands out, all this time later. Anthony Rapp, who just turned 38, is the rare actor who can make a matinee more than a decade in the making feel like Mark's opening night. (The stage is far kinder to the older cast members than the 2005 film was.) The strength is still Jonathan Larson's songs and the many returning cast members' performances, including Adam Pascal as Roger. I dare you to find a show with more back-to-back stunning duets not penned by Sondheim. Sure, it's a history piece in places -- not because AIDS is any less a threat now but because the urgency and grief captured so poignantly in the play might as well be a newsreel. But whether it feels contemporary or not, the sheer intensity of the story -- which after all takes its cues from a far more out of date production, La Boheme -- still packs one hell of an emotional punch.
Rent's eventual retirement -- once it finishes its run this winter -- begs an obvious question: Who shall inherit the crown? One show likely to strike a similar chord among young theatergoers is American Idiot, the rock opera adaptation of Green Day's music by Spring Awakening director Michael Mayer. Developed in a similar homegrown, energetic manner at the Berkeley Reperatory Theater, it's expected to move to Broadway in 2010. The staging takes Rent's stripped down vertical construction to a heightened, multi-media level -- but its scenes with lost, confused young men searching for redemption as they sing into each other's faces feel like a tribute of its own to Mark and Roger.
After playing two small acoustic sets and a taping a performance at Letterman, Florence had her first proper official gig at New York City's classic Bowery Ballroom (we adore the venue's wood floors!). Florence acoustic is nothing compared to Florence when she has The Machine with her and the freedom to play a full set.
Despite this being her first official New York appearance, the devotion of her fans is already so great that not even puking into their own coats before the set would induce them to leave the front. That's a fact. Blake Lively and Penn Badgley of Gossip Girl were even spotted at the show. Once Florence appeared in a floor-length see-through gown and began serenading us with "Between Two Lungs" accompanied by a harp -- and how often have you seen a harp at a rock club? Never, we bet, which is what makes it so f-in' rock n' roll -- you could see the reason behind the crowd's fervor. Whipping her long red hair around her and putting her all into each song, Florence had the pipes and the onstage persona to keep us positively riveted.
Bending almost double with the force of emotion, Florence raced through singles "Dog Days Are Over" and "Drumming Song," posing dramatically behind her mic stand, which was decorated with plastic flowers. Conspicuously missing was the lesbian-themed "Girl With One Eye," but Florence made up for it with the uplifting "You've Got The Love." There was a lot of love to go around and once the encore wrapped with "Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)," Florence was bowing and throwing air kisses at the cheering crowd. She promised to return, and after a performance like this one, it would be downright criminal if she didn't.
Having canceled several US tour dates because of lung trouble, La Roux's Elly Jackson kept her appointment with New York City's Highline Ballroom early this week. Looking androgynous in a slim-cut, shiny, striped suit, and with her red hair defying gravity, Ms. Jackson strode out on stage to tremendous cheers from the sold out crowd and kicked off the show with "Tigerlily" from the UK duo's (Elly's partner in crime is synth player, co-writer and co-producer Ben Langmaid) self-titled debut album.
Due to the aforementioned health problems, Elly apologized profusely for the short set, which clocked in at around half an hour, but they did not leave out a single hit. The break-out track "In For The Kill" drew the loudest screams of approval. "Colourless Colour" allowed Elly to amp up the energy, teasing the excitable mass in front of her by stepping in close and basking in the palpable adoration. And when she thrust her microphone out during set-closer "Bulletproof," she summoned an instant sing along with the crowd chiming in for the chorus.
The show sounded slick and polished, with two keyboards, a computer and even an electronic drumset creating a steady wall of sound. Elly was cheerful as she paused between songs to catch her breath, happy with the band's reception. There was not much banter and that was probably for the best as the songs certainly spoke for themselves.
When it comes to the paranormal, I've always really, really wanted to believe -- I just haven't been given any reason to thus far. Growing up my grandmother's family was incredibly superstitious: No seating 13 people at a single dinner table, no traveling on Friday the 13th, and her grandmother supposedly lived next door to a werewolf somewhere in Germany. As the story goes, he was a really nice guy -- you just had to lock up your chickens whenever there was a full moon or the next morning he'd have eaten them all. Beyond that, my little brother may or may not have been abducted by aliens (he spent most nights sleeping on a mattress on my bedroom floor because he was too scared to be in his room alone in case they came back for him), but I've never had an actual close encounter of the supernatural kind.
Until last week. I met psychic, medium, and wine merchant Craig McManus at the Cornelia Street Cafe to shoot the above Face to Face video. McManus had mentioned to me that while dining there a few weeks earlier all of the lights in the dining room had gone off and no one seemed to know why. When he asked about the incident -- and whether or not there might be a ghost to blame -- the host admitted that there might be a male entity inhabiting the back room of the restaurant.
Experiences like that one are nothing new for McManus. Being a psychic and medium runs in his family and when he's not busy selling wine at his shop, Wine Ventures in Tenafly, NJ, he's writing his incredibly popular books about the ghosts of Cape May, New Jersey. After we did our interview I chatted with him (and his lovely partner Willy) over drinks and McManus did a reading for me. While I have to confess a good 80 percent of what McManus said meant nothing to me, the 20 percent that did register made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
McManus knew things that no one else would know -- even going so far as to tell me that my father, who died two years ago, said, "Send my love to Ruth." Ruth is my mother's middle name, and while no one else calls her by that name, my father used it almost exclusively to refer to her. I don't know exactly what was going on last Tuesday afternoon and I can't say for sure that my dead father was sitting next to me in the corner of the Cornelia Street Cafe, but I'd be willing to say that something out of the ordinary did occur. It was chilling, it was exciting, it was bittersweet and until the aliens land or someone can finally prove that the afterlife exists, it's all I have to go on in my recreational quest for contact with the paranormal.
McManus will be giving a talking on his two careers -- mediumship and wine -- Halloween night from 6:30 - 8:30 pm at the Astor Center at 399 Lafayette St. (at East 4th St.) in New York City. The old building, once the home of a large book printing company in the
1800s, is allegedly haunted and should provide the perfect setting for McManus to lead a tasting of some of his favorite wines while educating the audience about
the dark and mysterious regions of the Spirit world, including an
exploration of the ghosts of Astor Center and other haunted New York
City hot spots. McManus will also demonstrate his
channeling ability on a few lucky participants. For tickets, head here.
For more on Craig McManus and to purchase his books on the ghosts of Cape May, head to his website.
These days it seems you can't turn on the television without slamming headlong into an award show of one kind or another. Lately everyone is in the running for something and usually it's less than noteworthy. But, while we can live without tuning into the teen equestrian geriatric skeet shooting stand up comedic competitive monologue reading homemaker awards, we've recently learned of an event that is definitely worthwhile: The Annual Emery Awards.
Kimora Lee Simmons will host the gala evening to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Hetrick-Martin Institute, home of the Harvey Milk High School, as well as its founders and Harvey Milk. The Annual Emery Awards honor those individuals and corporations that exemplify Hetrick-Martin's mission of providing a safe and supportive environment for all young people -- regardless of their sexual orientation or identity -- along with those who have demonstrated outstanding leadership within the community. This year Hetrick-Martin Institute will be honoring its founders, Drs. Damien Hetrick and Emery Martin, and activist Harvey Milk, as well as recognizing such leaders as New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Dr. Joyce Hunter. Special guests include Mary Louise Parker, Rosie O'Donnell, B.D. Wong, and Cheyenne Jackson.
The Annual Emery Awards take place on November 10, 2009. The night kicks off at Cipriani Wall Street with a cocktail hour at 6:30, followed by the awards dinner and an after party. If you'd like to attend the awards or donate to the Hetrick-Martin Institute, please call Darra Gordon at 212-674-2600, ext. 277 or email dgordon@hmi.org. For more information visit www.hmi.org.
Has it occurred to you that, in many ways, our current economic downturn -- with its foreclosed homes, spiking jobless rates and come-uppance of the very rich -- is, in some ways at least, like The Great Depression? That's the link made by The Citizens Band, that motley crew of downtown-type New York actors, dancers and singers who formed around 2004 to do anti-Bush-type vaudeville acts. They're still around, and in their latest gig, "The Debt Rattle", which they performed over the weekend at the Lower East Side's Abrons Arts Center, they channeled the Depression-era, dance-marathon desperation of the classic 1969 flick They Shoot Horses, Don't They? to make a point about how we're all dancing for our lives in post-boom, post-bailout America, with many of us dropping one by one...just like exhausted dancers!
It may sound gloomy, but it wasn't, because Citizens Band's beautiful women wore scanty, flapper-type showgirl outfits, the old-time jazz band was amazing, the aerialist was thriling, and the star power on stage -- supermodel and singer Karen Elson (Jack White's wife), the Cardigans' Nina Persson, Lenny Kravitz's daughter Zoe, and Michael Cavadias (a k a downtown draggy DJ Lily of the Valley), to name just a few -- gave the night a warm glow. Bravo, Citizens Band, hurry up with your next show!
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