Kickoff Cocktail Reception for 30th Fred & Adele Astaire Awards Gala, Tusk Spring Preview Collection and Jim Norton performs at the Brokerage Comedy Club in Bellmore, Long Island
(Long Island, N.Y.) On Monday, November 7th, 2011 Producer Patricia Watt of The Douglas Watt Family Fund for the Performing Arts & Julie Keyes along with Associate Producer Carolyn Kendall Buchter and Alix Michel hosted a kickoff cocktail reception for the committees and sponsors of the 30th Fred & Adele Astaire Awards Gala at Remi Restaurant in midtown Manhattan.
The reception also welcomed the legendary Judith Jamison to the Awarding Committee. Special guests for the evening included Broadway Producer and legendary Choreographer Susan Stroman, Emanuel Azenberg, Laura Penn, Lee Roy Reams, Joe Lanteri, Marge Champion, J. Elaine Marcos, Rob Ashford and Dan Knechtges.
Cognac Wellerlane interviews Broadway Producer and Choreographer Susan Stromin at the Kickoff Party for the Fred And Adele Astaire Awards.
The fabulous evening also featured an exhibition of art theater posters created by Hilary Knight, the illustrator who created Eloise at the Plaza.. Ms. Watt spoke about the very successful Dance Therapy Program in NYC Public Schools, the beneficiary of this famous annual awards ceremony.
Now in its 30th year, The Fred & Adele Astaire Awards continue to be the only awards to recognize excellence in dance and choreography on stage and in film. The awards were founded in 1982 by the esteemed critic Douglas Watt and Mr. Astaire himself.
I had the pleasure of interviewing world famous Choreographer and Broadway Producer Susan Stroman, who revealed in our interview that her favorite Fred Astaire flick was “Top Hat” also starring Ginger Rogers.
Ms. Stroman is a five time Tony Award winner. She has won the Tony Award for both her choreography and direction notably for the stage musical “The Producers.”
Ms. Stroman was exposed to music and dance by her piano-playing salesman father. She began her studies in dance, focusing on jazz, tap, and ballet at the age of five.
In 1987 she received her first big break as a choreographer when director Scott Ellis hired her for his off-Broadway revival of “Flora the Red Menace” at the Vineyard Theatre in Greenwich Village.
Eventually she went on to choreograph “Liza Stepping Out” at Radio City Music Hall in 1992 and was nominated for an Emmy award. She earned her third Broadway credit for her collaboration with director Mike Ockrent on “Crazy for You” in 1992 who she later married. The production received the Tony Award for Best Musical and she received her first Tony Award for Best Choreography.
Stroman received her second Tony Award when she collaborated with Prince on a revival of “Show Boat” in 1994.
Ms. Stroman and John Weidman, who had penned the book for Big, began working on what would become the three-part “dance play” “Contact” which she choreographed and directed. The show opened at Lincoln Center’s Mitzi Newhouse Theater in the Autumn of 1999 and later transferred to the larger Vivian Beaumont Theater. The play received the 2000 Tony Award for Best Musical. Stroman received her third Tony Award for best choreography. The production “Contact” went on to receive the 2003 Emmy Award. At Lincoln Center Theater, Stroman directed and choreographed “Thou Shalt Not” in 2001.
Stroman won the American Choreography Award for her work in Columbia Pictures feature film “Center Stage” in 2002. In 2001 Stroman directed and choreographed Mel Brooks’ musical “The Producers.” The production was a huge success and received twelve Tony Awards. Stroman received her fourth and fifth Tony Award for best direction and choreography. She was the first woman to ever win in these two categories at the same time. In 2005 she made her directorial debut as a feature filmmaker with a film adaptation of the Broadway play. The film was nominated for four Golden Globe Awards. In 2007 she again collaborated with Brooks as director and choreographer of the musical “Young Frankenstein.”
Below is a list of her Best Awards:
- 1992 Tony Award for Best Choreography – Crazy for You
- 1993 Laurence Olivier Award Best Theatre Choreographer-Crazy for You
- 1995 Tony Award for Best Choreography – Show Boat
- 1999 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Theatre Choreographer – Oklahoma!
- 2000 Drama Desk Award for Best Choreography – Contact
- 2000 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Direction – Contact
- 2000 Tony Award for Best Choreography – Contact
- 2001 Drama Desk Award for Best Choreography – The Producers
- 2001 Drama Desk Award for Best Director of a Musical – The Producers
- 2001 Tony Award for Best Choreography – The Producers
- 2001 Tony Award for Best Director – The Producers
- 2001 Drama League’s Distinguished Achievement in Musical Theatre Award
- 2002 Laurence Olivier Award for Choreography – Oklahoma!
During our interview she spoke about the importance of dance in film and stage and how we need to encourage youngsters to further their careers in musical theater and to study about the great dancers of the 20th Century including the Legendary Dancer Fred Astaire.
For more information about the 30th Anniversary of The Fred and Adele Astaire Awards please visit www.theastaireawards.org.
On Thursday, November 10th I was invited to an exclusive night of fashion, beauty, and awareness as The Flood Sisters Kidney Foundation of America hosted a cocktail reception at the Tusk Boutique located at 242 West 26th Street in Manhattan for a special preview of the Tusk Spring Collection.
Cognac Wellerlane interviews Designer Carlos Castillo, Stylist and Designer Jason Christopher Peters The Flood Sisters and Tusk Boutique Owner Hiten Manseta at the Stores Spring Preview Collection.
The Flood Sisters Kidney Foundation of Americas mission is to match people in need of kidney donors all across the United States. Proceeds from the event were donated to the charity.
From the bustling streets of Bombay to the syncopated beat of Manhattan, Owner Hiten Manseta transformed a generation of textile traders and apparel manufacturers into a contemporary accessories design firm. With his fifty year old owned factory in India, Hiten established his New York City based company in 1993.
In 2004 the Tusk expansion was complete with a sleek wholesale showroom and a glamorous flagship retail boutique located at 242 West 26th Street in the exclusive neighborhood of Chelsea, New York. The boutique features unique women’s handbags, leather purses, leather backpacks, messenger bags, totes and more.
For more information about Tusk Fine Leather Handbags and Accessories please visit www.tusk.com and to participate contribute and donate for Flood Sisters Kidney Foundation of Americas please visit www.floodsisters.org.
On Long Island Jim Norton fans enjoyed a night of comedy at the Brokerage Comedy Club in Bellmore, New York.
Cognac Wellerlane interviews Comedian Jim Norton at the Brokerage Comedy Club in Bellmore Long Island, New York.
After the show Mr. Norton expressed his ambition of becoming a comedian at the age of twelve after viewing Richard Pryor’s special “Richard Pryor: Live in Concert.” “Oh, that’s what you do with being funny, I saw him talking with the audience and that kind of made me want to do it,” revealed Norton.
He also revealed another influence Comedian Don Rickles. “He was the only guy that brutalized Sinatra, nobody had the balls to make fun of Sinatra,” confessed Norton.
Norton has appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno six times and on the Late Show with David Letterman. Mr. Norton has filmed an HBO stand-up special for the series “One Night Stand” as well as his special “Monster Rain.” He co-starred in the short-lived HBO sitcom “Lucky Louie” and had cameos in the films “Spider-Man,” “Zack and Miri Make a Porno” and “Courting Condi.” He is best known for “The Opie and Anthony Show,” which aired on Sirius XM Radio. Jim is a featured correspondent on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
This January Jim Norton will be touring the country with Anti Social Comedy. On Sunday, January 16th, the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in conjunction with Jim Norton will present four headliners into one amazing hilarious show entitled The Anti-Social Network. This one night only performance will feature Dave Attell, Jim Breuer, Bill Burr and will be hosted by Comedian Jim Norton. Four of the nation’s best comedians who will take the stage together for the first time in an exclusive engagement at Borgata’s 3,000-seat Event Center. This is the first time fans will be able to enjoy these four amazing headlining comedians for one ticket price. “Dave, Jim and Bill are three of the funniest comics on the planet. This is definitely the best show I’ve ever been a part of” said Jim.
The Brokerage Comedy club in Bellmore opened its doors in 1980 and for the past three decades many of the nation’s greatest comedians have stepped onto their stage entertaining audiences including Eddie Murphy, Ray Romano, Kevin James, Rob Bartlett, and Tim Allen.
For more information about new talent and entertainment please visit www.brokeragecomedy.com.
