Hi kids-
We're back and in full-on production for this year's LOW LIFE @ HOWL! So, roll a fattie, slip on your best flapper/viper drag, and come join us in the park Labor Day Sunday at 5 PM..
HOWL! FESTIVAL AND THE JACKIE FACTORY PRESENT
LOW LIFE 3: VIPER MAD
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2009
5-7 PM, FREE ADMISSION
TOMPKINS SQUARE PARK, NYC
mothernyc.com/lowlife
howlfestival.com
East Village Howler (Blog)
CELEBRATING 150 YEARS OF BRILLIANT BOWERY PERFORMANCE
On September 6, JACKIE FACTORY producers CHI CHI VALENTI and JOHNNY DYNELL will present their third annual LOW LIFE to crown this year's HOWL! FESTIVAL. LOW LIFE is a "Howlucination" created by the JACKIE FACTORY as an evening climax for HOWL! - a two hour theatrical showcasing the East Village - and especially, The Bowery, in a lavishly costumed production starring dozens of downtown's finest.
This year's edition - LOW LIFE 3: VIPER MAD - is inspired by the early 20th century "viper" culture shared by downtown (and Harlem) jazzmen and hipsters, the opium dens of nearby Chinatown and other Olde New York drug cultures. The rich repertoire of "Viper Songs" popularized by CAB CALLOWAY, FATS WALLER and dozens of ensembles through the 20s, 30s and 40s will be interpreted in dance numbers, vocal and musical performances, burlesque and drag renderings. A time-traveling, bawdy and witty cavalcade of talent, this show is definately not recommended for children!
This year's marijuana-tinged edition features two MCs - PAUL ALEXANDER (of "The Ones" and JACKIE 60) with EMPRESS CHI CHI VALENTI, the show's co-producer. The splendid cast includes burlesque Goddess DIRTY MARTINI, choreographer JULIE ATLAS MUZ with the PIXIE HARLOTS in "REEFER MADNESS", New Bowery crooner ADAM DUGAS, butoh ensemble VANGELINE THEATER (who will reprise their "Butoh Brothel" for this special edition), period visionaries JONNY PORKPIE and NASTY CANASTA with PINCHBOTTOM BURLESQUE, international Dragstar SHERRY VINE of East Village based THEATRE COUTURE with special guest JOEY ARIAS (of ARIAS WITH A TWIST), THE NEW YORK SCHOOL OF BURLESQUE choreographed by founder JO BOOBS WELDON and featuring MISS PEEKABOO POINTE, nightclub eminence HATTIE HATHAWAY, sensationalist AMBER RAY, Red Hot Mama ERICKATOURE AVIANCE, reefer striptease by MISS MELODY SWEETS, vocal stylings of MR. PATTY BRUCE, and Viper Vamps DARLINDA JUST DARLINDA, LEGS MALONE and HEATHER LITTEER aka JESSICA RABBIT DOMINATION.
Dress Up and join us in the park! Wear NYC demimonde evening effects (1860-2010), Viper Glamour, Ragtime Rags, Cab Calloway effects for Butch Women, corsets and vintage lingerie, Opium Den loungewear, Gangs of New York, Reefer motifs, First Avenue Flapper, Top Hats or Bowery Punk.
The LOW LIFE events were inspired by the seminal LUC SANTE book "LOW LIFE: The Lures and Snares of Old New York." The annual LOW LIFE extravaganzas at HOWL! continue a body of work born at JACKIE 60 over a decade ago, with past editions in London, Minneapolis and of course, the 2007 and 2008 HOWL! Festivals. For the show's producers, East Village residents for over two decades, this annual show is a Valentine to the neighborhood's past, present and future stars.
THE HOWL! FESTIVAL was named in honor of the groundbreaking poem by ALLEN GINSBERG and began in 2002. HOWL celebrates the East Village and Lower East Side's role as a preeminent locus of culture, with signature events like the group reading of HOWL and ART AROUND THE PARK. Centered in Tompkins Square Park, the festival attracts more than 100,000 visitors bringing to the clubs, galleries, parks, streets, and theaters of Manhattan's Lower East Side. Summer 2009 marks the addition of HOWL! HELP, a year-round emergency assistance/health fund for East Village/Loisaida artists of all eras and disciplines - visit the howlfestival.com website for more information.
More on last year's edition at the LOW LIFE '08 page
Pictures from last years edition at LOW LIFE @ HOWL! 2008 on FLICKR
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