Brought to you by
Bob Barta: banjo@optonline.net, 631-902-2583
For the first time ever on eastern Long Island, genuine Coney Island burlesque performers will be featured on the stage of the historic Vail-Leavitt Music Hall at 18 Peconic Avenue in downtown Riverhead. On Saturday night, December 1st, a unique production, “Mondo Vaude,” will give a modern twist to classic burlesque – complete with magic acts, sideshow performance, live music, and beautiful women who are both appealing and “a-peeling”!!
The show’s producers, Chris Jones and Bob Barta, each have decades of experience as well-established musicians across a variety of genres. “We played some great gigs some years back,” says Barta. “So I was pleasantly surprised when Chris returned to the East End. We were brainstorming about putting together a show at the Vail-Leavitt, and Chris began talking about Coney Island performers he had met while in Brooklyn. From that point, it took on a life of its own.”
Their cohorts are quite an array of performers, beginning with the show’s master of ceremonies, Adam “RealMan” Rinn. A graduate of Coney Island USA’s Sideshow School, Rinn has become one of the premier sideshow acts in New York City and beyond, even returning to teach at Coney Island USA. With a perfect blend of Borscht Belt humor, a playful rapport with his audience, and a knack for the bizarre, Rinn is a consummate entertainer and the greatest possible host for this unforgettable happening. His associate, the gorgeous and multi-talented Kryssy Kocktail, is also a Brooklyn native who stars as sword swallower and blade box girl of the Coney Island Circus Sideshow.
Cardone the Magician has been seen on Fox 5 News, Good Day New York, Wonderground Las Vegas and more, amazing and entertaining audiences with his magic, ventriloquism, escape artistry, mind-reading and humor. Broadway director Tom O’Horgan said, “[Cardone’s] performance goes beyond the traditional boundaries of a magic act.” With a BFA in Theater Arts from Carnegie Mellon University, Cardone brings a unique blend of classical training and global entertainment experience to Mondo Vaude.
It wouldn’t be burlesque without “burly-q” girls, and Mondo Vaude brings to the stage not one but two legendary performers of the modern strip-tease. Little Brooklyn and Creamy Stevens are multi-award winning burlesque performers with national and international audiences. These two stunningly beautiful women are co-producers of Starshine Burlesque, Brooklyn’s foremost vaudeville and burlesque entertainment show and have been called the “Lucy and Ethel” of burlesque. Each has made her mark through an ingenious blend of artistic interpretation, humor and wild-minded creativity, along with a healthy respect for the classic tease-styles of bygone decades. In short, they are the best at what they do – glamorous, humorous, titillating burlesque to the max!!
Even the intermission at Mondo Vaude has entertainment! Joe Lauro of Historic Films has prepared a compilation of actual old-time burlesque films and those great intermission reels from the days of drive-in movies, which can all be enjoyed with a glass of wine or beer and some snacks.
It couldn’t be Mondo Vaude without great music, and the show features two great bands. The Moto-Wrays is an instrumental group that specializes in 60’s-Retro Surf Rock, but updated with a unique modern edge. The band has quickly become a highly sought-after act in the greater NYC area, playing everything from weddings in Southampton to hipster rock clubs in Brooklyn, as well as Coney Island’s famed Mermaid Ball. To add a classic touch, Mondo Vaude also features the Sunnyland Jazz Band, a group of versatile musicians based on Long Island specializing in New Orleans and Chicago-style traditional jazz - the true music of old-time burlesque. Members of the band have appeared on movies and TV and at famous jazz venues across the country, most notably Carnegie Hall. With these two bands and all these great performers (as well as other special surprise guests), this is sure to be an unforgettable, once-in-a-lifetime experience for everyone.
Doors open at 7:30 pm, and the show begins at 8 pm. Beer and wine will be served. No one under 17 years of age will be admitted. Advance tickets are $39 each via the website at www.mondovaude.com by clicking on the picture or link. Door price is $44 each, if any tickets are available.
