Myer To Be Presented With Golden Pineapple At Producers Club, 7/25

Multi-MAC & Bistro award-winning Sidney Myer will be presented with an Honorary Golden Pineapple on Friday, July 25, at the Fairies & Phantasies Benefit at the Producers Club.  He joins two other luminaries honored that night:  Emmy, Bistro, Obie & Razzie-winning Marilyn Sokol and Warhol/Dali muse Ultra Violet.  The benefit, which has an ambiance of naughty children's theatre, is part of Bad Musicals Festival '08, running July 21-August 10.  The theme that evening is "It Ain't Kansas Anymore!" featuring 3 short musicals:  Stranded!, Grimm Late Night, and The Great Plastic Surgeon of Oz.  Curtain is at 8; benefit at 10.  The festival is the brainchild of NY Artists Unlimited and is part of what they like to call The International Cringe, including bad plays, bad musicals, and soon bad films.  At last fall's Bad Plays Festival, legendary director Tom O'Horgan (Hair, Jesus Christ Superstar) was honored.

The Fairies & Phantasies Benefit is $25 ($20 if you come in costume) and all proceeds go to support the company's 25 year mission of taking professional theatre to under-served children & family audiences.  Attendees are encouraged to dress as a zany version of a favorite children's character and to bring a toy or book for a needy child.  There will be costume prizes, games and raffles.  In keeping with the children's theatre scheme, there will be lunchbox specials:  finger sandwiches (including P&J!), snacks, cupcakes, cake, cookies, penny candy, punch, and more.  Co-chairing this event are playwright Jean Hart and Kimberly Kopera, assistant to artistic director Melba LaRose.

Sidney Myer has been dubbed "an engagingly mischievous dispenser of musical comedy repartee" by Stephen Holden of The New York Times.  He can be seen weekly in the award-winning Poole Party Comedy/Variety Show at Don't Tell Mama.  In addition to numerous appearances Off-Broadway, in film/TV, he is a regular on the Joey Reynolds Show on radio.  Sidney has performed in countless NY clubs, as well as nationally/ internationally at Cabaret Conventions produced by The Mabel Mercer Foundation.

A familiar face on television and in films, Marilyn Sokol is perhaps best known for her work on the Broadway stage:  "The Great God Brown," "Don Juan," and "Conversations with My Father."  Off-Broadway:  "The Beggar's Opera" and "Merry Wives of Windsor."  She has been described by The New York Times as "an entertainer with a deep streak of old vaudevillian merriment."

Ultra Violet appeared in Andy Warhol's The Life of Juanita Castro (1965) and I, a Man (1967) before cameos in other now-cult films.  Her best-selling 1988 autobiography Famous for Fifteen Minutes:  My Years with Andy Warhol detailed her rise to fame.  A visual artist with political and spiritual overtones, Ultra Violet's mixed-media works have been exhibited worldwide.

On August 10 at 6 pm (no show that night), the festival wraps up with the Carmen Miranda Benefit & Fruit Cup Awards for best plays by audience vote:  Golden Pineapple, Silver Tomato, and Bronze Banana.  New this year will be the Jack Lemons for best bad actor & actress.  There will be surprise celebrity honorees that night as well, but we're not telling yet!  Costumes are encouraged and there will be prizes, games & raffles.  Come dressed as your favorite fruit!  There will be a special award for the Best Carmen.  $25 per person ($20 if you come in costume) benefits the company's work with under-served children & families, seniors & elderly.  There will be entertainment, food, Brazilian punch, and lots of fruit!

 The Bad Musicals Festival, in its third year, plays at the Grand Theatre of the Producers Club in the Times Square/ theatre district, July 21-August 10.  Mon - Sat 8 pm; Sun @ 2 pm.  The musicals in the festival are alternately:  politically incorrect, political satire, explicit or utterly zany -- and don't we all need that these days?  Renowned composers, writers, and directors participating:  Ilann Maazel, Raymound Bokhour, Tony Spinosa, Denver Casado, Kenny Wade Marshall, and more.  Musicals are huddled under a theme umbrella for one all-inclusive price per evening or matinee.  There will be surprise appearances by Huck DeMilo of Bronze Fondue, naughty singer-songwriter Jessica Delfino, and sound effects comedian extraordinaire Zero Boy.  The show runs a max of 2 hours, including a short intermission.  For descriptions of each theme evening and play:  www.NYartists.org.  The event is supported by grants from the Dramatists Guild Fund, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, and individual donors.

Festival tickets $25 per night or matinee; $15 students with ID; TDF vouchers accepted.  Additional charge for benefits.  Reservations strongly recommended.  Online tix available at www.Theatermania.com or by calling 212-242-6036 (check/m.o.).  Grand Theatre at the Producers Club, 358 W. 44 St., betw. Eighth/Ninth Aves.

Melba LaRose, Artistic Director, NY Artists Unlimited, 212 West 14 St. (OFFICE), Suite #2A, NYC 10011, phone: 212-242-6036, fax: 212-989-8864, e-mail: nyartunltd@aol.com
www.nyartists.org

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