Molly Pope, the new-old-school-diva with the "viscerally thrilling alto" (Time Out New York) will bring her hit show "Introducing Molly Pope" to the Laurie Beechman Theatre on December 2 and 4 at 9:30pm. She was recently named the "Best Singer to Turn Life Into a Cabaret" by the Village Voice in their 2011 "Best of NYC" issue. Join the fabulous Ms. Pope as she careens through a decade of life in the big city, from fresh off the bus to jaded urbanite, on her uproarious climb up that storybook ladder to fame and fortune. Viewed through her unique lens of post-modern-movie-musical-irony, she revisits all the highs and lows of her journey to becoming the next big thing of 1963...in 2011. Juxtaposing her critically-acclaimed retro vibe against a backdrop of popular music spanning the 1940's to the Top 40, Ms. Pope is dying to meet you.
"Introducing Molly Pope" debuted at Joe's Pub last year before making a smash appearance at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival in Australia this past June and playing to packed houses at Ars Nova in July. Under musical direction by Tony Award Nominee Kenny Mellman ("Kiki & Herb"), direction by Justin Sayre ("The Meeting*") and co-written by Robby Sandler, "Introducing Molly Pope" follows Ms. Pope's critically acclaimed nightclub debut "The Diva-lution of Molly Pope" (named a "Top Ten Act of 2008" by Time Out New York) and "The Molly Pope Show" as the next madcap evening of dynamic vocals and unique interpretation from the brassy, sassy, classy Molly Pope.
Molly Pope is a rising actress, concert artist and comedienne whose shows include "The Diva-lution of Molly Pope" (Joe's Pub, The Laurie Beechman Theater), "The Molly Pope Show" (Joe's Pub). She is a frequent guest at the critically "The Meeting* with Justin Sayre", and has performed in the hit long-running Top Ten Countdown show, "Our Hit Parade", at Joe's Pub over 25 times. Other concert and live appearances include "Cafe Panache" at the Griffin, "Foreign Affairs" at the Night Hotel, "Tingel Tangel Club", and regular guest hosting at "Mostly Sondheim" at The Duplex. Current projects include the monthly "MIXER with Molly Pope" at Vlada Bar (Time Out New York Critic's Pick), headlining the Springfield Black Tie 2011 AIDS in the Ozarks fundraiser and a debut album, slated for release summer 2012.
On stage she has appeared as Regan in "King Lear" (Gallery Players/Players Shakespeare), Colleen/Sanchez/Sequins in "Bromance: The Dudesical" (Caroline's on Broadway, 92Y Tribeca), Maria in "Twelfth Night: The Drinking Game" (Legitimate Theater Co) and Fran in the tour of "Swing For Victory" (Lively Arts). On camera work includes Law & Order: SVU, Secrets of the Mystic Oracle, Hunting and Evie's Big Break (both at Big Apple Film Festival). She earned a BFA in drama from New York University, has studied acting with Louis Scheeder, Darci Picoult and Charles Busch and voice with Marianne Challis, Scott Barnes and D. Michael Heath.
Photos, sound clips, YouTube videos and more are available at www.mollypope.com.
Kenny Mellman is the Tony Award nominated co-creator and the "Herb" half of the internationally acclaimed duo Kiki and Herb. His solo show "Kenny Mellman is Grace Jones" has played NYC, London, Portland, Philadelphia, and both Melbourne and Sydney Australia. "At Least It's Pink," the show he co-wrote with Bridget Everett and Michael Patrick King (Sex and The City) was one of Time Out New York's Top 10 Cabaret Shows of 2006. He is an Obie, Bessie, Glammy, GLAAD Media and MAC award winning performer. He wrote a children's musical for the Soho Theatre in London and in 2008 wrote and performed a workshop of his musical "Say Seaboy, You Sissyboy?" at Dixon Place as one of their Mondo Cane Commissions. With Bridget Everett, Neal Medlyn, Brendan Kennedy and Ada Calhoun, he created Our Hit Parade which was named one of the best cabaret shows of 2008 by Time Out New York and continues as a sold-out monthly show at Joes Pub. He wrote the music and lyrics and played the score for Jennifer Miller's "Cracked Ice" at PS122, scored the video portion of Layla and Sonya Go Boating by Robbinschilds at The Kitchen, and music directed "Night Mother" with Erin Markey and Cole Escola at Dixon Place. He is also in a band with Kathleen Hanna and Kathi Wilcox of Bikini Kill. Recently, he was named one of Time Out New York's 40 favorite people in NYC.
ROBBY SANDLER is a Manhattan-based lyricist/librettist and a rising 2nd year lyricist in the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop. His work has been performed in various theaters and cabarets from Manhattan to Australia with a long string of great collaborators.
Justin Sayre is the creator, writer and host of the critically-acclaimed variety show The Meeting*. He demonstrated a supernatural instinct for "camp" at an early age. Justin is a child of Forty Fort, Pennsylvania who moved to New York believing it was still 1947. He was terribly misinformed. In 2006, Justin received rave reviews for his solo show "Without A Song." As an actor, he has worked and studied with some of the finest professionals in New York. As a gay, Justin has excelled at scarf placement, devilish quips, and a healthy but firm love of the American musical. He has performed at Comix, Symphony Space, "Our Hit Parade" at Joe's Pub and at the Leslie/Lohman Gallery for their Tennessee Williams 100th Birthday Celebration, curated by illustrator Robert W. Richards. Justin contributed a story about Justin Bond for Radical Faerie Digest - one of the oldest gay publications in the country. In July 2011, two of his short plays were presented by the "Fame and Shame on the LES" performance series. This summer he was chosen as a 1st year fellow for the Queer |ART| Mentorship, working with Everett Quinton of Charles Ludlam's Ridiculous Theatrical Company, to develop a new play.
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