Michael Musto, Kevin Aviance & More to Join CANDIED CAMERA LIVE! La MaMa

La MaMa will present “Candied Camera LIVE!” – Nora Burns’ tongue-in-chic variety show (think “The Comeback” meets Spinal Tap) with guests, monologues, a multi-media mix of video clips and, of course, go-go boys – at the newly renovated The Club @ La Mama for four shows, Thursday, February 1 though Sunday, February 4. The cast will feature Aaron Acacio, Chuck Blasius, Kevin Herzog, David Ilku, Royston Scott, Fiona St. James, and Richard E. Waits, in addition to guest stars for every performance, which will include Michael Musto, Kevin Aviance, Lauren Ezersky, and Linda Simpson. A special teaser for the show is available online HERE.

 

“Candied Camera LIVE!” is a celebration of Burns’ “legendary” (her word) early ‘90s public access broadcast. To celebrate the show’s 30th Anniversary and jump on the 1990s nostalgia bandwagon, Burns is bringing back her “iconic” (her word) cable program for a weekend extravaganza complete with a potpourri of original clips, documentary footage, forced appearances, legendary performances, and vintage pornography. “Candied Camera LIVE!” was is hosted by Nora Burns (David’s Friend, Unitard), conceived and created by Nora Burns and Adam Pivirotto, and directed and edited by Adam Pivirotto, with choreography by Robin Carrigan (Trick), costumes by Paul Alexander (Trinkets), and sets by Steven Hammell – the team behind The Village, A Disco Daydream, last season’s downtown sensation at Dixon Place.

 

Back in the early 1990s, during the Golden Age of Manhattan Public Access cable TV, Nora Burns hosted and produced a variety show called “Candied Camera.”Filmed bimonthly in a makeshift TV studio that doubled as a sex club, and watched by tens of people who happened to be awake at 3:00 AM on a Tuesday, “Candied Camera” joined the pantheon of fabled cable shows by Andy Warhol, Robin Byrd, Al Goldstein, and Mrs. Mouth. The show was a crazy quilt of downtown doings, featuring saucy skits, in-studio performances (Varla Jean Merman Cheez Whiz anyone?), interviews with personalities from Marc Jacobs, Jennifer Coolidge, and RuPaul to Candis Cayne, Joey Arias, Michael Musto, and of course Brenda the Ukulele player and lots of go-go boys and drag queens. Themes of the over 35 shows, which have been archived at NYU’s Fales library, include “Gay Pride,” “the 9th Circle,” “Dead Friends,” “Old Porn,” “Cable Madness,” “Dress Up,” and “Domination.”

 

“Candied Camera LIVE!” runs from Thursday, February 1 though Sunday, February 4. Performances are Thursday through Saturday evenings at 7:30 PM, with the Sunday show at 5:00 PM. Tickets, which are $30 and $25 for students and seniors, are available at LaMama.org.

Performances take place at La MaMa’s newly renovated The Club @ La Mama, located at 74 East 4th Street (between Bowery and Second Avenue).

 

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Nora Burns 

(creator and host) is a founding member of the comedy groups Unitard and the Nellie Olesons. Her solo shows include Honey I’m Home and David’s Friend, which premiered at LaMama ETC and received a rave review in The New York Times. Her play The Village, A Disco Daydream opened at Dixon Place in 2022 and had three sold-out runs. She has performed in the comedy festivals Just for Laughs in Montreal, We’re Funny That Way in Toronto, and the Aspen Comedy Festival. Nora curated and hosted the series “New York Stories” at the historic Stonewall Inn, which celebrated New Yorkers like Michael Musto, Anthony Haden-Guest and Brenda Bergman, telling entertaining and sordid stories about their lives in the city of yore. In addition to stage work, Nora has appeared in the films Broken Hearts, Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist, Club, Boys Life 3, and the documentary Florent: Queen of the Meat Market. Her TV appearances include Logo’s “Wisecrack” comedy show and “The Sandra Bernhard Experience.” 

 

Adam Pivirotto

(director) is a theater and filmmaker based in New York City. He was director and producer of drag performer Cleo Berlin’s cabaret series, presented at Pangea through TWEED TheaterWorks. His short films have been screened at Richmond International Film Fest, Genreblast Film Fest, NYC Poetry Festival, LA Cinefest, Sixth Sense Film Festival, Filmshortage, and Shondaland. His one act This Place was presented at Dixon Place HOT Festival. He has been a featured director for the Visible Poetry Project and completed an arts and education fellowship at NYU Abu Dhabi. He most recently directed Nora Burns’ The Village, A Disco Daydreamat Dixon Place.

 

Robin Carrigan

(choreographer) is an NYC choreographer, writer, performer, and ceramic artist. Choreography includes Ellen Foley and Robert I. Rubinsky’s Club Dada/Kabaret Kaput, Trick 1999 film, Hater, Bedbugs!!!, 1966, Jesus and Mandy (co-written with Eric Bernat), Blood Orgy of the Carnival Queens!!! (co-written with Jim Fall), Girls Town (writer), drag performer Love Connie, Ronnie Spector, music videos, concert staging, and “Nan and Her Boys.”  Last year, she collaborated with Nora Burns and Adam Pivirotto for The Village, A Disco Daydream at Dixon Place. BFA in dance from NYU Tisch School of the Arts.

 

La Mama Experimental Theatre Club is dedicated to the artist and all aspects of the theatre. Founded in 1961 by Ellen Stewart, La MaMa is a home for artists of all identities, races, ages, and cultures. At La MaMa, artists are provided the space, support, and creative freedom to explore new forms of expression and to make new work. La MaMa builds audiences that are integral to the creative process. Our local and global community members who gather in our physical, digital, and hybrid spaces to see new work, are often the first audience for that work. The audience response helps to shape the evolution of the piece for the artist, and is an essential part of the creative ecosystem that La MaMa nurtures. La MaMa believes art is a force for change. Violence, discrimination, and systemic racism will not stop without a unified resistance. La MaMa is committed to battling bigotry and intolerance in all its forms, and to providing inclusive spaces for our local, national, and global community. www.lamama.org

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