M & P Productions Announce MACK AND POPPY 12/9-10

M & P Productions has announced a rare Hollywood appearance by the legendary Mack & Poppy, one of the nation's most celebrated lounge acts, in their new holiday show, It's Christmas! (and lesser holidays celebrated by Heathens). Set for two nights only, Mack & Poppy will sashay into Hollywood's M Bar for some holiday fun and frolic on Friday, December 9 and Saturday, December 10 at 10pm.

In their first ever holiday show, Mack & Poppy, accompanied by Buzz Ricotta at the piano, will be presenting new takes on holiday classics and debuting some original holiday tunes, all peppered with M & P's zany outlook on all things gay and bright. Holiday revelers can look forward to a lovingly irreverent evening of song, laughter, and lots of eggnog.

The third most famous export from Hoboken, New Jersey (after Frank Sinatra and raw sewage), Mack Diamond began his career as a child star, singing on street corners with his two older brothers, Shlomo and Moishe. 3 Jews 3, as the boys were known, opened for the likes of Steve & Edie Abramowitz, Sidney Bishop (Joey's 2nd cousin), and the one-woman Israeli Sha Na Na tribute act, Shoshana. After Moishe left the trio to play Mendel the Rabbi's son in the third national tour of Fiddler on the Roof, Mack & Shlomo tried to continue as 2 Jews 2, but the magic was gone. This led to a decade of depression and alcoholism for Mack, and he's pretty sure he spent those years in Las Vegas. There, he spent eight years performing his solo show, A Yiddishe Mackie, for the 3am seating at the 24-hour buffet at The Imperial Palace. Along the way, he met the lovely Poppy Fields while she was in the chorus of Jubilee!, and promptly married her.

Singer, showgirl, and Southern Belle Poppy Fields escaped the narrow-minded confines of Possum Trot, Alabama, and traveled the world as a singer/dancer/actress, entertaining celebrities, businessmen, and heads-of-state. After a successful beauty pageant career (Miss Cotton Gin 1987 and Miss Boll Weevil 1990 are among her many titles), Poppy began her love affair with the theatrical stage in a triumphant turn as Anytime Annie in the second bus-and-truck company of 42nd Street. A multitude of stage roles followed, but eventually the glitz and glamour of Las Vegas called, and her legendary topless tenure in the chorus of Jubilee! began. Critics have fondly remarked, "No showgirl could work a cage or a pole as well as Poppy Fields." During those Vegas years, Poppy wed and divorced her first four husbands before finally meeting and marrying the "Sensation of the 24-hour Buffet," entertainer Mack Diamond. Says Poppy, "Some girls work their way up through their marriages. I worked my way down." Regardless of their tumultuous love affair, being one-half of the celebrated cabaret duo Mack and Poppy is among her proudest accomplishments.

Mack & Poppy are the creation of Christopher Michael Graham and Tod Macofsky. Christopher Graham (Poppy Fields) is originally from a small town in Alabama. A proud member of Actors Equity Association, Christopher has appeared in numerous plays and musicals across the United States over the course of his 20 or so years in the theatre. A few of his credits include performing as the principal dancer in The Lost Colony, the Fiddler in multiple productions of Fiddler on the Roof, Paul in A Chorus Line, the Thief in multiple productions of 42nd Street. Non-musical roles include A Midsummer Night's Dream and Macbeth as Puck and the Third Witch, respectively. Behind the scenes, Christopher has choreographed and assisted on major productions of Fiddler on the Roof, The King and I, Anything Goes, 42nd Street, among many others. For six years, he was a director, choreographer, and performing member of the internationally recognized Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles.

Tod Macofsky (Mack Diamond) has been a proud member of the Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles for the past 11 years, where he has sung and danced with such luminaries as Lily Tomlin, Joanna Gleason, Liz Torres, Valarie Pettiford, Jane Lanier, Nancy Dussault, Malcolm Gets, and Jerry Herman. Tod's biggest claim to fame is as the original Bris boy in the world premiere of the hit musical comedy revue Naked Boys Singing! at Celebration Theatre. At the same venue, he performed in the first same sex version of Stephen Sondheim's Marry Me A Little. More recently, Tod originated the role of Kevin Peterson in the world premiere musical 40 Is The New 15, and continued playing the part in various productions over a three-year span. Recently, Tod played a shot, decapitated, and frozen dead body on the ABC television series Castle.

Mack & Poppy's It's Christmas (and lesser holidays celebrated by Heathens) will play two performances only, on Friday, December 9, and Saturday, December 10, both at 10pm. Admission is $15, along with a $10 food/drink minimum. For reservations, call (323) 856-0036. For more information, visit www.mackandpoppy.com. M Bar is located at 1253 Vine Street, in the Fountain and Vine Plaza, in Hollywood. Valet parking is available.

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