Fancy Pants Supper Club Comes to the La Sala Rossa Tonight

How would you like to be wined and dined in style and have an excuse to dress up without having to buy a wedding present and sit beside Uncle Irving? Would you enjoy a world class floor show with thrills, chills and spills, followed by dancing the night away to jazz standards? If the answer is yes, you're in luck. Enter Fancy Pants Supper Club, a co-creation of former Cirque du Soleil clown Joe De Paul and Kiss My Cabaret impresario and actor Danette Mackay. All this for one night only, at the charming La Sala Rossa tonight, Nov. 15.

MacKay and De Paul have been busy concocting this special event for some time now, and based on their collective experience, this soirée has all the right ingredients to be a perfect night out. Guests arriving in their finery at the romantic and inviting club are will be served a glass of bubbly and shown to their tables while a jazz trio serenades. They can then order from the delicious à la carte menu and enjoy a fantastic show with tap dancers, acrobats, burlesque artists, a contortionist, music and comedy.

Featured guests include song and tap dance duo, Wayne Doba and Andrea Conway-Doba (aka Dik and Mitzi); circus comedy performer, Olivia Weinstein; burlesque goddess, The Lady Josephine; circus artist, Aaron Marquise; juggler and clown, Philippe Treppanier and many more. The icing on the cake is dancing all night to live jazz, courtesy of the inimitable Kim Zombik and her trio.

Danette MacKay has been creating original and elaborate spectacles for some time, and although she is most well known for having created Kiss My Cabaret, (a hugely popular variety show with acts ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous and back again) she also put together a few of the first live Gong Shows that Montreal stages were subjected to. This is her second foray into the enchanted world of old school Supper Clubs. She put together just such an event in 2005 with great success, and has been itching to produce another one ever since. Fancy Pants Supper Club is an upward progression from the low brow esthetic of the Gong Show and the 'anything goes' approach to the much loved Kiss My Cabaret. Fancy Pants Supper Club is all about style, swish and swell, with a big wink to the Supper Clubs of the old and sinful Montreal.

Joe De Paul ran away with the circus in 1999 and has been clowning, singing, assisting magicians, dodging knife throwers and touring around Europe and the USA ever since. In 2007 he started performing in a dinner circus in Seattle, Teatro Zinzanni. That's right dinner circus... fine dining combined with mesmerizing feats and comedy, performed on stage and sometimes right at the table. De Paul found it to be quite a change from performing in a big spectacle like Cirque du Soleil. The intimacy and proximity that the dinner show gave him took his comedy in a whole new direction. He always dreamed of bringing that kind of show to Montreal.

De Paul recently returned to Montreal and when Mackay told him her Supper Club idea, he jumped at the chance. They called upon Montreal's talented community of performers who all hope Fancy Pants Supper Club will be the beginning of a beautiful new tradition in Montreal.

For de Paul, as far as charm and entertainment go, this kind of event cannot be beat, "There is a sense of nostalgia to it. It thrills me that people are going get all dressed up and I am going to be their host. I'm excited to have people experience the thrill of circus acts, laugh at outrageous comedy and then dance the night away to the golden era of jazz. Our goal is to for people to feel that they have been part of an unforgettable night they can't wait to experience again."

McKay is drawn to the uniqueness of this event, "Montreal was so well known for this type of entertainment for so long; there were clubs all over town offering dinner and dancing. Joe and I would love to bring a contemporary version of it back onto the scene." She continues, "It's going to be a real treat to see this eclectic mix of acts in an intimate space. And how often do you have a perfect excuse to dress up just for the fun of it?"

In the end, MacKay creates shows that are her idea of a great time; the best night out ever, "The last time I put on this type of event, so many people thanked me for creating the kind of evening that had all the elements they loved- a wonderful meal in a warm and romantic atmosphere, a world class show and the opportunity to dance afterwards to the accompaniment of a great trio and singer."

Fancy Pants Supper Club- one night only! Saturday, November 15, at La Sala Rossa, 4848, boul. St-Laurent. Show starts at 8pm, doors open at 7pm. Dress code: Fancy! Tickets: $30, includes complimentary glass of bubbly and amuse-bouches (does not include food or beverages). Tickets available online at www.casadelpopolo.com or by calling 514-284-0122.

BIOS:

Montreal is the home of so many talented actors, comics and circus artists. Often they are off touring to different places, but at Fancy Pants Supper Club there is going to be an outstanding showcase of talent and imagination from talent based in Montreal.

Danette MacKay is a well-known Montreal actor and singer, who studied theatre at Concordia University. She works in film, television and theatre. In 2001, she created Kiss My Cabaret, which was an evening of wildly varied short acts by performers of every conceivable discipline, from circus to dance, from stand up to burlesque. Kiss My Cabaret became an overnight sensation, consistently playing to sold out crowds for almost nine years. She has recently revived the show, which she emcees. All the performances are fundraisers for various local charities and causes.

Joe de Paul made his clown debut in Cirque du Soleil's Dralion in 1999. He toured North America with critical success. The film version of Dralion went on to win an Emmy award for best Comedy and Variety show. Since that time, Joe's delightful character has toured Europe ; in Salto Natale Circus in Zurich, Witzigmann Palazzo in Dusselforf, Los Galindos in Barcelona, Theatre Samovar in Paris, The 11 Fussball show show in Berlin , summer of the FIFA world cup. He has performed in Cirque du Soleil's O in Las Vegas as well as aiding in the creation of clown routines with the Cirque's KA, Las Vegas. Joe recently toured with Cirque Zanzibar throughout France, Austria and Italy. Joe performs and has directed at Teatro Zinzanni Seattle and San Francisco. www.youtube.com/watch?v=_x_Lwt5aPm4

Wayne Doba and Andrea Conway-Doba are the kind of couple that gives one hope - not just for the future of the circus and the theatre, but for the triumph of romantic love. True partners in life and on stage, Wayne and Andrea (or Dik and Mitzi as they are know to both the audience and to everyone in the tent) are classic vaudeville entertainers in the old style, a song and tap dance duo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SviWztOzzq4

Olivia Weinstein hails from San Francisco, California and is a graduate of the École National du Cirque. She is thrilled to bring you her special brand of physical comedy and will charm you with her combination of dance, gymnastics, slapstick and love for a car tire... www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbOnocc6ohM&feature=youtu.be

The Lady Josephine is known as the 'Tall Glass of Bad Ass'. An award-winning performer who has stomped across stages all over the continent, she is famous for a performance style that mixes strong characters with classical dance, comedy and mime. The Lady Josephine brought home the trophy for 'Most Beautiful' at the Great Boston Burlesque Expo in 2011 and has been chosen from among hundreds of applicants to compete at The Burlesque Hall of Fame 2014 in Las Vegas.

Aaron Marquise has an education in musical theatre, circus and he has a temper. His Maitre d' character will be sure that everyone has respected the Fancy Dress code. www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmkdEo7QyDA

Philippe Treppanier: Juggler, Improviser and Clown. After touring with cirque du Soleil Phillipe has toured internationally with his solo show Clip! He has performed in Germany, Australia, Mexico and Laval. www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zJbQvslXbg

Harry Standjofski is an actor, director and playwright who works mostly in Montreal. He will be bringing his guitar to Fancy Pants Supper Club.

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