Storm Large, one of the most uniquely multitalented individuals we have come across in our cabaret adventures opened at 54 Below last night with her annual show titled Holiday Ordeal.  A sensuous and fearless performer, Storm used her imaginative musicality (singer/songwriter), her intelligence (author/lyricist/actress), and physical beauty (check out my photos), to create an evening that had a festive crowd engaged, fascinated, and exhilarated from start to finish.

Her vocal power is organic, and flows from this 6 foot beauty in a constant stream of passionate, authoritative melodic creativity. Additionally, intermixed with her original music, the sold-out 54 audience was given Storm’s piercing observations of the human condition.  She has fun teasing it, and when Storm goes on one of her seemingly spontaneous, but well thought out diatribes it’s done with big doses of empathy and moral clarity.  Some might comment that Storm is not for everyone, noting her colorful storytelling and liberal use of explicit language, yes, words do matter, but she uses them well, and for us she’s a friend and a family affair (more photos)… We were all there last night, together with a room full of enthusiastic fans for a tremendous evening of entertainment. Storm Large is a great antidote for complacency, and my recommendation for anyone afflicted with ADHD…no need for medication to maintain focus and concentration during her performance.   Suggestion to Team Storm…Her Holiday show should not be titled “Holiday Ordeal”, it’s the Real Deal!

An extra Holiday gift for the overflow audience was Storm’s special guest, assistant programming director of 54 Below Macon Prickett who joined Storm for a thrilling duet of Cyndi Lauper’s True Colors.

STORM LARGE

STORM LARGE

STORM LARGE

STORM LARGE

STORM LARGE

STORM LARGE

STORM LARGE

MACON PRICKETT & STORM LARGE

MACON PRICKETT & STORM LARGE

MACON PRICETT & STORM LARGE

MACON PRICKETT & STORM LARGE

MACON PRICKETT & STORM LARGE

YAEL GELMAN, STORM LARGE, OLIVIA STEARN

EDA SOROKOFF, LAURA SOROKOFF GELMAN, YAEL GELMAN, OLIVIA STEARN, CAROLINE SOROKOFF, PETER STEARN

LAURA VOGEL, BRYAN MASHIOFF, SETH RATNER, LAUREN RATNER, ARLENE LAZARE

OLIVIA STEARN & YAEL GELMAN

EDA SOROKOFF

Oh what an amazing Day when my Palm Beach bestie Lexye Aversa invited me to join her to a very special VIP Broadway preview event at the prestigious Kravis Center for Performing Arts in West Palm Beach Florida. Through Lexye’s introductions to legendary producers Fran and Barry Weissler, as well as Kravis CEO Diane Quinn, I loved this exclusive and intimate gathering of Angels and supporters of the Arts. Diane is such a power-woman who truly cherishes the arts and impresses everyone with her knowledge, dedication and experience. And Fran and Berry are two of the kindest and sweetest people I know of in the industry, Broadway Legends with a heartfelt sense of humor and a laser sharp vision that makes them global leaders in the challenging performing arts world.

Get ready Broadway, because the empowering story of “Real Women Have Curves” is coming to New York City in 2025! After a wildly successful world premiere at the American Repertory Theater (A.R.T) at Harvard University in 2023, this new musical is ready to take on the Great White Way. Legendary Producers Barry and Fran Weissler are launching this uplifting, innovative and heartwarming production, after record-breaking global success with CHICAGO, WAITRESS and over 38 acclaimed productions, winning countless Tony Awards and other awards.

This very special production was previewed with 4 most amazing, delightful, fun and upbeat songs in Palm Beach at the famous Kravis Center for Performing Arts in West Palm Beach. Fran and Barry Weissler are Broadway “fixtures in lights” along the Great White Way. Married over 50 years, their firm National Artists Management Company has produced shows with famed stars such as Christopher Plummer, Patti Lupone, Anthony Quinn, Sara Bareilles, Melanie Griffith, Ann Reinking, Katharine McPhee, and James Earl Jones. They are proud to announce that “Real Women Have Curves” will debut in the James Earl Jones Theatre.

The December 5 preview began at 3:30pm with cocktails and deluxe hors d’oeuvres, then a 4pm kickoff in the Carl and Ruth Shapiro Founders’ Room alongside Dreyfoos Hall of the The Kravis Center, hub of international entertainment in Palm Beach County. Barry Weissler welcomed guests, along with Jack Noseworthy, of TruWorthy Productions, collaborating on the production along with colleagues Chris Guimarin and Ariela Pizza of Sceneworks Studios. The presentation revealed a sneek peak for this vibrant production through music, delivered with “attitude” by four vivacious females with dazzling voices. The upbeat songs with toe-tapping rhythm and slick lyrics had the audience dancing in their seats!

The wonderful CEO of the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach, Florida, Diane Quinn, shared her accolades for the musical presentation. She assumed the helm in January 2022, bringing a wealth of experience in the arts and entertainment industry. Growing up in theatre, she transitions to the Kravis Center from her previous role as Chief Creative Officer for Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group.

Based on the beloved play by Josefina López and the iconic HBO film (with screenplay by Josefina López and George LaVoo), “Real Women Have Curves: The Musical” tells the story of Ana, a young Latina woman navigating family expectations, body image, and dreams of a future beyond her Boyle Heights neighborhood in 1987 Los Angeles.

Guests were delighted with the music and energy which permeated throughout the room. Among  Kravis benefactors and Palm Beach community stakeholders were Bill Bone, Connie Frankino, Dr. Helen Boehm, Cristina Marciano, Max and Christine Ansbacher, Carole Koeppel and Producer Ken Schur.

The musical features a dynamic creative team, with music and lyrics by Grammy Award-winning artist Joy Huerta of the Mexican pop duo Jesse & Joy and composer/lyricist Benjamin Velez. The book is by Lisa Loomer, with additional material by Nell Benjamin. Tony and Olivier Award winner Sergio Trujillo takes the helm as director and choreographer, promising a show filled with energy and heart.

“I am thrilled to be a part of bringing ‘Real Women Have Curves: The Musical’ to Broadway,” shared Joy Huerta. “Songwriting for theater is a new undertaking for me, and it’s been a thrill to collaborate with this incredibly talented team. Ana’s story is so powerful and universal, and we look forward to bringing it to new audiences in this musical format.”

While specific dates, casting, and the full creative team are still under wraps, anticipation is building. The Palm Beach performance did feature Florencia Cuenca, Jennifer Sanchez, Elisa Galindez, and Aline Mayagoitia. Follow @RWHCMusical on social media for updates on the time and location of this exciting preview!

“Real Women Have Curves: The Musical” promises to be an uplifting and empowering experience, exploring the unexpected curves life throws our way. To stay up-to-date on all the latest news, visit the official website at https://realwomenhavecurvesbroadway.com/ and follow the show on Instagram and Facebook @RWHCMusical.

His Highness Dr. Mag. PRINCE MARIO-MAX SCHAUMBURG-LIPPE of Germany, MAS, LL.M ♔ Award winning Actor, TV-Host, Bertelsmann Randomhouse Author, Public Speaker and Cover-Model represented by ONEeins Management by Heidi Klum inc. ♔ Checkout: http://Facebook/prinzmariomax and http://www.schaumburg-lippe.org and http://www.one-eins.com/en/faces-details.aspx?faceid=202 ♔ Prince Mario-Max is the son of H.H. Prince Waldemar and H.H. Dr. Princess Antonia Schaumburg-Lippe, being descendends from the Royal DK Nachod Line of The Princely House of Schaumburg-Lippe, Founding Family of Hamburg, Lübeck and Kiel in Germany.

It begins with a radio broadcast straight out of every World War II movie in existence, with England standing firm against the onslaught of German forces taking over Europe. These pinstriped souls, who maybe once dreamed of becoming pilots, or, at the very least, born to lead, now find themselves standing in line playing for position to pitch ideas to get the odds back in England’s favor. They need to find a way to get Germany to move their troops out of Sicily and into Sardinia, and in this wonderfully sharp and fine-tuned new West End musical, Operation Mincemeat, the idea that is finally listened to is as brilliant as this strongly constructed and hilariously charming new musical.

It’s the weirdest of stories, but one that I realized, as I sat in the Fortune Theatre in London, that I already knew. I had seen the 2021 film that starred Colin Firth, Matthew Macfadyen, Penelope Wilton, and the wonderful Kelly Macdonald, which tells the same history book story. But in this SpitLip adaptation that originated out there on the fringe circuit developing into the little gem we see before us (and that is transferring to Broadway this spring), the West End transfer has elevated it into a sharply defined, fully original stage musical, filled with ingenious casting in gender-swapping roles delivering brilliantly funny songs in well-choreographed creations.

Zoe Roberts, Jak Malone, and Natasha Hodgson in Operation Mincemeat at the Fortune Theatre, London’s West End. Photograph: Matt Crockett.

It’s an irresistible comedic musical, played sharply and distinctly as directed by Robert Hastie (West End’s Standing at the Sky’s Edge) that is both polished and non-predictable, unless, of course, you know the story and the history that lives quite vibrantly within. The musical, penned by David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson, and Zoë Roberts, unfolds in a “God, that’s brilliant” manner. “But listen to this,” they tell us, as the crew of exceptional actors dives into the almost improbable idea of tricking Hitler into moving his troops from Sicily before a planned invasion, thus assuring victory where there wasn’t much of any to be found. The ridiculously smart plan involves planting a reformated corpse off the coast of Spain, with a false set of invasion plans handcuffed to his wrist. The hope is that these plans will make their way through the chain of command into Hitler’s hands. And if he truly believes them to be authentic, it might lead him to move his troops to the false invasion spot in Sardinia, leaving Sicily open to a successful invasion. And the rest, as they say, is history.

As the cast takes on the assortment of gender-swapping roles, quite brilliantly, I might add, the musical satire pokes hard at the misogynistic arrogance of the private-school ‘boys club’ mentality that has hampering their success in a war that maybe needed a different, smarter ingredient, “when making a man“. As the overly-swaggering Ewen Montagu (& others), played perfectly pumped up by Emily Barber, (West End’s Backstairs Billy), alongside the always nervous, “devoid of flair” Charles Cholmondeley (& others), played beautifully by Seán Carey (West End’s The Play That Goes Wrong), the energy never falters. This is especially true when two of the unsung women; Christian Andrews (New Wimbledon’s Turning the Screw) as the magnificent Hester Leggatt (& others) and Claire-Marie Hall (Watermill’s The Wicker Husband) as the wonderfully appealing Jean Leslie (& others) from the secretarial pool, join into the creative juice-pool, with a quick hilarious nod to Beyoncé, courtesy of the wonderfully fun choreography of Jenny Arnold (West End’s Spamalot).

And let us not forget the wonderful Chlöe Hart (Regent’s Park Open Air’s Evita) assisting strongly in numerous parts like the captivating Johnny Bevan (& others) surrounded by the tremendously agile design of both set and costumes by Ben Stones (West End’s Standing at the Sky’s Edge), expert lighting by Mark Henderson (Broadway’s The History Boys), and a stellar sound design by Mike Walker (Crucible’s She Loves Me). Each of the five cast members, including those alternatives that I did not see: Geri Allen (Dubai Opera’s Much Ado About Nothing), George Jennings (West End’s Tina Turner Musical), Jonty Peach (The Vaults’ Stranger Sings!), and Holly Sumpton (Finbourough’s Distinguished Villa), work wonderfully together as a unified team of musical and comedic pros, delivering deliciously funny and engaging songs, brought forth delectably through the orchestrations and vocal arrangements of Steve Sidwell (Jim Steinman’s Bat Out of Hell) and dropped into our laps by the solid musical direction and supervision of Joe Bunker (Southwark’s The Rink).

“Is any of this legal?” asks Carey’s non-courageous Cholmondeley. “Good question,” answers Montagu with utter confidence sliced with a tad bit of privileged arrogance. “The answer is, of course, never mind.” And with that, Operation Mincemeat, the new musical, finds the exact right formula for hilarity and loving engagement, telling a near-perfect tale in the most inventive theatrical fashion. I didn’t really expect this oh-so-British creation to make its way over to Broadway, to be honest. But days after arranging my tickets, the announcement came in, so I’m guessing I’ll be seeing this wonderful romp again this fall, but this time in New York City. Curious how it will change its formula for its reception on these shores, if at all, but I’m sure this formidably sure-footed production will find its legs on Broadway, and not drown in the seawater off America’s coastline.

For more go to frontmezzjunkies.com

G.H. Harding

A RENNER RUNS THROUGH IT — (Via Deadline) Jeremy Renner has revealed he is doing the final edit on his book about lessons learned through his near fatal snowplow accident, in a conversation at Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival.

“It will be two years in January, and I am very proud to overcome a great adversity in my life,” Renner said of the accident in which he was crushed by his own snow-removal tractor on New Year’s Day 2023 at his home in Nevada.

“I’m forever grateful for all the love and support I’ve gotten from the people all around the world, that I never knew existed that propel me to get better. It’s the only thing that really defines me in my life at this point,” he continued.

“I don’t look at it as a limitation even though I am 25% titanium, so f**k Iron Man, I’m Titanium Man… I’m writing a book about it now. This whole trip, I’ve been doing the final edit on it, so it’s kind of all kind of fresh in my brain, because I try to push it away a lot of times.

“There so many wonderful gifts that come from being tested to your limits of death, because I did die, and I came back, and I came back for a reason. It had nothing to do with my, if was my choice, I’d have rather have stayed, but I came back, and I’m glad I’m back. The freedoms and the gifts bestowed on to me because of the great tests, you know, of crushing 38 bones, eye comes out, the terrible things that happen in a crushing injury. That’s said nothing at the end of it, I can see that now coming out of it”

The Hurt Locker, Avengers: Endgame and Hawkeye star, who is in Saudi Arabia for the first time, praised the country’s progress in building a film industry in the wake of the lifting of its 35-year cinema in 2017.

“It’s pretty exciting. It on the precipice of a big, big shift here. I think there’s supposed to be 2,500 screens in the next five years, by 2030, that’s huge, huge,” he said.

“If any country can kind of do that, move that fast, move the needle that fast. I think it’s Saudi Arabia,” he added, to applause from the mainly local crowd in the room. “I’m pretty excited to see what happens here.”

Although Renner is visiting Saudi Arabia for the first time, he is no stranger to the Middle East, having shot The Hurt Locker in Jordan and Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol with Tom Cruise in the United Arab Emirates.

He shared an anecdote on the latter film, revealing how Cruise had terrified him by checking his phone as they hung from Dubai’s mega high-rise Burj Khalifa for a central stunt in the film.

“Tom was hanging out the building. It felt like a mile high in the sky, this thing. You look down and see the skyscrapers and it looks like little Legos, that’s how high this building is.” recounted Renner.

“I’m hanging out, in a suit with a belt on, this guy’s holding the rope, and he’s [Cruise] looking on his phone. ‘Hey dude, maybe you want to pay attention?’… I literally could have fallen out of that building, slipped by and Tom made like four phone calls, before I hit the ground.”

SHORT TAKES — “Hold On I’m Coming” (Sam & Dave) is the theme song for Starbucks’ holiday commercial. Bravo! … Industry veteran John Boulos starting his own firm, John Boulos Music. Known him for decades. Terrifically qualified. Congrats …

The 87-year old Subway Inn on NYC’s East Side is set to close. Who hasn’t been here at least once? https://gothamist.com/arts-entertainment/subway-inn-the-87-year-old-bar-in-midtown-set-to-close-at-the-end-of-the-month?fbclid=IwY2xjawHEKxZleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHRKoBRuww2r7BfSc58kHqEXMywH3gAUVB6f5Dx_gNEflSqLaFMTExnp_TA_aem_l4Judq1KtNoeVkAyB9oVdw…

(Via Deadline) Chris Evans is coming back to the Marvel Cinematic Universe for the Joe and Anthony Russo directed, Avengers: Doomsday. At this point in time, the role isn’t entirely clear, but sources say Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson character will also return as Captain America. Evans in the Captain America costume seems less likely. However, it wouldn’t be a shock if he reprises Steve Rogers …

Kelly Clarkson poses for a photo with U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Lauren Montoya of Team SOCOM at the DoD Warrior Games, June 2, 2018, at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The Warrior Games are an annual event, established in 2010, to introduce wounded, ill and injured service members to adaptive sports as a way to enhance their recovery and rehabilitation. (DoD photo by Staff Sgt. Carlin Leslie)

Is it me or is Kelly Clarkson being a tad over-exposed? She’s got her afternoon chat-show; she was at the Rockefeller Xmas Tree Lighting; the Thanksgiving Day Parade and some pretty cheesy commercials. If I were her manager, I’d limit her appearances and make a great studio album. But that’s just me. At this rate, she’ll be as big as Jennifer Hudson! A great voice and talent, but limited buy some meager management … SIGHTING: PR-pasha David Salidor and CBS FM’s Race Taylor … NBC’s Chuck Scarborough signs off this week after a 50-year career. Known him for decades. Exemplary professional. Good luck and enjoy what’s next …

Micky Dolenz

And Paul Shaffer showed up to intro Micky Dolenz at his City Winery show Tuesday night. Details next time.

NAMES IN THE NEWS — Paul Undersinger; Roger Clark; Pam Grier; Freda Payne; Clint Eastwood; Dan Zelinski; Peter Friedman; Andy Greene; Brad Balfour; Jane Blunkell; Allan Steckler; Derek Taylor; Gary Gershoff; Steve Walter; Eric Kowalsky; Bobby Bank; Alison Martino; Kyla Nicole; Kjersti Long;Craig Newman; Tom & Lisa Cuddy; and SADIE!

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