Schimmel Center Blog

This Saturday, March 12, comedienne and singer Ana Gasteyer brings all of her sass, brass, vim and verve to the Schimmel stage in her hilarious cabaret act based on her hit album, “I’m Hip.” An accomplished performer, Gasteyer has been seen on Broadway in musicals such as The Rocky Horror Show, The Three Penny Opera and Wicked as well as the Encores! presentation of A New Brain. She has popped up in pop culture milestones as diverse as the cult film classic Mean Girls to the classic “Soup Nazi” episode of Seinfeld. She even appeared last month in Fox Television’s Grease Live as Principal McGee.

Gasteyer is probably best known for her work on six seasons of NBC’s classic sketch comedy show, Saturday Night Live! Few can forget the classic sketch “Schweddy’s Balls” (now immortalized as a Ben & Jerry’s ice cream flavor) in which Gasteyer plays an NPR host, along side Molly Shannon, who introduces Alec Baldwin’s unfortunately named pastry to great comic effect. Some might not realize that Gasteyer co-wrote the sketch herself. Other SNL viewers are sure to remember her recurring role as high school music teacher Bobbie Mohan-Culp or her classic impersonations of Martha Stewart and Celine Dion. Enjoy the following clips from Gasteyer’s career below.  (Some of these clips originally premiered at a later hour and may not be considered suitable for all ages.) Then be sure to book your seats for her hilarious cabaret act.

“Schweddy Balls”

“Martha Stewart”

Ana Gasteyer: “I’m Hip”;  Saturday, March 12 at 7:30pm; tickets $55 | $39 | $29 ; Schimmel Center at Pace University; 3 Spruce St, New York, NY 10038;(212) 346-1715; Tickets available at https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/pr/949157

Another opening, another show! On Friday, March 4, Fred Barton is back with his 14-piece orchestra and cast of Broadway singers and dancers to pay tribute to yet another American showman.  Cole Porter was known for his witty and provocative lyrics and sophisticated rhythms and melodies. This high society musical wunderkind was “the top” of American show music in the early and mid twentieth century providing scores to classic Broadway shows like  Anything Goes,  Kiss Me Kate and Can-Can. To celebrate, we are counting down some of the greatest show-stopping numbers from the composer’s career. Below are Porter’s 10 greatest songs according to this blogger.

Night and Day

You’re The Top

Brush Up Your Shakespeare

I Get A Kick Out Of You

Let’s Do It

Begin the Beguine

Love for Sale

It’s Too Darn Hot

Friendship

Another Opening, Another Show

American Showstoppers: An Evening with Cole Porter featuring the Fred Barton Orchestra;  Friday, March 4 at 7:30pm; tickets $55 | $39 | $29 ; Schimmel Center at Pace University; 3 Spruce St, New York, NY 10038;(212) 346-1715; Tickets available at https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/pr/949251

This Sunday, Febraury 28, The Intergalactic Nemesis will bring a comic book to life on the Schimmel stage. The show is the brain child of producer/director Jason Neulander and combines several mediums to create something never before seen on stage- the live graphic novel. Three actors, live musicians and a foley artist tell an incredible science fiction adventure story, harkening back to the old radio dramas of the early 20th century, while full color comic book panels are projected onto a screen upstage.

The Intergalactic Nemesis

The show was born in 1996 when Jason Neulander was approached by his friend Ray Colgan who wanted to create a live radio show to be performed in an Austin, Texas coffee shop. Neulander assembled a small group of writers to create an episodic adventure to be performed by a small ensemble of actors. The first ever performance played to an audience of 100 people and was recorded on a cassette tape 4 track. The audio caught the attention of local NPR affiliate KUT who broadcast the show in serial format on their Sunday morning show Soundsight.

Neulander eventually had the idea to collaborate with artist Tim Doyle on a graphic novel based on the stories from the live radio serial. After the success of the new format, Neulander decided to marry the two mediums into the show that is performed around the country today.

Schimmel audiences will see the first of three stories presented by the company, “Book One: Target Earth.” The story, set in 1933, sends intrepid reporter Molly Sloan and her assistant Timmy Mendez on a strange odyssey that pits them against a sinister hypnotist, an alien race and a planet of robots! Check out the trailer below and book your tickets today!

Intergalactic Nemesis: Book One: Target Earth; Sunday, February 28 at 7:30pm; All Seats $15; Schimmel Center at Pace University; 3 Spruce St, New York, NY 10038; (212) 346-1715; Tickets at https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/pr/949250/prm/FRIENDS

This Sunday, February 21, our Family Fun series continues with the Grammy nominated kids’ Hip Hop artist Secret Agent 23 Skidoo! Skidoo turns the genres of Hip Hop and children’s music upside down to create a unique family friendly sound that delivers timeless topics like fear, love and self acceptance to the forefront. Accompanied by his daughter, MC Fireworks, 23 Skidoo creates unique and heartwarming party music that has garnered national awards, five #1 hits on SiriusXM Global Radio and praise from TIME, NPR, USA Today and many others. Enjoy their music videos below and book your seats now!

Secret Agent 23 Skidoo; Sunday, February 21 at 3:00pm; Adults $20 | Students $10; Schimmel Center at Pace University; 3 Spruce St, New York, NY 10038; (212) 346-1715; Tickets at https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/pr/949248

This week we are proud to offer you two very diverse pieces of entertainment. Acclaimed clarinetist Julian Bliss leads his renowned jazz septet in a Tribute to Benny Goodman on Wednesday, February 10. Come listen to the music of the Big Band great played by accomplished jazz musicians.  Songs like “Lady be Good,” “Up a Lazy River,” and “Moonglow,” have never sounded so fresh before. Check them out in action in the video below.

We are also very proud to present The Flying Karamazov Brothers. This whacky troop of performers have been entertaining the masses with their high stakes juggling and vaudevillian like comedy routines for the last 5 decades. These kilt-clad jugglers are sure to please everyone including adults, students, students who watch Glee, tourists, theatergoers, theatre-avoiders, pseudo-intellectuals, friendless geeks, hedge fund managers, hedge fund managers who are now Duane Reade assistant managers, kids (but only gifted ones with a solid background in the classics), disgraced religious leaders, Kardashians, and politicians.

The Flying Karamazov Brothers

The group has quite the colorful history. Below are some interesting facts about the Brothers Karamazov.

• They have shared stages and screens collaborating with Frank Sinatra, Placido Domingo, The Grateful Dead, The Who, Dolly Parton, Robin Williams, Patrick Dempsey, Danny DeVito, Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, Ken Kesey, Allen Ginsberg, Kenny Rogers, Los Lobos, The Smothers Brothers, Click and Clack the Tappett Brothers, Joyce Brothers and many, many, more.
• They have appeared on TV shows including “Late Show with David Letterman,” “Seinfeld”, “Ellen”, “The Tonight Show”, “The Today Show”, “Good Morning America”, “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood” and many others.
• They starred in the hit film The Jewel of the Nile.
• They have performed with the Cleveland Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra, the St. Louis Symphony, the San Francisco Symphony, The Seattle Symphony, The Canadian National Symphony, the Toronto Symphony and many other orchestras.
• They won an Obie award in 1980 for their show, Juggling & Cheap Theatrics which played at the Goodman Theatre, Arena Stage, BAM, London’s West End and moved to Broadway and was taped for a television special on Showtime.
• They performed at Chicago’s Goodman Theater in The Comedy of Errors and The Three Moscowteers.
• They represented America for classic theatre at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.
• In 1986, they appeared at BAM  in  L’Historie du Soldat and reopened the Vivian Beamont theater with Juggling and Cheap Theatrics.  Their show Juggle and Hyde premiered at the Lincoln Center Theatre’s Mitzi Newhouse Theater, and they returned to the Beaumont with The Comedy of Errors which was also seen on PBS’ “Great Performances.”
• In 1992, they performed in theaters all over the country including The Guthrie, The Wilbur in Boston, Hasty Pudding in Cambridge, MA, ACT in Seattle, and The Apollo in New York City to name a few. They premiered Le Petomane at the La Jolla Playhouse and at ACT in Seattle.
• In 1993, they premiered The Brothers Karamazov at the Seattle Rep and at Arena Stage.
• In 1994, The Flying Karamazov Brothers Do The Impossible appeared on London’s West End and on Broadway.  The same year, they premiered Sharps, Flats and Accidentals at ACT in Seattle.
• In 1996, they performed Sharps, Flats and Accidentals at the New Victory Theatre in New York City and premiered Club Sandwich at ACT.
• In 1997, they premiered an adaptation of Room Service directed by Robert Woodruff at ACT in Seattle and at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles.
• In 2000, they collaborated with MIT’s Media Lab and premiered L’Universe at ACT in Seattle, the Arizona Repertory Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre and at the Carré in Amsterdam.
• In 2004, they premiered Life: A Guide for the Perplexed at ACT in Seattle, the Lensic in Santa Fé and at ART in Cambridge, MA and, in 2005, at the San Diego Repertory Theatre.
• In 2007, they premiered Don Quijote at the San Diego Repertory Theatre.
• In 2008, they premiered 4PLAY.
• In 2009, they premiered Flings & Eros at the Merrimack Repertory Theatre in Lowell, MA
• In 2010, they appeared in The Flying Karamazov Brothers at The Minetta Lane Theater in New York City.
• In 2011, The Flying Karamazov Brothers appeared in London, England and in Madrid, Spain.