Metropolitan Room's Tribute to Dana Lorge

A trouper to the very end, Dana Lorge had a long career in the cabaret community. For a long spell, she hosted a weekly variety show at Bernard and Joanne Furshpan's Metropolitan Room in Chelsea, NYC.

Bernie gratefully downloaded the show for all he who could not attend, and that includes myself.

Dana was a regular fixture on the cabaret scene. She was funny on-stage and beloved by all off.

Dana discovered very late that she had lung cancer. Her death sent tremors though the cabaret community. She is sincerely missed and loved by family, friends and fans. Her original song "I Was Beautiful" is a cabaret classic.

As an actress, Dana (pronounced Dan-ah) had supporting roles in films like Mel Brooks' The Producers and Moscow on the Hudson, among others.

I met her several times after shows at the Metropolitan Room and found her very charming. So, RIP, Dana. NYC cabaret mourns and misses you very much.

Rubbing Elbows: My Brushes with Celebrities chapter 3

I've been hard at work on my proposed memoirs. Here's chapter 3:

I grew up in a somewhat obsessed-with-entertainment household tat helped mold and groom me for what I do today.

My uncle, Patrick Tuohey, was a singer who started in the business as one of the Startime Kids, a popular tv show in the 1950s. He was on at the time with Connie Francis and had a kiddie crush on her.

Her career took off but my uncle's didn't due to family setbacks of one or another.

"If your Uncle Pat couldn't make it, none of us can make it''' was one of the negative mottos I frequently heard around the house where I grew up with my mom and grandparents; my uncle's parents as well. They meant well, trying to protect us, but drilled a toxic message into my head.

This message only made me more determined as I matured. In high school, I joined the glee club. In college, I joined an acting troupe. After my days at University of Colorado, I moved from my humble roots in Paterson, NJ to Manhattan. I had a cabaret act, singing. I was an underground, Super-8 filmmaker. And I continued to write, which has always been my greatest talent and passion.

I found my niche as a celebrity blogger in 2009 that has gown and it's viewed internationally. with over 13,000 views monthly. Beat that, People magazine!

Flash forward: 20015 and I am press-passed to events, like Melba Moore's packed-to-the rafters sold-out show at the fabulous Metropolitan Room in downtown Manhattan. I finally found my calling. As Melba sings: "This is it!"

Again, I appreciate any feedback on my development of my memoir. Thanks!

On the Town with Buddy Beaverhausen: Denise Spann-Morgan's Soulful Christmas at NYC's Metropolitan Room

The holidays got happier when Denise Spann-Morgan brought a bevy of artists to Bernie and Joanne Furshpan's Metropolitan Room this afternoon. I don't make it to 1:00pm shows for just any old body but this was well worth the effort.

Denise did Phil Spector proud as she opened and closed the show with "Christmas, Baby Please Come Home," a song identified with its original vocalist, Darlene Love, that Ms Morgan outstandingly made her own.

Denise brought a number of fabulous artists to the stage to sing carols and seasonal pop tunes that ranged from "Mary, Did You Know?" (a rhetorical question the song never answers, though sung beautifully by Beau Howard) to the novelty tune "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas," sung campy zest by Molly Pope.

But more than hosting, the lead singer of The "Marvelous" Marvelettes belted out songs herself in an array of outfits. Denise put together a rousing afternoon of superlative talent.

I sat in a booth with my brother from another mother, Nick Lion and we got to exchange Christmas gifts just before showtime. Bernie and Joanne sat nearby, both looking even more dapper than unusual. Even my friend Wellington Perkins -- whom I haven't seen in ages -- came by to wish us a happy holiday.

Nick's white sports jacket looked appropriately divine for Christmas! In fact, it was an afternoon of holiday bliss that left me wanting to go dancing in the streets. Merry Christmas to all!

On the Town with Buddy Beaverhausen: Julie Budd Live!

Julie Budd looked elegant when she took to the stage in a black gown with a hint of glitter on it, a white bolero jacket with shoulder pads, and high heels.

Julie thanked the sold-out crowd for coming out in the rain to see her perform. She apologized, however, about the weather making her hair frizz out. She need not have as she looked just delightful.

Ms Budd told numerous amusing backstage stories about working with Frank Sinatra as his special guest in Vegas at age 16. Her patter also included anecdotes about working with Jimmy Durante (apparently a very tough taskmaster).

At the Metropolitan Room, Julie Budd had the world on a string, to paraphrase her opening number. "In the Wee Small Hours" was a special stand-out in her set.

Julie knocks every number out of the ballpark with her belter's voice, always perfectly on pitch and with little vibrato. I do feel, however, that some of her ballads, like "I'll Be Seeing You" and "Someone to Watch Over Me" require more constraint which would showcase a gentler side of her tremendous voice.

I thought, from our interviews and all I've read about Julie, that she was a Manhattan girl born and bred. In this show, it came as news to moi that she is Brooklyn born. How much talent has come out of this borough?!

Julie's voice is a force of nature, just like today's weather. She expressed her worries, to the sold-out audience, that the inclement weather might have her playing to a nearly empty house. Julie, we love you, Come Rain or Come Shine!

On the Town with Buddy Beaverhausen and The "Marvelous" Marvelettes at the Metropolitan Room NYC!

I was greeted in the Metropolitan Room's lobby by the graceful Joanne Camilleri-Furshpan, owner Bernie's wife, and ushered in by her. I love her gentle accent! It was the first time we met in person.

Lead vocalist Denise Spann-Morgan later appeared on-stage in a sparkling beige, sleeveless gown between her back-up "Marvelos" Marvelettes (who sometimes got a chance to also snag the lead), the magnificent Annette Bland McCoy and LaRita Gaskin. Ms McCoy wasn't coy at all, it turned out, when she bitched that the stage lighting was making her sweat too much under her wig. She quickly removed it, revealing her real hair pulled back into a bun, walked out into the audience and put it on the head of yours truly!

On a scale of 1 to 100, this show was 110. The packed house was joyously jubilant in its wild enjoyment. Not only is Ms Morgan a powerhouse belter of a singer, but she is a hilarious raconteur and monologist; as raw and raunchy as any diva working today, putting Ms Midler to shame.

The ladies opened with "The Hunter Gets Captured By the Game," then moved on to "Playboy" and "My Baby Must Be a Musician." Towards the end of the act that had the girl-group doing a very upbeat, soulful version of "Please Mr Postman," Denise had given me a personal shout-out and club owner Bernard Furshpan thanked me for bringing the group to the club, calling Buddy Beaverhausen Metropolitan Room's "matchmaker and yenta."

The song set included Baby Washington's "That's How Dreams Are Made" and Otis Redding's "Try a Little Tenderness," both expertly interpreted. A perky "Beechwood 45789," "Too Many Fish in the Sea" and "Don't Mess with Bill" rounded out the night to lots of audience clapping along, applause and bopping around in our seats; even getting to our feet to dance a little.

The "Marvelous" Marvelettes blew the roof off Metropolitan Room and the Metropolitan Room loved every minute of it, it seemed. My friend Nick Lion and I had to later go for a couple of cocktails at The Monster just to recover from our cabaret experience, and to rave -- and share photos -- with everybody about what we'd just seen. Truly, The Marvelettes are one of the best-loved girl-groups of all time. Denise even told her audience that they were Motown's #1 girl group; not The Supremes. Motown's dirty little secret! Hallelujah and amen from your little old yenta, me!

This was the first night of The "Marvelous" Marvelettes' residency at Metropolitan Room. It was also Denise's birthday, by the way. The diva was thrown a little surprise party when the audience sang The Birthday Song and the club served cake to all. An extremely touching moment, especially for our star.

I'll be back for the next "Marvelous" Marvelettes show for sure. http://metropolitanroom.com/enhancedCalendar.cfm