Monday, January 28, 2008 at 7 PM
The Town Hall
123 West 43rd Street
THE ONLY ALL PERFORMANCE AWARDS SHOW IN THE WORLD!
No Acceptance Speeches! All the Winners Perform!
The Best in Cabaret, Comedy & Jazz Chosen by the Press!
The 2008 Nightlife Awards will be hosted
by the multiple Emmy Award Winning... BRUCE VILANCH
2008 NIGHTLIFE AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED!
JOHN PIZZARELLI, JESSICA MOLASKEY, MARILYN MAYE, LOUIS CK,
FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS, HANK JONES, CAROL SLOANE,
BARB JUNGR, MODERN MAN, ALLAN HARRIS, NATALIE DOUGLAS, CHRISTINE PEDI
AMONG MORE THAN DOZEN AWARD WINNERS CHOSEN BY NYC CRITICS!
The 2008 Nightlife Awards, the only All-Performance Award show in the world,
announced its winners today as a first step in preparation for an all-star celebration
of the best in cabaret, comedy and jazz at The Town Hall on Monday, 7 PM, January 28th.
The only award show with no acceptance speeches - the most audience-friendly award
show in captivity -- where the winners perform to show why they were chosen, is
already well on its way to yet another star-studded evening of entertainment. Among
the winners who have already confirmed that they will come to Town Hall to perform
include John Pizzarelli & Jessica Molaskey, Marilyn Maye, Carol Sloane, Allan Harris,
Barb Jungr, Modern Man, Christine Pedi, Natalie Douglas, and more soon to be announced. [For the full list of winners see below.]
Among the talented celebrities who will grace the Town Hall stage in support of New York
Nightlife either presenting winners to the audience or entertaining as special guest
performers include past Nightlife Award winners Bill Charlap & Sandy Stewart,
three-time Grammy Winner Lari White, Birdland's up-and-coming jazz star Hilary Kole,
Theater icon Charles Busch, acclaimed musical comedy stars Lucie Arnaz and Julie Halston and Tony Award winners Bill Irwin and Joanna Gleason. That list will grow
exponentially over the next two weeks. The Nightlife Awards will be directed this year by a
master of one-night only extravaganzas, Carl Andress.
The creator and producer of The Nightlife Awards, Scott Siegel, said "I am deeply gratified
that every year performers knock themselves out to come back to Town Hall to perform. This
year, Marilyn Maye -- who holds the record for the most appearance by a singer on the Tonight
Show Starring Johnny Carson (76 appearances) is flying in from Kansas City. Country star and
crossover cabaret artist Lari White is flying up from Nashville. Jazz legend Carol Sloane is coming
in from out of town, as well, while English star Barb Jungr changed a gig in the UK in order to perform
at Town Hall. John Pizzarelli and Jessica Molaskey, despite being booked for another major event later
that night, are coming to Town Hall early in the evening to perform. And then there is Bruce Vilanch,
the three-time Emmy Award winner coming in from L.A. to host the evening at a comic level equal to
the Academy Awards -- after all, when he isn't on strike, he writes the Oscar telecast.
"There will be a great many more stars announced between now and January 28th," Siegel continued.
There are winners we haven't heard back from yet, plus there will be more special guest performers
and celebrity presenters named, as well. As always, we try to surprise the audience with as many
stars as we can. In the past, we've brought out Liza Minnelli, Patti LuPone, and Robert Altman to present awards. And we've had legends on the stage like Alan King, Robert Klein, Betty Buckley, Maureen McGovern, etc. With no acceptance speeches, and this kind of great talent, the Nightlife Awards is simply bang, bang, bang entertainment and nothing, in my mind, can top that for promoting New York nightlife to a wider audience."
2008 NIGHTLIFE
AWARDS JUDGES:
Kirsten Ames U.S. Comedy Arts Festival
Jane Borden Time Out NY
David Drake Broadway.com
Adam Feldman Time Out NY
David Finkle The Village Voice
Erin Rose Foley HBO
Will Friedwald New York Sun
James Gavin Author/Critic
Ira Gitler Jazz Times and Downbeat
David Hajdu The New Republic
Stu Hamstra Cabaret Hotline Online
Harry Haun National Playbill
David Hurst Next Magazine
Celia Ipiotis Eye on the Arts
David Kenny WBAI Radio
Peter Leavy Cabaret Scenes
Rob Lester Edge.com
Brian Scott Lipton TheaterMania.com
Chris Mazzilli Gotham Comedy Club
David Noh Gay City News
David Perozzi ABC TV
Rex Reed The New York Observer
Roy Sander Formerly Back Stage & CitySearch
Barbara Siegel TalkinBroadway.com & TheaterMania.com
Scott Siegel TalkinBroadway.com & TheaterMania.com
Jonathan Warman HX Magazine
K. Leander Williams Time Out NY
Matt Windman AM NY
Tickets are $75, $50, $25 and they are available at
TicketMaster: 212-307-4100 or at TicketMaster.com
You can also purchase tickets at the Town Hall Box Office, which is open from noon to 6 PM except Sundays.
The Nightlife Awards is sponsored in part by ASCAP, The Edythe Kenner Foundation, Jill & Irwin Cohen,
Barbara & Peter Leavy, Thoroughbred Records, Edith & Ervin Drake, Fred Landau, Stuart Bloom and Robert Aaron: Lightstyles LLC, Lynn DiMenna, Jamie deRoy & Friends, and Trattoria Dopo Teatro.
2008 NIGHTLIFE AWARD WINNERS ARE...
Outstanding Cabaret Vocalist in a Major Engagement:
MARILYN MAYE
Finalists: Mary Cleere Haran, Chita Rivera
Outstanding Cabaret Duo or Group in a Major Engagement: JOHN PIZZARELLI & JESSICA MOLASKEY
Finalists: Bill Charlap & Sandy Stewart, Ashford & Simpson
