Joe's Pub at the Public Theater in New York City announced today that it will present a yearlong retrospective of Mx Justin Vivian Bond's prolific and trailblazing career as a performing artist, beginning with the revival of Dixie McCall's Patterns for Living -- the first official collaboration between Bond and Kenny Mellman -- with performances between September-October 2015 and accompaniment by Thomas Bartlett.
Their first official collaboration together, Bond and Mellman brought Dixie to life on September 9, 1990, at Athens By Night, a hole-in-the-wall Greek restaurant in San Francisco. The show laid the groundwork for what became the pair's legendary signature act "Kiki and Herb," and ultimately created the blueprint of every Mx Justin Vivian Bond show to date.
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Of this milestone, Bond says:
"Twenty-five years ago, I realized one of my greatest dreams when I stepped into a little pink spotlight in a bizarre venue...to make my cabaret 'debut.' With the support of a brilliant team including Kenny Mellman, Charles Herman-Wurmfeld, Troy Eblen, and more, I expected to be taken seriously, and I was. We were a hit! Since that night, and thanks to the endless support of a community of friends and fans, I've performed on some of the world's most legendary stages in countless shows -- singing what, when and where I've wanted. To say I'm lucky and grateful to still be here doing what I love is an understatement."
As explained in a press release:
"Dixie was born of Mx Bond's obsession with the 1950s sultry glamour of Julie London, who played Nurse Dixie McCall in the 1970s TV show Emergency. As Mx Bond and Mellman got their bearings playing the San Francisco circuit, they studied the work of great cabaret artists. They wanted to take a seemingly exhausted genre and make it new and fresh for their generation and community of young queerdos, outcasts and activists. But at the same time, many of their friends were sick and dying of AIDS-related complications so they wanted to make a show that was an escape -- something that was fun, upbeat and life affirming."
Performances of Dixie McCall's Patterns for Living are on September 18, 19, 25, 26, October 2-4 at 9 p.m. Tickets are available online, by calling 212-967-7555, and in-person at The Public Theater's box office, 425 Lafayette, NYC.
