By Richard Skipper***If you know me, you probably know that sooner or later I’m going to ask you a question: Who or what are YOU celebrating today? It isn’t simply a tagline. The older I get—and the more LIVE entertainment I see—the more I realize how important it is to celebrate people while they are here, doing the work.
That is one reason I’m delighted to begin writing this twice-monthly column for NiteLife Exchange. I’ve spent most of my life in and around show business: as an entertainer, producer, interviewer, and LIVE ENTERTAINMENT historian, but also as an audience member. I still believe there is nothing quite like sitting in a room when the lights go down and not knowing exactly what is going to happen. Lately, I’ve been reminded just how much is happening.
I see cabaret artists continuing to create new shows and finding new ways into songs we may have heard hundreds of times. I see established entertainers taking chances, and newer entertainers discovering their voices. I see musicians, directors, writers, producers, technicians, and venues doing the work necessary to keep LIVE entertainment alive. And I see audiences showing up. That last part matters.
Every ticket we buy is a vote for LIVE entertainment. Every time we bring a friend, tell someone about a show, or post about an entertainer we’ve discovered, we become part of the ecosystem that keeps this community going.
There is plenty coming up that I’ll be writing about here. Jeff Harnar is celebrating Cole Porter with It’s De-Lovely. Linda Purl is taking on the challenge of playing 16 characters in Crazy Mama: A True Story of Love and Madness. Deborah Stone, Sean Harkness, Tom Hubbard and Daryl Kojak are bringing their Bistro Award-winning String Theory back to The Green Room 42. And that barely scratches the surface.
My curiosity about entertainers and their stories also fuels my weekly Richard Skipper Celebrates podcast. Conversation has always fascinated me. I’m less interested in asking someone to recite a résumé than I am in discovering the moment that changed everything. Who gave them advice they never forgot? Who opened the first door? What happened when the door slammed shut? What have they learned that they carry with them today? Those are also the questions behind my own show, Richard Skipper Celebrates! Life Lessons from Legends.
Each week, I continue those conversations through my newsletter, where I share upcoming shows, people worth knowing about, things I’ve seen, and stories that might otherwise slip past our radar. I think of it as another gathering place for this community. My newly redesigned RichardSkipper.com, conceived and designed by my Angel Sponsor, Ann Kittredge, now brings these various parts of my world together under one roof.
And, yes, I’m still getting onstage myself. My next New York City appearance is Saturday, November 21 at The Laurie Beechman Theatre, where I’ll be joined by two people whose careers I have long admired: Sandy Duncan and Don Correia.
The premise of Life Lessons from Legends is simple. Before the show, audience members write questions. I don’t see them beforehand. They are selected at random during the evening, and wherever the question takes us, we go. Songs, stories, memories, and unexpected detours become part of the journey. No two evenings can ever be exactly the same because the audience helps create the show.
That, ultimately, is what I hope this column will be as well. I don’t want merely to tell you what is opening and closing. I want to talk about the people doing the work, the history we’re carrying forward, the discoveries being made right now, and perhaps introduce you to someone you didn’t know yesterday. Because LIVE entertainment only remains alive when somebody is there to experience it. I plan on being there. I hope you will be, too.
And since we’re going to be meeting here twice a month, I might as well begin the way I intend to continue: Who or what are YOU celebrating today?
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Richard Skipper is an entertainer, host, producer, writer and LIVE ENTERTAINMENT historian. For more than 25 years, he has celebrated the people and stories of show business through his performances, interviews, writing and extensive research into the history of Hello, Dolly! He is the creator and host of Richard Skipper Celebrates, including his podcast, weekly Newsletter and audience-interactive live show, Richard Skipper Celebrates! Life Lessons from Legends. At the heart of everything he does is one question: Who or what are YOU celebrating today?
