The latest NEW FACES of 2018 STARDUSTER SHOWCASE—a Broadway Night featuring five Stardusters celebrating the music of the Great White Way will play at the Iridium club this Sunday, September 30th. Hosting duties will be shared by Lisa Asher and Scott Barbarino, Artistic Director of ELLEN’S STARDUST DINER. Emcee Lisa Asher also dons her director’s hat for this occasion, with Music Director Bobby Peaco at the piano. NEW FACES of 2018 is a collaborative effort to give Stardusters the opportunity to showcase their individual abilities, in an effort to get these young talents work in theatre and live entertainment.
NiteLife Exchange asks Lisa Asher Six Questions about working with these talented Stardusters.
1. NiteLife Exchange (NLE) How did you come to be the MC and Starduster wrangler at Ellen’s Stardust Diner?
Lisa Asher (LA): To be clear, I’m not the only MC at Ellen’s. There are several and I became aware of the position through my friend, Brandon Cutrell. Brandon was working as an MC at Ellen’s and I had gone by to visit him for a few minutes. I watched him working and thought, “I think I could do this!” I talked to him about the job and he told me Scott Barbarino had hired him. I have known Scott professionally for a number of years and so I reached out to him. I let him know that if he was ever looking to hire another MC, I’d like to talk to him about the job. About a month later I got a call from Scott. We met, talked, and a week after that I was training to be an MC! Three and a half years later I’m still here! It’s a great gig and it doesn’t exist anywhere else on the planet. Not like it does at Ellen’s.
2. NLE: As the Director of the Starduster showcases, what are the joys? Are there frustrations, and if so, what are they?
LA: The joys are in working with the Stardusters. It gives me a chance to work with them in a way that can’t happen upstairs at Ellen’s. Material can be done in these showcases that can’t be done in the diner. Material that shows them as the actors/actresses they are and showcases why they are here in New York pursuing work in the Musical Theatre. Frustrations? There never seems to be enough time to rehearse! Coordinating the schedules of six diner employees at a time when someone doesn’t have a shift is tough! We get support from Scott on that though—he works to make sure no one loses work because of their involvement in these showcases.
3. NLE: How important are these showcases to the kids who perform in them?
LA: Very. They understand that any chance to perform on a stage in NYC is an important opportunity. To be doing so on a stage like the Iridium, with such a rich musical history, only heightens the experience. Also, they understand that these shows are recorded, and they’ll have that footage to use as an added piece of marketing for themselves.
4. NLE: How successful have the showcases been in getting the performers “out there” and into the clubs and on the stages beyond Ellen’s?
LA: That is such a hard thing to quantify. So much of the success one has in this business does not have a direct link back to a single act or action, but rather to a bunch of actions which all add up to something greater than the sum of its parts.
5. NLE: Why should folks who aren’t friends and family invest their time in coming to a showcase?
LA: Because they are bonified, professional variety shows. Because they give you so much talent for such a small ticket price. Because you should support live performance. Because it’s on Broadway in a world class nightclub. Because it’s a Sunday and most Broadway shows are dark.
6. NLE: You’re reconnecting with Bobby Peaco who is serving as Music Director of this articular showcase. Can you please say something about this?
LA: Gladly! Bobby Peaco and I go back many, many years. We used to work at Don’t Tell Mama in the dark ages before cell phones! Bobby is a superb musical director, musician and arranger. He listens to what a performer is doing and creates a musical environment to support the emotional environment of the song. That’s a real gift. He’s also a really swell fella. We also share the same birth date (he’s older!). He’s also a dear old friend and I love that we get to work with these kids together. He’s making this one extra special for me.
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