Seven months prior to the 2018 midterm elections, cabaret show producer, publicist and performer Stephen Hanks launched a variety show series as fundraisers for Democratic Senate, Congress, and State Legislature candidates. The CABARET CAMPAIGNS: RIDE THE BLUE WAVE 2018! at Don’t Tell Mama featured 28 different performers and raised more than $6,000 divided among 30 candidates. Election Day 2018 was indeed a “Blue Wave,” as the Democrats flipped 40 seats in Congress.
Hanks and his Blue Wave Group will be hitting the Cabaret Club Campaign Trail again in the new year with BLUE WAVE 2020—THE VOTING RIGHTS SHOW. In association with Red Horse Theatrical, this election-year series will celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and will feature 16 all-star performers singing songs about democracy, freedom, justice, equality and some of the transcendent issues of our time, including the battle against voter suppression in America.
NiteLife Exchange (NLE) celebrates Stephen Hanks (SH) with Six Questions
NiteLife Exchange: Given how much time and energy you’ve put into these “Blue Wave” fundraising shows over the past two years, you’re obviously passionate about politics. When did you first realize the important role politics plays in our society?
Stephen Hanks: When we staged our first “Blue Wave” in April 2018, it was around the 50th Anniversary of the Martin Luther King, Jr. assassination, so I sang the song “Abraham, Martin and John,” after telling the story about how the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963 made me passionate about politics and journalism at the same time. I had just turned 8 and was in the third grade when that happened and all I did the next four days until Kennedy’s funeral was watch everything on TV. I was sad and fascinated at the same time. I’ve gotten involved in campaigning for Democratic candidates ever since and I was a Political Science major in college. I was especially involved in 1992 in the Bill Clinton for President campaign in New York and would make speeches to community groups and senior centers. I would even get up on a milk crate and make speeches supporting Clinton in Washington Square Park and on in front of the 5th Avenue Library.
NLE: When did you cast your first vote and how did you feel about it?
SH: When I was a kid, my parents would take me into those old voting booths with them so I could flick the levers next to the candidates they wanted to vote for. I was really happy when in 1971 the 26th Amendment lowered the voting age from 21 to 18, which meant that I could vote in New York City and State elections in 1973 and for Congress candidates in 1974. But my first vote in a Presidential election was for Jimmy Carter against Gerald Ford in 1976 and I felt jazzed about that because I was campaigning for Carter while I was at Lehman College in the Bronx.
NLE: Your past “Blue Wave” shows raised funds to support Democratic candidates running for Congress and State Legislatures and the upcoming benefit on January 20 is geared toward supporting voting rights. How do you feel about a plank be added to the Democratic platform to support the arts and arts funding?
SH: The Democratic Party has always been in the lead in pushing for funding for the arts and is always fighting against budget cuts whenever the other side is in power. One of the most gratifying aspects of producing these “Blue Wave” shows is combining my love for political action with passion for New York cabaret and its performers. Cabaret has always been a forum to make political statements through music, and performing, and these shows do that while also celebrating the terrifically talented singers in the shows.
NLE: Does anything stand out as a highlight of a previous “Blue Wave” shows?
SH: Of course—there are a lot of highlights I could mention, but naturally, all the performers from the five 2018 shows loved the fact that we could stage two shows last January celebrating that the Democratic Party flipped 40 seats to take over power in the House of Representatives. If not for that vote, Donald Trump could not have been impeached. So we all feel like we played our small part in that and feel pretty proud about it.
NLE: As the 2020 campaign continues, what are the two most important goals you’d like to achieve through the “Blue Wave” shows?
SH: Well, since the show on January 20 (at Hidden Cabaret at the Secret Room at 7 pm) is called “The Voting Rights Show,” one goal is raising as much as we can to support groups that are battling voter suppression around the country. All the money raised in the January show is being donated to Fair Fight Action/2020, which is led by Stacey Abrams of Georgia, who lost her race for Governor in 2018 as a direct result of voter suppression in that state. I’m also hoping to stage at least two “Blue Wave” shows in the fall before the November election to raise money for Democratic Senate candidates. It’s vital that the Senate turn blue if we want all the policies that Democrats have been proposing to get enacted, such as laws that address climate change, health care, voting rights, women’s rights, LGBTQ rights and immigration—the list goes on.
NLE: You have been a great supporter of cabaret artists over the years. What has that experience been like for you?
SH: The experience has been amazing and incredibly satisfying because I’ve been able to pursue my passion for music with actually being able to play an instrument. LOL. Since I first got involved in the New York Cabaret community nine years ago as a reviewer, I’ve done almost everything one can do in the art form—producing, hosting shows, performing, promoting performers, and I even directed a show a few years ago. But probably most rewarding has been the many friendships I’ve made over this period (in spite of once being a reviewer), which is one of the reasons the “Blue Wave” shows have been so successful artistically. My cabaret friends have really come through for me in donating their time and talent to an important cause—and I’ll always be grateful to all of them for that.
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