By Kati Neiheisel***Intrigued by NLE’s Who Was Who!, I want to know who was where. I want to know about the hot and happening clubs and piano bars of previous decades. Perhaps the past can inspire today’s New York City nightlife.
For twenty-one years, beginning in 1985, Bangkok met Broadway at Danny’s Grand Sea Palace, a Thai restaurant that housed a piano bar and an intimate cabaret space known as Danny’s Skylight Room. Danny’s location at 346 W. 46th Street, on New York City’s historic Restaurant Row, was convenient to the Theater District, making it a premier destination for the pre- and post-theater crowd.
Restaurateur Danny Nak [Nakanant] and singer-songwriter-pianist Danny Apolinar, created the piano bar and the elegant Skylight Room that did indeed feature a skylight above the stage. John Britton, longtime partner of Apolinar, was the booking manager. In the early years, performers included Jill Corey, Group Five, Monica Lewis, Jill O’Hara, Jane Sheckter, K.T. Sullivan and Diana Templeton.
Wendy Scherl, then known as Wendy Ginsberg, made her cabaret debut at Danny’s in 1988. An audition at Don’t Tell Mama led to a chance encounter with Britton, who overheard her singing while he sat at the bar. On discovering they were both alumni of Northwestern University, he offered her a date to debut across the street at Danny’s. “After sending my flyers out, John called saying, ‘We don’t usually see this, but we sold out the room in less than an hour.’ We added an 11:00 PM show which also had a full crowd. I was in awe of the whole experience. I’m really grateful and proud that my debut was at Danny’s.”
“I grew up there as a jazz vocalist,” says Laurie Krauz, who began performing at Danny’s with the Daryl Kojak Trio in 1995. “I have wonderful memories of Lola del Rivero and Don Schaffer, who booked the room. They were family. Don and my mom were thick as thieves.” For years, every May and September, Krauz and Kojak did a show on Thursday or Friday nights, but two nights stand out. “One snowy day, Daryl and I decided not to cancel our show, but everyone else canceled theirs. Reviewer Wayman Wong of the Daily News had nowhere to go so he showed up at our gig. I was not known at all, but the next day, I had the whole column and a photo!” Taking their lead from Broadway, they also decided not to cancel on September 14, 2001, just days after 9/11. There were only eight people in the audience. “We changed everything in the show. I wanted to sing songs about America, like “Indiana” and “Route 66.” We closed with an improvised, haunting version of “Let There Be Peace on Earth.” At the end, a woman said, ‘Thank you for the service’. That meant so much to me. I perform to touch people, to alter someone’s heart.”
Michael Barbieri, who did lights and sound at Danny’s in the 90s, recounted some of his favorite moments at the club. “Sarah Dash did a medley that included “Where Do Broken Hearts Go” that tore the place apart! She was teeny, but she had this immense voice.” Louis St. Louis, famous for songs he wrote for Grease, was introduced by Chita Rivera in her Kiss of the Spider Woman makeup and wig. “She was around 60 at the time, but when she jumped up to introduce Louis, she transformed into a 20-year-old ingenue! What a presence!”
In 1998, Blossom Dearie found a new home at Danny’s Skylight Room after the closing of her former residence, The Ballroom. The next two years found Dearie on an extended break, but to the delight of friends and fans, she returned in 2001 for an open-ended engagement. Dearie stayed on for the final five years of Danny’s, accompanied by Ray Kilday on bass and David Silliman on drums. Silliman recalls, “Blossom brought so much business to Danny’s. If you didn’t have a reservation, you probably wouldn’t get in
. They put people as close to the stage as they could, but Blossom spoke her mind. ‘Don’t put people so close. They put their feet on my stage! Don’t sell them the fish. It smells!’” But Dearie was happy at Danny’s and may have had a hand in Annie Ross performing there in 2005. In All About Jazz, January 2006, Ross states, “I talked to Blossom…and she said, ‘Annie…Danny’s on 46th is great because you can do whatever you want to do.’”
Other notable performers included David Allyn, Joanne Berretta, Klea Blackhurst, Joyce Breach, Barbara Brussell, Claiborne Cary (who recorded her CD “Live at Danny’s” in 1998), Mary Foster Conklin, Richard Holbrook, Maude Maggart, Mark Nadler, Philip Officer, Brett Somers, Dakota Staton and John Wallowitch. The piano bar featured pianists Buddy Barnes, Chris Barrett, Charles DeForest, Charles Lindberg, Jeremie Michael, Karen Miller, Chuck Musone, Jerry Scott, Charles Tichenor, Bill Zeffiro and Ronny Whyte—who picked out the grand pianos for both the front and back rooms.
On New Year’s Eve 2006, the Ken Myers Trio played Danny’s Skylight Room for the last time, while Jerry Scott presided over the piano bar. The Skylight Room officially closed its doors on January 1, 2007, followed by the restaurant on January 6. Laurie Krauz adds, “I only have fond memories. It was a such a small room, but it had great sound and a really good piano. It was home.”
