Recap: Good Morning, From Here, November 09 to November 15
Monday
Birthdays are fun! I have enjoyed 73 of them and look forward to a pile more. Hundreds of kind people sent regards, congratulations, videos, and short notes sent with love and/or Facebook obligation, and all were avidly read. I wonder where some of the people go on the other 364 days of my life every year, but know you are thought of and I am grateful to have had you and continue to have you in my life.
I received a Pavlova chocolate birthday cake from dear Georgia Darehshori, a ticket to see the sold-out production of Las Princesas Desesperadas in December from Producer Alain Perreault, a full chorus of Happy Birthday from the Fiesta de Cabaret students and faculty at Act2PV with Mark Hartman as Musical Director on that… LOL, a chatty phone call from my brother, Mark Kosman, who lives in Sweden, and a personal sweet video note from Angeloo, the 11-year-old winner of last year’s So, You Think You Can Rise? contest, singing Las Mañanitas. The best present is having my sister Patrice here for six weeks, helping me eat cake and trimming Bogie’s toenails. I was nearly four when she was born and was ecstatic to have a baby sister to play with. Seventy years later, I feel exactly the same way.
The Fiesta de Cabaret continues at Act2PV tomorrow at 7 pm. I have seen three concerts in the Casa Karma Red Room so far, and they have been brilliant! You can read my reviews in Vallarta Mirror, Vallarta Calendar AND NiteLifeExchange.com from New York City! I am so happy From Here.
Tuesday
I was grateful the Fiesta de Cabaret at Act2 took a break last night so I could attend the Grand Opening of Intimo, a new restaurant and Wine Bar high up on one of our downtown hills overlooking the city.
It was the most thoughtful, well-executed Opening I have ever had the pleasure of attending. Intimo is gorgeous, dripping with plants, neutral colors, and fabrics more suited to a living room than an industrial environment. One corner serves as the stage for the entertainers – we had a taste of that eclectic mix throughout the evening, with a singer/guitarist, singer/saxophone player, half of a Mexican duo, waiter Marco (from Incanto) demonstrating Karaoke, and a sensational magic act so incredible – Frederico & Andrea – it deserves its own review, and I just might do that!
Eleven-year-old Angeloo, winner of the Rise talent contest last year, was resplendent in black sequins, his voice equally sparkly with power. Intimo owner, Canadian Kimberly Ayne, has been working with Angeloo’s stage presence, and it shows. He is a remarkable talent and a sweet, thoughtful boy.
The abundance of Prosecco and small bites had the four of us gingerly making our way down the steep hill toward town just as dancing was to begin – the sound system was excellent.
Applause, applause go to Kimberly and Carlos. Thank you for including us in manifesting your two-year dream of owning your restaurant. Intimo will proudly serve your clients in superb comfort, warm hospitality, and the art of flow. Much luck in the future, and we will see you again From Here.
Intimo Vallarta Restaurant
Costa Rica 132, Colonia 5 de Diciembre
intimovallarta@gmail.com
Wednesday
Scrabble at Qulture today at 12:30, then at 4 pm, the Purr Project kicks off their bingo fundraisers for the season at Nacho Daddy. Concert #5 of the Fiesta de Cabaret begins at 7 pm in the Casa Karma Red Room featuring Perry Ojeda. That’s my schedule for today; find me – I am still collecting birthday hugs!
Jerry Jones of Out & About Puerto Vallarta magazine hosted another Gay Mixer last night, filling Canto on Lazaro Cardenas and spilling into an impromptu pop-up street garden outside the table-less restaurant. Co-owner Henry Ho manned the door, greeting everyone as they shouldered their way through the stand-up crowd to the bar. Henry’s husband and business partner, Jeremy Reigel, met everyone inside. The Mixers are an excellent opportunity to showcase a venue’s food, atmosphere, staff, and cocktail pizzazz. They have been enormously successful, and I look forward to the eye candy (Jet de la Isla, this means you!) every ten days or so!
Patrice and I made our way to Act2 to Ovations Piano Bar for a drink before the Fourth Concert in the Fiesta de Cabaret got underway in the Casa Karma Red Room. Tracy Stark leapt in at the last minute to accompany Sue Matsuki on piano as Mark Hartman urgently tended to a family emergency.
Tracy and Sue spend a great deal of time together doing shows in NYC; their mutual respect was clear and abundant.
Matsuki paid homage to various musical genres that shaped her future as a performer and teacher. The stories of her big biker and harmonica-playing dad were hilarious, as were her renditions of nursery rhymes he taught her with a bluesy twist, which she shared with us just like she did with her kindergarten class years ago. She brought the house down with a song about a half-frozen snake being saved, complete with a silken hand puppet that assured Sue a stand-up (or sit-down) career in comedy if she ever tires of singing for a living! The applause and laughter were thunderous!
Thanks to Mark Hartman for bringing this Fiesta de Cabaret to Mexico and us. What an invaluable learning experience for the students and an ongoing treat for the audience. The Fiesta closes on Saturday, the 16th.
The last stop of the night plunked us down with Nikki at Nacho Daddy for Gouda Gabor’s Opening Night of Open Mic. It’s the second season Gouda has hosted the cornucopia of talent that drifted over with the closing of Incanto.
The audience was full of familiar faces – the stage, too, with a couple of newbies that caught everyone’s attention. We listened to Derek Carkner on piano with singers Sargento, Angeloo, Sea Byrne, Gabe Arciniega, Miana Melendez, and the newbies – a wonderful guitarist and two soloists. I hope they will all be back next week. Go early, people, have dinner and/or drinks, or you won’t get a seat From Here.
Thursday
About three years ago, I saw a notice somewhere on Facebook asking if anybody played Scrabble. I jumped all over that, met Randy Thomas at Qulture; he had been playing there with painter Barb Stenz, and so began our little, loosely formed Scrabble Club. From our members, I have had the best roommate ever, a business partner who continues to enrich my life and has given me the dearest friends who meet weekly to c-l-o-b-b-e-r one another. We welcomed Randy back yesterday after an 18-month absence; what a joy to play with him again!
The Purr Project Bingo fundraisers started their seasonal play at Nacho Daddy yesterday. Sandy Lopez, a Scrabbler, joined Patrice and me; there were no bingo winnings, but we contributed a little toward the upkeep of the 300+ cats and kittens at the shelter. That means bingo every Wednesday at 4 pm at Nacho Daddy, next week for Colina Spay and Neuter Clinic, followed on the 27th for Purr Project. Spay and neuter people, spay and neuter.
A 20-minute power nap had us back at Ovations Piano Bar waiting for #5 in the Fiesta de Cabaret series starring Perry Ojeda. Yas(uhiko) Fukuoka stepped in to play piano as Mark Hartman, Fiesta Producer with David Sabella, is still with family in the US.
Perry walked onto the Casa Karma Red Room stage buttoned up tight in formal (for Vallarta) attire. After one number, he shed the coat and tie and relaxed into the energy of the audience, who loved him immediately like an adored older brother.
His well-rehearsed show Just in Time celebrates the history and words of Betty Comden and Adolph Green. Their backstory and Perry’s intertwined, giving him his first starring role as Gabey in On The Town and, to this day, guide him emotionally and spiritually with positivity. Ojeda, recently diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, has had to relearn how to sing; his control and determination are enormous. He wants to impart everything he has learned over his decades onstage and in front of a camera to young aspiring actors and singers. The Cabaret students soaked up every word and tucked them away alongside each note that Perry sang beautifully with power and gentleness in equal measure. Bravo, Maestro.
Beefcakes has reopened! As Patrice and I were leaving Act2 last night, I spotted Missy McMahon standing outside her bar, so we stopped in and caught up on some details. Bingo returns this Saturday at 6 pm then will change to Sundays next week. Missy’s hours are 9 pm to 4 am, with lots of exciting projects coming up, so keep your eyes here and on VallartaCalendar.com for updates.
The soon-to-be-legendary Coco Cabaret opens tonight; a full report in the morning, From Here.
Friday
Wow! What a night! Patrice and I started early at Nick Rogers’ beautifully crafted Tribute to the music of Josh Groban at The Palm Cabaret. Nick’s voice is rich as sweet cream, and the videos that played behind him served him well, justifying the moving lyrics and adding some great twists, including a spine-tingling, gorgeous duet with himself. Without ruining the other video surprises, go and enjoy this delightful early show, co-produced by Jordon Carnegie. Speaking of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, its season debut has been pushed forward from December 01 to January 2025. I’ll share details as soon as they become available.
We walked from the Palm to Coco Cabaret for the inauguration of that brand-spanking new venue. We stood out on the street enjoying cocktails and watching the area fill up with every local news publication, listening to Luis Rascon play his cello out on the sidewalk. Entertainers from The Palm circulated, greeting friends and sharing the long-anticipated wait for Coco to open (on schedule, I might add!). Kudos to Adriana and Gustavo, Mark Rome and Sebastian Coronel, and every artist that will shine in that pitch-black interior and fly on that six-meter-high stage.
Right after the ribbon cutting, a bunch of us left Coco and walked back to Act2 for the 6th concert in the Fiesta de Cabaret series starring Lina Koutrakos with David Maiocco on piano. More on that standing ovation this weekend; stay tuned.
A return to Coco’s festivities found the place still hopping, still shoulder-to-shoulder with well-wishers; everyone loved the new space. On Monday, we will see Daniel Celis’s band Monaco reignite last season’s incredible tribute to the Eagles and Fleetwood Mac. Have a terrific weekend, everyone, see you Monday morning with all the weekend happenings, From Here.
