LA drag sensation featured in American Apparel ad and Alaska video returns to NYC with new show.
April 20 & 21 at Laurie Beechman Theatre
"Ground-breaking!" -- Frontiers Magazine
"Pure absurdist drag camp on the comic surface, but beneath lays a complex heroine with heart and soul of John Waters' proportions." -- Huffington Post
"Unlike anything you have ever experienced on a stage." -- Venice Magazine
After an unforgettable New York debut in October, LA drag sensation LOVE CONNIE (aka JOHN CANTWELL, of The Nellie Olesons) returns to Laurie Beechman Theater with the premiere of LOVE CONNIE: FADE TO CONNIE. It will be performed April 20 & 21 at 7pm at The Laurie Beechman Theater (inside West Bank Cafe at 407 West 42nd Street -- at Ninth Avenue, accessible from the A,C,E,N,R,V,F,1,2,3 trains at 42nd Street. Tickets are $22 plus a $20 food/drink minimum. A $35 VIP ticket that includes reserved seating and a meet-and-greet is also available. To purchase tickets call 212-352-3101 or visit www.SpinCycleNYC.com.
What separates Cantwell's LOVE CONNIE from other drag queens is that Connie Slocum communicates solely through lip-sync and dance. Connie delivers higher high kicks than a seasoned Rockette, air guitar & keyboards that would make a stoner jealous, and enough costume changes to make Cher put a hit out on her. Like the love child of Iggy Pop & Ann-Margret, Connie will leave you wet and satiated after her hour-long performance.
FADE TO CONNIE is a thoroughly exhilarating, triumphant tribute to 70's cinema classics including The Eyes Of Laura Mars, Taxi Driver, Apocalypse Now, Airport '75, Saturday Night Fever and Jaws cleverly choreographed by Robin Carrigan and directed by Jim Fall (Trick). These nearly wordless stories told through dance & mime are equal parts playful drag musicals and performance art. The secret weapon in FACE TO CONNIE's feast for the eyes and ears is the unique psychedelic backdrop of films and hit music spliced together by top sound and video editor Zig Gron (The Matrix, The Bourne Supremacy).
JOHN CANTWELL is a veteran comedic performer with over 25 years experience in "showbiz". He cut his performance teeth in New York with legendary gay sketch comedy group, The Nellie Olesons where the character of "Connie Slocum" (aka Love Connie) took flight. After touring with the group, including a stop at the Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal and a rave review in the New York Times, Cantwell moved to LA and appeared (as "Connie") on shows including "Will & Grace" (directed by James Burrows), "The Riches" and the films Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist and Dog Gone Love. He has appeared on TV alongside greats including Jack Warden, Norm MacDonald and Eddie Izzard, but most people will remember John from Legally Blonde and his now famous line "Oh, my God, the bend and snap works every time!” In 2010, John created the original "Love, Connie" show, which ran for 3 years in L.A. at the Cavern Club, Highways Performance Space and Celebration Theater. It also played as part of the Afterglow Festival in Provincetown, MA curated by John Cameron Mitchell of “Hedwig” fame. Cantwell also appeared as Love Connie in American Apparel’s “Pantytime” video for Valentine’s 2015 and the smash video of Alaska Thunderfuck’s “This Is My Hair” which has received over 1 million YouTube views.