(photo: Billy Blackwell and Michael "Tiffany" Bowers
in the Michael O'Brien and Jerry Thomas TOSOS production of Iolanthe. c. 1976)
The Billy Blackwell - John Wallowitch
Musical Theater Project
| Billy
Blackwell (1947-1983) was central to the origins of gay theater in
NYC. A founding member of the first TOSOS, he is still remembered for his
performance in the title role of Lanford Wilson’s The Madness of Lady
Bright and the plump pink fairy busting through an Oak tree in Gilbert
and Sullivan’s Iolanthe (see photo). Doric Wilson wrote two roles
for him, Shanghai Lil in The West Street Gang and Thalia in Forever
After. For The Glines, he was Executive Producer of Jane Chamber’s
seminal lesbian play Last Summer At Bluefish Cove. From the mid
1970s to the early 1980s he was the belting half of the celebrated cabaret
act Billy & Tiffany (with Michael Bowers) singing in a voice
that would make Merman gasp in terror. He was a excellent costumer,
conscientious house and box office manager, and a jealous guardian of the
wine table. The Billy Blackwell Musical Theater Project is dedicated
to him
(photo: Billy Blackwell and Michael "Tiffany" Bowers in the Michael O'Brien and Jerry Thomas TOSOS production of Iolanthe. c. 1976) |
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John Wallowitch (1926-2007) In a New York Times review, Stephen Holden wrote "While Noel Coward is no longer around to set the standards for a certain kind of sophisticated songwriting sensibility, Mr.Wallowitch nimbly carries the torch." John’s journey to the cabaret/concert/theatre spotlight began at the Juilliard School of Music where his classical training led to his New York debut at the Carnegie Recital Hall, followed by a concert tour of the Continent under the aegis of the United States State Department. His more than 1,000 songs are recorded by or in the repertory of a long list of singers including Joanne Beretta, Tony Bennett, Dixie Carter (who recorded "Dixie Carter Sings John Wallowitch Live at the Cafe Carlyle"), Blossom Dearie, Morgana King, Julius La Rosa, Lynn Lobban, Doc Severinsen, and Margaret Whiting. In 1984 John Wallowitch joined Bertram Ross in a program of arcane American song by the great composers. Their relationship was documented in "Wallowitch and Ross: This Moment", a film by Richard Morris which is available on DVD through www.wallowitchandross.com. For TOSOS II, Mark Finley fashioned a very successful revue of John's songs titled New York Minutes featuring Chris Weikel, Richard Locke and Jolie Meshbesher. Months before his death, Ann Ruckert produced a CD of John singing some of his previously unrecorded songs.
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productions:
Look Askew |
Musically Speaking: Bill Solly |
The World of John Wallowitch |
