Mayhem Alert as Mae West’s “Diamond Lil” and Her Sinful Cohorts Announce Final Performances

NEW YORK - Nov. 13, 2013 - PRLog -- NEW YORK, NY — —  Join us on the next two Sunday evenings in November  when "Diamond Lil" will have its final performances.   Don't Tell Mama, the iconic cabaret set in a turn-of-the-century townhouse, is the ideal setting for this hilarious naughty-nineties melodrama of the Bowery underworld, starring Darlene Violette in the title role, and featuring a cast of colorful criminal characters whose villainy knows no bounds.
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Mae West’s “Diamond Lil” is set in 1895 on the Bowery in Chinatown. Diamond-loving Lil, a chanteuse starring at Gus Jordan’s saloon, becomes fixated on Captain Cummings, who seems to be heading a Bowery rescue mission and a clean-living decent man.  Diamond Lil falls in love with this handsome preacher, unaware that he is an undercover detective about to arrest her and her lover Gus Jordan, ending the criminal enterprise that brought her to prominence and outfitted her with diamonds.
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People often ask:   If I’ve seen “She Done Him Wrong,” why should I see “Diamond Lil” onstage?
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In 1932, under the watchful gaze of the censors, Paramount Pictures took a 3-hour play about criminals in the Five Points district and sanitized it beyond recognition. The movie studio boiled it down to 66 minutes, turning the white slavery traffickers into counterfeiters, eliminating the sex and seduction scenes, and refining the “Lady Lou” character. On stage, Mae’s character Lil sashayed in corsets and revealing garments; in the movie, Lady Lou’s costumes carefully concealed her cleavage.  In her stage version, Mae offered vivid encounters between men and women with kissing, touching, man-handling, and an attempted rape. Fortunately, the adapted script by LindaAnn Loschiavo has all of the sex and none of the censorship.  And the actresses wear beautiful bustiers.
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The original script, a voluptuous 3-hour affair stuffed with villains and sub-plots, has been tightened and trimmed to 85 minutes.  The cast size has been whittled down, from 34 players in 1928, to eight.
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What people are saying about “Diamond Lil”:
"Darlene Violette channels Mae West to perfection!" — Stu Hamstra
“A riveting production with numerous bravura performances.  Recommended.” — Mario Fratti
“We saw three Broadway plays during our weekend in New York — but the show we loved best was ‘Diamond Lil’ at Don’t Tell Mama!”  Bob and Judy Airhart, Springboro, Ohio

— — — — Who, What, When, Where — — — —

• • See "Diamond Lil" before it closes on November 24th • •
• • Don’t Tell Mama [343 W. 46th Street, NYC 10036] on these Sundays in 2013:
• • 7:00pm on Sunday November 17th
• • 7:00pm on Sunday November 24^th (final performance)
• • Call after 4pm to reserve a seat: 212-757-0788; RSVP online: www.donttellmamanyc.com
• • Closest MTA subway stations: 42nd St./ Times Sq. via A, C, E, 1, 2, 3
• • The public is invited (suitable for age 18 and over). Join us as we turn the iconic NYC nightspot Don't Tell Mama into Gus Jordan's "Suicide Hall"!
• • The Cast: Starring Darlene Violette as Diamond Lil, Queen of the Bowery and also featuring Sidney Myer, Anthony DiCarlo, Joanna Bonaro, Gary Napoli, Juan Sebastian Cortes, Kimmy Foskett, Jim Gallagher and live music by Brian McInnis
• • Watch a Video of "Diamond Lil" • •
• • http://youtu.be/xfbJHhw47OQ


• • Read a Review of "Diamond Lil" • •
• • L'Idea Magazine's editors had a lot to say. Here's the link: http://www.lideamagazine.com/usa-still-entertaining-mae-wests-diamond-lil-makes-new-fans-in-new-york-city/
• • Staying faithful to the gritty themes in the novel written by Mae West, LindaAnn Loschiavo trimmed the work to 85 minutes for a cast of eight.
• • Request more information:  maewestdiamondlil@gmail.com

• • Come up and see Mae West for yourself at The Mae West Blog http://MaeWest.blogspot.com.
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