Bruce Vilanch would be the first to admit he’s had a strange career. With that in mind, we decided to look over his Wikipedia page with Vilanch himself to see if we could make any sense of it. “A lot of the stuff on here is wrong,” Vilanch said from his home in L.A., where he’s caring for a sick pug (“It’s a pug kind of town—there’s no air to breath anyway”). “I’m not 64, in fact I’m 65, and I’m collecting Obamacare like crazy.” The Hairspray star, Hollywood Square, and Academy Awards head writer also bills himself as Lindsay Lohan‘s sobriety coach and the latest success on Christian Mingle (“just got set up with a guy who used to be Pope!”). Vilanch regaled us with the following thoughts and anecdotes “from behind, before, and squatting over the footlights.”

This Wikipedia entry says you have Hitchcock’s hair—what?
No no, not hair: My wobbles, I have Hitchcock’s wobbles, his chins. He was pretty much hairless in the ’50s when he was on television every week. It’s more that I have his profile. I’ve got more chins than a San Francisco phonebook.

What can we expect at the Nikko on Thursday night?
I’ll be doing stories about my dark career in show business, writing 23 Academy Award shows, Hollywood Squares, et cetera. There won’t be any Sondheim, that I promise.

What was it like, in your first acting role, to work with Diana Ross? 
Bizarre, because I thought I was rehearsing with her stand in, this skinny kid, and then she would come out of the trailer with the eyelashes and the wig, and glamour, glamour, glamour. I was like oh my, that’s Diana Ross. I told her this, and she told me yes, it’s all done with mirrors.

When you appeared on RuPaul‘s Drag Race 3 dressed as Santa, what were some of the items contestants asked for when they sat on your lap?
Big ticket items. And hey, I also worked with RuPaul back in his “Sashay! Shantay!” days, before Drag Race, when he had his talk show on VH1. And, there may be more RuPaul in my future.

How did you identify with your character Missy, the gay porn director from Going Down in LA-LA Land?
I didn’t want to play it like Boogie Nights: the role I played was an homage to Chi Chi LaRue, my neighbor across the street, a great friend of mine and a hysterical character. If I were directing porno everything would be IMAX. Not 3D, though, it makes everything look closer to you, but it’s all smaller! It should be bigger.

Fine, tell us about the Oscars already!
Well, I’ve been writing since 1989, and it’s the greatest show on earth, isn’t it? It’s like the Superbowl— and some years you fumble. But it’s the kind of show that tries to reinvent itself every year, because it has to say something every year. They take it dead seriously, the Academy. At the core of it is the idea of serious people in a serious profession, and in it, everybody is equal to everybody else, the guy who does sound as well as the best actor: everyone has to be treated with equal reverence. So of course, I write jokes. One of my favorite moments was when Whoopi [Goldberg] was hosting the show, and two people had been nominated for playing Queen Elizabeth, and Whoopi came out in white face and said “I’m the African Queen!” Only a Hollywood crowd really gets that one.

You’re responsible for the Star Wars Holiday Special, right?
Right, and George Lucas won’t even speak of it, he’s disowned it. I don’t think there’ll be another one of those.

You’ve done lots of charity work—what makes you most proud?
All the AIDS work I’ve done, especially at the very beginning, because it was something we had to do. When AIDS hit, lots of people banded together to take care of each other and do what the government wasn’t doing. When you grow up Jewish, as I have, you learn that everybody hates you, no one’s going to help you, and you have to take care of yourself. That’s a great maxim to the gay community and we took it to heart, we took care of our own. I would trade off other disease fundraisers, raising for other causes that would raise for ours, and that’s how I learned all the major diseases and got into “big charity.” As I’m fond of saying, though, if the Holocaust led to the creation of Israel, then maybe AIDS has led us to where we are now.

Vilanch performs tomorrow (Thursday, 7/18) at 8pm at Feinstein’s at the Nikko.

The post Interview: A candid conversation with Lindsay Lohan’s sobriety coach, appearing at Feinstein’s at the Nikko this week first appeared on We Got Bruce!.

Hotel Nikko San Francisco and Michael Feinstein have announced two upcoming performers at the all-new Feinstein’s at the Nikko — actor and comedian Bruce Vilanch and Tony Award nominated composers Pasek and Paul. Located within Hotel Nikko (222 Mason Street, San Francisco), Feinstein’s at the Nikko will present a wide range of entertainers all within an intimate 140-seat cabaret setting. Bruce Vilanch will perform for one-night-only on Thursday, July 18th at 8 p.m. Pasek and Paul will perform two performances only – Friday, July 19 at 8 p.m. and Saturday, July 20 at 7 p.m.

Tickets for Bruce Vilanch ($30-$40) and Pasek and Paul ($30-$50) are on-sale now and available by calling 866.663.1063 or visiting www.ticketweb.com.

Currently celebrating his fifteenth year as Lindsay Lohan’s sobriety coach, Bruce Vilanch is checking in at Feinstein’s at The Nikko for one night only, to dispatch more updates on his bizarre career behind, before, and squatting over the footlights. A Hairspray star, a Hollywood Square, and the latest success story on Christian Mingle, (who just hooked him up with a guy who used to be Pope), Bruce has more than a few stories to tell.

Benj Pasek and Justin Paul are the Tony-nominated songwriters of the Broadway musical A Christmas Story, which opened in November 2012 and enjoyed a critically-acclaimed, record-breaking run at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. In addition to the Best Score nomination, A Christmas Story also received Tony nominations for Best Musical and Best Book. The holiday musical was named one of the Top 10 Shows of 2012 by Time Magazine, shared recognition as the #1 Musical of 2012 in USA Today and received Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle nominations for Outstanding New Broadway Musical. Benj and Justin’s score for the show also received a Drama Desk nomination for Outstanding Music.

Benj & Justin are also the composers behind the Off-Broadway musical Dogfight, a Best New Musical nominee for the Drama League, Lucille Lortel and Outer Critics Circle awards. Benj and Justin also received an Outer Critics Circle Best Score nomination for their work on the show. Dogfight premiered in July 2012 at Second Stage Theatre, and a cast album, produced by Sh-K-Boom/Ghostlight Records, was released in May 2013. The album debuted in the top 50 albums on iTunes.

As television songwriters, their original songs were featured on Season 2 of NBC’s “Smash,” and have risen to the Top 25 on the iTunes Pop Charts.

The duo made their debut as songwriters with their widely-acclaimed song cycle Edges, which is licensed by Music Theatre International and has had hundreds of productions worldwide, including South Korea, Australia, China, South Africa, Singapore, France, the Philippines, Denmark and more. Other theatrical works include James & the Giant Peach, Duck for President and If You Give a Pig a Pancake. Their other musical work for TV can be seen on “Sesame Street” and “Johnny & the Sprites” (Disney TV series). Performances of their songs have been featured on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,” “The View,” “Good Morning America,” “CBS Sunday Morning,” “VH1 Morning Buzz,” “The Rosie Show,” “Fox & Friends,” and more.

Benj & Justin are the recipients of the 2011 Richard Rodgers Award for Musical Theatre from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a 2011 Sundance Institute Fellowship, the 2011 ASCAP Richard Rodgers New Horizons Award, the 2011 ASCAP Songwriters Fellowship Award, and a 2007-2008 Dramatists Guild Fellowship. They are the youngest recipients of the Jonathan Larson Award (2007) in the foundation’s history. They have participated in ASCAP’s Johnny Mercer Songwriters Project and were named one of Dramatist Magazine’s “50 to Watch” in Contemporary Theatre.

As performers, Benj & Justin have traveled throughout North America, Europe & Australia performing concerts of their work. They also teach master classes in songwriting and theatre performance at universities around the world. They are proud graduates of the University of Michigan BFA Musical Theatre program and members of the Dramatists Guild of America. They are currently at work on a new original musical with playwright Steven Levenson and director Michael Greif.

There is a $20 food and beverage minimum per person inside the showroom which guests can use towards cocktails as well as a variety of small plates crafted exclusively for Feinstein’s at the Nikko by Executive Chef Philippe Striffeler, through Restaurant Anzu. Cheese and dessert platters will also be available in the showroom. All seating at Feinstein’s at the Nikko is cabaret style and available on a first-come, first-served basis within the section purchased. Guests who purchase the prix-fixe dinner at Restaurant Anzu will receive a complimentary section upgrade (subject to availability) and get to choose their exact seat locations within the upgraded section.

Guests of Feinstein’s at the Nikko can enjoy a variety of food and beverage options before performances. Kanpai Lounge, located in Hotel Nikko’s lobby, offers light cuisine, a full bar and specialty cocktails. Restaurant Anzu, Hotel Nikko’s intimate restaurant located on the second floor, serves sustainable California cuisine enhanced with Asian flavors. Restaurant Anzu will also offer Feinstein’s at the Nikko guests a special three-course prix-fixe dinner ($45 per person) prior to all performances. Reservations can be made by calling (415) 394-1100.

Other upcoming performers at Feinstein’s at the Nikko include:

NICOLE HENRY · “NICOLE HENRY LIVE”

Friday, July 12 at 8 p.m. & Saturday, July 13 at 7 p.m.

EMILY BERGL · “UNTIL THE REAL THING COMES ALONG”

Thursday, July 25 at 8 p.m., Friday, July 26 at 8 p.m. & Saturday, July 27 at 7 p.m.

CHRISTINE ANDREAS · “BEMUSED”

Thursday, August 1 at 8 p.m., Friday, August 2 at 8 p.m. & Saturday, August 3 at 7 p.m.

ARIANA SAVALAS · “AN EVENING WITH ARIANA SAVALAS”

Thursday, August 8 at 8 p.m.

MISSI PYLE · “SEXY AS HELL”

Friday, August 9 at 8 p.m. & Saturday, August 10 at 7 p.m.

DONNA MCKECHNIE · “SAME PLACE, ANOTHER TIME”

Friday, August 16 at 8 p.m. & Saturday, August 17 at 7 p.m.

ANDREA MCARDLE · “70’S AND SUNNY”

Friday, August 23 at 8 p.m. & Saturday, August 24 at 7 p.m.

CHRISTINE EBERSOLE · “LIVE IN CONCERT”

Thursday, September 5 at 8 p.m., Friday, September 6 at 8 p.m. & Saturday, September 7 at 7 p.m.

JACK JONES · “IN CONCERT WITH JACK JONES”

Thursday, September 19 at 8 p.m., Friday, September 20 at 8 p.m. & Saturday, September 21 at 7 p.m.

TOMMY TUNE · “TAPS, TUNES AND TALL TALES”

Thursday, September 26 at 8 p.m., Friday, September 27 at 8 p.m. & Saturday, September 28 at 7 p.m.

The post Bruce Vilanch and Pasek & Paul Set for Feinstein’s at the Nikko, 7/18-20 first appeared on We Got Bruce!.

RENO, Nev. (KRNV & MyNews4.com) — Reno Gay Pride is kicking off its 17th Annual Festival this year on Aug. 16.

On Aug. 16, Reno Gay Pride will hold Comedy Night with Bruce Vilanch, a six-time Emmy Award Winner. The show starts in Sammy’s Showroom at 7pm (Doors open at 6:30pm) Tickets available here.

Reno Gay Pride will hold its official Kick-off Party at Harrah’s Sapphire Lounge, which includes a live DJ, GoGo dancers and a meet and greet with Bruce Vilanch from 8pm-2am.

The Reno Gay Pride Festival will be at Wingfield Park on Saturday, August 17 at 11am.

The post Bruce Vilanch Hold Comedy Night For Reno Gay Pride August 16, 2013 first appeared on We Got Bruce!.

Bruce Vilanch is ready to rumble at Broadway’s Nightclub 54 Below on June 13 and 14 as (in his own words) he “is currently celebrating his fifteenth year as Lindsay Lohan‘s sobriety coach.”

Vilanch is surely old enough to remember when . . . and is set to make with the funnies and sing a little this and a little that.

A veteran of Broadway’s “Hairspray” and TV‘s “Hollywood Squares,” Bruce has a lot to say about a lot of things!

Come laugh along on June 13 and 14 at 54 Below, 254 West 54 Street (Cellar), NYC

The post Bruce Vilanch Six Time Emmy Award Winner to Appear at 54 Below first appeared on We Got Bruce!.

From Mr. Vilanch: “Currently celebrating his fifteenth year as Lindsay Lohan’s sobriety coach, Bruce Vilanch is descending to 54 Below, which he is old enough to remember when, to dispatch more updates on his bizarre career behind, before and squatting over the footlights. A Hairspray star, a Hollywood Square and the latest success story on Christian Mingle, (who just hooked him up with a guy who used to be Pope), Bruce has more than a few songs to sing and stories to tell.”

Event website
PHONE (646) 476-3551
PRICE $25 – $50

The post Bruce Vilanch At 54 Below June 13, 14 ~ New York first appeared on We Got Bruce!.