Bourbon on Broadway
An email caught my eye last week with a catchy subject line: Bourbon on Broadway.
Wondering what it was about, I delved deeper and learned that Bourbon on Broadway is a cabaret-styled, one-hour, satirical romp about a group of early Americans who overcome adversity while inadvertently inventing Bourbon and become accidental pioneers on the road to social justice.
That’s a lot to cover in just one hour of entertainment, but intrigued, I looked into it further.
Suzahn Fiering, the show’s creator, producer and composer is an insanely talented jazz guitarist, vocalist and composer with tons of credits and a treasure trove of collaborations with major superstar musicians. Suzahn, who now lives in Nashville, had originally planned to open this show in that city, but recent legislation in Tennessee caused her to change the city and venue. Happily, she has come to New York to present Bourbon on Broadway at Don’t Tell Mama on selected dates in June.
Suzahn explained, “the new Anti-drag legislation coupled with the newly relaxed gun laws in Tennessee have created a tinderbox, where creative works that incorporate LGBTQ+ characters, performers perceived as in drag, and topics that challenge the white southern narrative are potential targets for harassment and worse.”
Tom Fischer is founder of The Bourbon Blogger and exclaimed “there is no better way to learn about everything bourbon than Bourbon on Broadway, from how to taste it, to it’s rich history. When I asked Suzahn to create this, I had no idea how funny and impactful it would be. Here’s to bourbon!”
Not only does Bourbon on Broadway promise to be a fun and entertaining theatrical event, it is a way to learn about the history of bourbon, as well as support freedom of expression and speech.
Valerie Smaldone is a 5-time Billboard Magazine Award winner and is well known for her unprecedented success holding the #1 on-air position in the New York radio market on 106.7 Life-FM, an iHeart station. She has hosted, produced, and created several award-winning nationally syndicated programs featuring in-depth interviews with stars like Paul McCartney, Celine Dion, Rod Stewart, Elton John and Mariah Carey among others. Her radio talk show "Bagels and Broadway" highlighted theatre and food personalities. She is an accomplished interviewer and voice artist heard on commercials, narrations, promos and audiobooks, as well as a sought after live announcer.
Most recently, Valerie produced and directed a film, The Thursday Night Club, featuring pop diva Gloria Gaynor in her movie acting debut. She is one of the creators and producers of a docu-series, Divine Renovation, starring Erik Estrada, on streaming networks soon.
