Gary Paul Labriola July 8, 1954 - October 17, 2010
Gary Labriola took care of people. His Family, his friends, everyone on the road and on tour...Gary was there and Gary made it better.
From the Streets of the Bronx, Arthur Avenue, Hartsdale, NY., Parkland, Florida...Gary made it better.
He was the best at whatever he did...Selling T shirts and posters, building houses and apartments, arranging for pianos in foreign countries an hour before show time, getting work permits in the UK at 5:30 before an 8 pm Show. Gary got it done. That's what he did. He made it better.
He lived by a Code. Loyalty to your friends. Family comes first. Share the Wealth. Protect your people. Make it work. Make it better.
He loved good food. He loved to go to a ball game. Loved his dogs and feeding the cats in the barn. He loved to power wash everything. Simple things, simple pleasures.
He was the best friend you could ever have. And we will all miss him. I think the following might apply to Gary more than anyone else I've ever known.
"When you succeeded, he stood back and took no credit. When you failed, he was always the first one at your side."
Sleep Warm.
Mike Berkowitz
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Thursday, October 7, 2010
This should be fun!
TODAY'S BEST BET
Pocket Sandwich gets spooky with ‘Dracula: The Melodrama’
View Full Calendar »
SHOW VS. SHOW • Mother & child reunion
Posted on 07 Oct 2010 at 7:07pm
On the same weekend, Dallas gets Liza Minnelli at the DSO and Debbie Gravitte in a Judy Garland tribute
Call it serendipity, but when Liza Minnelli stops by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra the same weekend as Irving Arts Center’s tribute to Judy Garland, we have to shed a tear. In a very special installment of Show vs. Show, we couldn’t resist pitting “mother” against daughter.
Minnelli is an icon in so many ways. Whether she’s a movie legend based on her Oscar-winning star turn as Sally Bowles in 1972’s Cabaret or as a drag queen go-to with that signature short hair and adorable warbly voice, Minnelli is literally the stuff of legends — hardly the case with many of today’s stars.
But she’s also Liza. As in the woman who keeps marrying the non-marrying kind (translation: gay) or the lady who always seems a bit on the nutty end of the ice cream bar, We wonder, “What is up with her?” And we love her just for that.
An Evening With Judy Garland showcases Debbie Gravitte singing signature Garland tunes on the anniversary of Judy’s famous Carnegie Hall show. Don’t expect a Rufus Wainwright type recreation: Gravitte and music director Michael Berkowitz inject their own personalties into the show (see sidebar).
Will Liza’s legendary status trump the weekend, or will Gravitte knock this show out of the park? Choices, choices…
………………….
Liza
…. is a true diva with an Oscar, Tony and an Emmy to her name.
…. married some friends of Dorothy.
…. embarrassingly performed Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” on the Sex and the City 2 soundtrack — which we hope she doesn’t do at this show.
…. was on Larry King recently, expressing sympathy and empathy for Lindsay Lohan’s drug use and alcoholism.
…. had her solo Broadway show, Liza’s At the Palace…!, replacing the musical Legally Blonde.
…. had a small comeback in 1989 by going in a different musical direction with her album Results, produced by the Pet Shop Boys.
…. hocked her velvet jumpsuits on Home Shopping Network.
…. has embraced her gay icon status, even performing at Pride in Paris last year.
…. performs with Dallas Symphony Orchestra at the Meyerson Symphony Center, 2301 Flora St. Oct 8 and 9 at 8 p.m. $45–$122. DallasSymphony.com.
……………………………..
Judy (aka Debbie)
…. got a miniature Oscar for her role as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz — ouch. (Gravitte has her own Tony, though, for Jerome Robbins’ Broadway).
…. Was Dorothy. And she married some friends of Dorothy. Apparently a genetic trait.
…. embarrassingly messed up some of the words in her famous Carnegie Hall appearance. Still, “Single Ladies” trumps that.
…. was the Lindsay Lohan of her day. Minus the paparazzi.
…. had her Carnegie show recreated detail for detail by gay singer Rufus Wainwright.
…. had several comebacks including Oscar-nominated performances in A Star is Born and Judgment at Nuremberg
…. had a better idea with that red velvet gown from Meet Me in St. Louis.
…. embraced gay men as husbands but responded to a reporter about her iconic status, “I couldn’t care less. I sing to people.” Umm, we guess that’s cool.
…. isn’t portrayed by Debbie Gravitte as much as she is celebrated, which Gravitte discusses further below.
— Rich Lopez
……………………………..
Recreating a legend
Debbie Gravitte just found out that her show where she performs Judy Garland songs is the same weekend Liza Minnelli comes to Dallas. The scheduling conflict for friends of Dorothy could have massive repercussions, but it is an easy (and obvious fix).
“There is a perfect way to work it out,” Gravitte says. “See her on Friday and see me on Saturday.”
Gravitte teams up with former Minnelli music director Michael Berkowitz, pictured, for An Evening With Judy Garland at the Irving Arts Center Saturday. The solo show commemorates Garland’s iconic Carnegie Hall concert exactly 50 years ago. But Gravitte assures that she is not doing a Judy impersonation.
“This is a tribute, a celebration of this one incredible night of her life,” she says. “I don’t look anything like her and maybe I sound like her a tiny bit, but it’s not like we are recreating Judy. We want to channel that joyful part of her instead of recalling the tragic.”
With a full orchestra behind her, Gravitte would even venture to say this is more of a concert than a show; Berkowitz agrees. His closeness to Garland’s material is far beyond just his work with Minnelli.
“I was always a fan. I was a friend of Bill LaVorgna, Liza’s drummer before me. Bill and I knew each other for 40 years. I first heard his playing on the Garland Carnegie Hall recording. That alone was worth it to me.”
As for the dueling shows, Berkowitz thinks anyone who gets out to either comes out ahead.
“I didn’t know Liza May was in town this weekend as well,” he says. “It’s going to be a double header of great music and entertainment.”
Gravitte knows the gays are gonna hold her to task, but she’s not daunted. In fact, she even challenges her audience a bit.
“I welcome everyone to come dressed in their best Judy,” she says. “We are gonna do a sing along and I want people to sing every fucking line!”
— Rich Lopez
Irving Arts Center, 3333 N. MacArthur
Blvd., Irving. Oct 9 at 8 p.m. $19–$54.
IrvingArtsCenter.com.
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition October 8, 2010.
Pocket Sandwich gets spooky with ‘Dracula: The Melodrama’
View Full Calendar »
SHOW VS. SHOW • Mother & child reunion
Posted on 07 Oct 2010 at 7:07pm
On the same weekend, Dallas gets Liza Minnelli at the DSO and Debbie Gravitte in a Judy Garland tribute
Call it serendipity, but when Liza Minnelli stops by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra the same weekend as Irving Arts Center’s tribute to Judy Garland, we have to shed a tear. In a very special installment of Show vs. Show, we couldn’t resist pitting “mother” against daughter.
Minnelli is an icon in so many ways. Whether she’s a movie legend based on her Oscar-winning star turn as Sally Bowles in 1972’s Cabaret or as a drag queen go-to with that signature short hair and adorable warbly voice, Minnelli is literally the stuff of legends — hardly the case with many of today’s stars.
But she’s also Liza. As in the woman who keeps marrying the non-marrying kind (translation: gay) or the lady who always seems a bit on the nutty end of the ice cream bar, We wonder, “What is up with her?” And we love her just for that.
An Evening With Judy Garland showcases Debbie Gravitte singing signature Garland tunes on the anniversary of Judy’s famous Carnegie Hall show. Don’t expect a Rufus Wainwright type recreation: Gravitte and music director Michael Berkowitz inject their own personalties into the show (see sidebar).
Will Liza’s legendary status trump the weekend, or will Gravitte knock this show out of the park? Choices, choices…
………………….
Liza
…. is a true diva with an Oscar, Tony and an Emmy to her name.
…. married some friends of Dorothy.
…. embarrassingly performed Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” on the Sex and the City 2 soundtrack — which we hope she doesn’t do at this show.
…. was on Larry King recently, expressing sympathy and empathy for Lindsay Lohan’s drug use and alcoholism.
…. had her solo Broadway show, Liza’s At the Palace…!, replacing the musical Legally Blonde.
…. had a small comeback in 1989 by going in a different musical direction with her album Results, produced by the Pet Shop Boys.
…. hocked her velvet jumpsuits on Home Shopping Network.
…. has embraced her gay icon status, even performing at Pride in Paris last year.
…. performs with Dallas Symphony Orchestra at the Meyerson Symphony Center, 2301 Flora St. Oct 8 and 9 at 8 p.m. $45–$122. DallasSymphony.com.
……………………………..
Judy (aka Debbie)
…. got a miniature Oscar for her role as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz — ouch. (Gravitte has her own Tony, though, for Jerome Robbins’ Broadway).
…. Was Dorothy. And she married some friends of Dorothy. Apparently a genetic trait.
…. embarrassingly messed up some of the words in her famous Carnegie Hall appearance. Still, “Single Ladies” trumps that.
…. was the Lindsay Lohan of her day. Minus the paparazzi.
…. had her Carnegie show recreated detail for detail by gay singer Rufus Wainwright.
…. had several comebacks including Oscar-nominated performances in A Star is Born and Judgment at Nuremberg
…. had a better idea with that red velvet gown from Meet Me in St. Louis.
…. embraced gay men as husbands but responded to a reporter about her iconic status, “I couldn’t care less. I sing to people.” Umm, we guess that’s cool.
…. isn’t portrayed by Debbie Gravitte as much as she is celebrated, which Gravitte discusses further below.
— Rich Lopez
……………………………..
Recreating a legend
Debbie Gravitte just found out that her show where she performs Judy Garland songs is the same weekend Liza Minnelli comes to Dallas. The scheduling conflict for friends of Dorothy could have massive repercussions, but it is an easy (and obvious fix).
“There is a perfect way to work it out,” Gravitte says. “See her on Friday and see me on Saturday.”
Gravitte teams up with former Minnelli music director Michael Berkowitz, pictured, for An Evening With Judy Garland at the Irving Arts Center Saturday. The solo show commemorates Garland’s iconic Carnegie Hall concert exactly 50 years ago. But Gravitte assures that she is not doing a Judy impersonation.
“This is a tribute, a celebration of this one incredible night of her life,” she says. “I don’t look anything like her and maybe I sound like her a tiny bit, but it’s not like we are recreating Judy. We want to channel that joyful part of her instead of recalling the tragic.”
With a full orchestra behind her, Gravitte would even venture to say this is more of a concert than a show; Berkowitz agrees. His closeness to Garland’s material is far beyond just his work with Minnelli.
“I was always a fan. I was a friend of Bill LaVorgna, Liza’s drummer before me. Bill and I knew each other for 40 years. I first heard his playing on the Garland Carnegie Hall recording. That alone was worth it to me.”
As for the dueling shows, Berkowitz thinks anyone who gets out to either comes out ahead.
“I didn’t know Liza May was in town this weekend as well,” he says. “It’s going to be a double header of great music and entertainment.”
Gravitte knows the gays are gonna hold her to task, but she’s not daunted. In fact, she even challenges her audience a bit.
“I welcome everyone to come dressed in their best Judy,” she says. “We are gonna do a sing along and I want people to sing every fucking line!”
— Rich Lopez
Irving Arts Center, 3333 N. MacArthur
Blvd., Irving. Oct 9 at 8 p.m. $19–$54.
IrvingArtsCenter.com.
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition October 8, 2010.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)