About this Event
ABOUT THIS EVENT
Sometimes the magician’s assistant is doing the magic. Sometimes the president’s daughter grows up to terrorize Washington. And sometimes a stubborn Yorkshire aristocrat spends forty years suing everyone she can to get what was rightfully hers. History has a way of tucking women into the margins, as assistants, daughters, or inconvenient heirs, but our ladies this month had other plans.
Join us for the Dead Ladies Show NYC on Thursday, March 26 as we close out Women’s History Month the Dead Ladies way: by recovering the full, strange, sharp, entertaining lives of three women history largely compressed into footnotes. The evening will be presented by three delightful storytellers and hosted by the one and only Sheila Enright.
DETAILS
Date: Thursday, March 26
Time: 7–9 pm (doors open at 6:50)
Location: The Private Curtain
85 E 4th St., New York, NY 10003, 1st floor
If you’re new here: the Dead Ladies Show began in Berlin and has since gone international, celebrating remarkable women of the past through live storytelling. Each show features three presenters who dig into the lives of bold, brilliant, and sometimes scandalous women who deserve to be remembered and toasted. Think history class with better lighting and a functioning bar.
Questions? (Ex: Can I bring snacks? How do I get in on this sweet, sweet presenter action?) See FAQs below!
Yours truly,
Sheila (and Molly in spirit!)
P.S. We’re charging a modest cover to keep the lights on and the mic working — if that’s a barrier, email us and we’ll make it work. Tickets purchased online are $10 plus fees; at the door, $15.
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THE LADIES
BESS HOUDINI (1876–1943) was a vaudeville performer turned magician’s assistant, best known for assisting and being married to Harry Houdini. She helped Harry develop his act, including groundbreaking tricks like their signature “Metamorphosis,” and managed all of their pets and costumes. After Harry’s death, she became known for conducting seances in the hopes of contacting her husband from beyond the grave, including the grand “Final Seance” in Hollywood in 1936, which was the first public Houdini seance and the beginning of a tradition that continues today.
ALICE ROOSEVELT LONGWORTH (1884 - 1980) If you don’t have anything nice to say, come sit by Alice. She forged a career path that did not exist before her: from First Daughter to first influencer to DC powerhouse. Family to two American presidents and banned from the White House by two others, she wielded both her wit and her scandals to her advantage. Privilege, tragedy, and timeless burns: politics really can make strange bedfellows if you play your cards right.
ANNE CLIFFORD (1590-1676) was an English diarist, performer and patron. In her youth, Anne performed alongside other aristocratic ladies in masques - precursors to modern musicals. A strong-willed Yorkshire lady, she fought for forty years, at times disobeying King James I and her husband, to get her rightful inheritance after her father gave away his castles and lands. When she succeeded, at age 60, she spent her remaining 26 years travelling between her estates repairing damage done by her male relatives’ neglect. Her diaries, first published by Vita Sackville-West, a distant relative, give us a unique perspective on Early Modern England.
THE PRESENTERS
MOLLY CAMERON is a technical and creative writer whose live stories have been featured on The Moth, RISK!, and Mortified Live. Despite being the grandchild of professional magicians she is still fooled by every card trick. You can find her @RavenMcCoy on Instagram and on Substack at The Moves.
DEBORAH WOLFSON writes about New York City history for fun at her newsletter Leaves of Glass and for class at the CUNY Grad Center. She is thrilled to be back at the Dead Ladies Show.
ALEX BRINKMAN-YOUNG is an educator and theatre director based in NYC and Oxford, England. For the past three years, she has worked on the research and reading committees of “Expand the Canon” - reading and promoting ‘dead lady’ plays; more recently, she can be found keeping her 3-month-old son Benjamin fed and happy. You can learn more about Expand the Canon @etcclassics on instagram.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
The Red Room at KGB, 85 East 4th Street, New York, United States
USD 12.51
