BY CHARLI BATTERSBY | Sexy New Yorkers will remember the Sexual Health Expo from its Brooklyn-held, pre-COVID days. This year, after a pandemic hiatus, it returned to Chelsea’s own Metropolitan Pavilion for a highly stimulating weekend. Between the informative seminars on pegging, the spanking workshops, and panels on the intricacies of sex with gender non-conforming partners, […]
BY CHARLI BATTERSBY | Each October, New York’s Jacob Javits Center becomes a nerd mecca for comic book enthusiasts. As with many large gatherings, New York Comic Con 2022 (NYCC) had a rocky return last year as the city struggled to recover from the COVID lockdowns. The major comic book companies were nowhere in sight […]
BY CHARLI BATTERSBY | Company XIV, the nimble burlesque troupe behind the recently reviewed Seven Sins and the annual destination holiday event Nutcracker Rouge, has a new venue with a new show and a clever plan to draw audiences. Cocktail Magique is a cocktail-themed magic/burlesque extravaganza, and it’s certainly a crowd pleaser, given that the […]
BY CHARLES BATTERSBY | A mere eight months ago, Chelsea Community News covered 2021’s Makeup Show, assuming that COVID masks as a fashion accessory were a thing of the past, and that a new year of full-faced, germ-free glamour was upon us. While many things have stayed the same, the world of professional makeup artistry […]
BY CHARLES BATTERSBY | There is not a trace of irony in the premise of the show Seven Sins, the current offering from Company XIV, the innovative troupe whose exhilarating productions fuse circus, opera, and burlesque. Or rather, the irony is so deep that the audience is utterly immersed to the point that the irony cannot […]
BY CHARLES BATTERSBY | When lockdowns and masks became fashionably far-reaching, some people were happy that they had an excuse to let their appearance go. However, the cosmetics industry was in a pickle, with no one buying lipstick. With the easing or outright rollback of COVID-demanded precautions—including the wearing of masks in many indoor settings—those […]
BY CHARLES BATTERSBY | New York was forced to go nearly two years without the flurry of snowflakes that typically descend on stages each year with various incarnations of The Nutcracker. Among the boldest and most decadent interpretations of this Christmas classic is Company XIV’s Nutcracker Rouge. This production has a bit of classic ballet […]
BY CHARLES BATTERSBY | Is the Mad Hatter really mad, or is he just drunk? Is the Doormouse sleepy, or merely passed out from too much gin? These questions and more are answered over the course of a 90-minute interactive Alice In Wonderland-themed Mad Hatter’s (Gin &) Tea Party happening in various cities around the country, including New […]
BY CHARLES BATTERSBY | As Halloween approaches, the mystical becomes a mere entertainment for the month of October. Arcane secrets are explored as a seasonal craze, then abandoned as thoughts of turkeys, Black Friday deals, and New Year’s debauchery swoop in. A ubiquitous appearance at Halloween events are tarot card readers. While noticeably more […]
BY CHARLES BATTERSBY | The only thing that can make a haunted house more fun is surrounding yourself with people who have a chemically induced loss of impulse control. House of Spirits is an aptly-named source of cocktails and ghost tales. The experience covers five floors of a mansion in the Wall Street district, and […]