For Passover: Carmel Winery Launches New Signature Series Wine for Passover: Carmel Black Cabernet Sauvignon
Carmel Winery Launches New Signature Series Wine for Passover: Carmel Black Cabernet Sauvignon
Carmel Winery, the largest and leading winery in Israel is launching a new wine from the Signature series – Carmel Black Cabernet Sauvignon
Kosher for Passover & All Year Long
Israel’s Carmel Winery will launch the USA premier of new CARMEL BLACK, a Signature Luxury brand, February 2024, just in time for the Passover season.
Carmel Winery – the largest winery in Israel – adds the new vintage to its distinguished SIGNATURE series, a portfolio of luxury wines from the highest-quality producing vineyards known for its long tradition of winemaking knowledge and expertise.
The new wine joins the brand’s highly successful Carmel Mediterranean Vats ($30 SRP), Single Vineyard ($45 SRP), Carmel Mediterranean ($60 SRP), and Carmel flagship wine Limited Edition ($99 SRP).
Carmel Black, a sign of strength and elegance, is a mysterious marvel that exudes prestige and sophistication.
Inspired by its boundless depth and signature timelessness, created Carmel Black, a new exclusive edition in the distinguished Carmel Signature series.
This full-bodied velvety wine epitomizes Carmel’s artistry and innovation and encapsulates the vast expertise and philosophy of Carmel Signature: to nurture and enhance the unique qualities of the grapes, extracting their best attributes and realize their full potential with love, care, and minimal interference.
Carmel Black Cabernet Sauvignon Galilee 2021 boasts a rich, dark crimson hue and delights the senses with aromas of ripe fruit, cassis, and hints of tomato leaf, complemented by subtle notes of warming spices.
This wine offers a full-bodied, silky texture, with flavors of luscious ripe red fruits that linger through a satisfying medium finish.
It has been meticulously aged for 14 months in French oak barrels within its wine cellars. Bottle aging potential: 5-7 years under suitable storage conditions.
Yiftah Peretz, Chief Winemaker of Carmel Winery, “Our new Carmel Black is meticulously aged for 14 months in French oak barrels. Grown in the Galilee, its climate provides comfortable temperatures which offer excellent conditions for nurturing and enhancing the unique qualities of the grape.
Etti Edri, Carmel’s Export Manager, “Israel is naturally the historical homeland of kosher wines, and we are excited to introduce our exclusive Carmel Black in the USA in time for Passover, when more than 40 percent of all kosher wine sales occur.”
Carmel BLACK Signature will be launched in the USA at the NJ Kosher Food & Wine Experience (KFWE), February 26, 2024. This important trade show regularly drives trends for Passover holiday wines and spirits, as well as year long forecasts. The trade event at the Meadowlands Hilton in Rutherford NJ is open to wine and spirits industry buyers, caterers, and restauranteurs.
Carmel BLACK Signature Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 Galilee (SRP: $30) can be purchased at specialty wine stores and online sites.
CARMEL SIGNATURE is Carmel Winery’s most prestigious wine category. The wines are produced from grapes nurtured and selected with strict precision from Carmel’s top vineyards, with an emphasis on elegance and harmony between all the elements.
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Thanksgiving in Los Angeles: the perfect stuffing bread DOES exist – and it’s… [Recipe Inside]
This Thanksgiving, the perfect stuffing bread DOES exist – and it’s brioche. As in St Pierre Brioche Thanksgiving Stuffing
No Thanksgiving spread is complete without a hearty stuffing. While add-ins are a matter of preference, choosing the right bread is crucial. One underrated choice is eggy, rich brioche – and with St Pierre Bakery, you don’t need to go to France to get it.
Thanks to its butter and egg content, St Pierre’s Brioche Loaf provides the perfect balance of crisp toastiness while remaining soft and creamy inside, while its lightly sweet flavor adds a decadent quality that can still lean savory. Attached below is an approachable recipe for stuffing allowing for all the craveable crunch for the whole family with minimal effort required.
St Pierre Brioche Thanksgiving Stuffing
By @BrandiMilloy
Ingredients
1 loaf St. Pierre Brioche Bread
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 medium onion, diced
3/4 cup celery, diced
3/4 cup carrots, diced
1 cup mushrooms, diced
2 large eggs
1 tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped
3 sprigs fresh thyme, just the leaves
1 tbsp. fresh sage, chopped
1 small apple (granny smith works well), peeled and diced
Salt and pepper
Directions
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Preheat oven to 350 F. Cut brioche bread into 1” cubes and bake for about 10-15 minutes until toasted.
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Meanwhile, into a pot over medium high heat add butter until melted. Add onion, celery and carrots and cook until everything starts to soften, about 7 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes longer. Remove from heat and set aside.
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Into a bowl whisk together the eggs, herbs, apples, mushrooms, and salt and pepper. Add your cooked vegetables and mix to combine.
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Pour mixture on top of toasted bread and stir to combine. Bake stuffing for about 45 minutes. If your stuffing starts to get too brown, cover until finished baking. Enjoy!
As America’s favorite brioche brand, St Pierre’s products are widely available via grocery stores nationwide as well as Walmart.
Holidays in Los Angeles: Dining in Beverly Hills: Mastro’s, FYC Bar + Kitchen AND Holiday Tamales from Tito’s
The Holidays in Los Angeles have never been more festive (or delicious) with holiday Dining at Mastro’s Beverly Hills, FYC Bar + Kitchen AND Holiday Tamales from Tito’s
The Holidays in Los Angeles at Hotel Amarano in Burbank
On Christmas Day from 3-10 p.m., FYC Bar + Kitchen at the luxury boutique Hotel Amarano in Burbank will be serving a special 3-course menu for just $70 per person (not including wine or cocktails).
The menu will include Butternut Squash Soup OR Radicchio Cup Mushroom Salad with avocado, chives & balsamic vinaigrette;
Apple Wood Bacon-Wrapped Filet Mignon with jumbo prawns, mashed potatoes, baby carrots & Brussels sprouts OR Pistachio-Crusted Roasted Sea Bass with citrus sauce, mashed potatoes, baby carrots & Brussels sprouts – and desserts such as Chocolate Lava Cake, New York Cheesecake, Apple Tarte Tatin or Crème Brûlée – along with coffee or tea.
The Holidays in Los Angeles at Mastro’s Beverly Hills
For classic Beverly Hills luxury, Mastro’s Beverly Hills will be open Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, serving their fresh oysters, caviar, decadent seafood towers, steaks and sides galore, along with luscious desserts and handcrafted cocktails – even a succulent Rabbi’s Daughter Kosher Bone-In Ribeye 16oz Steak for anyone celebrating Hanukkah (or who just likes great steaks).
For the month of December, Mastro’s is offering a special holiday cocktail – Under The Mistletoe.
For those who want their holiday meal from the comfort of their own home, Mastro’s Beverly Hills will have their famously decadent side dishes to go this year!
The following sides will serve up to 4 people, and cost $62 each:
Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Green Beans with Sliced Almonds
Creamed Corn
Creamed Spinach
For a sweet limited time finish, Mastro’s will have a gorgeous Pecan Pie as well as a special Cinnamon + Pecan Butter Cake – a twist on their famed Butter Cake – both available now through December 30.
To order Mastro’s Sides, guests just need to call the restaurant to order from December 1-22 they can pick them up on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.
Mastro’s will be open Christmas Eve from 3:00 PM – 10:00 PM, Christmas Day from 2:00 PM to 9:00 PM, New Year’s Eve from 5:00 PM to Midnight and New Year’s Day from 5:00 to 9:00 PM.
You can find their full menu here & as you likely know, the ambiance at Mastro’s every evening is like a party, with live music and white glove service.
They also have 2 private dining rooms for large parties of 40-50.
The Holidays in Los Angeles at Tito’s Tacos
Lastly – we love the tradition of Christmas Eve tamales, but they take hours to make.
The beloved, family-owned since 1959 Tito’s Tacos offers both a succulent Chicken Tamale – cilantro grilled chicken and Anaheim green chiles wrapped in homemade corn masa & steamed in a corn husk OR a Veggie Tamale, fresh veggies and pinto beans, wrapped in homemade corn masa and steamed in a corn husk.
You can buy them individually or by the dozen and the best part is that you can get them delivered straight to your door.
For more info, go to www.TitosTacos.com
Orders can be placed online for delivery or pickup on or before December 23.
About Mastro’s Steakhouse Beverly Hills
Mastro’s Steakhouse in Beverly Hills is a premier dining destination combining world class service with an elegant yet energetic ambiance, making it a popular choice for celebrities, locals and visitors.
Located at 246 North Canon Drive, Mastro’s features live music nightly, with signature menu highlights such as bone-in filet mignon, USDA Prime, Japanese A5 Wagyu, and True A5 Kobe steaks; lavish seafood towers featuring fresh oysters, shrimp, crab and lobster served in a swirl of dry ice mist, decadent lobster mashed potatoes, and Mastro’s famed Butter Cake, to name a few.
Open for dinner from 5:00 p.m.-10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and until 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
For more info, visit www.mastrosrestaurants.com
Palm Springs: Executive Chef Michael Hung Unveils flagship restaurant, Navigator, New Elevated Dining Voyage in Heart of the Desert
Palm Springs: Executive Chef Michael Hung Unveils flagship restaurant, Navigator, New Elevated Dining Voyage in Heart of the Desert Play Ground
Executive Chef Michael Hung Unveils flagship restaurant, Navigator, New Elevated Dining Voyage in Heart of Palm Springs
The Palm Springs Surf Club announces the opening of their flagship restaurant, Navigator, on Friday, November 15th, 2024!
Photo Credit: Oscar Flink
This innovative new dining destination bridges the worlds of desert living, hospitality, and surfing.
Guests will experience dramatic views of the San Jacinto Mountains, explore the expansive 13-acre property complete with resort amenities, and marvel at the sights and sounds of surfing in the state-of-the-art wave pool.
Photo Credit: Oscar Flink
Leading the Navigator team is acclaimed Executive Chef Michael Hung. As the Executive Chef of Navigator and Director of Food & Beverage for the Palm Springs Surf Club, Chef Hung brings his culinary artistry to this highly anticipated opening.
Executive Chef Michael Hung
Chef Hung’s impressive career spans from renowned New York kitchens Daniel and Aquavit, through San Francisco’s celebrated establishments, including the James Beard Award-winning team at Jardiniere, led by the renowned Chef Traci Des Jardins and Michelin-starred La Folie with Chef Roland Passot.
His culinary path has included Faith & Flower in Los Angeles which earned accolades from Esquire, Los Angeles Magazine, and Travel + Leisure.
Hung’s talent continued to shine with Viviane at the Avalon Hotel, praised by Los Angeles Times esteemed food critic Jonathan Gold and renowned San Francisco Chronicle food critic, Michael Bauer.
Chef Hung brought his expertise to the luxury hotel and hospitality scene in Palm Springs as the Executive Chef for Steve Hermann Hotels, where he revamped menus at The Colony Club at The Colony Palms and SO.PA at L’Horizon Resort and Hermann Bungalows, earning a Michelin Guide listing for The Colony Club.
Photo Credit: Oscar Flink
Now, at the Palm Springs Surf Club, he applies his expertise to both Navigator and the larger resort’s food and beverage offerings, promising an elevated dining experience rooted in a global culinary perspective.
Photo Credit: Oscar Flink
Navigator’s Menu will highlight modern American cuisine infused with influences from renowned surf locales, including flavors inspired by Portugal, Morocco, Mexico, Indonesia, and Hawaii. Each dish is crafted with the finest local ingredients, blending global flavors with a California sensibility.
Signature offerings include Olive & Herb Dinner Rolls with Tomato Jam, Crispy Wagyu Beef Cigars, Hawaiian-style Garlic Shrimp, and large-format dishes such as a Pan Roasted Whole Rainbow Trout or the 20-oz Ribeye with Bone Marrow Gremolata. Chef Hung’s thoughtfully curated Vegan options,Sides, and inventive Desserts like the Crème Catalan Parfait and Valrhona Dark Chocolate Mousse promise an array of flavors for every palate.
Photo Credit: Oscar Flink
The Wine List, curated by Beverage Director Anthony Dougherty emphasizes California’s finest labels, while Dougherty’s Bar Menufeatures a refreshing selection of Handcrafted Cocktails and a robust Tap Beer program highlighting local producers.
Photo Credit: Oscar Flink
Service will be led by renowned restaurateur, Cameron Hirigoyen, who for 30 years owned and operated San Francisco’s classic Basque restaurant, Piperade. Cameron brings her graceful poise and deep knowledge to Navigator’s dining room.
Navigator’s design pays homage to the oceanic heritage of South Pacific navigators—surfers who traversed seas by the stars, currents, and wildlife. The restaurant’s décor reflects this maritime inspiration, with custom teakwood furniture, woven textile ceiling treatments, and a hand-carved outrigger canoe serving as a focal point for the dining room. The ambiance combines nautical aesthetics with a luxurious, natural warmth, creating an upscale, intimate setting for guests to relax and dine in style.
“We are thrilled to welcome Michael Hung to the Palm Springs Surf Club family,”
Colin O’Byrne
managing partner
“His creativity and expertise are an ideal match for Navigator and our overall vision at the Palm Springs Surf Club, which is to offer guests an elevated dining experience and amenities alongside the world’s premier surf pool.”
Navigator at the Palm Springs Surf Club officially opens for Dinner on Friday, November 15th, 2024, and will be open every Monday through Sunday from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm.
Lunch is served Monday to Friday from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm. Navigator serves Weekend Brunchevery Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.
The Happy Hour menu is available from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm Monday to Friday and from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm on Saturday and Sunday. For more information or reservations at Navigator, please visit www.NavigatorPS.com or call Navigator directly at 760.205.3634.
Navigator
Palm Springs Surf Club
1500 S. Gene Autry Trail
Palm Springs, CA 92264
T: 760.205.3634
About Palm Springs Surf Club: The Palm Springs Surf Club is an unparalleled destination, blending state-of-the-art wave technology with luxurious resort-style amenities. Guests can enjoy various attractions, from a winding lazy river to private cabanas by the wave pool, creating a perfect oasis in the heart of Palm Springs. With three bars, two restaurants, and dynamic event spaces, the Palm Springs Surf Club offers distinctive culinary and beverage programs, designed to cater to every taste and every occasion.
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George Gallagher Gets Lucky with Law in BET+ Perimeter TV Series from Tyler Perry, Armani Ortiz
George Gallagher gets lucky with the law in BET+ Perimeter TV Series from Tyler Perry, Armani Ortiz
We’re with actor George Gallagher. He’s currently on BET+ new show, “Perimeter”.
Today’s conversation has been edited for length and clarity. For the full, un-edited conversation, visit our YouTube channel here.
George Gallagher in BET+ “Perimeter” TV Series from Tyler Perry, Armani Ortiz
Joe Winger:
Talk a little bit from an actor point of view. All the different characters you’ve played, what’s your preparation process like?
George Gallagher:
It tends to vary from role to role. I utilize a lot of different disciplines. But for example, on Perimeter I play an attorney who takes on cases that others wouldn’t necessarily.
He knows where his bread and butter comes from, but he likes to challenge and, when dealing with that, I’d watched a lot of different things.
I watched Better Call Saul.
I watched different lawyer shows and I consulted with some attorneys and did some research and, I have a relative who’s an upper echelon attorney in the tri state New York area. I spoke with her in some detail about different things and went through the script actually, and to try to make it make sense for me in a very real, visceral way.
But also honor the world that Armani Ortiz and Tyler Perry had created.
So it varies quite a bit. I like to be really spontaneous and instinctive with everything. I like to go off the moment of what I get from the other person and what happens in the moment.
How I respond to things 12 words or less, unfortunately is not my specialty, but that’s why we have writers to give me dialogue.
Joe Winger:
Talk about Lance, the character you play in Perimeter.
George Gallagher:
Working on the show is one of the gifts of my creative, professional career.
Armani Ortiz is the young writer-director visionary, who has created the show and put it forth with Tyler Perry as executive producer. And he also directed the Tyler Perry documentary, Maxine’s Baby, about Mr. Perry’s life that’s doing quite well right now.
He’s really an extremely talented young guy. He really invited me into his world, to create whatever I wanted within certain parameters. He was very collaborative with the actors. He allowed us to rehearse, work through things, but also give it our own flavor.
I come from the theater and actors that work in that studio tend to have that background because we can work quickly. We’re autonomous. We have some process and technique and I believe that we’re able to collaborate with others in a way that’s immediate, and in theater, you’re out there in the unknown and there’s no one to cut you out.
If you have a bad moment, the audience sees it.
So actors really learn how to hyper focus in real time. That was a bit of the experience. Once the cameras were starting to roll, but we did have an incredible cast.
Most of the people came from California, some from New York. I’m really drawn from both coasts that came to Atlanta to film and work on the show.
It’s a great story. It’s period. It takes place in the nineties surrounding Freaknik, which was a really popular hip hop festival in Atlanta. The Olympics is in the backdrop, when they had them here in the early 90s. The whole city, the airport expanded. It really put Atlanta on the map as a major metropolitan city. So that’s all happening in the backdrop. They had the first black mayor at the time.
My character, Lance, is a high end attorney who has a very private clientele that pays him very well. Their cases might be a little more challenging.
He represents people who are, sometimes stepping outside of the law and in the criminal world and which makes it all the more challenging.
But back to your earlier question, I was researching lawyers that had taken on different civil rights cases that are a little more controversial in terms of dealing with the system and upholding a belief in the system.
Someone like Alan Dershowitz, I watched Reversal of Fortune.
He took on a lot of civil rights cases and then went and defended someone that everyone thought was a murderer.
But the reason why he did those things and which was an underlying, or rather an overtone of that novel and the film Reversal of Fortune. It’s really about if you believe in the legal system and making sure that everyone has a fair and just defense, regardless of their socioeconomic background.
My character, Lance, is from a different world than I am.
Malcolm, who’s one of the main characters on the show, that I defend and I represent. I don’t want to give too many spoilers away, but it’s a really exciting world.
People should check out the show and see where it takes everybody.
Joe Winger:
When you talk about the cast there’s a range of different names.
Any specific lessons you learned from any of the cast?
George Gallagher:
There’s one scene in particular where my client’s brother ends up getting arrested. He’s looking at some serious charges and we have to go visit him and give him some reassurance and get more information about his case.
Both of the actors, Malcolm Xavier, who plays Malcolm on the show and Jalen Gilbert, who plays his brother were extraordinary.
We shot in a visitation room in a police station and when this actor walked in, I felt like he was really in jail or in prison.
The guy transformed.
I’d met him [before] and we rehearsed the scene and everyone’s nice and we’re in hair and makeup and shooting the crap and talking. Then you get on set and it’s not the same human being, which is such a gift as an actor when you have.
It forces you to really respond and you’re just in the moment. The three of us had a really exciting dynamic and I thought it translated really well on film.
It reminded me of things as an actor, which is if you believe it, if you really believe it, the audience will believe it too. Everybody around you on that set will believe it.
If you don’t. then it’s kind of luck of the draw and you’re hoping for the editor [and music score] to help you.
If an actor is really meant to be an actor, and they’re worth their grain of salt, it comes from them living in this danger zone. And this guy, he came out, he was dangerous. You felt like anything could happen.
He reminded me of a young Denzel Washington.
And Malcolm was also exceptional. It was impossible to not believe they were brothers. You could feel the affinity, but also the sort of rage that was brewing between the two of them.
George Gallagher on-set
Joe Winger:
That vibe helps inform your performance as well. It just makes the whole scene more alive and in the moment for you.
George Gallagher:
Absolutely. You just feel like you’re there with another human being having an experience and you forget you’re an actor and that you’re in a story and you just really like suspension of disbelief.
As actors, we get to live many lives, which is what I love the most about acting.
Armani Ortiz really set the stage for that to happen to us.
Also making it feel authentic and real. The art direction, the cinematography, every department was really on point.
Joe Winger:
You’ve played some really intense roles. After a day on a set that heavy, as a human being, as an actor, how do you relax?
George Gallagher:
That’s a really good question. A different film that I did, called “Altered States of Plaine” is about a guy who falls asleep and wakes up in different parts of the world. He doesn’t know why it’s happening to him and he resorts to drug induced insomnia to stay awake.
It’s very bizarre film and it balances a lot of psychological aspects.
Sometimes in a role you do immerse yourself and you work to within an inch of your life. [Afterwards] you come out and shake it off and sometimes you’ve got dings in the fender that aren’t going away.
But as an actor generally I just laugh and shake it off. The camera eats all that stuff up, hopefully we all can shake hands and go out for a drink later on and bury the hatchet.
Joe Winger:
It sounds like on your current show Perimeter, it does have a more congenial vibe.
George Gallagher:
Absolutely. I’ve worked on two projects there [Tyler Perry Productions] now. It’s one of the most positive environments you could ever step into as an actor. Tyler Perry Productions hires the very best of the best of people.
I remember in California walking on the Paramount [lot] for an audition and everybody looks so happy. They had a twinkle in their eye.
[I mentioned it to a friend and they replied] “They’re all winning the game.”
I was like, you’re right. There is that gratitude, you get a job for that week. You’re part of the 1%. You’re very lucky. It’s a privilege.
Joe Winger:
You’ve been outspoken about the future of Hollywood, digital storytelling, AI. You’ve had publicly a very positive outlook on what the future looks like.
George Gallagher:
I don’t believe the human soul will ever be duplicated and replicated.
I think they’re going to get interesting products and effects that are going to look really cool and fascinating, but there’s still going to be a storyteller that’s a human being behind that.
But I still think that writers, storytellers, actors, and people in the visual, there’s still going to need to be human beings manning this.
There’s always going to be a need and a desire for communal experience. A human being telling stories and artists, but it is probably going to alter a lot.
The audience determines at the end of the day, it’s about what they want.
George Gallagher with actress Nikiva Dionne “A Heart for Christmas”
Joe Winger:
Our audience is very food based, wine based, cocktail based, I’m not sure if you identify as a foodie.
What’s your favorite dish? What do you love to cook?
George Gallagher:
My pronouns are asparagus, broccoli, and spinach. [George laughs]
I love food. I’m big into real food, raw foods organically grown, supporting local farmers, salads greens.
There was a dish that I used to make, sausage and pepper penne.
I use turkey sausages because I like it a little healthier. I would make it with fusilli because it soaks up the sauce better. Getting the oils and the fats into the sauce, and then the fusilli just grabs it and soaks it all up, and then I would add almonds into that dish.
Maybe some spinach. Definitely have to have green peppers and some spicy peppers, bright colored rainbow diet.
If I cook it too much, then it’s a mess. But I’ve gotten better at it over the years. It’s edible.
Joe Winger:
You finished shooting “A Heart for Christmas” in Los Angeles. Can you talk about the movie and what you play?
George Gallagher:
Absolutely. I just wrapped “A Heart for Christmas”. I play Dr. Carl, who’s really driven, sort of type A person who is engaged to the protagonist in the film, breaks it off early on and because he’s got his own sort of, he’s a quasi McDreamy meets McDouchey sort of doctor. A little bit of a God complex, and he’s quite pleased with himself.
It’s a Christmas film and it’s fun and has a lot of humor and charm.
We shot for a few weeks in LA and all around Pasadena. We got to experience Christmas in the summertime.
It should be out sometime before this Christmas.
Joe Winger:
Anything in the future we should be looking for you?
George Gallagher:
On Netflix, the new film Six Triple Eight starring Kerry Washington, Oprah Winfrey, Dean Norris, and Sam Waterston.
That was also directed by Tyler Perry.
I play a character named Levi who’s a business executive and it takes place around the Second World War.
Part of the film was shot in Atlanta, some in Europe: England, Germany, all around the world.
It’s one of the biggest productions I’ve ever personally been involved in with a lot of great actors and had a terrific script. I think people are going to really like the story.
Joe Winger:
You’ve made the unorthodox choice as an actor of leaving Los Angeles, having a family life somewhere else. What inspired that move?
George Gallagher:
It’s been a blessing in so many ways I can’t even tell you.
We live in a suburb of Atlanta north of the city. Having my children be born in Los Angeles and being from the New York area, I’ve never not lived in a major metropolitan area.
You really just can provide a better quality of life for your family. I moved here [from the New York area]. I heard Tyler Perry was quarantining and was going to keep production going.
I thought nothing stops that guy. Those are the kinds of people I want to work with. I said to my wife and family, “Let’s go to Atlanta. We can always come back to New York later.”
It’s just amazing. It was like everything that I had wanted and planned for.
Very rarely in my life have everything unfolded exactly the way I’d hoped and envisioned it. But this was one of those situations and it’s an hour from New York.
It’s green, it’s beautiful, and people are friendly. You get great organic food and there’s farmers everywhere. We have, of course, Georgia peaches everywhere.
Joe Winger:
As we wrap up any social media, any websites? What’s the best way to follow you, find out more about you?
George Gallagher:
Feel free to follow me on Instagram. It’s GeorgeGallagher7. Facebook is George Gallagher.
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Fritz Coleman’s Show Extended: “UnAssisted Living” on live at NoHo’s El Portal thru May, on TubiTV
Fritz Coleman’s Show Extended: “UnAssisted Living” on live at NoHo’s El Portal thru May, on TubiTV
LA Legendary newscaster Fritz Coleman extends his show “Unassisted Living” at North Hollywood’s El Portal Theater. Today we talk with Fritz about comedy during “cancel culture”, performing clean and his comedy special playing on TubiTV.com
Below is edited for length and clarity. To see the full conversation, visit FlavRReport YouTube Channel.
Today we have a returning guest. Fritz Coleman, thank you so much for coming back again
Fritz Coleman: I am honored to be back. It’s so rare to be invited back anywhere and you’re a gentleman.
Joe Winger: Last time it was very diverse. Because I’m a comedy geek, and I love live comedy. I really want to dive deep with you this time.
So the show is called Unassisted Living. It’s taped live at the El Puerto Theater, shown on TubiTV.com.
Fritz Coleman: Tubi is a free streaming service. It’s like Hulu. It’s an advertiser supported streaming service. There are very few ads at beginning and in the end, but I’m just happy to have it there.
We appealed to Tubi by saying that there are a lot of Netflix and Amazon prime comedy specials, but very few geared to the demographic that I talk to, which is, as I say, old people and their parents.
We thought that it would be fun for boomers and above just talking about the common experiences of aging and having grandchildren and how do we survive the pandemic and all that. We seem to have found an audience for this. We’re just having a blast. I love that.
What’s Live Comedy like after the Pandemic?
Joe Winger: You’ve mentioned a few times in public about how it’s funny to go back to a regular comedy routine after the pandemic. What’s changed the most?
Fritz Coleman: That’s a great question. I would say a couple of things have changed. Some good, some bad. I think, and I don’t know that this has anything to do with a pandemic. It has to do with a cultural divide in America. The difference in opinions and how prickly and protective people are about their own opinions.
Things have gotten very politically correct. Now I don’t do political humor. I don’t even do current events humor, really. And there’s a selfish reason for that.
First of all, the shelf life of current events material is very short and second of all nobody’s going to do it better than Bill Maher or Stephen Colbert or Jimmy Kimmel.
Third of all, it’s just a time where people are so hypersensitive about everything you don’t even have to do a punchline about Donald Trump or anything related to that.
You can just say the word in the setup and be booed. You get it from the audience. So I want to avoid that.
The good aspect of what has changed in comedy
Truthfully now the good aspect of what has changed is I don’t think there’s been a time in recent history when comedy has been more important because there’s a kind of a malaise.
There’s a sort of a mild national depression again, it’s the cultural divide. It might be a post pandemic PTSD kind of thing, people just want to be taken out of their heads. So what I do is get up there and talk about the common experience of getting old and just the common experience of American life for people my age.
If you connect with them and they recognize what you’re talking about and they laugh, it’s very cathartic for them.
For that one hour and 15 minutes, you’ve taken them out of their heads. You’ve made them forget that things are not perfect in the world. And I think it’s very therapeutic. So from that respect it’s a good time right now for standup, but it’s also a time when it’s fraught with landmines.
Joe Winger: I want to go a little more into detail on TubiTV, what it’s like to shoot a show. Obviously in the 1980s and 1990s, HBO and Comedy Central did a lot of live comedy. I should say live to tape, it’s not actually live. Now Netflix has become so incredibly popular.
Tell us how to access and see the show. So what’s it like both starring in the show, producing the show, and what does it actually take to make the show happen?
Fritz Coleman: I have a favorite theater in Southern California called the El Portal Theater in North Hollywood. I have a residency there through May now.
We’ve just been extended for the second time. Once a month, I do a show there. And within the El Portal, it’s a very iconic Southern California performing venue, hey have a smaller theater called the Marilyn Monroe Forum. It’s a 100 seat theater. It’s a semi-circular. It’s a half theater in the round.
I chose this venue for a couple of reasons. First of all, I like the intimacy of it. I like to walk up and look into people’s eyes and see their reaction.
It becomes more of a conversation than a performance. I saw this venue on Hacks, which is a great show about stand up starring Jean Smart. I don’t like shows about stand-up mainly, I’m too
They did one of their episodes where they wanted to shoot her in a more cocktail table environment. They shot an episode in this theater where they had six or seven cocktail tables in front. Overhead cameras and lighting, beautiful lighting.
I thought that’s where I want to do my show. That’s exactly how I want it to look. It’s not a big, broad performance where you’re strutting the stage like Chappelle or any of those guys.
So I taped it there and it felt really good.
When you [produce the show] yourself. You hire a producer and a director and I did that and trusted that they would bring my vision to light. We had a great show, we took one Sunday afternoon to tape two shows, 3pm and 7pm and then we cut the best of the two together and presented the final product to all the streamers.
We had some interest from First World Digital which is the digital content arm of A24. Then got interest from Tubi.
So we had to find a streamer that thought it was important for us to appeal to boomers and adults.
It works so well that I got a residency at this theater, meaning once a month I do a show there and we just got extended for the second time.
We will be there once a month through May and It’s fantastic. I’m at a stage in my life where I’m not looking to have national fame. I just love the work. I love to do local theaters and clubs and whoever will have me now. And it’s been a blast.
Joe Winger: You seem so incredibly comfortable on camera. You’ve mentioned in the press, the daily grind that was your day job. What I’m wondering about is what’s your process like building up your show?
Fritz Coleman: It’s your daily job. There are two guys that had a spectacular work ethic in our business. One was George Carlin, who wrote for hours every day, and Jerry Seinfeld, who would discipline himself to write for a couple hours every day.
Even if you don’t have anything ruminating in your mind, you have to write every day. You have to discipline yourself to sit in front of that page and write. Something will happen. And you have to do it, and it’s a grind. And all writing can be lonely and laborious and not productive, but you have to do it.
And then you have to try it. But I think one out of ten concepts or jokes or bits that you come up with, ultimately make it into your long act
Larry Miller, one of the great stand ups, a great friend of Seinfeld said, “Building a stand up act is like operating a moonshine still. You get one drip at a time and it takes forever.”
And it really does. The beauty of not having my job and I had the fortune of having an astonishingly wonderful job at NBC Los Angeles for 40 years. I was their main weekday weather guy.
But I did 12 hours a day there. Then I would write, then I would do shows between the early and late news and come back. But now that I’m retired from that job, I can discipline myself to write every morning. I can concentrate on the quality of my shows. I have this Residency, which allows me to do new blocks of material every time.
So more than any other time in my career, my set is expanding more quickly. It requires discipline and it just requires sticking to it.
Joe Winger: Jerry Seinfeld is famously not blue. But other names, George Carlin, Richard Pryor, Robert Klein are certainly more aggressive
In your own words, you’re famously “squeaky clean”. Is that a deliberate choice on your part? What are the advantages, disadvantages to that?
Fritz Coleman: There are both advantages and disadvantages. I’m clean for two reasons. When I first started in comedy, when I came out here in 1980 to Los Angeles to do stand up, and you were auditioning to go on the talk shows, Carson, Merv Griffin, Dinah Shore, whoever’s talk shows you were doing, you had to be clean.
And when you were working in the [comedy club] rooms, you had to be clean, even if you weren’t auditioning for the talent coordinators on their shows, because if they were in the room watching somebody else and saw you be blue or really edgy on stage, it would be impossible to get their attention because they were afraid for their own job.
So you had to work clean.
So I just disciplined myself into that. The second reason why clean is important is because you will get more very lucrative corporate work, if you’re clean. If IBM has a conference in Las Vegas and they’re looking for somebody to entertain their 10, 000 person mid-level-management convention, you have to be squeaky clean.
You can’t even do double entendres and many times they’ll want to parse your act before you even do it. It’s better business to work clean.
Third of all, I’m in my seventies and people my age appreciate a cleaner act.
That was another thing we pitched to Tubi. I’m Dave Chappelle’s biggest fan, Chris Rock’s biggest fan, but there are people my age that just wince at some of the language and stuff.
I don’t want them to be uncomfortable. I’m not here like Richard Pryor was or George Carlin was to challenge the First Amendment. I’m not there to push the boundaries. Honest to God, I just want to make people laugh and smile and have a good time and feel better for one hour.
Joe Winger: When you’re out and about at these shows, you meet younger comics who might be asking you for advice. Is there any common advice you give to young performers or performers newer to the industry?
Fritz Coleman: Yeah, be true to yourself. Find who you are.
You’ll always start out copying somebody else. When I started out, I was copying, and sometimes you do it subconsciously. I was copying Robert Klein and his beautiful stage presentation, and George Carlin and his writing skills.
Then after a while, you’ll find out what makes you unique and you’ll write to that and find yourself. Stick to that and don’t quit.
It can be a ruthless business to try to get a foothold in, but don’t quit. The longer you go and discipline yourself to, to writing and being true to your character, people can sense phoniness from a mile away.
Just be true to yourself. And that’s what people resonate with.
Fritz Coleman’s comedy show “Unassisted Living” has been extended at North Hollywood’s El Portal through May 2024. Find tix and schedule here.
Find Fritz Coleman’s comedy special “Unassisted Living” on TubiTv.
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Broadway and Vine’s 2023 Concert Series: Brooke Shields, Sutton Foster, Darren Criss, Tituss Burgess and More Will Headline Broadway and Vine’s 2023 Concert Series
Brooke Shields, Sutton Foster, Darren Criss, Tituss Burgess and More Will Headline Broadway and Vine’s 2023 Concert Series In Napa Valley
Broadway and Vine, a nonprofit organization bringing the best of Broadway to the best of Wine Country, kicks off its summer season on Tuesday, June 27
with Emmy Award and SAG Award nominee Tituss Burgess (TV: “Schmigadoon,” “Unbreakable Kimmie Schmidt,” Broadway: Jersey Boys, Disney’s The Little Mermaid) at Tre Posti Vineyards in Napa Valley.
The vineyard concert series will continue throughout the summer with Golden Globe, SAG, and Emmy Award Winner Darren Criss (TV: “The Assassination of Gianni Versace,” Broadway: American Buffalo, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, How to Succeed in Business…) at Carneros Resort’s Hilltop Vineyard on July 28.
Tony Award-winning actress, singer, and dancer, Sutton Foster (“Younger,” The Music Man, Anything Goes, Thoroughly Modern Millie, The Drowsy Chaperone) will appear on August 2 at a Napa Valley vineyard estate.
Actress, model, author, entrepreneur, and Broadway star, Brooke Shields (Wonderful Town, Chicago, Cabaret, Grease, The Addams Family) will appear on August 29 in an intimate concert at an exclusive vineyard estate.
On August 16, Erika Henningsen (TV: “Girls 5 Eva,” Broadway: Mean Girls, Les Misérables) will headline with special guest Kyle Selig (Broadway: Mean Girls, The Book of Mormon); and on September 26, Julian Ovenden (TV: “Downton Abbey,” Broadway/West End: South Pacific, Butley) will perform with Scott Frankel, both at Tre Posti.
World renowned Pianist and composer, Natalie Tenenbaum (Lang Lang’s Disney Songbook, David Byrne’s American Utopia, MJ: The Musical, Mean Girls) will be featured throughout the summer as this year’s emerging artist.
Broadway and Vine was founded and is produced by Tony Award nominee Jacob Langfelder (Sea Wall/A Life) with a mission to provide mentorship, masterclass and performance opportunities for students and pre-professional performing artists.
The concert series is paired with world class wineries and wines including Chateau Montelena, Gargiulo Family Vineyards, Frog’s Leap, PEJU, Lloyd Cellars, Arietta, Cervantes Family Vineyards, Titus, Prescription Vineyards and more. Chefs Peter Halikas, Nash Cognetti, and Jeffrey Jake will showcase their cuisine in the picturesque vineyard and resort settings. Tickets begin at $95 and are on sale now at www.broadwayandvine.org
● JUNE 27, 2023 7:00pm Tituss Burgess at Tre Posti
● JUNE 28, 2023 7:00pm Natalie Tenenbaum at Meadowood Resort
● JULY 28, 2023 7:30pm: Darren Criss at Carneros Resort
● AUGUST 2, 2023 7:30pm: Tony Award Winner Sutton Foster at a Napa Valley Vineyard Estate
● AUGUST 16, 2023 7:30pm: Erika Henningsen at Tre Posti
● AUGUST 17, 2023 5:00pm: A Taste of Broadway with Natalie Tenenbaum at Estate Yountville
● AUGUST 29, 2023 7:00pm: Brooke Shields at Napa Valley Vineyard Estate
● SEPTEMBER 26, 2023 6:30pm: Julian Ovenden with Scott Frankel at Tre PostiBroadway and Vine was founded by Tony Award nominee Jacob Langfelder
Broadway and Vine was founded by Tony Award nominee Jacob Langfelder (Sea Wall/A Life), with a mission to provide mentorship, masterclass and performance opportunities for students and pre-professional performing artists. It launched in 2021 and has featured appearance by Golden Globe nominee Lea Michele, Tony Award winners Beth Leavel and Matt Doyle, Tony Award nominees Christopher Sieber, Tony Yazbeck, and Shoshana Bean, as well as Abby Mueller, Jelani Remy, Natalie Tenenbaum, and Taylor Iman Jones. Its Founder, Jacob Langfelder, is a former performer and Tony Award nominated producer who has also worked with acclaimed chefs including Tom Colicchio, Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Daniel Boulud. In Napa, he executive produced Festival Napa Valley, Taste of Napa, and has worked with dozens of wineries and resorts presenting luxury concert events.
Brooke Shields began her accomplished professional career…
Actress, Model, Author and Entrepreneur, Brooke Shields began her accomplished professional career at only eleven months of age when she was selected as the Ivory Snow Baby, and by age 3 was a runway model. At age 9, Shields began her extensive film career when she won her first acting role in Alice Sweet Alice and rapidly gained fame after starring in Louis Malle’s Pretty Baby, the Palme D’or Award winner at the Cannes Film Festival, and the coming-of-age tales Blue Lagoon and Endless Love. As a model, Brooke has graced the covers of hundreds of magazines, most notably Time Magazine as the “Face of the Eighties.” Today, Shields continues her prolific appearances in a broad range of worldwide publications, decades after it all began.
The two-part documentary Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields (which screened to critical acclaim at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival) premiered on Hulu in April. This galvanizing look at Brooke as an actor, model, and icon, as she transforms from sexualized young girl to a woman discovering her power, is directed by Lana Wilson (Miss Americana). Holding a mirror up to a society that objectifies women and girls, Brooke’s story shows the perils and triumphs of gaining agency in a hostile world. The documentary is now ABC News’ most-watched Hulu debut program ever.
Sutton Foster was most recently seen on the Broadway revival of The Music Man, opposite Hugh Jackman.
Tony Award-winning actress, singer, and dancer, Sutton Foster was most recently seen on the Broadway stage starring in an acclaimed turn as “Marian Paroo” in the Broadway revival of The Music Man, opposite Hugh Jackman at The Winter Garden Theatre. Her performance earned her seventh Tony award nomination as well as the coveted 2022 Drama League Distinguished Performance Award. In the summer of 2021, Sutton reprised one of her most notable roles as “Reno Sweeney” in Anything Goes at the Barbican Theatre in London in which she earned an Oliver Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical. Her original performance in the Roundabout Theatre Company’s revival at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre earned her a 2011 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical.
The two-time Tony winning actress starred as “The Baker’s Wife” in the Hollywood Bowl’s sold-out summer 2019 production of Into the Woods. Previously, she appeared in the title role of The New Group’s 50th anniversary revival of Sweet Charity and in Jeanine Tesori and Brian Crawley’s Tony-nominated Broadway revival, Violet. Sutton also appeared on stage as “Queenie” in New York City Center Encores! Off-Center’s production of The Wild Party in July 2015. Sutton’s performance as “Janet Van De Graaff” in Casey Nicholaw’s The Drowsy Chaperone at the Marquis Theatre in 2006 earned her Tony Award, Drama Desk, Drama League, Outer Critics Circle, and Ovation Award nominations.
On television, Sutton led the critically acclaimed TV Land series, “Younger” for seven seasons. Created by “Sex in the City’s” Darren Star and styled by the iconic Pat Field, the seventh and final season of series premiered in April 2021, making it the longest running original series in TV Land history. As a solo artist, Sutton has toured the country with her hit solo concert which featured songs from her debut solo CD Wish as well as her follow up CD, An Evening with Sutton Foster: Live at the Cafe Carlyle. She has also graced the stages of Carnegie Hall, Feinstein’s, Lincoln Center’s American Songbook series and many others. Sutton released her third solo album, Take Me to the World, through Ghostlight Deluxe, June 1, 2018.
Darren Criss exploded into the internet’s subculture
Darren Criss exploded into the internet’s subculture as both an actor and songwriter for the YouTube viral hit A Very Potter Musical in 2009. From there was cast on FOX’s massively successful musical series “Glee,” from which many of his performances of popular songs would lead to several Billboard-topping records. In 2015 his songwriting also landed an Emmy nomination for Best Original Music and Lyrics, from penning the song “This Time” for the show’s series finale.
Criss has continued to write and produce music extensively through the years, whether for his own releases as an artist or as a songwriter for theater, film & television. In 2019 Criss created, executive produced, starred in, and provided all the original songs for his short-form musical comedy series “Royalties,” and earlier this year provided the music & lyrics for the opening number of the 2022 Tony Awards: Act One. As an artist, he most recently delivered a genre-diverse collection of “character-driven” singles as part of his 2021 solo EP titled Masquerade(BMG), and in the same year, released a full-length Christmas album titled- aptly- A Very Darren Crissmas (Decca).
As an actor, Criss is a veteran of the stage whose Broadway credits include the titular role of Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2015), How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying (2012), and the most recent 2022 revival of David Mamet’s seminal play American Buffalo alongside Laurence Fishburne and Sam Rockwell. In 2018 his work in Ryan Murphy’s “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” received wide critical acclaim, earning him a Primetime Emmy, Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild, and Critics’ Choice Award. He was most recently seen starring in Netflix’s hit series “Hollywood,” for which he also served as executive producer.”
Tituss Burgess has quickly emerged as one of the entertainment industry’s most versatile and dynamic performers
Tituss Burgess has quickly emerged as one of the entertainment industry’s most versatile and dynamic performers, with his work in television, film, and theater generating both critical and commercial acclaim. Tituss starred as ’Titus Andromedon’ in the hit Netflix comedy series “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” (nominations for four consecutive Emmy Awards, a SAG Award, and two Critics’ Choice TV Awards). He reprised his role in the Netflix interactive special “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. the Reverend” and was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting actor. Tituss can be seen in the second season of the Apple TV+ musical comedy “Schmigadoon!,” and recently starred in the MGM Aretha Franklin biopic, Respect. Previously, he starred in the Netflix films Set It Up and Dolemite Is My Name. An accomplished voice actor, Tituss currently stars in the animated musical comedy series “Central Park” for Apple TV+, for which he was nominated for his sixth Emmy Award. A veteran of the stage, Burgess made his Broadway debut as “Eddie” in Good Vibrations and has played “Hal Miller” in Jersey Boys, “Nicely-Nicely Johnson” in the 2009 revival of Guys and Dolls, and “Sebastian” inThe Little Mermaid.
Julian Ovenden has starred in many TV shows
Julian Ovenden has starred in many TV shows on both sides of the Atlantic, including “Downton Abbey,” “Foyle’s War,” “Person of Interest,” “Any Human Heart,” “Knightfall,” “Smash,” “The Crown,” The Sound of Music Live” and “Adult Material.” Recent screen work includes the second season of Armando Ianucci’s Avenue 5 for HBO, the global hit “Bridgerton” for Netflix and Shonda Rimes, and The People You Hate At The Wedding for Amazon. Julian has just begun to film the second season of “Trigger Point” for ITV and Jed Mercurio.
As a singer, Julian has headlined at some of the world’s great venues, including Lincoln Center; Carnegie Hall; Sydney Opera House; the Royal Opera House; the Concertgebouw; the Palladium; the Royal Albert Hall; the Royal Festival Hall. He has been a recording artist for both Warner Music and Universal; his latest recording work includes a Broadway Duets album with the American soprano Sierra Boggess and Carousel for John Wilson and the London Sinfonia.
Erika Henningsen is most known for originating the starring role of in the hit, Tony-nominated musical, Mean Girls.
Erika Henningsen is a Bay Area native and is most known for originating the starring role of Cady Heron in the hit, Tony-nominated musical, Mean Girls. She was reunited with Tina Fey when she went on to recur as “Young Gloria” on Peacock’s acclaimed series, “Girls5Eva.” Other theater credits include Fantine opposite Ramin Karimloo in the recent revival of Les Miserables. She originated the title role of Joy in the Broadway-bound musical adaptation, based on the life of Joy Managano, which premiered at the George Street Playhouse. Other roles: Nellie Forbush in South Pacific & Sophie in Mamma Mia! (PCLO), Nina in the Dear World opposite Tyne Daly. Her solo show, Raise Your Standards has played to sold out venues in New York City & San Francisco. Additional TV credits include CBS All Access’ “Blue Bloods,” HBO’s “That Damn Michael Che“ and Tracy Oliver’s original comedy, “Harlem,” for Amazon. She can be heard as the leading voice actor in A24’s upcoming musical animation series, “Hazbin Hotel.”
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