Shhh...It's a Speakeasy...
ONE NIGHT ONLYPLEASE NOTE THAT WE ARE RESCHEDULING THIS EVENT
FUTURE DATE TO BE ANNOUNCED Saturday April 18th 2020 7-10PM Step back in time with the RSP Ensemble for some roaring 20s style fun! Enter the world of Charlie's speak-easy & casino, where booze flows freely, card players are fast, the girls are floozy, and the Jazz is Red Hot.. Set in an immersive environment, audience members can dance, mingle and play with the sordid characters of the 1920s underworld. Featuring the Award Winning RSP Ensemble & Guest Artists There will be beer, wine & Bubbly and non-alcoholic drinks (for those of you into temperance). Games, prizes, dancing girls, Light snacks and live entertainment are also on tap. Dress to impress. 1920s style is highly encouraged. The Door password is "Jeepers Creepers" Event is always 21 and older Ticket Prices: General Admission $50 Adv/$60 Door Includes 2 Drink Tickets for Beer/Wine, Gaming, Live Entertainment, Snacks Discounts for Groups of 5 or more (email us) High Roller VIP $100 in Advance/$125 at Door Includes OPEN BAR! UNLIMITED WINE & BEER, Reserved Gaming Seating, Reserved Seating in VIP section, Snacks, Live Entertainment Make it a Date! $125 for a Pair of VIP Tickets Special Stock Crash Pricing: Students W/ Valid Id: $20 in advance/$25 @ Door "Starving Artist": $20 Adv/ $25 @ Door These special prices are LIMITED QUANTITY, they do not include Drinks or Poker Subject to availability, limited to 10 tickets at the door, 10 in advance |
About Charley's Place
Charley's" was a notorious Lower East Side speakeasy during the
dry years of Prohibition (1920-1932). It was located at 138 South Oxford Street btw Atlantic Ave & Fulton Street. Although this area is now known as Greenpoint, during Charley's' heyday, it was still a working class, immigrant neighborhood. LIMITED TICKETS AVAILABLE
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Charley
The establishment's namesake, Charley, was a mysterious figure. Both his wife, Paloma Arizona, and his sister, Margot O'Connell, managed Charley's, but there is no record of where Charley went on his frequent, long absences from New York City. A faded postcard to Peru from a Hot Box dancer alluded to an ill-fated romance with Charley, but other reports point to that being wishful thinking on the part of the young immigrant. There is only one known photo of him, and no one has been able to determine when or where it was taken.
Speakeasies A speakeasy was an establishment which illegally sold alcoholic beverages during the period of United States history known as Prohibition (1920-1932, longer in some states). During this time, the sale, manufacture, and transportation (bootlegging) of alcoholic beverages was illegal throughout the United States.
The term may have come from a patron's manner of ordering an alcoholic drink without raising suspicion - bartenders would tell patrons to be quiet and "speak easy", - or from patrons' ability to talk about alcohol without fearing that a government official might be listening. Speakeasies became more popular and numerous as the Prohibition years progressed and more of them were operated by people connected to organized crime. Although police and Bureau of Prohibition agents would raid them and arrest the owners and patrons, the business of running speakeasies was so lucrative that they continued to flourish throughout America. In major cities, speakeasies were often quite elaborate, offering food, live music, floor shows, and striptease dancers. Corruption was rampant - speakeasy operators routinely bribed police to leave them alone or to give them advance notice of raids. Blind pig and blind tiger are terms for an establishment similar to a speakeasy. "In desperate cases it has to betake itself to the exhibition of Greenland pigs and other curious animals, charging 25 cents for a sight of the pig and throwing in a gin cocktail gratuitously." The difference between a speakeasy and a blind pig was that a speakeasy was usually a higher-class establishment that offered food, music, live entertainment, or even all three. In large cities, some speakeasies even required a coat and tie for men, and evening dress for women. Thanks to the real Wikipedia for this info on Speakeasies! |
All photos copyright of Amy Hendy of The Hendy ImageFamous Patrons
Although none of their biographers or press agents ever confirmed it to be
true, Charley's boasted many famous entertainers, politicans and members of organized crime among its clientele. Hot Box dancer Annie Miller wrote in her diary, "Tonight was the most! I could not believe my peepers when I saw the very one, Mr. Charles Lindbergh, at the poker table. He could fly me any time!" Other sightings included gangster "Lucky" Luciano, entertainer Al Jolson, sports greats Jack Dempsey and Babe Ruth ("What an old rummy!" writes Ms. Miller. "He kept eyeing my gams!"), dancer Jospehine Baker, and the "most famous person who ever lived" Charlie Chaplin. Legend has it that Governor Al Smith and Mayor Jimmy "Beau James" Walker even turned up a few nights. |
Legal Disclaimer: Shhh.. It's a speakeasy is an original interactive, improvised immersive theatrical event, these events began and were created in 2009 by Akia Squitieri and Rising Sun Performance Company. This event is a historical replication and homage of the great speakeasies of the 1920s during prohibition era NYC. Much like numerous theatrical and film mediums using vernacular and terminology of the time period and era. This event is in no way affiliated with "Speak Easy, Tap Lightly" or its affiliates
