Amber Martin in Bathhouse Bette
"Everything about Amber Martin and her performance came across as Bette-like, but with her ballsy personal sense of freedom setting her tribute on fire in ways that were all her own" - Broadway World
After 2 sold-out performances this year at Joe's Pub in NYC, Amber Martin brings to New Orleans, her hilarious, loving tribute to early, bathhouse-era Bette Midler... in Bathhouse Bette! Amber returns for her 4th Winter Residency at The Allways Lounge. This year's performances focus on the early 70's, when a 26 year-old, hungry, as-yet-unknown starlet, Bette Midler, got her chops as the resident firecracker chanteuse singing weekend shows at the legendary Continental Baths uptown (now a parking lot under The Ansonia). She earned her "camp" honors in the hot & steamy gay bathhouse, singing to men in towels, still wet from the pool and other dark spaces. Her "house accompanist" was none other than the also-unknown Barry Manilow (Harry Mayronne in this show). This unlikely pair would go on to produce a powerful impact on pop culture, music and comedy as we know it! As per the fashion of bawdy Bette... copious amounts of singing, stories and dancing ensue! Amber will be performing live with very special guests each month, including:
Kitten & Lou, Puddin Taine, Vinsantos & more TBA!
Don't miss this trip back to the 70's legendary Continental Bath's with Bette Midler aka Amber Martin!
In keeping with the theme of the show, our audience is encouraged to dress in your best "bathhouse" look if you like!
Here's a rave review of the show:
About Amber:
Amber Martin is a celebrated NYC/International Vocalist, Performing Artist and Comedic Monologist. Greatly inspired onstage in the traditions of Janis Joplin, Lily Tomlin, Carol Burnett and Dolly Parton to name a few, Amber has been named one of the Top Performers of the Year by The New Yorker. Onstage, Amber is a powerful vocalist with a deep love for all genres of classic American pop music, which also inspires her own original songs. Ms. Martin brings a sense of cabaret and comedy to her live, raw, genre-hopping musical performances, setting her apart from most of her contemporaries and bringing a diverse range of entertainment to her equally diverse audiences.
Following her critically acclaimed smash solo premiere in Australia's Adelaide Cabaret Festival, Amber continues as featured special guest in John Cameron Mitchell's World Tour of The Origin of Love, where she performed her original, Bermuda and other classics at the Sydney Opera House, Melbourne Arts Center, QPAC in Brisbane and at John's sold out run at The Sejong Center in Seoul. In 2020, Martin and Mitchell return to Korea, Japan, Europe and the US West Coast including 4 shows at Town Hall on Broadway in NYC!
Ms. Martin made her Broadway debut in Tales of the City at The Music Box Theater. Some of her stand out performances include appearing with Joan Rivers on Celebrity Apprentice and opening for Joan’s live NYC shows. You can hear her belting out featured vocals on The Scissor Sisters single “Inevitable” from their album Magic Hour (co-produced with Pharrell). Ms. Martin appeared and sang with Kylie Minogue at Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library benefit. She was a featured vocalist with Sandra Bernhard at Town Hall in New York City and with Justin Vivian Bond at The Royal Music Hall in San Francisco. She was a featured onstage vocalist with Pink Martini at Forest Hills Stadium. Amber has also performed at Irving Plaza, Joe's Pub, La Mama, The Boom Boom Room, 54 Below, The Wild Project, Abrons Art Center, The Cutting Room, Soho Grand and The Ace Hotel.
Amber also continues to evolve as writer, curator and star of her own performances, The Days of My Lives (Solo Artist Residency at Joe’s Pub at The Public Theater, NYC), Amber Alert!, Hi! (Best Solo Performance Drammy Award), Wigshop, Stoned Soul: In Love with Laura Nyro (Residency at Feinstein's/54 Below) and Janis:Undead (a continuing tour). She is touring her smash tribute to early Bette Midler, Bathhouse Bette in sold out houses along with her own original album, A. M. GOLD, co-written with award-winning Australian songwriter, Brett Every. A.M. GOLD was an immediate critical success, including 2 songs that will be featured in John Cameron Mitchell’s new film, How To Talk To Girls At Parties, starring Elle Fanning and Nicole Kidman.
"A torrent of sound... power and mad energy" - The Advertiser, Australia
“The audience knew from the get go that they had struck gold" - Limelight Magazine
"The pitch-perfect, multi-talented Martin seamlessly floats between multiple costumes, personae and skits, never once leaving the stage, and carrying the calm of a seasoned performer” – The New York Times
“Big, moving Bessie Smith-like sound”
“chill-inducing”
“A powerful woman whose heightened sense of the ridiculous goes head to head with her distinctly American voice”
“Her fullness of voice and spot-on characterizations put the show in another dimension.” – The New Yorker
“I haven't laughed like that in I don't know when. Amber is the real deal, a fucking scream, like I Love Lucy on acid beyond the pale! I think she is brilliant!” – Sandra Bernhard
"A chameleonic performer with a mind-blowing voice, Amber Martin dissolves completely into her original characters (and a spot-on Reba McEntire)" “Martin's blend of brash (sometimes bizarre) comedy and beautiful music fit perfectly in her tough-yet-sentimental adopted home, New York City—and has earned her a devoted following.” - Time Out New York