The Gaiety...a sad goodbye

[foxy]

Hard to believe in the last few weeks we've lost HooBoy and now the Gaiety.

 

Just to clarify...I am not the "foxy" that was Hoo's partner.

 

Over the past 2 years or so I have been helping with the Gaiety reviews with Cooper who has become a good friend. If it wasn't for him I wouldn't have continued the reviews as long a I did. It was so much fun to see the Gaiety show with Cooper and interview the dancers. One of the best parts of doing the reviews was meeting some of the guys who post here and it opened a whole new world to me of fun and interesting people who I now consider my friends. For that I am grateful to this site... HooBoy and Cooper. Thanks also goes out to NYO who started the tradition and kept up the reviews for so many years. I know first hand that it really was a labor of love.

 

I've been going to the Gaiety since it opened, over 20 years ago. I remember NY when there were all sorts of fun places to go and now are gone. The Gaiety was the last of it's kind and sadly I doubt if it will ever be replaced.

 

The Gaiety was not perfect but it was a damn fun place to spend a few hours and the guys always gorgeous.

 

We've lost too much in such a short time and I feel very sad. They say that when a door closes another one will open. I have my fingers crossed.

[tazmanian5230]

I went to the last show, soo sad, the 30 years of the Gaiety are now on the curb in front of the building waiting for the garbage truck to pick up in the am.....

 

Now a paper sign hangs on the door where the hours sign was saying,

 

"The Gaiety is closed Thanks for 30 years of wonderful business"

"Watch the publications for any relocation information"

 

Now what ? :-( x(

[Arik]

The Gaiety...not with a bang but a whimper

 

It's 4:30 in the a.m. and I have literally just got in the door home after leaving the Gaiety for the last time. I stopped in Tuesday and thought the line up was so much fun (and wanted to meet Devon) that on a whim, I braved that damned parade to head into the city today. After seeing the 6pm show, a few of the dancers were talking that the G was closing that night. I ran over to Denise in the ticket booth and asked and she said with tears in her eyes that yes the place was closing. I actually got in the booth and gave her a hug. She told me she had been running the place for 30 years since she was 20 something. She actually remembered me from coming in several times which amazes me as I only get in there 3-4 times a year if that. I asked her if i could take some of the mylar streamers on the stage and she said sure. No they are not going on Ebay. Yes the ending was with a whimper not a bang, what can you do. I left after seeing Jaguar and Devon's 10:30 final show. Sasha will be remembered for many reasons, now for the last Gaiety dancer ever. I wish it was a stronger performer, but circumstances will not allow that.

 

You NYC boys had the Gaiety in your backyard for quite a while. It survived disco, urban blight, NYC's bankrupcy, AIDS, the greedy 80's, Rudy Guiliani, & 9/11 but was finally killed by the Disneyifcation of Times Square.

 

Since I started going in the past 5-6 years, I've seen some great guys like Austin, Matthew (the Maxwell Caufield look alike), TJ, Trevor, Mark Austin, dark haired Montreal Miguel and now Devon & Taylor.

 

I've seen porn stars like Billy Brandt, Mark Wolfe, Clay Maverick, Mark Dalton, Brad Rock and Joey Stephano and others I have forgotten I've seen. I remember being in awe of Andre (the giant), Thomas the giant Swede, Dave Angelo, the guy from a few years ago who looked like Dean Cain, Nikola (and his perfect ass) and a host of hot Canadian latin manhood. I've chatted buddy like with Anthony Avalon, Stephano (from tonight), Nick the dick, Paolo from Boston etc. I missed seeing Travis Wade, Marco Rossi, Tyler, Ray and never did get to see Vito, Dr. Mike, Ben Versace, Ace Hanson/Eric Riens, Jason Adonis, Tristan Adonis, Irish Dillon, Gio, Mico Valentine or Neo (who was djing part of tonight- he's hot TonyTender) although I saw their pictures thanks to VDN and others.

 

I read the all the boards like the racing pages and got to know most of you from your wit, advice, taste, and crusades pro and against (NYObserver, Cooper, VDN, WildOzkar, CuteAthlete, TonyTender, Woop, Brettnyc etc.) Thanks for the memories.

 

Since there is no place like that in my neck of the woods (Connecticut) it was the G or a hike to Springfield, Providence or Boston. For me the G was a place I could hide away from the world and look at beautiful naked men a lot. It was not perfect still I'll miss it, but it's over. Now what?

[HotdadENYC]

"you don't know what you've got till its gone......

....they paved paradise and put up a parking lot..."

 

 

"Come on down to the mermaid cafe and I will buy you a bottle of wine

And we’ll laugh and toast to nothing and smash our empty glasses down

Let’s have a round for these freaks and these soldiers

A round for these friends of mine

Let’s have another round for the bright red devil

Who keeps me in this tourist town

 

Come on, carey, get out your cane

I’ll put on some silver

Oh you’re a mean old daddy, but I like you

 

Maybe I’ll go to amsterdam

Or maybe I’ll go to rome

And rent me a grand piano and put some flowers ’round my room

But let’s not talk about fare-thee-welis now

The night is a starry dome.

And they’re playin’ that scratchy rock and roll

Beneath the matalla moon "

 

 

Both courtesy of Joni Mitchell

 

Tears for the "G"

 

hd NYC

[brettnyc]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This can't be happening...somebody wake me up from this bad dream. Who saw it coming?? I was just there on Wednesday night...and no sign at all from Denise who was sitting behind the ticket booth as usual. You would have thought at least she would have given us some notice. Like every other patron of the Gaiety, I hope like hell that we will see the place re-open quickly. I have no idea what the likelihood is of such a prospect, but the lights on Broadway have gotten depressingly dimmer as a result of the Gaeity's closing and living in the largest city in the country, with one of the largest gay populations in the world, and being deprived of an establishment like the Gaiety, which provided a well-needed outlet for countless horny men of all persuasions for so many years, is losing its lure. Next thing you know, they'll be turning the Plaza Hotel into condominiums...ooops, they already are. Get my point? This city is on its way to becoming nothing more than a shamefully bland urban version of shopping mall. Peoria is looking better all the time!

[Arik]

>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

>> Peoria is looking better all the time!

 

If Peoria has guys like they had at the Gaiety, I'm moving too.

[brettnyc]

More to the point...now there is about as much action to be had in Times Square as downtown Peoria. Give me my mouse ears and let's see "The Lion King" for the umpteenth time.

[jackhammer91406]

MEETING IN THE FLESHpots

 

I can't recall a time in my life when so many pivotal people and places in have passed.

 

The Gaiety is what brought me to New York City two years ago February, when I first met Mr. Cooper, Lucky, Foxy, Hijinx, as well as BtmStudNYC, and so many other of NYC's finest escorts. What a week that was for me.

 

The Gaiety gave me the momentum to reach outside my insolated comfort zone and meet so many great new men. Hooboy gave me the vehicle, and the Gaiety gave me the excuse.

 

Because of those new friends and many more made since, my life is so different from what it had been for two decades.

 

It saddens me that the G won't be around for my next visit, at least in it's recent form. Oddly, prior to the birth (rebirth) of The MORAL Nation, I have a feeling it would have been a sure bet that the Gaiety or someplace like it would reopen almost immediately. With the current climate in New York City (and the rest of the country), I seriously doubt we will see it's like again soon.

 

Very sad....

 

;(

[BARR1965]

>The Gaiety was not perfect but it was a damn fun place to

>spend a few hours and the guys always gorgeous.

 

I totally agree and I always make a point to spend to few hours there when I go to NYC. And I so glad that I was there in January 2005 and got to meet some dancers :9

[likembig]

Here is a link to an article about the Gaiety's past and its closing:

 

http://rjr10036.typepad.com/proceed_at_your_own_risk/2005/03/the_partys_over.html

[+ Lucky]

Thanks for posting the link to the very nice article.

[Guest ChgoBoy]

Nice story, but whats the reference to JOey Stefano. There was no link, as stated to read about it. Poor JS, what a sweetie.

[tazmanian5230]

Yesterday marked 6 years since the Gaiety Closed.

 

On Wednesday I visited Leboyz, Thursday Adonis Lounge.

 

WoW things have certainly changed. I wonder if any other strip club/strip party will ever gain Wikipedia status?

 

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Gaiety Theatre was a gay male burlesque theater in Times Square, New York City for almost 30 years until it closed on March 17, 2005. The name on the awning over the entrance was Gaiety Theatre, but it was also called the Gaiety Male Burlesque or the Gaiety Male Theatre in advertisements. It was located at 201 W 46th Street, New York, NY 10036, on the second floor of the building that also housed what was the last Howard Johnson's restaurant in New York City. The Gaiety opened in late 1975 and closed in 2005 and was owned by Denise Rozis, run by both she and her younger sister, Evridiki Rozis. The theater DJ from 1979 until 1986 was the late Terence Foster (d. June 4, 1990, AIDS), who was one of the original dancers.

 

The building has been demolished but was owned by the Kenneth Rubinstein family (Rubenstein Klein Realty) for many years until it was sold to Jeff Sutton's Wharton Acquisitions. The Howard Johnson's restaurant closed later on July 8, 2005, at midnight, after being open for 46 years.

 

Note that this was not the same Gaiety Theatre that was across 46th Street at 1547 Broadway, which did house burlesque, including Minsky's for a time during its long history (1908–82). That Gaiety is probably best remembered as the Victoria Cinema, but its final name was Embassy 5, before the building was demolished.[1]

 

A New York Times article published on April 24, 2005 about the closing of the Gaiety referred to "...the lore that set the Gaiety apart from other clubs: the mainstream attention it attracted after photos of Madonna and some of the club's dancers were included in her book Sex (1992). The cachet of visitors like John Waters, Andy Warhol, and Shirley MacLaine, and the club's unrivaled ability to survive, despite the strict zoning laws instituted during the Giuliani administration, thanks to a location just outside a restricted area."

 

Blogger Andy Towle said: “The Gaiety opened its doors on a winter night in 1976 and consistently attracted an interesting mix of young hustlers, businessmen, tourists, and celebrities on the DL to its pleasantly dingy, boxy room with its small stage and sparkling curtain.”

 

The Gaiety survived Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's intense drive to close adult related venues in the mid 1990s. Heavy security was instituted and no sexual activities of any kind were permitted in the theatre.

[Cooper]

Memoirs of a Gaiety Dancer

 

A tell all video of what a former Gaiety dancer recalls... :o

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUahKQdvC1I

[Irtwo]

The guy in that video looks like he's 25 years old, yet he says he's been dancing since 1991-92?

[foxy]

Deja vu all over again. Strange to read that old post about a place that left such a void in so many lives. Quel dommage!

[Buff Daddy]

Buff daddy my 2 cents

 

Its funny how life works out you never know whats in store or where life will bring you.

 

I remember the Gaiety quite well. My first visit there was a cold winters night during

 

the week when there were 7 dancers?. Dont ask how i found out about this place,

 

cause i dont remember. I was 20 at the time and in the closet big time. I always

 

had a thing for strippers even then. I walked up the stairs after hanging out down

 

the cornor by Howard Johnsons to make sure i wasnt seen going in lol. Some lady

 

took my money through a window went through a turnstile if i remember and i

 

entered HEAVEN, WOW nude male strippers was this to die for. My first visit i

 

had sex with one of the dancers named Joey a kid from Brooklyn we went into

 

a back room it was sleazy but great. I would go there all the time now, especially

 

when i found out that there was 14 dancers on a fri-sat nights. Got to know Deniese

 

by this time and she kept busting my balls about dancing there. I never took

 

up her offer, but if any of you guys remember the SHOW PALACE on 8th ave 42st

 

by the port authority bus terminal, i danced there with my friend Joey. New York was

 

a fun place to be, even the seedy 42nd st with all the porn movies, book stores

 

peep shows, hustlers,pimps. If you would of told me of what was to come i would

 

of told you your crazy. Does anyone remember the Adonis movie house on 8th n 50st?

 

I also danced at the Hombre Theater 53rd n Lex. Yes my dancing days are long

 

gone, now im on the other side of the fence promoting, never would i have ever

 

guessed that i would be doing this, and becoming friends with many of you who

 

went to the Gaiety. Nothing is forever time moves on with or without us. I love

 

to have a chance for all of us to go back just one night to the Gaiety. Has anyone

 

found that time machine yet?

 

Thanks

BD

[tazmanian5230]

The time machince is located at the end of I-87 North

[foxy]

The Stock Bar. Stripper paradise on earth!