INTERVIEW: Nellie McKay leads discussion with ‘Great Women’ of NYC
Photo: Nellie McKay will host In Your Face — New York at the Merkin Hall. Photo courtesy of the artist / Provided by Kampfire PR with permission.
Celebrated singer-songwriter Nellie McKay has joined the variety show In Your Face — New York for a special event Thursday, May 16 at Merkin Hall in New York City. The evening’s program will feature McKay as host and a panel of speakers under the banner “Great Women Take on New York.” In conversation with McKay will be CBS Sunday Morning correspondent Nancy Giles, New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast and New Yorker writer Patricia Marx.
Additional appearances by musicians and comedians will fill out the variety show, which is a mainstay in the Big Apple and features live stories, sketches and songs. Martin Sage produces the evening.
McKay recently exchanged emails with Hollywood Soapbox. She has released several albums of music, including last year’s Sister Orchid. Her career has also brought her to Broadway (The Threepenny Opera) and movie theaters (P.S. I Love You and Downtown Express), and her music pops up in many films and TV shows.
Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style. Readers should probably take the answers with a grain of salt.
How did you get attached to In Your Face?
I met Marty at lamaze class, and he was just delightful.
What are you most excited about for the discussion?
Using controlled breathing techniques to induce labor.
What can your fans expect on your current tour dates? Perhaps songs off your album from last year?
We are designing a domestic parlor room on stage complete with snoring father, cursing mum, aromatic bull and animatronic cats spraying statues of St. Francis, complete with AI fleas.
When did you first fall in love with music?
We’re just good friends.
Were your music talents supported at a young age?
Never. I did it all on my own, just like Woody Allen.
Why is social activism an important part of your work and life?
They pay me.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
In Your Face — New York, featuring Nellie McKay as host, will play Thursday, May 16 at the Merkin Hall in New York City. Click here for more information.
