The eternally puckish actor Alan Cumming and promoter-provocateur Daniel Nardicio took over the former Eastern Bloc bar in 2017 and reimagined it as a cabaret, comedy and party hub that evokes the golden era of NYC downtown nightlife. Celebrities occasionally pop in—such as Paul McCartney, Emma Stone and Vanessa Williams—but the club is its own star: a cheeky-decadent quasiqueer hangout with with a frisky, welcoming vibe and risqué murals by Cumming's husband, Grant Shaffer. Mondays are a sexy-geeky Broadway open-mic night with pianist Lance Horne; Fridays and Saturdays, hosted by the charming and charismatic trans singer Daphne Always, feature dance music and go-go boys. The tradition of downtown nightclub performance is rich but endangered, and Club Cumming is the East Village's best new addition in years: an oasis of creativity and community that draws from traditions of the past but is resolutely planted in the present.
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