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Longtime patrons of the Duplex were gutted two years ago when a roof fire destroyed the venue's upstairs Cabaret Theatre. The Duplex is no ordinary West Village club, after all, but a local institution. From the 1950s through the 1970s, when it was on Grove Street, it was an incubator for such performers as Woody Allen, Barbra Streisand, Joan Rivers, Hal Holbrook and Barry Manilow; in its newer incarnation on Christopher Street, it has helped launch alt-cabaret stars like Cole Escola, Justin Elizabeth Sayre, Molly Pope, Ben Rimalower and Amy Jo Jackson. It was at the Duplex that Sean Hayes's Jack McFarland performed his cabaret show, Just Jack, on Will & Grace; Bowen Yang and Cecily Strong spoofed it on Saturday Night Live.
When this beloved hole in the wall was forced to close in July 2022, it left a hole in the hearts of local arts fans. But now, the venue is finally getting ready to return. Time Out has learned that the Duplex Cabaret Theatre will reopen in mid-October with an ambitious slate of programming. In a gesture of audacious irony, the venue is fighting fire with Fire Island: The restored second-floor complex will be re-envisioned by designer Shawn Lewis as Ferry’s Landing NYC, a Fire Island–themed immersive space that aims to give queer New Yorkers a place to visit when vacation season is through. (The first-floor piano bar, which stayed open after the fire, will continue as usual.)
The centerpiece of Ferry's Landing NYC will be Rob Gould's original musical Little House on the Ferry, which depicts a group of friends on a trip to the isle on the eve of the New York Senate's marriage-equality vote in 2011. "I’ve been working on this production for over a decade," says Gould. "It’s beyond my wildest dreams to be bringing it to the West Village, the place where it all began." The musical's story is one that needs to be told, says director Victoria Rae Sook: "This show is a chance to teach everyone what it was like to be queer before gay marriage was legal. And what it is still like now, fighting the war for equal rights, even though that battle was won.”
Little House on the Ferry will run six nights a week at 7:30pm, preceded at 6pm by a Fire Island–style "tea" party. It will be followed each night at 9:30pm by Fire Island Follies, a risqué cabaret variety show that incorporates elements of music, comedy, drag and circus arts. On Thursdays through Saturdays, this double bill will lead into a dance party called Farandole, which will feature a DJ and go-go performers. Performances will happen in and around the audience in a space that nods to F.I. destinations including the Pavilion, the Ice Palace and the infamous Meat Rack.
“I’ve wanted this kind of entertainment in our space for the past 30 years," says Duplex owner Tony DeCicco. "We are so excited to be restoring our cabaret space after such a long and tragic absence."
Ferry's Landing NYC is currently scheduled to last from October 15 through January 5 at the Duplex (61 Christopher St at Seventh Ave South). For more information, and to buy tickets or VIP packages, visit the brand-new Ferry's Island website.
