Out There :: The Full Puppini Treatment

It was no surprise to any of their fans, Out There very much included, that the Puppini Sisters sold out their Bay Area Cabaret show this coming Sunday (April 17, 5:30 p.m.) at the Venetian Room of the Fairmont San Francisco. So Bay Area Cabaret folks have added a matinee Puppinis performance on Sunday at 2 p.m., and are also hosting a special High Tea fashion show with them. These are the exclusive U.S. dates for the Puppini Sisters on a tour celebrating the release of their "High Life" CD (Millionaire Records).

The Venetian Room is the famous cabaret spot at the Fairmont Hotel, 950 Mason St. high atop Nob Hill. Tickets for the 2 p.m. matinee ($60) are still available online at bayareacabaret.org or by calling (415) 392-4400. Also, on Sat., April 16, at 2 p.m. in the Fairmont's Laurel Court Restaurant, Bay Area Cabaret will host a High Tea/High Fashion event celebrating Puppini style and welcoming the singers to town. Vintage attire is encouraged. Attendees will hear them sing an a cappella number and see an array of fashions by local vintage-fashion enthusiasts. Reservations for the afternoon tea ($75, with $40 tax-deductible) may be made at the website cited above.

The Puppinis - Emma, Marcella and Kate - harmonize their vocals in retro, Andrews Sisters-like stylings. One spin of "High Life" had OT fully committed to their musical aesthetic. You'd expect their harmonizing to work wonders with "Accentuate the Positive" (Harold Arlen/Johnny Mercer ) and "Hit the Road Jack" (Percy Mayfield), and you'd be right. But applying the Puppini treatment to "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" (Robert Hazard) and "Changes" (David Bowie) reinvigorates those songs as well, and that's not even to mention what they can do for "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" (Redd Stewart /Pee Wee King). We'd call that a mouthful times three.

Laughing Matter

In this brutish political season of wanton immigrant-bashing, we bring word of a great opportunity to enjoy big laughs for a good cause - namely, helping Bay Area immigrants and their families. The Comedy Night for Immigrant Rights, featuring talented comedians Marga Gomez, Johan Miranda , Dhaya Lakshminarayanan , and Nato Green , will transpire on Thurs., April 28, at 7 p.m. at Fort Mason Center, Building B, in San Francisco. Tickets ($45 general; $100 VIP, including a reception): call (415) 408-7355 or go to comedy-night-for-immigrant-rights.eventbrite.com.

Russian Emotions

Spotted on the faboo opera-queen blog Parterre Box: "Longtime Friend of the Box [internationally successful countertenor] David Daniels writes on Facebook, 'Over the years, I have often been asked why I feel my sexuality is anyone's business and why I am so open about it in print.

"'In Moscow today, I did an interview for the Bolshoi. The young woman interviewing me asked me the usual questions - Handel , countertenors, updated productions, conductors, recitals vs. opera, etc. - then 'off the record' asked about my sexuality, even though she would lose her job if anything were printed. At the end of our interview, she informed me she had a wedding picture of [his husband] Scott, me and Justice Ginsberg on her desk and was asked to remove it. This, obviously, completely caught me off-guard. As I left the interview room she teared up and hugged me and thanked me. To say I was humbled would be an enormous understatement. This is a day I will not forget anytime soon.'"