“Money Can’t Buy You Class,” but it can get you a ticket to Luann de Lesseps‘ upcoming cabaret shows. The Real Housewives of New York OG has some holiday-themed performances coming up. Of course, she will take the stage to close out BravoCon on November 17, but all know how tough it was to get tickets to the network’s first-ever convention.
Don’t worry though, if you want to see Luann do her thing, she will kick off her next round of Countess and Friends performances at the Wellmont Theater in Montclair, New Jersey. This holiday season, the RHONY star has cabaret shows in Connecticut, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, and New York, of course. Lu talked to Reality Tea about her tour, BravoCon, her upcoming book, and even spicing up the cabaret scene with a new show focused on sex and relationships.
What Fans Can Expect
After admitting that I was about to attend my third Countess and Friends performance, I asked Luann if she’s switched things up with her cabaret act. She said, “There will be plenty of new elements, but I do my classics. Of course, ‘Money Can’t Buy You Class’ and ‘Chic C’est La Vie.’ I also have some different music and different guests. If you have already seen it before, it will feel like a new show, I’ll just put it that way.”
One thing that audience members can expect at every performance is a question and answer session. Luann is down to answer any question that comes her way. That is why she said no when she was asked if she wanted to pre-screen the questions. Luann recalled, “I said, ‘You know what, just let people ask what they want. Let them bring it on because if I can handle Housewives, I can handle my fans. They’re there to have a good time. They’re not there to grill me.’”
How The Cabaret Got Started
Luann shared, “When I hosted a show in Italy, I also took part in the variety show segments, which some people might not know. I also grew up watching Carol Burnett. A friend of mine said to me, ‘You like to sing for your friends, you like to tell jokes, and you like to host people. You’re a cabaret star.’ I responded, ‘Really? You think so?’ He put that idea in my head. Then, of course, I got married and divorced. I was busy.” I love how she casually explained the Tom-era. It definitely was a busy time, that’s for sure.
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Still, the cabaret didn’t come together right away. As Luann put it, she was “busy.” Luann recalled, “From then on, I had it in the back of my mind, but I just never acted on it. So, then I thought ‘I’m going to follow my dreams and do this show.’ It wasn’t easy, especially after the year I had. To get up on stage took all of my power. The choice to not do it would have been harder for me to live with than to not take the chance. I try to live my life without fear and go after the things that do scare me. It was a lot of pressure to get on stage, especially since it was supposed to be filmed for the television show on top of that. I’m glad that I did because it turned out that people love the show and I’m doing what I love. Giving people joy makes me happy.”
The Guests
The show is called Countess and Friends for a reason. Yes, it centers around the RHONY star, but she does incorporate other elements in the performance. She said, “Rachel Dratch has been to my show. Lance Bass has come on as a guest. I’ve been lucky to have some talented Broadway stars on too. Jelani Remy is going to be in my show coming up. He’s actually going to be at BravoCon too. Jade Catta-Preta, who’s the new host of The Soup on E!, will be performing with me at BravoCon and then again in Tulsa, Oklahoma on December 20.”
Luann added, “I think it’s fun to have a comedian in the show. It shakes things up a little bit and I love to have somebody who can serenade me.”
Balancing The Cabaret With RHONY
As fans know, RHONY Season 12 is currently filming, which means Luann’s schedule is pretty packed. Nevertheless, she’s making it work. Luann said, “It’s been OK because my shows are mainly on the weekends and we don’t tend to film too much on the weekends. I have had to say no to venues for shows because I am filming. I try to keep as many commitments as I can and I have to be conscious of that until we are done filming the season. Come January, darling, I’ll be free to fly.”
Adding “Sex & Romance” To Her Upcoming Show
Luann will be testing out some new material at her Sunday night BravoCon performance. She said, “I will be trying some different elements there that I’ll be testing out for my new show. I’m doing ‘Marry, F, Kill’ in January. I might as well add that in myself because every show that I do, I get asked that question. My fans really gave me the title of my next show. It will be a little bit more about sex and romance. I’ll be using some of the elements from my BravoCon performance for my upcoming show because BravoCon is very specific to New York.” It looks like I’ll be going to my fourth cabaret show in 2020.
Writing A Book
Luann’s cabaret show includes diary entries from some of the most major moments in her life. Now, she’s putting those diary entries to another use: writing a book. Luann teased, “There is so much that people don’t know about what happened to me that night. What happened to me could have happened to anybody. I just want to share that. It’s therapeutic for me to get it out there and get it on paper. I am hoping to have that out by this spring.” I am so here for that. I would love to hear more about that infamous night.
Upcoming Performances
Check out Luann’s cabaret in a city near you:
November 30 at the Wellmont Theater in Montclair, New Jersey- Get Tickets Here
December 6 at the Ridgefield Playhouse in Ridgefield, Connecticut- Get Tickets Here
December 7 at the Borgata Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey- Get Tickets Here
December 20 at the River Spirit Casino in Tulsa, Oklahoma- Get Tickets Here
December 22 at the Paramount in Huntington, New York- Get Tickets Here
January 11 at the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee, Wisconsin- Get Tickets Here
January 24 at the Egyptian Room in Indianapolis, Indiana- Ticket Information Coming Soon
January 25 at the Taft Theater in Cincinnati, Ohio- Ticket Information Coming Soon
TELL US- IF YOU WERE IN THE AUDIENCE AT LUANN DE LESSEPS’ CABARET SHOW, WHAT WOULD YOU ASK HER? WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT LUANN DE LESSEPS ADDING SEX AND RELATIONSHIP ELEMENTS TO HER UPCOMING CABARET SHOW? WHAT DO YOU WANT LUANN DE LESSEPS TO WRITE ABOUT IN HER BOOK?
[Photo Credit: Heidi Gutman/Bravo]