Details on Getting Low-Cost, Kinda-Secret Tickets to the Inner Circle

Mayor Bill de Blasio with actor Steve Buscemi in a 2014 Inner Circle promo.  Not that the Mayor ever goes to the gym…
(Photo: City Hall)

Have you ever been part of the “Inner Circle?”

·         4/20 Dress Rehearsal / $10 Advance Tickets – sign up here.

·         4/20 Dress Rehearsal / Same-Day $20 Tickets – show up at the door.

·         4/21 Full-Price tickets – if you prefer the fancy event, sign up here.

·         1923: The first–ever Inner Circle satirized Governor Alfred E. Smith in a musical comedy called “The Supersmith.”

·         1947: Governor Thomas E. Dewey and Mayor William O’Dwyer were parodied in “The Axeman Cometh.”

·         1954: Governor Dewey and Mayor Robert F. Wagner, Jr. were lampooned in “Ringmaster.”

·         1960: Mayor Wagner cut his vacation in the Bahamas short so that he would be able to attend the Inner Circle.

·         1962: President Kennedy, Governor Rockefeller and Mayor Wagner were parodied with a song called “The Unsinkable Bobby Wagner, or How to Succeed in Politics Without Really Trying.”

·         1967: Mayor Lindsay appeared in a sequined tie, dancing such popular dance moves as The Frug and The Swim.

·         1984: Mayor Koch appeared in drag, in a gold lamé bodysuit, with a mechanical pigeon on his head.

·         2000: Knowing Mayor Giuliani’s calm demeanor, they themed the show “Living la Rudy Loca.”

·         2016: Hillary Clinton makes a guest appearance and thanks Mayor de Blasio for his (delayed) endorsement.

Inner Circle – Mayoral Rebuttals:

In 1966, Mayor John Lindsay performed a song-and-dance routine with actress Florence Henderson, instead of a speech, setting a precedent which continues into the present day:

·         Ed Koch once emerged from the mouth of a man-eating plant from the Broadway show Little Shop of Horrors.

·         Mayor David Dinkins put on a comedic newscast with Mary Tyler Moore and Gregory Hines.

·         In 1997, Rudy Giuliani‘s appeared in a pink gown, blond wig, high heels and makeup, calling himself “Rudia,” and proceeded to sing “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” in falsetto. Later, in 2000, he was dressed on stage in male disco garb, spoofing John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever.

·         Mayor Michael Bloomberg appeared with the casts of the Broadway shows Chicago, Spamalot, Mary Poppins, and Mamma Mia! He has also been accompanied by Caroline Kennedy and quarterback Eli Manning and once made his exit astride a donkey which he dubbed “The Burro of Manhattan.” In 2010, the Mayor, in full hippie regalia, performed in “Mair”, a sendoff of Hair. He also dressed as Spider Man, being lowered to the stage on parachute straps.

(Sources: Wikipedia, Inner Circle Archives)

Mayor Michael Bloomberg during his 2010 spoof of Hair.

·         More Inner Circle history here.