Vic & Paul’s Photo Fun

“The Vic & Paul Show” Goes Retro.

On Sunday morning, May 2^nd, my wife Victoria Zielinski and I drove to the downtown Los Angeles studio of photographer Bradford Rogne to shoot promotional photos for our upcoming comedy revue, “The Vic & Paul Show.” Brad Rogne had been recommended by our good buddy and fellow Northwestern alum, Shelly Goldstein. Shelly is directing our show – and hipping us to the talented Mr. Rogne was her finest bit of direction yet.

Brad shot Shelly’s photos for her hit cabaret act, in which she celebrates the great female singers, songwriters and girl groups of the 1960’s in her own inimitable way. Brad caught the groovy, mod spirit of Swinging London and Carnaby Street in his photos of Shelly – and Vic and I hoped he could capture on film the early 60’s, pre-Beatles invasion vibe we were looking to embody.

More on our photo session in a moment, but first a word from our sponsor…

If you’d like to attend “The Vic & Paul Show” – you can make reservations at: http://vicandpaulshow.doattend.com/

Now, back to our story…

As we’ve worked on our show, Vic and I have been inspired by the brilliant work of Mike Nichols and Elaine May back in the early 1960’s. What would Nichols & May have done if they were an over-50 married couple with grown kids?

Before Nichols & May became a comedy sensation, Elaine May was a student at the University of Chicago in 1950, where she became a member of the improvisational theatre group The Compass Players, which later became The Second City. (As did our own comedy guru, Sheldon Patinkin.) May was a Second City member until 1957 and during that time she met Mike Nichols.

Together, Nichols and May performed sophisticated, literate and hilarious two-person sketches in clubs, on TV and on records. In 1960, they made their Broadway debut in “An Evening with Mike Nichols and Elaine May.” Vic and I bow down.

Looking at those early Nichols & May promotional photos reminded Vic and me of a series of shots we had taken in Chicago around 1987. We called it our “Rob & Laura” session.

That settled it for us. The look of “The Paul & Vic Show” would be early 60’s Rat Pack retro: well suited to an evening of comedy, music, marriage and martinis.

After I got my requisite jacket with thin lapels and a skinny tie — and Vic found her de rigueur sleeveless little black dress — it was time for us to go to Brad Rogne’s studio and take these shots. As Brad snapped away, we had a lot of fun. We hope it shows.

And we hope you’ll join us for “The Vic & Paul Show”.

After more than 20 years of parenthood — from diapers to diplomas — we’re finally getting out of the house to perform our first improvisational comedy revue with music in over two decades — with musical director Steve Rashid on keyboards, and our director, Shelly Goldstein, performing her popular cabaret show in the second act.

“The Vic & Paul Show” will be presented in a limited engagement on the last three weekends of June at the very groovy Push Lounge cabaret in Woodland Hills: an oasis of cool and culture in the West Valley.

There’s free parking, folks! And smart cocktails.

 What’s not to like?

Previews run from June 10th thru June 13th. (All preview tickets are $10)

Shows run from June 17th thru 20th and June 24th thru 27th. (Adults $20, 18 and under $15)

All shows begin at 8:00 pm.

For reservations, go to: http://vicandpaulshow.doattend.com/

And for additional information on “The Vic & Paul Show”, Steve Rashid and Shelly Goldstein, click here.

See you in June!