Oh, mandy, let me get you a chair,” says legendary Swiss nightlife hostess Susanne Bartsch to also legendary New York nightlife fixture Amanda Lepore as the latter slowly struts into a dressing room shortly before midnight on a recent Saturday. We’re backstage with Bartsch and her club-kid crew, most of whom were not born when she started throwing parties in 1986, at the most mega of new midtown megaclubs, Musica, where she was hired to provide some freaky atmospherics on Thursday and Saturday nights. “Basically fashion meets opera meets vaudeville meets burlesque meets show business, you know?” is how she explains her shtick. Lepore, who arrives with a chipper twink in tow ready to fetch her a shot of tequila, is always invited.
Musica is located in a blocky building beside the West Side Highway that you can’t miss because it’s painted with massive white letters that spell out musica. It’s just one of several new dance halls that have popped up in the past year or so to meet the city’s post-lockdown hedonism needs. It was opened in part by the same people who own Cipriani (musica means, uh, “music” in Italian) and in some ways is a return to form for a kind of big-box flashy nightlife that the Bloomberg era drove out of Manhattan or into the underground. In other ways, it’s something entirely of this decadent moment we’re in or just leaving. And it still needs Bartsch and friends to give it that carnivalesque touch.
This story is from the June 06 - 19, 2022 edition of New York magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the June 06 - 19, 2022 edition of New York magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Indecent Exposure
Jerrod Carmichael's reality series attempts to excavate his deepest flaws.
Grave Mysteries
Josh O'Connor searches for the afterlife as a sad-eyed tomb raider.
Not Her First Rodeo
Beyoncé's country album is a history lesson, a rallying cry, and a missed opportunity.
How'd You Make That?
Three masterpieces, from glimmer through struggle to breakthrough.
In the Belly of the Barbz
Fear them. Cheer them. Nicki Minaj fans are sticking by their queen.
At the Altar of Korean Fried Chicken
Coqodaq's owner calls it a cathedral. It feels more like a club.
WHO ATE WHERE
119 YEARS of PUNK BREAKFASTS, UPTOWN LUNCHES, DRUNKEN DEALMAKING, and IMPOSSIBLE RESERVATIONS
Arizona's Split Reality
Ground zero for the rigged-election conspiracy, the border state could decide both the fate of the Senate and the presidency.
98 MINUTES WITH...The Lavery Family
Beloved literary couple Daniel and Grace Lavery and their partner, Lily Woodruff, are all living and working full time in their Brooklyn apartment. Now, they have to find space for a baby.
Neighborhood News: Patrolling With the Rat Czar
On a smokeout with Vermin Enemy No. 1.