MEL & EL are about to make a pilgrimage to Washington, D.C. to march for LGBT equality. but first they gotta do a show! MEL & EL: GAY MARRIED is a musical Laverne & Shirley meets Sex & the City with a lower shoe budget and a higher ratio of in-your-crotch comedy. Hailed as "outrageous" by The New York Times and "hilariously squirm-inducing" by the Village Voice, real life best friends and award-winning NYC cult phenomenon MEL & EL have brought down the house at Ars Nova, Gotham Comedy Club, The Box, The Zipper, Birdland, The Stonewall Inn, Therapy, and The PIT. Their hit song "Fagnet" won the Backstage Bistro Award for Outstanding Musical Comedy Number and they were recipients of the Collaboration Award given by the NY Coalition of Professional Women in the Arts and Media. Join the girls at Comix as they ponder the fashion choices of their teens, the feasability of having George Michael as a neighbor, and the likelihood of getting gay married.
MEL & EL are Melanie Adelman and Ellie Dvorkin - real life best friends who have known each other since they were 12 years old. Described as a musical Laverne & Shirley meets Sex & the City, MEL & EL are a riotously funny duo who have quickly become an NYC cult phenomenon. NYC appearances include NYMF, The Hysterical Festival, Jim Caruso's Cast Party, Nice Jewish Girls Gone Bad, On the Rocks with Danny Leary, The Big Gay Variety Show, Dykes on Mics, Homo Comicus, Hedda Lettuce’s Tossed Salad, The Miss Fag Hag Pageant, and here! TV’s Busted. You can also catch them at popular venues around town like The Box, The Zipper, Birdland, Ars Nova, Gotham Comedy Club, The Stonewall, Therapy, The PIT and Comix.
MEL & EL enjoyed a year-long run at The Duplex of their critically acclaimed show MEL & EL: THIS SHOW RHYMES - which was developed in conjunction with Cannery Works. Their second full-length show, MEL & EL: SHOW AND TELL, developed in part at New York Stage & Film, premiered in Spring 2009 at Ars Nova. They are excited to share MEL &EL: GAY MARRIED at Comix with the NYMF audience.
MEL & EL were awarded the Backstage Bistro Award for their song "Fagnet" (Outstanding Musical Comedy Number) as well as the Collaboration Award given by the NY Coalition of Professional Women in the Arts and Media. They are most proud to have participated in performances to benefit The Trevor Project, the NYCLU’s LGBT efforts, The Food Bank for NYC and Habitat for Humanity.
"Mel & El seem ready for prime time...the outrageous duo are letting it rip in their new musical comedy show." -- Frank Scheck, The New York Post
"Move over Kathy & Mo....the likable pair...are pop-culture-obsessed pals that bitch, bicker and belt catchy songs.... You’ve seen self-deprecating characters like these before—think Heidi and Susan in [title of show]—but rarely with chemistry this infectious." -- Brandon Voss, HX
"...Hilariously squirm-inducing...we feel like they're our best friends, too. We haven't had so much fun since seventh-grade sleepovers." -- Angela Ashman, Village Voice
"The outrageous routines of Mel & El...bring down the house." -- Neil Genzlinger, The New York Times
"MEL & EL is a hoot....The sensibility of Adelman & Dvorkin isn't just to skip down memory lane but to cut up. It's for them to be their irreverent, disgusting, idiosyncratic, devoted selves." -- Leonard Jacobs, Backstage
Fagnet
Credit: Mel & El
She's My Bitch
Credit: Mel & El
Tick Tock
Credit: Mel & El
MEL & EL Partner With New York Musical Theatre Festival
“Mel & El are letting it rip in their new musical comedy show!” --New York Post [May, 2009]
PREPARE FOR IN-YOUR-CROTCH COMEDY WHEN MEL & EL HEADLINE COMIX
MEL & EL are about to make a pilgrimage to Washington, D.C. to march for LGBT equality… but first they gotta do a show!