LEE CHAPPELL
New York Magazine termed his events “A voyeuristic cross between Mardi Gras and Sodom & Gomorrah and more entertaining than the hottest Broadway show.”
HX Magazine wrote “ A Lee Chappell event is Spectacle for the Masses.” Elton John, Sylvester Stallone, Liza Minnelli, Madonna, Marc Jacobs, Patti Labelle, Boy George, Grace Jones, Kristine W, Bjork and thousands of hip New Yorkers who come to see and be “Scene” would agree!
And with good reason, for event creator and visual designer Lee Chappell has garnered a reputation for creating the most visually arresting, star studded theme parties, drawing thousands of highly charged people into the hottest and trendiest venues since ‘88.
Savvy club owners, competing for their share of the entertainment dollar, know that a Lee Chappell event will not only mean long lines around the block, it also means a generous dose of high profile trendsetters, good ink in the city’s gossip columns and a crowd worthy of the term "Gorgeous Mosaic”... More importantly, it means the exaltation of the “Outrageous to the Sublime”.
Having created mind-blowing weekly events - Glitz at The Grand,Glitz to Glamour at USA, Friday’s at The Tunnel, Salon Tuesday’s at MK, Saturday Nights at The Trocadero in Philadelphia (Voted “Best of ‘92” by Philadelphia Magazine),Chappell rose to the top of the Promoting Business by creating the legendary Locomotion Saturday Night at The Roxy andPalladium. His fabulous fetes featured outrageously designed tableaux and scores of New York’s fabulous performers and artisans in various stages of dress and undress! With tongue
planted firmly in cheek, Chappell has also created events inMiami, Boston, Montreal, Buffalo, Philadelphia, Toronto and consulted with venues in Chicago.
Most recently in ‘09, Lee Chappell Promotions teamed with Cabaret performer Isengart and Grammy Award Winner Lady Rizo to create Foreign Affairs at The Night Hotel in NYC ~ a weekly live music event rated “Top Live Music Show” by Time Out NY. Directly across the street followingForeign Affairs was DR!P at The Grace Hotel ~ a fun underwater romp of a pool party with dancing and performances. Hosted by Shequida, featuring Pill Award Winning Video Projections by Wetcircuit and music by DJ Scotty Rox ~ DR!P won The Glammy Award -
“Best Event of ‘09” as voted by the LGB&T community.
June ‘10 “DESIRE” A Masquerade at Capitale created and directed by Chappell to fit the historically significant former bank. 1200+ Elaborately Costumed Revelers danced the night away under Golden Celestial Decor. International DJ’s/Producers Hector Fonseca and Alyson Calagna...making her US debut, Oh Land - SONY Recording Artist.
November and December ‘10 special monthly performances of Foreign Affairs at The Griffin. March - September ‘11, Cafe Panache La Nouvelle Revue, the next incarnation of the only all live musical hybrid show in NYC... followed by command performances at CORE and The Darby.Stunning voiced Singers, Exotic Burlesque Dancers, gorgeously costumed Show Girls and unique Specialty Performers accompanied live by thePetite Cafe Panache Orchestra... a melange of Ziegfeld Follies, Cabaret, Follies Bergere with a touch of Cirque Du Soleil... Quoting a reporter from Next Magazine ~ “Chappell’s show are the closest thing we have to a modern Ziegfeld Follies”.
Chappell of late in ‘12 - ‘15 has become a fixture in the “Jazz Age”, “Burlesque” and “Cabaret” communities, singing regularly with Gelber & Manning, Mutiple Grammy Nominee JC Hopkins & The Biggish Band, The Candy Shop Boys and Benjamin Ickies & The Ambitious Orchestra...at the Iridium, City Winery, Le Poisson Rouge, Rum House, Zinc Bar and The Slipper Room. Developing Live Music Programs for Humphreys, The Darby, Butter, BLT, Ktchn and The Jazz Room at The General’s, working with 38 various bands and musicians to present at these locations. “The Smoking Floorshow” Co-produced with Jesse Gelber for Circa Tabac is a fabulous monthly event that joins the Vintage and Burlesque worlds together with an “All Live Floorshow” in a unique legal Smoking Lounge in NYC... Just like the Roaring 20’s where the Gin is Cool, the Jazz is Hot and the Performers are Sizzling!
Returning to the large venue scenario in December ‘13 ~ “Sunday Service” at Sankeys...Another weekly success with attendance of 1000+. September of ‘14 moving to the NYC version of the world famous branded night club SpaceIbizaNYC as Creative Director, Chappell is responsible for all creative entertainment...Costumed Ensemble Dancers and Performance Artists~Creating exciting and unusual costumes involved in scenic vignettes for the 1400+ guests during the evening festivities ~ “Answering the Prayers of a New Generation” of club goers!