The Eve of Divas! Thanasis Theatre stages distaff musical revue at Drumlins

TOWN OF DEWITT – A handful of aspiring female entertainers with local roots join forces with a few veteran distaff thespians to perform an ambitious musical revue called “The Eve of Divas: A Musical Extravaganza,” being staged this month as a dinner-show at Drumlins Country Club, 800 Nottingham Road, on Syracuse’s East Side.
A new local theatrical endeavor, Thanasis Theatre, is collaborating with Drumlins to bring quality entertainment to the old Grand Ballroom.
Thanasis’ mission, according to founder Jordan Russell Westfall, “is designed to overcome racist and sexist stereotypes that often plague creative projects.”
With those goals in mind, Thanasis will stage “The Eve of Divas” Tuesday and Wednesday Dec. 21 and 22, at Drumlins.
Tickets cost $100 for dinner and show, or $125 for a “VIP experience,” and dinner will be served at 7:30 p.m. while the performances begin at 8:30 p.m. For reservations, visit Thanasistheatre.com or call 315-395-9973.
Three well-accomplished and award-winning local actresses – Kathy Burke Egloff, Bianca Hallett and Moe Harrington – welcome a group of younger performers to join them as Drumlins divas on Dec. 21 and 22. Veteran Syracuse.com critic Linda  Lowen will write and emcee the show.
The performers include Onondaga Hill native Samantha Rey, currently thriving in the music industry as executive assistant for rap superstar Todrick Hall in Los Angeles.
Rachel Mulcahy hails from Skaneateles, and has maintained a professional onstage career for the past 10 years, performing in regional theaters across the country. Mulcahy will also headline the Symphoria “Home for the Holidays” concerts on Dec. 17 and 18 at the Mulroy Civic Center in downtown Syracuse.
Jamesville-DeWitt native Babs Rubenstein is likewise a professional performer, having worked in Equity regional houses nationwide. She starred in the first national tour of “Priscilla, Queen of the Desert” in Keala Settle’s role.
Carleena Manzi is from Liverpool and was a frequent player in the Syracuse community theater scene for eight years prior to moving west three years ago. She currently resides in Seattle, where she works at Seattle Rep, which co-premiered the hit musical “Come from Away.”
Kathleen Hall is originally from New York City but her mother and extended family are from CNY, so Syracuse has always been her second home. These days, she lives in New York City, where she graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.
Natasia White, an educational enrichment teacher at Peaceful Schools at the H.W. Smith School in Syracuse, is an alumna of Le Moyne College and a member of the Thanasis performing family.
Other featured singers include Katie McCombs, Jesse Pardee, Leila Quinn and Lauren Sageer.
Before the lights go up, the audience will enjoy gourmet meals and desserts such as apple crumb pie with cinnamon streusel topping.
“The event itself is part of what Drumlins hopes to be a recurring engagement which we’re calling Drumlins’ Grand Gala series,” Westfall said. “With a three-course meal and dazzling ambiance, the series is intended to transform the historic Grand Ballroom at Drumlins into an elegant performance space – inspired by Feinstein’s 54 Below in New York City.”