I’ve never been to the Playboy Club so when I got an invite to attend the Playboy Live Music Event, I jumped at the chance to see what it was all about. I get off the subway at 6th Avenue and didn’t realize I would have to walk all the way over towards 10th. Normally I wouldn’t bat an eye but I was wearing a dress and boots so I did roll my eyes halfway there. I show up and see two people standing outside waiting. Being the snob I sometimes am, I walk in front of them, open the velvet ropes and head up the stairs to go in when the doorman scolds me and tells me to get back in line and stop making him look bad.
He giggles with the people in front of me, lets them in and finally turns to me with a hard stare and asks for a name. I give him my name plus the name of my Editor. He looks at me then looks at his note pad to tells me it’s under my Editor’s name. He walks me to the door, points where I can check my coat and I fake smile at him before going inside. The atmosphere is very dim, lots of black and there is a cute 5-foot coat check girl behind the counter and she says hi. I say hi back and decide to keep my coat and then I do what every girl does before she does anything which is go straight to the bathroom. There are dark narrow stairs leading downstairs where the bathroom is and there isn’t enough room for me to go down and someone else to come up at the same time so a really clean, well-put-together waiter stops at the bottom, smiles at me to let me know he will wait until I reach the bottom to make his way up.
I get to the bottom of the stairs, open the door that has the W on it and right away I see this awesome collage of vintage Playboy magazine covers on the wall so of course, I take a picture of it. The sink is fancy and has pretty circular lights, the mood of the bathroom is great for taking selfies so I did, right in front a picture of a Playboy Bunny. After I use the bathroom, fix my hair a bit and make sure nothing is in my teeth, I wash my hands and make my way back upstairs. My phone slips out of my hand and falls hard to the floor. It’s so dramatic, the battery flies out and everything and it lands all the way on the other side of the bathroom! I just laugh.
Upstairs someone is singing and of course, I go to see who it is because singing makes me happy. I see a beautiful person belting Stevie Wonder, everyone is clapping and I take a pic but it comes out terrible. So the event promised to bring a few up-and-coming Broadway stars in that would sing some really cool hits from musicals and other songs that inspire them and it delivered big time. I find a seat in between a fabulous couple and a tarot card reader. I start chatting with the tarot card reader, then the couple before walks around the bar. It’s not as big as I imagined it to be, it has a few rooms but overall not a big place. It feels more intimate and exclusive. I found it beautiful, great energy, and what stood out was the staff was super nice and very professional. The waitresses are dressed in their bunny outfits which consists of a black strapless leotard that just barely cover their bottoms, bunny ears, pantyhose, and black heels. They were all super young, on the shorter side and very slim. Staring at them I wondered what their interview process was like and what did they wear. I felt terrible they had to wear heels all night while smiling and hopping around from room to room getting drinks for people but they actually didn’t seem to mind.
Singer Anne Fraser Thomas came to the mic and blew us all away with her incredible vocals. She later introduced Marty Thomas who sang his heart out, along with a few others and the crowd was great cheering everyone on. Everyone seemed to have a great time. The people were super friendly especially the waitresses so I asked one for a picture of a blonde bunny named Nicole before Iheaded home. On the way out, Mr. Scolding doorman was standing there and I knew he was annoyed with me, probably hoping I wouldn’t say anything to him but I couldn’t leave on that note so just to mess with him some more, I smiled and told him to have a great night. Haha!
