For Immediate Release:  November 11, 2010 [updated 12/23/10]

The Edwardian Ball
Returns to Los Angeles!
At The Music Box
Saturday, March 5, 2011

LOS ANGELES, CA – Paradox Media and Vau de Vire present the highly anticipated return of The Edwardian Ball to Los Angeles on Saturday, March 5, 2011 at The Music Box.  Once again, the splendid San Francisco tradition flies south for the winter, presenting an elegant, turn of the century celebration of music, theatre, circus arts, DJs, ballroom dance, fashion, technology and, of course, the ominous art and stories of beloved author Edward Gorey. Hosted by Edwardian Ball co-creators Rosin Coven and Vau de Vire Society, the night promises an unforgettable blend of audience participation and performance with darkness, humor, and style in a stunning historic venue. The event also features “Belle of the Ball” Jill Tracy, DJ Xian, Miz Margo, Dark Garden Corsetry, and many special guests. Costumed attire is highly encouraged — all in attendance are invited to return to a time of gentility by creating characters for the occasion.

The Music Box is located at 6126 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90028.  For more information on the venue please call 323-464-0808 or visit http://www.themusicbox.la.  Doors open and show begins at 8:00pm, and all ages are welcome (minors must be accompanied by an adult 21+ with valid ID).  General admission tickets are $28-$35 in advance, and a very limited amount of VIP Booths ($450) and VIP Balcony Couches ($500) are available for parties of up to 8.  VIP packages include best/reserved seating, table service, and complimentary absinthe cocktails.  For more information and online tickets, please visit http://www.edwardianball.com.

Since 1999, The Edwardian Ball has steadily grown from a Bay Area underground club phenomenon into a full-fledged festival of arts and culture, focusing on the esteemed works of the late, great author/illustrator Edward Gorey. Now, with the blessings of The Edward Gorey Charitable Trust, this one-night-only Los Angeles event of everything-under-the-midnight-sun reaches across cultural boundaries to include audiences of all ages and backgrounds, where literary fans are as welcome as goth clubgoers, where the high-flying trapeze and steam-powered machines create the backdrop for elegantly dressed ballgoers waltzing their way into the antique portrait studio. Event founder Justin Katz muses, “The demand for this event to return to Los Angeles has been incredible. It’s clear that no one city can contain this celebration, where the old world meets the world-to-be with a tip of the top hat, a cinch of the corset, and a splash of absinthe poured over a silver spoon.  We’re thrilled to bring The Edwardian Ball back to LA.”

For over a decade, The Edwardian Ball has been featuring Gorey tales brought to life on stage.  A truly prodigious and original artist, Edward St. John Gorey (1925-2000) gifted the world with over one hundred works, including The Gashlycrumb Tinies, The Doubtful Guest, and The Wuggly Ump; prize-winning set and costume designs for innumerable theater productions from Cape Cod to Broadway; a remarkable number of illustrations in publications such as The New Yorker and The New York Times; as well as illustrations in books by a wide array of authors from Charles Dickens to Edward Lear, Samuel Beckett, John Updike, Virginia Woolf, H.G. Wells, Florence Heide, and many others. His well known animated credits for the PBS Mystery! series have introduced his work to millions of television viewers. Gorey’s masterful pen and ink illustrations and his ironic, offbeat humor have brought him critical acclaim and an avid following throughout the world.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Gorey

Rosin Coven performing (singer: Midnight Rose; photo credit: Tracy Bugni) 2010

Paradox Media –
For over 13 years Paradox Media, owned by Justin Katz, has been producing an eclectic variety of art and music events in the San Francisco Bay Area, including festivals such as ArtCar Fest, How Berkeley Can You Be!?, The Oakland World Music & Jazz Festival, ArtFest’s Spectra Ball, Mission Bazaar, and Burning Man’s annual SF Decompression; independent theater with Everyday Theatre’s “The Bright River;” and nonprofit community events with Epic Arts.  Paradox is the exclusive presenter of Rosin Coven, the founders of The Edwardian Ball in 1999.  Executive Producer Katz also works for Goldenvoice/AEG Live, producing all of their concerts in the San Francisco region. http://www.paradox-media.com/production/index.html

Vau de Vire –
Founded in 1997 by husband and wife team Mike and Shannon Gaines, San Francisco-based entertainment company Vau de Vire Society has been titillating crowds around the world with their unique brand of interactive art, dance and circus events. This avant-cabaret community consists of classically-trained dancers, some of the nation’s most acclaimed acrobats, aerial artists, contortionists, side-show acts, fire-performers, thespians, and beautiful circus freaks. The group has been cross-pollinating genres by collaborating with an eclectic variety of world-renowned musicians and DJs in creating original stage shows spanning a range of social groups and subcultures. Notable recent collaborators include Cirque du Soleil (Corteo), the San Francisco Symphony, Paul Oakenfold, Moby, Paul Van Dyke, The Dresden Dolls, Peaches, Alkaline Trio, The Madd Vibe Orchestra, Crystal Method, and Tiesto. Vau de Vire has provided live support performances for James Brown, Primus, 50 Cent, Wyclef Jean, Velvet Revolver, The Cure, and many other highly respected international artists. In addition to producing The Edwardian Ball since 2005, Vau de Vire produces and hosts the West Coast’s longest-running and most outrageous circus-infused dance party, San Francisco’s Bohemian Carnival.  Through the years, Vau de Vire has received numerous commissions from high profile music and arts festivals to curate live music stages and program multi-day variety entertainment amidst a Vau de Vire custom built environment complete with thematic installations and large scale aerial art sculptures.  Past and ongoing clients include: Bumbershoot Festival, Download Festival, Outside Lands, Lightning in a Bottle (’07,’08, ’10), Xingolati Groove Cruise, Vegoose Festival, Exprescion on Alcatraz, and Super Village at Super Bowl ’08. http://www.vaudeviresociety.com

The Music Box –
The Music Box, renowned for its auditorium with ornate period details and stunning rooftop views of the hills, has hosted a dazzling array of nightlife events for nearly a century.  Originally a vaudeville theater from the 1920s with a speakeasy upstairs, the Henry Fonda Theater was transformed into The Music Box, a lavish sanctum of glamour and spectacle. The world-class venue is well known as one of LA’s busiest and most prestigious live entertainment destinations. The historically significant edifice, in the heart of Hollywood, was painstakingly refurbished recently to its original Golden Age glory. The dramatic, newly remodeled Music Box features a moodily lit, antechamber design with original flourishes. Luxurious theater curtains surround the ballroom and Bosch art imagery adorns the walls. The new design also features plush private booths with optimal viewing, a two-sided main bar and checkered dance floor. The original sloped seating has been replaced with a level floor. The balcony offers a unique party perspective with a commanding view of the main stage.  To complete the venue’s recent Hollywood makeover, the marquee was updated with lighting from the original 1926 movie theater design.

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For more information, images, or to set up interviews with the event producers or any of the cast and crew, please contact Green Galactic’s Lynn Tejada (née Hasty) at 213-840-1201 or lynn@greengalactic.com.

Vau de Vire Society at the 10th Annual Edwardian Ball (photo credit: TheBlight.net /Nightshade/Neil Girling)