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Club Cumming is a gay bar and nightclub in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It frequently hosts cabaret events, Broadway-style shows, dance parties and drag performances. Celebrities, especially Broadway actors, often make pop-up appearances there. The club opened in 2017 and is co-owned by actor Alan Cumming and promoter Daniel Nardicio, who founded it with the owners of the space's previous establishment. The bar was ordered to temporarily halt its live shows in 2018, when it was discovered that it had not yet acquired the appropriate licensing. The matter was resolved swiftly with community support. Club Cumming has generally been well received by critics, who cite the venue's eclectic entertainment repertoire, its inclusivity and the spontaneity of its atmosphere.

Description
The New York Times published the following description of the club: "There is no sign outside — just a black painted wood facade, glass block windows and a doorman. Inside, this former black box has been gussied up with chandeliers, velvety drapes and a mural ... On a recent Saturday night, the crowd was a tightly packed mix of neighborhood gay men in vintage T-shirts brushing up against Becky types in black and gender-non-conforming millennials wearing glittery tanks, colorful scarves and the occasional boa. It was sometimes hard to tell where the show ends and the audience begins." The murals on the walls were painted by Cumming's husband, Grant Shaffer. Gothamist describes the venue as "a genuine hybrid of disco dance party and live music performance cabaret".

Club Cumming features events every night, including live music, DJ sets, lounge acts, drag shows, go-go dancing and "raunchy readings". Classical music performances and Broadway acts, including some off-off-Broadway musicals, are included in the mix. In addition to live entertainment, the bar used to host a weekly knitting circle called "Stitch and Bitch". It also holds book clubs, piano nights and a "gender-fluid dance party" called "Femme". Actor Alan Cumming, one of the venue's owners and its namesake, lives nearby and stops in frequently; he is known to perform, tend bar, DJ, and mingle with the crowd when he visits. While cell phones are not prohibited inside, he discourages their use "to make people talk to each other instead of looking at their phones". Club Cumming is a popular stop for celebrities who visit New York City, and Broadway actors frequent the venue on Mondays, when their plays typically do not run. Journalist and performer Michael Musto regularly sings cabaret-style duets with artists like Bridget Everett and Amber Martin at the club.

History
Club Cumming opened in Manhattan's East Village in September 2017, when Cumming and promoter Daniel Nardicio bought out the owners of an existing bar, the Eastern Bloc. They partnered with that venue's proprietors, Darren Dryden and Ben Maisani, to renovate the space and open a new establishment. Cumming's vision for the bar was for it to be "a home for everyone of all ages, all genders, all sexualities, who all enjoy letting go and making some mischief. No judgments, no attitude, no rules, except kindness, acceptance and fun." He named the bar after the parties he used to hold in his dressing room while appearing in Cabaret on Broadway. The neon sign bearing the club's name, which now hangs above its stage, is from that dressing room. Due to Cumming's high profile, the club began attracting press months before its debut.

The week of the club's opening, Paul McCartney, Emma Stone and Cumming gave an impromptu performance of "Part of Your World" while spending an evening there. Since then, figures including Justin Vivian Bond, Billie Jean King, Adele, Jennifer Lawrence and Vanessa Williams have also made appearances. To support Club Cumming performers and staff out of work due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Cumming organized the Club Cumming Community Chest. It is a fundraiser in which celebrities give memorabilia or a Zoom call to the highest bidder, and the proceeds are donated to club employees.

Licensing incident
In February 2018, it came to light that Club Cumming had not acquired permission to host live events, and it was ordered to halt its shows. This was due to what Nardicio called "a rookie mistake": when he and Cumming had applied for the bar's liquor license, they had done so as an establishment without live entertainment. The state liquor authority received complaints from the local community board, and the authority charged Club Cumming with failure to conform. Cumming and Nardicio suspended the club's non-compliant events, and they asked fans and the bar's neighbors to support Club Cumming by signing a petition, e-mailing the community board, or attending a board meeting. On April 9, the community board voted unanimously to extend the bar's licensing to cover live events, with the stipulation that such events not be ticketed or charge cover fees. Members of the community had come out "in droves" to support the club at the meeting; Bedford+Bowery reported that more than a dozen people spoke on Club Cumming's behalf, and the room was so crowded that people were asked to wait outside the building.

Reception
Gothamist wrote that the club "fills a niche that has been slowly eaten away by rising rents and sanitized street corners. Club Cumming attempts to fill the gap with a bit of imagination, served up with just the right amount of polish/un-polish." The New Yorker praised the bar for its inclusivity, stating that "[t]he tiny space welcomes a far broader spectrum of the queer community [than most queer nightlife venues] and overflows with a sense of inclusive camaraderie." That publication also noted a selection of events that had recently occurred at Club Cumming and complimented the spontaneity of its atmosphere. Caroline Framke of Variety said, "The East Village bar reflects its owner’s wonderfully bizarre taste." A GrandLife.com review reads, "No matter the night’s curation, you’re sure to have a wild time."