Morgan Bassichis: In Concert with Amy Winehouse, presented in partnership with Under the Radar - utrfest.org

It's 2007 and a 23-year-old Amy Winehouse takes the stage at Joe's Pub for her first concert in the United States. Winehouse’s second album, Back to Black, was released just a few months earlier in the UK. She’s not yet a mega-celebrity, but the American press is already circling, banking on her downfall. Amy played her 13-song set twice on that January night for a packed audience, backed by famed soul band The Dap-Kings. She died just four years later at age 27 and her photo now hangs on the wall of the club. Two decades later, comedian Morgan Bassichis—the first gay person to ever do a tribute show for a woman singer—returns to the Pub for a close encounter with Amy Winehouse’s legendary debut.

Morgan’s recent Obie-award winning show, Can I Be Frank?, introduced audiences to the little-known groundbreaking queer comedian Frank Maya, who died from AIDS-related complications in 1995. Now, directed again by collaborator Sam Pinkleton (The Rocky Horror Show, Oh, Mary!) and accompanied by a powerhouse ensemble led by beloved musical director Matt Ray, Bassichis turns to icon Amy Winehouse’s world-changing performance two decades ago. What happened that fateful night? And who better than slightly above-average singer Morgan Bassichis to find out?

Morgan Bassichis is a writer and performer described as “fiercely hilarious” by The New Yorker and “I think they’re an actor but they haven’t been in anything you’ve seen” by their father. Morgan’s show Can I Be Frank? (La MaMa Experimental Theatre, 2024; Soho Playhouse, 2025–26), about groundbreaking queer comedian Frank Maya, was directed by Sam Pinkleton and won two 2026 Obie Awards. Previous work includes A Crowded Field (Abrons Arts Center, 2023), Don’t Rain on My Bat Mitzvah (Creative Time, 2022), Questions to Ask Beforehand (Bridget Donahue, 2022), Klezmer for Beginners (Abrons Arts Center, 2019), Damned If You Duet (The Kitchen, 2018), The Faggots & Their Friends Between Revolutions: The Musical (New Museum, 2017), and More Protest Songs! (Danspace Project, 2017). Publications include Questions to Ask Before Your Bat Mitzvah (Wendy’s Subway, 2023), The Odd Years (Wendy’s Subway, 2020), and To Do ASAP (Haymarket Books, 2027)

Conceived and Performed by Morgan Bassichis
Sam Pinkleton - Director
Matt Ray - Musical Director and Pianist
Joel Mateo - Percussion
Derek Nievergelt - Bass
Ethan Philbrick - Cello

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Photo Credit: Samantha Brooks