C: Is for the closing of clubs

By the end of the month 20 Broadway shows will close. For the most part it is because rents have made ticket prices so high that shows have to charge prices that are too high in this economy. In less than a week a staple of the music scene will be shutting its doors for the same reason. New York City's premier showcase room, The Cutting Room, located on West 24th Street, is shutting its doors. Stars like Norah Jones, Neil Young, Donovan, Sting, Joan Osborne, Judy Collins, Peter Tork of The Monkees, Alanis Morrisette and Mary Wilson of The Supremes, Sheryl Crow, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kid Rock, Vanessa Carlton and many more have performed here. Alexa Ray Joel made her Manhattan singing debut in front of her proud parents -- Billy Joel and Christie Brinkley. Guests have included David Bowie, Ralph Fiennes, Ethan Hawke, Chris Rock, Kelsey Grammer, Steve Buscemi, Edie Falco, Russell Crowe and Toby McGuire. Co-owners Chris Noth (Sex and the City, Law & Order) and Berklee College of Music alumnus Steve Walter have created an intimate space for established performers and a hospitable environment for new music of all varieties. The club also hosted screenings, photo exhibits, performance art, literary readings, showcases and parties. The Cutting Room opened in late 1999, after a January 13 performance by comedian Joan Rivers the club will say good -by. "Our lease was up in September," Walter told the New York Post. "We tried negotiating with the landlord but couldn’t work something out." The good news is Walter is scouting locations in other neighborhoods, notably TriBeCa, and hopes to open a new Cutting Room by summer. "We don’t want to lose the momentum," he said. The intimate club is closing at this location because rent has reportedly tripled since they opened the club 10 years ago. "

Rivers plays the Cutting Room when trying out new material. She will perform sets on January 6-7 (two shows on the 7th). and two shows on January 13, followed by a closing night party. Tickets for all Rivers' shows are $30. Famed songwriter and performer Jimmy Webb also performs Saturday.

Many New York City clubs have closed with hopes of reopening but never have, including The Bottom Line, CBGB, Tramps, Wetlands Preserve and numerous others and that is a F.A.C.T.