“I love Craig’s diverse lineups”
- Nate Jackson (LA Times Arts Editor)
Rainbow City Productions is a live production company founded by producer Craig Appelbaum that connects LGBTQIA comics and drag Queens with venues, brands, and outlets, as featured in the LA Times and Pink News. Rainbow City focuses exclusively on LGBTQIA talent shaping contemporary culture and is committed to creating exciting, innovative platforms for its partners, including comedy and variety shows, performance art, drag shows, and music events.
Mr Appelbaum partners with hotels to leverage his experience in culling and spotlighting the best LGBTQIA talent the industry has to offer. Featured performers include RuPaul's Drag Race Winner Yvie Oddly, as well as performers who have appeared on Conan, The Late Late Show, Netflix, Hulu, and NBC.
Currently, Mr Appelbaum works with The Ace Hotel in Palm Springs, W Hotels, and Hotel Zoso, Palm Springs. Rainbow City Productions is known for curating unforgettable shows that mix stand-up comedy, music, and drag. Mr. Appelbaum serves as the bridge between management and sponsors, bringing his eye for art, culture, and LGBTQIA performance to every project he serves on, offering the perfect blend of laughs, lewks, and fun.
Craig Appelbaum is a stand-up comedian, performance artist, producer, and founder of Rainbow City Productions, a company that connects LGBTQIA comics and drag Queens with venues, brands, and outlets. He has produced numerous drag/comedy shows at venues such as the W Hotel in Hollywood, Hotel Zoso, The Ace Hotel in Palm Springs, and The Eagle, a leather bar where Los Angeles’s gay illuminati gather to sweat and laugh.
On his stages, he features performers as diverse as RuPaul's Drag Race Winner Yvie Oddly, as well as performers who have appeared on Conan, The Late Late Show, Netflix, Hulu, and NBC. As a comic, he has shared the stage with Laurie Kilmartin, Irene Tu, Daniel Webb, and many others.
In addition to performing and writing, Mr. Appelbaum is Managing Director at Major Lindsey & Africa. As a young gay boy growing up in Cleveland, Ohio, challenges of self-expression had been nascent long before Mr Appelbaum’s career as a lawyer began. This is what makes him passionate as an advocate, producer, comic, performer, and writer. Craig asks through his work as both a performer, writer, and producer to be shameless in a quest for self-expression, advocacy, and humor.
He previously owned Industry Gallery, which was written about in numerous outlets such as The New York Times, the Washington Post, Details Magazine, Travel & Leisure, and Elle Decor, among others. In 2015, Art & Architecture, a leading publication for art collectors, named Appelbaum one of the art world's "Power Innovators" and one of 100 people changing the art world landscape. His previous work as a gallerist in Washington DC, is now a source of inspiration for his TV pilot “Dark Money”. Currently, Mr Appelbaum performs and produces in venues in and around LA while taking Palm Springs by storm, with often up to three comedy shows a week.