Meet David Maiocco and Cate Elizabeth
of Goose & Gander Greatest Productions
Reflections on My Return Trip to Puerta Vallarta
By Lynn Timmons Edwards
January 31, 2026
Act2PV in Puerto Vallarta has been under varying artistic leadership since its founding in 2012-13. I first stepped into the expanded and remodeled three-performance-space nightclub in November 2024 as a student and a writer. NYC sought-after musical genius Mark Hartman (who has PV roots dating to 2012) had brought in 15 students and an array of amazing cabaret performers and teachers for Fiesta de Cabaret. (See Fiesta de Cabaret 2024 in Retrospect – Cabaret Scenes)
In the summer of 2025, David Maiocco and Cate Elizabeth, who were both critical to the success of the Fiesta, formed Goose & Gander Greatest Productions and stepped up to lead the club, building on the vision of its late founder, Danny Mininni. Maiocco serves as Resident Music Director and oversees the booking, and Elizabeth is Theater Relations Director of ACT2PV and runs the show. She also performs in cabaret shows with Maiocco and stars in a production of Chicago (in the role originated by Chita Rivera), which opens on February 6 for an extended run in ACT2OV’s proscenium theater. Maiocco is musical director for Chicago and is a sought-after accompanist; he plays for shows nearly every night of the week. During the busy season, there is little time for sleep; he is definitely the hardest-working man in show business these days.
Maiocco has been performing in Puerto Vallarta since 2009 ,originally as Liberace along with his friend Chuck Sweeney who tours as a risen-from-the-dead Peggy Lee. Maiocco and Elizabeth met in the summer of 2024 when she offered to rent her spare bedroom to Maiocco, and a brilliant duo was born. They created a show called The Vaudevillians, and this season they have been performing Bathhouse Bette and Barry (https://cabaretscenes.org/2026/02/06/cate-elizabeth-and-david-maiocco-bathhouse-bette-and-barry/). They have had a few bookings in the U.S., and I believe they have a chemistry that will make them a hit in cabaret clubs all over America and London.
On my last night in PV I caught Forever in Blue Jeans: A Neil Diamond Tribute starring Brad Mallett in the Casa Karma Room. It was sold out for a reason. Maiocco played the piano and sounded like a rock band and Elizabeth provided intense back-up vocals. She joined Mallet on the duet “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers” (Diamond/Alan and Marilyn Bergman) with an interpretation that suggested the conflict between the couple was still unresolved; here she put her belt voice to good use. The band also included Dashs Robles, a young, gifted, self-taught local guitarist whom they feature and support. Maiocco and Elizabeth helm a popular Open Mic on Thursday nights that showcases the best performers in town, most of whom are hoping to get exposure for their upcoming shows. It was at their Open Mic that I heard Zoë Lewis, a singer/songwriter who hails from England and who plays four instruments. I was so impressed by her talent that I bought tickets to see her opening show at PV’s The Palm, which did not disappoint. Her music is outside my Great American Songbook comfort zone, and that was a good thing.
In The Palm’s ladies room I met Lydia, who runs the Wednesday Night Open Mic at Nacho Daddy and I was invited to sing. I met another talented pianist, Bing Young, and got to close the night with a big shout-out to the Casa Karma Red Room. I also met Georgia Darehshori, whose support of ACT2PV has been instrumental. This is a circular way of saying that Maiocco and Elizabeth are at the vortex of a cabaret singer’s dream, and when you’re in Puerto Vallarta, do meet them and support them. They told me they are just getting started and have every intention of renewing with the club’s owners for another year.
