Gary Scibelli – AKA Lady Nutella
Gary was born in Jamaica Hills in New York. He first came to New Hope in the 80s with friends and decided one day he would live here.
In 1989 he bought a condo in New Hope with his partner Mark and lived here part-time, still having a home in NYC. In 1999, they moved to New Hope permanently and still call New Hope home.
He said while growing up he was abused and chastised for being gay, even in the workplace. Gary said it “was very hard back then”.
Gary said he always felt welcome in New Hope and that it felt like home. He would walk down Main Street and everyone was friendly. He worked in three retail stores and was the owner of a shoe store in New Hope until retiring in 2013. He said he met so many people through retail that he is still friends with.
Gary would go to the Cartwheel, Prelude and the Raven. He said he always enjoyed the weekends at the Raven pool during the summers. His favorite memories are of Monica Ray looking like Marilyn Monroe, Saturday nights at the Cartwheel and the Raven pool with mudslides.
He admits that now he is not much of a bar person, but will still go to the Raven and the Cub Room on occasion and visit all the local restaurants. He has been active in the community with FACT and New Hope Celebrates.
In recent years, Gary has created the Lady Nutella. He said the Lady is a “person of distinction” and an illusion. Gary wanted to create a “Mistress of Illusion”, a hostess and character. He tells the story of how she got her name. He said one night he opened the pantry and looked at a jar of Nutella, from that moment he created the Lady Nutella in the middle of the night. Gary added that throughout his life everything he achieved was a result of his creative mind.
Lady Nutella’s first appearance was in Provincetown in 2012. Gary was in a play and decided to walk around town still dressed from the show. He was on the Board of FACT and as Lady Nutella walked down Commercial St. collecting $1.00 for wristbands on behalf of FACT. The enormous success of this led to more appearances by Lady Nutella.
In 2013, Lady Nutella made her “official debut” at the White Wind Inn in Provincetown singing in her own voice with Bob Egan. The song was from Sunset Boulevard, “As if We Never Said Goodbye.” The following summer, Lady Nutella won an award dressed as Maleficent at the Provincetown Carnival. The theme that summer was Comic Book Capers. In 2015 she was the hostess at the Anchor Inn, Provincetown for the Candyland Carnival.
Back in New Hope, Lady Nutella has appeared at FACT Bingos, John & Peters and New Year’s Eve at the Raven, where she came down from the ceiling on a swing rigged by Steve Lau. At the High Heel Drag Race in 2016, Lady Nutella wore an outfit called “Exit” to celebrate her retirement, but rumor has it that she will be back at special appearances in 2019.
