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Steve Buscemi sat down for a Q & A with Artistic Director
John Strasberg at a benefit for The Accidental Repertory Theater
at The Living Theatre on Clinton St. At a pre-show reception,
with delicious food prepared by two of the company members,
Wanda Colon and Javier Machado, I had the chance to speak to
Steve and John, recalling the days long ago of John's Mirror
Repertory Company with Geraldine Page.
Claire Martin and Richard Rodney Bennett sing the wonderful songs
of Irving Berlin at the Oak Room in the Hotel Algonquin.
They are a delight, and Rex Reed, Mary Foster Conklin
and KT Sullivan congratulated them afterwards.
The
opening
night
of
Open
Roads:
New
Italian
Cinema
June
1-8,
featured
a Q
& A
with
Gianni
Di
Gregorio,
the
star
and
director
of an amusing comedy The Salt of Life/Gianni e le donne.
Two
gorgeous
twins
from
the
film,
Laura
and
Silvia
Squizzato
were
present
for
the
occasion.
Afterwards,
I
saw
T
he
Solitude
of
Prime
Numbers/La
solitudine
dei
numeri
primi,
by
Saverio
Costanzo,
starring
the
splendid
Alba
Rohrwacher.
Love Crimes Of Kabul, by Tanaz Eshaghian, is powerful film,
which follows three prisoners in a women's jail for moral crimes,
such as pre-marital sex. It's a powerful indictment of the
horrible treatment and discrimination against women in Afghanistan.
The Green Wave, by Ali Samadi Ahadi, is about the election
in Iran in 2009 and the aftermath, when the government destroyed
the opposition with brutal violence. It is also an indictment
against a vicious government under its ruthless leader
Amadinejad. Familia, by Mikael Wistrom and Albert Hershovits,
follows a woman from Peru, who leaves her family to work in Spain.
The description of their family life is depressing, and the poverty is appalling. This, unfortunately, is true of the life of many of the legal and illegal immigrants, who work in menial jobs, hoping for a better life in wealthier countries. The three films will be shown at the Film Society of Lincoln Center Human Rights Watch Film Festival June 16-30 and they should be seen.
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One of my favorite events each year is The Theater Hall of Fame 2011 Fellowship Luncheon, which this year was a salute to the wonderful Rosemary Harris at the New York Friars Club. Her husband John Ehle, Charles Strouse, Earl Hyman, Marian Seldes, Elizabeth Wilson, Pia Lindstrom, Jack O'Brien and Brian Murray attended , and the three recipients of the fellowships, Nick Adams, Daniel Talbott and Mimi Turque.
I always enjoy caricature unveilings at Sardi's, and it was a delight to see Ellen Barkin, Joe Mantello and John Benjamin Hickey of The Normal Heart receive their well deserved caricatures. Directors Joel Grey and George C. Wolfe were there to toast their cast members.
The 40th Anniversary of the New York Police Foundation celebrated the occasion with a gala at the Waldorf Astoria honoring Ronald O.Perelman, and guests included Ray Kelly, Michael Douglas, Chevy Chase, Jon Bon Jovi, and my favorite columnist Cindy Adams.
Love, Loss, and What I Wore has a
new cast, Emily Bergl, Emme,
Julie Halston, Ashley Austin Morris and Susan Sullivan, and the celebration took place at B. Smith's restaurant. It is always a lovely party, and since the cast keeps changing monthly, we celebrate twelve times a year. I like that.
The Illusion, by Tony Kushner, opens tomorrow, and I caught a preview last night. Three of my favorite actors, whom I am privileged to call my friends, Lois Smith, David Margulies and Peter Bartlett, are starring in the play.
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