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Lucille Lortel was
a dear friend of mine, For her, I renewed my
passport, obtained a visa, and ventured into the
wilds of Connecticut to her White Barn Playhouse.
She was a wonderful lady, and thank goodness for the Lucille
Lortel Awards, which preserves her memory.
Since they began 32 years ago, I have attended most
of them. The 2017 Annual Lucille Lortel Awards took
place at the NYU Skirball Center. It honors
Off-Broadway shows, which this season sent many of
their productions to Broadway. I photographed the
arrivals, which included honorees, nominees and
presenters. I then watched the ceremony, where the
winners thanked the audience. Among the awards, were
Lifetime Achievement Award to honoree William
Ivey Long, and winners like Director Bartlett
Sher, Playwright J.T
Rogers, Outstanding Lead Actress Jennifer
Ehle (photo
below), and Outstanding Featured Actor Michael
Aronov, all four from Oslo. We
then went to the Post-Ceremony Reception in the
Rosenthal Pavilion on the 10th Floor, NYU Kimmel
Center for food and drink. I congratulated many of
the honorees, like Lynn
Nottage, and winners, like Jennifer Ehle, and
nominees, like Michael
Emerson and Johanna
Day. It was a glorious occasion. Lucille would
have been delighted.
The Actors Fund Annual Gala at
the Marriott Marquis honored four outstanding
people, Sally
Field, Danny DeVito (photo below), Jo Ann Jenkins and Harold
Prince. Many Broadway stars attended, including Joel
Grey, Josh Groban, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Marin
Mazzie and others too numerous to mention. It
was a splendid event. Joseph
Benincasa always
provides a wonderful evening.
The actors company theatre
TACT 2017 Spring Gala took
place at The University Club, 1 West 45th St. Four
distinguished women of the theatre were honored, Elizabeth
McCann, Nelle Nugent, Theresa
Rebeck and Alice
Ripley. I was invited to dine and was placed
next to to David
Staller, the Artistic Director of Gingold
Theatrical Group with other members of the company.
I had the great joy to chat with old friends like Simon
Jones and Lee
Roy Reams. It was a marvelous evening.
On Wednesday, the 2017
Drama Desk Awards Nominees reception at
The New York Marriott Marquis is always a satisfying
event, for not only do we photograph the talented
people of Broadway and Off-Broadway, but fine food
is served. Among the many nominees who attended, I
was happy to photograph Laura
Linney, Cynthia Nixon,
Andy Blankenbuehler (when
is going to shorten his last name?), Jayne
Houdyshell, Dave Malloy, Bobby Cannavale, Ed Dixon,
who immortalized my dear friend George
Rose in
his one man show Georgie, and
many, many more. I was sorry to leave, but I had
five events to cover that day. Sometimes, it's
another slow day!
I went to the The
Leopard at des Artistes, 1 West 67St, the second
event, where the Consorzio
Di Tutela Dei Vini Del Sannio and Gruppo
Italiano held
a very special wine tasting with Sannio wines and
typical Campania dishes. The wines were marvelous.
My favorite was a rose, but the whites and the red
were equally remarkable. Those accompanied by
delicious hors d'oeuvres, and pasta and risotto,
made a wonderful combination of exquisite wines and
fine food. It was a joyous occasion..
I rushed to photograph one of my
favorite actresses, Tyne
Daly, at
Actors Connection, 630 9th Avenue, who is appearing
with her brother Tim
Daly and John Procaccino,
directed by Adrienne
Campbell Holt, in Downstairs, by Theresa
Rebeck, at the Dorset Theatre Festival. This was
my third event of the day. It is being presented in
Vermont, and I make it my rule now, that I only
review a play in a theater, that I can walk to.
My fourth event was at the Hampshire
House, 150 Central Park South, in a luxury apartment
on the 26th floor with a glorious view of Central
Park.
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The beautiful celebrity jewelry designer Margo
Manhattan was
previewing her newest HSN jewelry collection, with a
reception featuring wonderful rose wines from Cotes
de Provence. I tasted one. It was delicious. I
photographed Margo. And regretfully, I had to leave
quickly to arrive on time for my fifth and final
event of the day.
I arrived on time to photograph the honoree Niles
Rodgers, who also performed at the 23rd
Annual New York City Gala to Benefit Caron's Patient
Scholarship Fund at
Cipriani 42nd Street. I also photographed him with
two lovely ladies, the former Miss Germany Petra
Levin and
model/actress Kelly
Bensimon. Also honored that evening was Kenneth and Elaine
Langone. It was the end of another slow day on
the town in New York City. After
that, I went home to prepare myself for the events
on Thursday.
On Thursday, I attend a marvelous
gala at Gotham Hall. It was The
Brotherhood/Sister Sol Gala honoring
actor Jeffrey
Wright and
artist Carrie
Mae Weems.
Among the guests, I photographed Bobby
Cannavale, Rose Byrne, Michael K. Williams, Terence
Winter and
Executive Director and Co-Founder Khary
Lazarre-White.
The dinner was delicious and everyone had a
wonderful time celebrating the Harlem-based national
youth development nonprofit that for 22 years has
been transforming the lives of young people. It is a
worthy cause, and their achievements have been
spectacular.
Every night, I go to bed with a good
book, or, at least, with someone, who has read a
good book. Last night, I went to bed with the best
book I have read in 2017. Money,
murder, and Dominick Dunne: a life in several acts,
by Robert
Hofler, The University of Wisconsin Press, 2017,
is a fascinating biography, of a gentleman I thought
I knew well, as I had photographed him many times,
and chatted with him at many celebrity parties.
Little did I know how little I knew about him.
Robert Hofler is a brilliant writer, and a true
investigative reporter. His research is extensive,
and he reveals how writers like Dunne will recall
facts differently and incorrectly. Dunne was a
wonderful writer, with his novels turned into
successful television mini-series. He was a crime
reporter, who covered all the many celebrity trials
for Vanity
Fair. He
had, however, a complex personality, and
experienced many tragedies, including the murder of
his only daughter. Being a homosexual, his family
life was troublesome, and his relationship with his
children suffered. I could not put the book down,
until I read the last page. It is full of
delicious gossip about the most famous celebrities
in the world, from Princess
Diana to Elizabeth
Taylor. Rush out and purchase this book. You
will enjoy every minute you spend with it.
Marry Harry,
book by Jennifer
Robbins,
music by Dan Martin,
lyrics by Michael
Bello,
is a York Theatre Company production at the Theater
at Saint Peter's, 629 Lexington Avenue. It is a
charming, delightful 80-minute musical. The
excellent seven member cast, is directed expertly
by Bill
Castellino.
The two leads, David
Spadora
and Morgan
Cowling,
sing beautifully, and the music is pleasant, the
lyrics intelligent and the book contains many pearls
of wisdom about two young lovers and romance. The
opening night party was a joyous occasion at a
wonderful Italian restaurant, Luna
Piena,
243 East 53rd Street, where they served us a
multitude of hors d'oeuvres, pasta and fine wines
and beer.
New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players
presented Patience or, Bunthorne's Bride, at
the Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College. Thank goodness
New York City has Artistic Director Albert
Bergeret for
keeping William
S. Gilbert and Sir
Arthur Sullivan alive
in New York. Their operettas are delightful. They
are melodious, funny and extremely clever. The two
poets, James
Mills and David
Macaluso, stole the show. They were hilarious.
The highlight of the performance was So
go to him, and say to him, sung by Caitlin
Burke and
Mills. The tumultuous applause brought them back for
two encores. A pretty Sarah
Caldwell Smith played
the title role, and sang beautifully. The orchestra
played the sparkling music, under the baton of the
magnificent Albert Bergeret.
The New York Pops 34th Birthday
Gala honored Kelli
O'Hara and Bartlett
Sher. (photo
below).
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