Girls, Let Me Tell You, THIS Mama Is Not About To Do "Gypsy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

                                     While she may look like someone bitching at a rehearsal for "Fiddler On The Roof," darlings, let me assure you, she is not. She is Zubeidat Tsarneva,  (and if you think it is hard to spell, try pronouncing it!!!!!!!!!) otherwise known as the Boston Bombers' mother!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                        And she is the winner of this week's Raving Queen Bitch Of The Week Award???????

                                         Why?  Because, lambs, I am convinced she was the mastermind behind it all!  She may not have planted and triggered those explosives, but she is just as responsible as her sons!!!!!!!!!!

                                           Just look at the show she has been putting on, ever since the incident happened.  The aggrieved parent, whose boys were railroaded!!!!!!!!!!!!  Like a Siberian Mama Rose!!!!!!  Yeah, right!!!!!!!!!!!!  These boys were most likely indoctrinated by Mama into some kind of hate mode, then elder brother fine tuned his training, and
then brainwashed his surviving younger sibling.  Not to mention his American born wife, who, I am convinced, will soon be singing a very different tune.  As may the younger brother, though he is without question guilty as charged, and will never see the light of day again.

                                              But, listen to me, dolls, Mama Tsarneva is the one to keep an eye on!!!!!  Who knows what other pies she has her fingers in, or what further malevolence she is planning?  And don't be surprised if she is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                With a mother like this, how did the boys stand a chance?????????  Not to excuse them from what they did, but perhaps, with different influence, they may not have been driven to this path.
                                                    Other family members have labeled the boys "losers," and have practically called the mother a nut!!!!!!!!!!  Which she is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                      So, here is to Zubeidat Tsarneva as this week's Bitch Of The Week!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                       But, do not expect her to do "Rose's Turn" anytime soon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh, My God!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Deanna Is Gone?????????????????

                                 Honestly, girls, I had almost forgotten she was still alive!!!!!!!  I may as well confess something right now.  In my childhood, after I outgrew my Shirley Temple phase, and before I  understood the nature of what puberty was about, and discovered Judy Garland's artistry, as well as the Garlandesque potential of my own voice, Deanna Durbin, pictured above, was who I wanted to be!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                   I wanted to have as lovely and clear a soprano as she!!!!!!!!!!  If I had been castrated, (OUCH!!!!!!!!) who knows??????????  But then I would be a eunuch.  I just wanted to hit those high notes, wear my hair and white dress, just like Deanna, and get backed by a full orchestra!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                    I have no idea how many queens our there nursed such dreams. And I did not nurse them for a very long time.  But I did, nevertheless.  Does anyone today know who Deanna Durbin was?????
Did anyone when I was of the age???????????????

                                      Her passing, at 91, reminds me that, had she lived, Judy Garland would today be the same age!!!!!!!!!!  Can you imagine???????????  Liza wouldn't stand a chance!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  To think they (Garland and Durbin) were teamed, and it was her career that took off before Judy's, but when Judy's finally did--with, guess what? darlings--"The Wizard Of Oz!"--WOW!!!!!!!!!!  There was nothing to stop her!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                       With Deanna goes another exemplar of Hollywood's Golden Age, and the age of child stars, when a kid could go from obscurity to make-up calls at the studio!!!!!!!!  Just like I wanted to, girls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                           So, farewell to Deanna Durbin!!!!!!!!!!!!  I'll have to dig up a DVD copy of "100 Men And A Girl" (imagine that title being so innocuous; you wouldn't dare use it today, unless you were a porn company, loves!!!!!!!!!) to pay special tribute to this noteworthy, if not altogether well known, Hollywood star!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                              Whom that cheap knockoff, Gloria Jean (still alive at 87, can you believe it??????) could not hold a candle to!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How About Those TONY Nominations, Girls????????????????

                                        I will say this right now with complete assurance, though I have not seen the production yet. Andrea Martin, in "Pippin," has the lock on Best Actress In A Featured Role In A Musical!!!!!"  Without question!!!!!!!!!!   That is the first thing I have to say about this year's TONY Awards nominations!!!!!!!!!!!

                                          The second is---wha------------------??????????  No Bette Midler???????  No Fiona Shaw??????????  Bet they are royally pissed, and, lambs, they SHOULD be!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                             "A Christmas Story" as Best Musical??????????  It only played for a limited time; remember when other Christmas themed shows, like "Here's Love!" ran the whole year??????????
And don't even get me started on "Bring It On--The Musical!!!!!!!!!!"  That slot should have gone to "Motown--The Musical!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

                                              What are these TONY voters thinking?????????  What are they on?????? More to the point, what do they need to BE on, because some of this judgement defies logic.

                                                And you know it is going to be a slug out, between  "Matilda, The Musical," and "Kinky Boots," for Best Musical!!!!!!!!!!!!  My money is on "Matilda," darlings, after the footage I have seen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                 So what is left????????

                                                  Best Play is like--who cares?  "The Assembled Parties" sounds the most promising and, while so many people have told me they love "Vanya And Sonia And Masha And Spike," honestly, it's just Christopher Durang doing his old.........Christopher Durang thing again!!!!!!!!!!!!  "Lucky Guy" is fluff, while "The Testament Of Mary," outside of a bravura performance by Fiona Shaw, is nothing for religious groups to get worked up about!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                     Nathan Lane in "The Nance?"   The casting is almost cruel, but I am sure he nails it.  As sure a thing as Andrea Martin is "Pippin" for winning Best Musical Revival.  While it looks like veterans Holland Taylor and Cicely Tyson will slug it out for the Best Leading Actress In A Play Award!!!!!!!!!

                                                        I just don't know what to say, darlings!!!!!!!!!  The TONY Awards and nominees are only as good as the previous theater season was.  Which is not saying much, I know!  And "Cinderella," nominated for so many things it does deserve, but, I mean, Douglas Carter Beane's book?????
Really!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                         People used to complain the TONY voters were a bunch of old coots, and fuddy duddies!!!!!!!!!!  Now that that group has passed, I think they have become a group of aging hippies and druggies, whose brains are in a state of deterioration from their youthful pasts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                            What else could account for such a moronic assortment of nominees, and omissions??????????

                                                                Thank God for Jessie Mueller's Drama Desk Award nomination!!!!!!!!!!!!

What A Contrast HERE, Darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                    As my most beloved Monsieur is apt to say from time to time, "You crazy Catholics!!!!!!"   Well, girls, he certainly has a point now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                     While Jason Collins is being lauded for his decision, Carla Hale, a Catholic school teacher for 19 years in the Columbus, Ohio, area, is fighting being fired for her sexual orientation!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                         And it all started over an obit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                          The Phys. Ed. teacher's mother recently passed away.  Which is sad enough for Carla to deal with.  But, in writing the obit, the paper mentioned her partner as her spouse.  Again, what is wrong with that??????????

                                           But then came a letter to the administration from "a concerned parent," ( and I would like to see what kind of a person this "concerned parent" actually is.  Bet there are all kinds of skeletons in those closets!!!!!!!!) suggesting Hale should not be teaching, because her relationship is not in accordance with the teachings of the Church.

                                             This whole thing, darlings, is more in accordance with Lillian Hellman's "The Children's Hour."  I told you that play is not dated, that it could happen today, and this example is certainly proof positive of that.

                                               I am sure the school and students knew for years the nature of Miss Hale's and her partner's relationship!!!!!!!!!!!!  So, how come all of a sudden, a witch hunt is being conducted?????????

                                                 The only witches here who should be burned are the letter writer that started all this, and the administrators who caved in with cowardice in support of said ghastly creature!!!!!!!!!!!  They are the ones who should be outed, then bitch slapped across the face, in front of the entire school, in the auditorium!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                   What contrasting stories!!!!!!!!!  What does this say about America?????  You have to wonder, dolls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   Though it says less about our nation in general, and more about religious zealots using faith to exploit their issues, and further their agenda!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                         Is this good Catholicism??????????  Not really!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Wonder what Sister Camille would have to say about this???????????????????

                                                          I say reinstate Carla to an environment where she seemed to be loved,  and cast out the demon who tormented her!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                           Hey, Mary!!!!!!!!!!  Tell these bozos to get with the program!!!!!!!!!!!!

What A Nice Counterpart To The Rutgers Debacle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                      Call it poetic justice, darlings!   After the scandal erupting over Coach Rice's abusive and homophobic behavior to players at Rutgers, coupled with his firing, and that of several others, it seemed almost inevitable someone would step forward in a more exemplary light!  And who would have thought a sports related story would have made it on to the Raving Queen????????  How many times does that happen, loves?????????  Only if discussing "Damn Yankees," or "High Button Shoes!!!!!!!!!!!"

                                       I was thrilled to hear that Jason Collins, late of the Celtics, and currently of the Washington Wizards, had come out as a gay man!!!!!!!!!!!!  For all my still single girls out there, Jason is a hottie; it's nice when a role model also LOOKS good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  But more important, it paves the way for not only others in sports who may be gay, but also those who are who may want to participate, but have felt hold back both by their sexuality, and how the sports world relates to it!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                        Now, I have two left hands, darlings, but not all gay youngsters are non-athletic!!!!!!  Some are quite athletic, and if you speak to some of these people, what I expect you will find is a desire to fully participate, but a fear of being attacked for being different, keeping them from doing something they should do, and would enjoy doing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                           Jason's declaration may, hopefully, if not change all that at once, at least start things turning in a more positive direction.  I cannot fathom his motive, but admire its intention, and would not be surprised if the Rutgers thing had something to do with it.  Between this and Tyler Clementi, that school is getting a bad rep; to think I brooded over not going there!  Now, I am not at all sorry I didn't!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                             But kudos to Jason, from the Raving Queen!!!!!!!!!!!!  Bet he can do "Dreamgirls," darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

At Last! The Juicy Bit Of Gossip You Have All Been Waiting For, Girls!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                      They say it pays to have friends in high places.  So, about two weeks back, when I discovered that a James H. Farkas was the V.P, in charge of Finance, at New York's City Center, I wonder, "Could that be Jimmy Farkas, who was two years ahead of me, in high school?????  After doing some research, I discovered that it actually was.

                                                          Which made me think........hmmm.........if something came along to City Center I REALLY want to see (comparable to say, the Philharmonic's "Carousel!!!!!!") perhaps I could hit Jimmy up for some tickets.  Because, I actually have something on him, darlings.  You are never going to believe THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                              Jimmy and I were never friends during our high school years.  I knew who he was, but I doubt he knew me.  He was talented, and active in our Drama Program, which I, as a freshman, back in 1970, aspired to, so I made it my business to know who all the prominent people in Drama were!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                                Jimmy's most memorable turn was when he played Polonius in the student production of "Hamlet," back in the Spring of 1971.  He is remembered less for his performance, and more for something which supposedly happened during rehearsal, and which circulated throughout the school, like wild fire!  I was not there, but I certainly heard about it!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                                 It was the end of a grueling evening.  The cast was on stage, the clock was inching to eleven PM, and everyone was tired!  These were high school students, for God's sake, who had to be ready to attend class, take tests, whatever, by 9AM the following morning.

                                                                   Mr. Stevens, the Drama director of the day, had his demons, one of which was alcoholism.  He was also obsessed with getting "Hamlet" on the stage, and he pushed the cast harder than they liked.  On the particular night in question, at 11PM, he announced he wanted to do Act One, in its entirety, from the top!!!!!!!!!!!  According to legend, Jimmy, in Polonius drag, walked downstage to Mr. Stevens, gave him the finger, and loudly said, "Fuck you!"   Mr. Stevens countered, "What did you say?"  Jimmy repeated the euphonious phrase.  "Oh," Stevens countered, "that's what I thought you said."  The rehearsal broke right then!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                                     This story became the stuff of legend.  But something which only I witnessed did not.  And this is what I meant when I referred to having "something on him."

                                                                       Back in the Spring of 1970, when school let out, my friend Doug and I would walk up Abbot Street, to the top of North Tenth Avenue, where we would talk, before he began his way home, on the other side of town.  Abbot Street ended at 11th Avenue, and at its foot was a hill embankment, atop which rested a flesh colored, stucco house, very much like my grandmother's in North Brunswick, only run down, and not so nice.  As children, we made up all kinds of stories about it. People went in and out of there living, but I never knew whom.

                                                                          Behind the house was a set of cement steps, and a brick wall embedded within, containing a small shed, used for storage, though I don't think much was ever stored there.  As children, we would peer into it, and sometimes, as we grew older, used it as a spot in games of Hide And Seek!

                                                                             Well, one Spring Day, in 1970, I was talking to Doug, and I was facing towards the shed. Suddenly, all hell broke lose, there was a cacophony of noise, and all of a sudden, the wood door swung open, and a disheveled Jimmy Farkas, came springing out of there, leaping down the hill, running down Abbott Street, and out of sight, as though the Mob were after him!!!!!!!!  Several minutes later, not disheveled, looking as pristine as could be, in a long, hooded, purple monk's coat, and beautiful long hair came.....Debbie Osborne, who was the sister of my classmate, Karen!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                                               I was so pure and innocent at the time, darlings, I did not know what to make of it.  And, as I became less so, I realized--something had been going on in that shed, between Jimmy and Debbie!!!!!!!!!!!!  Guess he was a big old horn dog!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                                                 This incident is embedded in my memory.  So, Jimmy, if you read this, or are told of it, don't worry.  I'm not coming after you for anything.

                                                                                   BUT if there is a hot ticket item that I want to see at
City Center, rest assured I will use this to get in!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                                                     The Raving Queen strikes again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                                                      Congrats to Jimmy for his high ranking achievement!!!!!!!!!!

                                                                                         But what ever happened to Debbie Osborne??????????????

"Those Dreary Vows That Everyone Takes, Everyone Breaks! Everyone Makes Divine Mistakes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

                                    Girls, can you believe it?  We have arrived at another May 1st, which means it is time to dig out the "Camelot: CD, and play Jules, in glorious voice, singing "The Lusty Month Of May," as only she could!!!!!!!!!!  It has already been done in MY house, kids; how about yours??????????????

                                       A much more accessible tradition than dancing around a May pole, darlings!!!!!!!!!!  And with the kind of brilliant lyrics you just don't hear anymore, and they certainly don't write!

                                       This month is filled with so many anniversaries, loves!  And it marks the halfway point since my last birthday (that does not happen till the 18th!!!!!!!)  so who would think we would be nearing that, already!!!!!!!!!!!!  The March of Time, loves!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                           But wishing all my girls out there a happy, floral filled May!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                           "The birds and bees with all of their vast, amorous past, gaze at the human race, aghast!"

                                               How much better can that get?  Unless you add Julie's then soaring voice!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                 Happy May, dolls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!