Girls, Ain't It The Truth???????? Our Beauty Makes Everyone Jealous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                          Believe me, darlings, I am sure many of us can relate to this scene from John Waters' 1974 film "Female Trouble."  Jealousy makes people do nasty things.  And for the most absurd reasons.

                          So much of "Female Trouble" reminds me of my adolescence but in a funny way.  Though my Christmases were never like Dawn Davenport's.  I never asked for Cha-Cha-Heels.  The most unusual thing I requested was when I was in my single digits and asked for a drum set for Christmas.  Needless to say, my parents already had a grasp on what they were dealing with, and I did not get it.  I remember, because on Christmas morning, I used to take inventory!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                             Still in childhood "A Christmas Carol" made me turn to Dickens while at age 13 I discovered "The Song Of Bernadette."  And the rest is history!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                             Let this mantra of Dawn and her friends be a mantra for all you girls!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                             Should someone put you down, just tell yourselves the above!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Reason This Date Will Never Be Forgotten!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                   It is unfortunate that Memorial Day fell on this day, but that is just the way the calendar falls.   Today is usually designated as National Missing Children's Day, because 47 years ago, just weeks after my mother's death, the disappearance of Etan Patz in SoHo set the gold standard for future missing child cases.

                                     The story went national fast, with Etan being the most renowned poster child on a milk carton; he started this movement to try and locate missing children.

                                       He would have been 53 today.  But left us all too soon.

                                       The person considered responsible, Pedro Hernandez, remains in custody.  May he do so the rest of his life.

                                        I was already an adult when Etan vanished, but I remembered it as a transitory period in which adults and children alike looked differently upon childhood.

                                        Rest In Peace, Etan.  You are not forgotten!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sixty Years Ago Yesterday, "MAME" Opened On Broadway At The Winter Garden Theatre!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                                                  

                             What a glorious day yesterday was for musical aficionados.  I wonder if there is anyone still alive from the original cast of this show?  Frankie Michaels, who would be close to my age, and is still the youngest performer ever to win a TONY Award, passed away ten years ago on March 30, 2016, at the age of 60.  He should still be alive today.  Unfortunately, like many ex-child actors he fell into a life of alcoholism and profligacy.

                                 Hey, if there are any chorus members of the show out there still alive, I would love to hear from you.

                                     "MAME" remains a sparkling jewel in American Musical Theater.  I was fortunate enough to see a revival of it in 1983; in fact, I saw it three times.  Angela Lansbury was Mame, and Anne Francine was Vera Charles.  Francine was the first replacement for Beatrice Arthur in the original run and was a dead ringer for Arthur in this.  Jane Connell repeated her role as Agnes Gooch and was a pleasure to see and hear.  Also on hand from the original run were Sab Shimono as house servant Ito, John C. Becher and Willard Waterman.  Musical theater stalwart Barbara Lang was Sally Cato.  Unfortunately, Roahi Handwerger--aren't there stage names anymore??????--could not live up to the extraordinary performance of Frankie Michaels.  His young Patrick, which should have been a highlight, was not.  In fact, the last extraordinary child performance on Broadway was in 1977 when Andrea McArdle played Annie!!!!!!!!!!!  Where are the others?  And don't start with me on Sarah Jessica Parker!!!!!!!  Ick!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                          Play your "MAME" cast recordings, darlings, and cherish the splendors and pleasures of a true Musical Theater masterpiece!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                            Girls, before we know it, it will be time to "haul out the holly."

                                                                                 

                                   "MAME" may not be the greatest Overture ever written but is my personal favorite!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Memorial Day, Darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                             So, how are we all getting by this washout of a weekend?

                           David and I spent Saturday and Sunday going in and out of the city seeing shows.  I will post more on those later, but let me say, Saturday we saw "Jerome," which was atrocious.  The compensation was seeing on Sunday the Broadway transfer of "Titanique," which is bigger and even better than it was downtown.  So our weekend is not too bad.

                            Still, this day has emotional importance for me.  On this day in my childhood and adolescence, we would go over to my grandparents and Aunt Katty's house at 702 Nassau Street in North Brunswick, sit on the front porch, and watch as their Memorial Day Parade marched up the street from Livingston Avenue, right past us, and down to the Georges Road mall, I think.  It was an exciting event, followed by a cookout in the backyard, the first of the season.  Rain never mattered because the front porch was constructed to shield us from rain.  As for the cookout, it turned into a n indoor picnic.

                            I have always wanted to have one of those Civil War picnics, where you go to the gravesite of a loved one, spread a blanket, and have picnics by the grave.  Very Southern; but why not up here, darlings????????????????????????

                               Yes, this is the unofficial start of Summer, though you would never know it from outside.  The hot weather we had this past midweek should have been the weekend weather we were meant to have now.  Some things just cannot be contrrolled.

                                   But get out that bunting and be your most patriotic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                  Even if it means watching James Cagney in "Yankee Doodle Dandy!"

                           

Darlings, Join Us Tonight At 8PM, As "Svengoolie" Presents "Doctor Cyclops!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

                                      This 1940 film is rarely shown--I have not seen it since I was a child--and it is so iconic it is mentioned in Roger Corman's 1959 cult classic, "The Wasp Woman."

                                        Albert Dekker, a fine actor who plays the title role, is venturing into the same territory as that of Lionel Barrymore in MGM's 1936 "Devil Doll."  He wished to increase the world's food supply by decreasing the size of people.  Of course, no one wants to face up to reality, like biology, and that once the food supply is exhausted, how are little people to farm and do agriculture when they have not been trained for it????????????

                                          But I am overthinking this.  Just enjoy Dekker's performance--he wants to control the environment by shrinking people--and glamorous Janice Logan, as one of the tinys he toys with!!!!!!!!!!  Girls, if we are ever shrunk, we should all look like Janice Logan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                           This is a film not only better suited to "Svengoolie" but to The Svengoolie Squad.  I hope Nostalgiaferatu appears!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                              And the film won an Oscar for Best Special Visual Effects.  Who knew?

                                              So, do not miss this rarely shown film.  It could be your last chance to see it!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                              I am telling you, girls, even in B films, people dressed better in the 1940's!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                            See what I mean, dolls?????????????????????

                                              

                                           

                                        

Girls, Let's Have A Nice Discussion About "Rosemary's Baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

                         No matter how many times I read it or see it, I always find something to learn from "Rosemary's Baby."  So, I will share some of those topics with you; keep in mind these are only my interpretation of things, and I am going to proceed in the manner of the story.

                           1.  Was Mr. Nickles a member of the cove?.  Both he and Mrs. Gardenia demonstrate that not everyone at the Bramford is a member of the coven.   Mr. Nickles, wonderfully played by Elisha Cook, Jr. is either a realtor or the community representative of the building.  He is only seen when showing Guy and Rosemary the apartment, and later, when people gather around the dead Terry.  He is not seen during Rosemary's dream sequence--the conception scene--and he is not present when Rosemary comes into the Castavet apartment, carrying that knife.

                          2.  Mrs. Gardenia--".... than merely the intriguing pastime I imagined it to be.  I can no longer associate myself......"   Mrs. Gardenia was a non-practitioner whose friendliness earned the coven's trust, and so she was recruited.  She and Minnie Castevet were good friends; both had herbariums.  But Mrs. Gardenia got in over her head.  She thought the coven's activities was like a parlor game; when she realized that they were for real, she backed out.  Smart.  But since she and Minnie were in and out of each other's apartments, it was easy for Minnie to acquire something of Mrs. Gardenia's.  It is my belief that the writing stopped when Mrs. Gardenia suffered a stroke or coma, thanks to the coven.

                         3.  Terry Gionoffrio--Terry is the most problematic character in "Rosemary's Baby."  I stick with Ira Levin and Roman Polanski's version. wonderfully enacted by Victoria Vetri, that she was a down on her luck drug addict and prostitute.  The encounter in the basement has a touch of irony, because, while extolling to Rosemary the Castevets, she says, "At first, I thought they wanted me for some kind of sex thing."  Actually, they did.  The Castevets made a big mistake in telling Terry what was expected of her, and I am sure when she found out, she wanted out, tried to escape but could not.  Now, was Terry pushed out of the window, or did she jump?  The apartment was unoccupied, and she put a note on the door.  Did Terry write it?  I am sure she did, because through their incantation, the coven put into Terry's head the idea of killing herself.  Now, when someone--hopefully a policeman--first spotted the body, I am sure he laid it out flat, because a jumper would not land on the ground as perfectly as Terry did.   Now, had the Castevets not told Terry, like they did with Rosemary, things might have been different. Then, in 2024, some idiots came up with the idea of making a prequel to "Rosemary's Baby."  Interesting in and of itself, except the creators deviated from Ira Levin.  Terry here is a down and out dancer, felled by an irreparable injury.  She is taken in, conceives, but at some point, the end of the Ira Levin novel is almost recreated.  Terry, like Rosemary, walks into the apartment, now occupied by the coven, and in front of them runs to the window, pushes through and jumps. She is pregnant, so the ch8ld is destroyed.    This completely destroys the point of Terry's story, which was to demonstrate that Satan did not necessarily want some gutter rat, but someone relatively innocent and not quite pure, like Rosemary.  Anyone who watches "Apt. 7A," do not believe a word of it.  Stick to Levin and Roman Polanski.  They make more sense.

                          4.  Minnie Castavet--Ruth Gordon rules!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   Dianne Wiest, forget it!!!!!!!!!!!  But here is the thing about Minnie.  Once Rosemary has given birth, the coven is done with Guy and are now more sympathetic to Rosemary.  Yes, they gaslit her, but if it was not for Guy' s consent, the baby would not have happened, and John Cassavates delivers just enough sleaziness to make Guy's selling his wife's uterus to the coven believable.  What is not known about Minnie is where she comes from, and how she entered in the coven; that is, was she brought up a practicing witch, or only so when she married Roman.? I think somewhere in the novel, Minnie is alluded to having come from the Midwest but that is all we get.  Much more is revealed about Roman, except how he and Minnie met, and was she already practicing or did she enter into it by marriage?   There is no answer here, but it is interesting to conjecture!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                         5.  Doctor Abraham Sapirstein--I really thought it a surprise when it is revealed he belongs to the coven, in spite of his highly regarded reputation.  It is also interesting that he does not live in the building; he is only seen in Minnie and Roman's apartment, not seeming to live at the Bramford.  But he did not charge Rosemary his "fancy schmalzy society prices."

                            6.  Edward "Hutch" Hutchins--No, darlings, this was way before "Starsky And Hutch."  Next to Rosemary and her girlfriends, especially Elise, Hutch, thanks to Maurice Evans' performance, is the most likable character in the story.  He mentors Rosemary, has no idea what a sleaze Guy is, but knows quite a bit about the Bramford.  His mentioning a dead baby being found in the basement in 1959 suggests that the coven tried something before, but it did not work.  Of course, readers/viewers only learn this when discovering what is actually going on.  As for the Trench Sisters, Keith Kennedy and Pearl Ames, I wish Levin had written more about them in the book.  When Hutch disappears, it is very similar to Mrs. Gardenia.  And more tragic, for having gotten to know and like him.

                         7.  The Ending-- This might be the most controversial topic of all.  People have different interpretations--my David feels when Rosemary finally connects with the baby she loses her sanity.  I disagree.  I think Rosemary's maternal instincts kick in, and, as the mother of the presumed child of Satan, she has a power position she did not have before.  Guy at this point is expendable; he will go to California, achieve some fame, but at some point, have an on-set accident.  Rosemary, as the venerated mother of the child, will always be watched over and taken care of, as will the child.  As Roman tells her, "You don't have to join."

                          Darlings, what a nice discussion we have had about "Rosemary's Baby."  I leave you with much to think about.

                          And keep an eye on how Ruth Gordon twirls that fork in her mouth as she eats the cake!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                        

                          

"Beaches" On Broadway Is All Washed Up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                           It's not like I was not expecting it, darlings, but, really, this soon???????????

                           "Beaches," the first casualty of the TONY season, because it got no nominations, will close this Sunday, May 24, a special day in Musical Theater history because, sixty years ago on that day, "MAME" opened at the Winter Garden!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                               When a show closes, the ones I feel most sympathy toward are the actors.  Eight shows a week they have to present this material, even if it is a piece of crap!  The ones I really blame ae the composer and lyricist of this score.  What in hell were they thinking?  And Lonny Price?????????  Hey, Lonny, couldn't you have gotten a better composer-lyricist team, or one singular, to write a better score, which this show not only deserved but desperately needed?  If "Beaches" had had a good score, it might have become a cult classic among Theater Queens, then it might have lived on in memory and respectability.  Remember 'Merrily' and "RAGS," Lonny???????????????????

                                 So if anyone out there wants to see "Beaches"--God help you, if you do--there is only till this Sunday to do so.  Careers are ruined with this show; it will not take its leads anywhere, nor the superb children who were even better than the leads!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                               But remember, folks, what Bette Davis as Baby Jane Hudson said, "You can lose everything, but you can never lose your talent."

                                  So, how come I am not appearing on Broadway?????????????????