We Just Love Flaco!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                           Flaco is the lovable owl who is quickly becoming the most cosmopolitan New Yorker.

                          He escaped from his home in the Central Park Zoo--in April, maybe? -- and since he has become quite the urban dweller.  He has been to the park, then the Upper West Side, the Upper West Side, and even downtown to the East Village.  Wonder if he was trying to meet ANNA?

                           The animal caretakers have been afraid Flaco would dine on a rabid rat, but so far, he seems to be thriving.  My theory is that Flaco has class. He goes to the dumpsters of only the highest of high-end restaurants and dines on luxurious gourmet food.  And he has access to water, so he won't get dehydrated.

                               You just have to hand it to Flaco.  He does not miss a trick and has become a real survivor of Manhattan.  Who knows?  Maybe he will venture to the outer boroughs.

                                As for returning to captivity?  I don't think Flaco gives a.......hoot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving, Darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                           Girls, I would be terribly amiss if I did not wish everyone on here a very happy Thanksgiving.  Notice the picture above, which describes how I feel about this holiday and all of you.

                           My apologies for not being on here in a while, but there were things going on, which I will post eventually, as I will my fabulous dream birthday weekend, which David gave me as the greatest of gifts.

                             But the real gift, darlings, is that we are all here, still, and can enjoy a fabulous day because we have our health and our faculties.

                              Whether it is turkey or tortellini, enjoy your Thanksgiving meal, and cherish the memories of those you spend it with.

                               But how I long for the days when TV would show Laurel and Hardy's "March Of The Wooden Soldiers."  I just loved the Boogiemen in Boogieland!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                 So, the Holiday Season is upon us, girls!  Be careful and be safe!

                                 Happy, Happy to all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Girls, This Poster Says It All!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                        Isn't this just cheesy looking, darlings?

                                        Tonight "Svengoolie" is showing the 1977 AIP classic "Empire Of The Ants."  Wait till you see how cheesy these ants are.  For the real thing, go back 1954's "THEM!," made by Warner Bros.

                                          But it will be fun to watch Joan Collins, playing an overaged Julia Adams, get menaced by these ants.  As the poster says, "It's no picnic!," and that might equally apply to watching the film.  So, forewarned, girls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                            If you are in a different mood, Channel 13 is showing the 1937 Selznick produced, Technicolor version of "A Star Is Born," with Frederic March and Janet Gaynor. It pales beside the Garland version, but it has lush Technicolor and provides an interesting look at the idealization of early Hollywood.  And look for Clara Blandick, forever Auntie Em, in some early scenes.

                                              The choice is your, girls!  I just send out the info!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I Made It, Girls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The Last Year Of My Sixties!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 24, 885 Days On Earth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                            Yes, darlings, today we end Musical Theater Week with its culmination--my birthday!

                             How did I get to age 69 so fast?  That means next year I turn......oh, God, I am old!!!!!!!!!!!

                             But I don't feel old, and I share this day with two great Collines--the late Dorothy, who originated Sally in "Follies," back in 1971, and my friend, Steve, a star in his own right, and a fighter still battling and coming out strong!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                               To think my mother had no idea what she was in for, on this day, being I was a preemie.  But then her water broke, and oops! the show was on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                               I did not arrive till 11;45 PM, but as today is already the 18th I count myself as 69.  Thanks to all on here who got me through this year.  But most of all, my beloved David, who keeps me going.

                                 As well as Sister Camille and all my animal friends!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                Happy Birthday to me, darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday Today To Neva Small!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                     Yes, darlings, and Theater Queens everywhere, Neva Small, who started on Broadway as a child, and became a Musical Theater Legend with her yearning, heartrending rendition of "I Wonder How It Is" in "Henry, Sweet Henry!" turns 71 today.

                                      Can you believe it?  I still think of her as Chava in 1971's film version of "Fiddler On The Roof."

                                       Neva can still sing with heartrending abandon; I wish she would do it more often.

                                        But this is your day, so have it your way, Neva!

                                       "Holy smoke, holy cow!"  Happy Birthday To Neva Small.

                                     This is the song that made Neva a Musical Theater Legend.  She was only 14!

Imagine, Two Such Iconic Shows Opening The Same Night, 22 Years Apart!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

                                                                                     

                              This is a big night in Musical Theater History, darlings!

                             But before getting to that, I have an announcement for the 2023 company of 'Merrily,' now performing nightly at the Hudson Theatre.  Tonight, at the curtain call, it should be acknowledged that you were performing this the same night the original opened.  Two 'Merrilys' on the same date, albeit with a 42-year separation.  I would be honored to share this moment, and I think it should be shared by the company with the audience.

                                 Now, "The Sound Of Music" opened on this night 64 years ago, at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre.  This was just two days before my fifth birthday.  It starred Mary Martin as Maria--the ideal choice, as this was Rodgers And Hammerstein's last musical--Theodore Bikel as Captain Von Trapp, Marion Marlowe as the Baroness, and Kurt Kasznar as Max Detweiler. Patrica Neway played the Mother Superior and won a TONY Award for shaking the chandelier each night, while hitting the final notes of "Climb Ev'ry Mountain," at the end of the first act.  Mary Martin won a TONY Award for playing Maria--Can you believe it, darlings?  She beat out Ethel Merman in "Gypsy!!!!!!!!!!!!"  The Children were played by Laurie Peters (Liesl), William Snowden (Friedrich), Kathy Dunn (Louisa), Joseph Stewart (Kurt), Marilyn Rogers (Brigitta), Mary Susan Locke (Marta), and Evanna Lien (Gretl).

                                    The show paved the way for the iconic 1965 movie, with Julie Andrews doing that opening twirl.  But the film owes all to what started tonight.

                                      As for 'Merrily,' especially now that it is the hit I always knew it was destined to become, well, almost enough has been said.  Except thankfully people persevered with this show, Sondheim especially, until director Maria Friedman got it right.  And the cast is perfect with this trio being the first to equal the original.

                                        So, thank about these two shows at 8PM as the curtain rises on the 2023 'Merrily.' 

                                          And girls, if in your Cast Album collection, take both out, and listen.

                                                             

And A Happy Birthday To Another Musical Theater Legend--Martha Plimpton!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                        Hell, darlings, Martha is a Musical Theater Child, her parents being Shelley Plimpton--the original "Frank Mills" girl in "HAIR," and Keith Carradine, who at some point appeared in the musical with Shelley.  And thus came Martha.

                                          Martha is dramatic and comedic, but to see her at her musical best, look how she walks off with the Philharmonic Concert version of Stephen Sondheim's "Company," back in 2011.  And how she stopped the show with "Zip," in the 2008 Studio 54 revival of "Pal Joey."  I still remember the night I left the theater, after the show, and this gay couple in front of me were raving about Martha, and one said, "In twenty years, there is the next Mama Rose!!!!!!!!!!!!"

                                               Well, Martha, it has been almost 15 years since that remark, so I can tell you I am anticipating, and I hope you have started thinking.

                                                  Martha and Ann Dowd were simply stunning in the teleplay, "Mass."

                                                 Happy Birthday, Martha Plimpton!  You have done so much and have much more to give.  It is your day, so celebrate!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                   Imagine--two Musical Theater Legends born on the same day!!!!!!!!!!!!