Let's Talk About The TONY Awards!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                             Darlings, it was a bitter and sweet night.  I think the sweetness outweighed the bitterness, but let's start with the worst aspects, and get them out of the way.

                             First, get Ariana De Bose off the TONYS.  I had no idea she had done these three years in a row; I thought it was her second.  Whatever, too much is too much.  Get off the stage, Ariana, you are no longer the flavor of the month, and how long do you think you can coast on your role as Anita?  You ae not Rita Moreno or Chita Rivera.  So, there!

                              The opening number, which extended to the stairs leading up to the David H, Koch Theatre at Lincoln Center, was garish and ugly.  Unimaginatively staged and looking like something out of the last season of "American Horror Story."  I was no fan of "Hell's Kitchen," but when that started to perform is when I felt the show was finally coming to life.    What were they thinking?  And Ariana, you are gone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                   Three people were robbed Sunday night.  The first was Maria Friedman, who solved the 42-year-old 'Merrily ' problem. She should have won for "Best Director Of A Musical."  I mean, Danya Taymor for "The Outsiders?"  Just because she is Julie's niece??????????  And "The Outsiders" as "Best Musical?"  You could hear gasps and jaws dropping when that mistake was announced.  If you think I am going to see it, you are crazy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                       The divine Celia Keenan-Bolger was robbed, too.  Her achingly honest portrayal of Martha in "Mother Play" was the only honest thing about the piece.  Her movements and expressions conveyed a world of pain, difficulty and hurt in a play that deals with hardly the best of mothers.    But then, mothers often get a bum rap in plays.  Celia transcended the material to make this something of her own.  She deserved her second TONY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                        And so did Lindsay Mendez.  How can one NOT award the third of the 'Merrily' trio?  To dismiss her is to dismiss the chemistry each bought to the characters and the performance, which helped the show immensely.  I am not sure 'Merrily' would have succeeded half as well without this extraordinary cast.

                                           All right, those are my grievances.  Now for my favorites.

                                                                            

                         Jeremy Strong in "An Enemy Of The People--" The production should have won "Best Revival Of A Play."  But Jeremy Strong's performance was too perfect to be ignored--impassioned, heated, and HOT!!!!!!!!!!!!  Yes, Michael Imperioli should have been nominated too, and seeing them go at each other was a theatrical delight, but it was Mr. Strong's  superb emotional delineation that made the evening for anyone who saw this production.

                        As far as I am concerned the evening was a triumph for 'Merrily We Roll Along."  Having seen the original 1981 production, and recognizing, with its beautiful score, the potential to be something more than what it was paid off, and I am glad I lived long enough to see it.  Of course, "Old Friends" was preformed--pity a sound problem almost ruined it--but then I did say it was the most upbeat song of the show.  And when the show won "Best Revival Of A Musical," it gave Maria a chance to address the audience, delivering the speech she should have for winning "Best Director Of A Musical." It was sweet vindication for "Merrily We Roll Along."  And it did not stop there.

                                                                   

                          Jonathan Groff deservedly won the TONY for "Best Leading Actor In A Musical," for his superb humanization of the flawed Franklin Shepard, in "Merrily We Roll Along.  He was touching and adorable, and his speech had me in tears.  Heartfelt, and giving, just as gives his all to the show each night.  How I would have loved to have seen the performance the first night after the TONYS.  It must have been so UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                                        

                      If anyone ran off with the evening, it was Daniel Radcliffe.  I loved when Ben Platt called out "Charley Kringas himself," because for this generation Radcliffe will define the role.  Adorable in his own right, the chemistry between he and Jonathan Groff was just so precious and real; it made their wins an inevitability.  And Radcliffe's rendition of "Good Thing Going" was the best I have heard, so haunting and heartbreaking.  I think the entire community was cheering for Daniel Radcliffe, and I am so happy he won.

                        As for the rest, only three shows I thought had potential--"Illinoise," "Water For Elephants," and "SUFFS."  But who knows how long they will play?

                         I was so happy the revival of "Cabaret" got shut out.  Of course, now it is called "Cabaret At The Kit Kat Club," but it should really be the "Clit Kat Club," as lesbians are thronging to it.  But when that group has run its course, will it still be running?  No.  Eddie Redmayne's performance is so overdone; this is a show about understatement, which the production lacks altogether.  The best thing that could have been done was to place Bebe Neuwirth center, and have her sing the show's most heartbreaking song, "What Would You Do?"  It would have been more impacting than the tried and true "Wilkommen."

                              There you have my wrap on The 2024 TONY Awards.  Who knows what we are in for next year?  Will Audra win a seventh TONY for "Gypsy."  We shall see!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                               But does she have the voice to pull it off?

                               Happy theatergoing, darlings!  Dig deep into those pockets!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                          

Darlings, Which Cecil Beaton Gown Should I Wear To The TONYS????????????????????????????

                                                                                

                                       For me, girls, it comes down to the red or blue gown in the photo above.  Both suit my skin tones and would look good on me.  Of course, anyone would look in something by Cecil Beaton, even if Beaton himself did not think so!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  

                                         If the "Coco" dress was longer, I would go with that, but unfortunately Katherine Hepburn wanted to show her legs, which were not too bad, considering she was in her sixties when she did the show.

                                        Think about your wardrobe tonight, darlings, even if you are just sitting in front of your television set!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!                                                          

It's TONY Awards Day, Girls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And Here Are My Faves!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                          Not only should the following win, but they had also damn well better!   

                          Here we go--

                             "Merrily We Roll Along--Nominated for seven TONY Awards, this should win five.  This year has marked justice for 'Merrily' and has vindicated all of us who had faith in the show, since 1981. It SHOULD win "Best Revival Of A Musical," "Best Leading Actor In A Musical, Jonathan Groff," Best Featured Actor In A Musical, Daniel Radcliffe," and Maria Friedman as "Best Director Of A Musical."  And Lindsay Mendez, to complete the trio, should damn well win over that bitch from "Hell's Kitchen!" This trio was so adorable and believable.  Jonathan Groff is a brilliant actor/singer and found a way to actually humanize Franklin Shepard as no other actor has.  Daniel Radcliffe is cute and adorable, but when he sang "Good Thing Going," it just broke my heart.  I have never been as moved by anyone's rendition of that song as I was by his.  And Lindsay Mendez was something I thought impossible to find--the equal to Ann Morrison's Mary Flynn.  I knew from the start Lindsay would be perfect.  When she sang "Help me stop remembering then," in "Like It Was," oh, my God!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   This evening should belong to 'Merrily,' and I know all lovers of the show out there, will agree with me!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                                           

                            Celia Keenan-Bolger, in "Mother's Play--" She SHOULD be the winner of "Best Featured Actress In A Play."  Good as Jessica and Jim were, Celia walked off with the show.  But doesn't she always?  I mean, look at her; even from this photo one can detect acting at its most brilliant. What technique!  And her gifted ability to morph into any age or character is unequalled by anyone.  Not that I would, but were Celia not to win, it would be enough to make me throw something at the television set.  Go, Celia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                                      

                       "An Enemy Of The People--" Without question, Amy Herzog's redo of Ibsen's work should win "Best Revival Of A Play."  I mean, even among ardent theatergoers, how many know it?  And will it get revived again in our lifetimes?  Probably not, but if so, it will not be as definitive as this production.  I mean, back in the Eighties, at the same theater--Circle In The Square--I saw a brilliant revival of "John Gabriel Borkman," with E. G. Marshall, Ireme Worth, and Rosemary Murphy!!!!!!!  Has it been revived since?  No.  Could a cast like that be assembled today?  Well, if Meryl and Blythe are available!  But otherwise, no!  Same goes for "An Enemy Of The People."

                                                                       

                        Jeremy Strong, in "An Enemy Of The People--" Next to Celia, this was the best dramatic performance of the season, and he SHOULD win "Best Leading Actor In A Play."  His portrayal of Dr. Thomas Stockman is resonant, electric, and, especially in the climactic moments, HOT.  I am telling you, the audience, including myself, were fanning their Playbills.  Even in this shot, Mr. Strong resonates technique and hotness.  This should be his win, and it better be.  Oh, and I just want to say it was a shame Michael Imperioli was not singled out for his fine, understated performance.  His was the Yang to Strong's Ying.

                          There you have it, darlings, my favorites for tonight's TONY Awards.  May these choices win, and God help us if they don't.

                          But before I leave you, I wish to inspire you with a bit of Broadway when it WAS Broadway, to give you something to think about tonight.

                                  Here is "Who's That Woman?" from Sondheim's "Follies" with the 1971 original cast.  Hit it, girls!!!!!!!!!!!!!  When will we ever get a show or cast like this again?????????????  Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                                       

                                                                             

                                                                             

Summer Is Coming, Girls!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And You Certainly Don't Want To Look Like This!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                          Darlings, I cannot emphasize how important it is at this time of year not only to moisturize, but to wear sunscreen.  And my dermatologist would certainly agree.

                           This is why I would never live in a Southern climate.  I would constantly be moisturizing, sun screening, taking a shower and changing my outfit each time I came in from outside during the day.  Think what the laundry load or cleaner's bill would be like!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                           The poor guy pictured above did not use anything and look what happened.   No galas for him.  Even Blanche Du Bois looked better when she was being carted off to the loony bin.  But then, remember all those baths Blanche took?  Believe me, she, and Vivien Leigh herself, would understand what I am saying.  I would bet Bette Davis, Olivia De Havilland, and even Agnes Moorhead followed my regimen during the filming of "Hush....Hush, Sweet Charlotte."

                              It would not hurt, during extremely hot weather, to carry an umbrella, or better yet, a parasol.  But please do not look pretentiously conspicuous. like Anne Heche in Gus Van Sant's abominable redo of "Psycho."

                               Yes, dolls, the heat wave is coming.

                                "The temperature's rising.  It isn't surprising. We certainly can can-can!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

                              

Happy Bloomsday, Everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                            This is quite a day, girls.  It is my niece's birthday, and Father's Day--and my niece was actually born on Father's Day on this day, back in 1968.  It is also TONY Awards Day, and I know all my girls cannot wait for that.

                             Mos importantly, this is Bloomsday.  According to literary lore, this is the day on which the novel "Ulysses" takes place, in 1904, as it follows the central character, Leopold Bloom, on the way home to his wife, Molly.  The story also goes that this is the day on which James Joyce met Nora, the woman who was destined to become has wife--but fortunately things don't end tragically for this Nora, as they did for the one in A.J. Cronin's "The Keys Of The Kingdom."

                                On this day, I usually stand in the middle of my living room, clutching Joyce's text, and reading aloud, as best I can, Molly Bloom's soliloquy.  So, today, girls, I want you all to throw yourselves back on the bed, at some time of day, and cry, as orgiastically as you can, "Yes, I said, yes I said, yes...Yes....YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

                                   I mean, what else is Bloomsday for, dears?????????????????????????

"......In Castle Medina, The Shrieks And Moans Of Innocent Men And Women Echoed From The Depths Of The Dungeon, Where The Dark Deeds Were Done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

                                               Svengoolie presenting "The Pit And The Pendulum, tonight at 8PM, is a big deal, darlings, because, while I am not sure it was Roger Corman's first Technicolor film, it was one of his few.  But then, my favorite will always be "It Conquered The World," with our beloved "Cucumbo."

                                                The story, vastly re-arranged from Poe, centers on Nicholas, a little boy who witnesses something awful--the death of his mother and uncle, by a pendulous weapon, at the hands of his own father!!!!!!!!!!!  Later, Nicholas grows up, and goes mad, convinced he is his own father!  What will happen then?

                                                    Girls, wait till you see the shot of Barbara Steele standing near the Iron Maiden in the castle's basement torture chamber.  Torture was never so colorful, or so fun!

                                                       After her sensational performance the year before, in Mario Bava's masterpiece, "Black Sunday," Barbara Steele was flown to America, where they tried to make a reigning horror star out of her, starting with this 1961 film.  But Steele had strong convictions and did not want to be pigeonholed.  I mean, she did appear in Fellini's 1963 "81/2."

                                                        Technicolor, Vincent and Barbara going at each other, it should be a fun filled night, and you won't want to miss it.  Everyone in this house will be watching.

                                                         Somehow, this is just perfect, the night before The TONY Awards!

                                     Go, Barbara, Go!  This is what I will be like if my TONY faves do not win tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                     

You Won't Believe What We Did, Darlings......For Ulterior Reasons!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                         Last year I was unable to do this, because I had a doctor's appointment.  This year, as last, someone at Our Lady Of Angels Church had requested a mass to be said on this day for Donald J. Trump, which is his birthday.  He turns 78.

                          Well, golly, gee.  Who is the right-wing extremist nut that requested this mass two years in a row, and who knows how many before?  It is certainly not Trump; if he walked into a church, it would burn him to death, like the witches in Europe.

                              I would like to give the requestee a piece of my mind.  The nerve of having a mass said for the world's most inhumane, narcissistic, intellectually stupid, and ultimately evil man!!!!!!!! What is next?  A mass for Hitler?  I can see it coming.

                               It says a lot about the attitude of this church and its congregation, which is why I only go in the Summer, when St. Andrew is on hiatus.

                                 Yet, at the mass this morning, it was not what I expected. No one wearing MAGA hats, no T-shirts.  The man doing the reading I would bet was the requestee, but there were a few older guys in the back who might have been responsible; it was definitely a man who did this.

                                   Well, if a mass can be said for Trump, why not Sister Camille D'Arienzo?  But her birthday is October, so it would be done at St. Andrew, where I recently had a mass said for my late friend, Robert Steven Collins.

                                      I wonder how many, if any other churches, say a mass for Trump?  I bet St. Andrew would not.

                                      I will go to this church for myself and my own satisfaction, but I will not endorse it.  The congregation is too right-wing.

                                       Oh, my God, in front of us there was this mother and daughter.  The mother sat far from the daughter in the pew row, so you know there is a story there.  The daughter was dressed in a decent black, white dotted summer dress with sandals, but the image she projected--with a loud voice --was Miss I Am Holier Than Thou Spinster.  The way she arched her back in prayer, like she was trying to be Jennifer Jones in "The Song Of Bernadette."

                                          I just know these two are Trumpers.  The daughter, for sure.  She is of a type; I can tell you that.  The type I never want to see again.

                                           Don't say a mass for Trump!  Dump him!  He is garbage!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!