Gossip Central

Sandra Bernhard Celebrates Ten Years of Mayhem & Madness at Joe’s Pub

 

“Welcome to the Kremlin West!”

Aglitter in a sequined sheath, Sandra Bernhard took the Joe’s Pub stage like a bat outta hell, that is a rock goddess, belting Bobby Womack’s “Across 110 Street,” backed by her first-rate Sandy Squad Band. On this, her tenth anniversary celebration doing New Year’s at this venerable Village venue, she does not disappoint, featuring fresh snark and keeping it true. Taking a break from filming “Pose,” (--oops, “did I drop Pose. That’s so unlike me.” Bat bat bat.), she tips her hat to the queens Olivia Coleman, Nancy Pelosi, and Nicole Wallace. Mashing up the Zeitgeist, she reveals our inner angst over the ecology, the president, Walmart, Blue Apron. The passing of Barney’s had her rushing back to Mount Sinai for further tests! Oh, she’s well connected and drops names like gumdrops: Barbara Streisand, Chrissie Hynde, Carole King, Emma Stone, Debbie Harry, Julianne Moore—as if we too know these people, and would be there if they were having a holiday party—just saying. That should be our biggest worry!

Is This a Room at the Vineyard Theater: Arresting Reality

No wonder the whistleblower won’t reveal him/herself. You know, the one who called out the infamous quid pro quo presidential phone call with Ukraine. See Is This a Room at the Vineyard Theater, a transcript made into a riveting drama, to see how those who cross the current American regime are treated. Perhaps you already know the name Reality Winner, know that this Air Force vet is incarcerated without actually having been accused of leaking sensitive material to the media regarding the Russian interference in the 2016 election. She, in her mid-20’s, an animal lover who learned Farsi so she could help women in Afghanistan, is only thought to have done so. The play, conceived and directed by Tina Satter, takes place on Winner’s doorstep in Augusta, Georgia as she is confronted by FBI agents, and is a literal transcript, redaction included, of what happened including the removal of her dog and cat, and the placement of recently bought groceries into her fridge. Talk about chill. All the more because it is true.

Cats: The World Premiere: T. S. Eliot, Can You Hear Jennifer Hudson?

The latest entry into the Oscar race is Cats, a feature adaptation of the now iconic Andrew Lloyd Weber musical based on T. S. Eliot. I must mention “The Wasteland” poet because at no time during the state of the art premiere this week at Alice Tully Hall did anyone acknowledge this bona fide cred. Well, the musical is what its audience calls for: spectacularly beautiful to look at, with exceptional voices rendering the musical’s songs --or song. As one wag put it, I have never seen a whole feature devoted to one tune. That song, “Memories,” sticks in the craw, grating in its familiarity and cliché, but Jennifer Hudson as the ousted Grizabella, manages to give it new oomph. It soars.

Robert DeNiro Praises Jane Rosenthal at the Muse Awards: New York Women in Film and Television Celebrate Game Changers

When a performer as dynamic as Gloria Estefan claims to be shy, as she told the packed ballroom at the midtown Hilton for New York Women in Film and Television’s Muse Awards this week, you wonder what life experiences had an impact. Her grandmother, an entrepreneur when she came to America from Cuba at the age of 57, had to push her toward her stellar career in music, she told the room of documentarians, actors, and film world visionaries. Her mother had to hold the fort when her father was imprisoned. These revelations are de rigeuer for Muse awardees: from Harriet director Kasi Lemmons to Caroline’s Comedy Club’s Caroline Hirsch who said, “From my childhood in Brooklyn, I was groomed for a career in retail, working at Gimbel’s for a while.” She never would have imagined the comedy empire she created, from discovering an unknown Jay Leno to her great event, “Stand Up for Heroes,” with comedy’s biggest talents performing for wounded veterans. Year to year, even comedy wannabe Bruce Springsteen gets into the act, telling a joke or two before retreating to his reliable “Born in the U.S.A.” Hirsch gets the “Made in New York” prize.

The Illusionists: Magic of the Holidays at the Neil Simon Theater: If You Can Believe

 “Do you believe in real magic?” Many must, as the line to enter the Neil Simon theater wrapped around the block—whole families-- for a recent performance of The Illusionists. This yearly holiday themed event features a rotating troupe of internationally acclaimed magicians, a crowd pleaser as it cajoles the audience with comedy and Vegas styled pageantry.

Provocatively dubbed “The Trickster,” British Paul Dabek leads off, carrying enormous ribboned boxes down the aisle, challenging a father and daughter plucked from their seats to compete. Winning, the girl gets to wave a wand triggering a gauzy opening number, the magicians parading and introduced, until the Taiwanese “Manipulator,” Eric Chien makes cards and coins appear and disappear.

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Goes on Tour: Move Over Bob Hope

In its third season, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is as charming as ever, in her stride, performing stand up for the troops. In the episode shown at the premiere this week at MoMA, Mrs. Maisel greets a sea of men commenting on never having seen this much khaki before. In the military of course, clothes do not make the man, but for Midge, clad in a cocktail frock with just enough flesh tones visible, camouflage, and other earth tones become the butt of humor as she turns her back to show a bright red bow. A funny bit yes! The four hundred extras laugh uproariously.

The show continues with a Shirelles-type girl group, and a Johnny Mathis-style front man in a shark skin, skin-tight suit. The sound is familiar if you remember 1960, and Nat King Cole and the period hits. As we moved to the after party at the Plaza Hotel, we met composer Curtis Moore and his writing partner Thomas Mizer who crafted this sound for the show. Detail perfection, which we’ve come to expect from this hit, extends to its every aspect! When Amy Sherman-Palladino introduced, calling their work genius, she laughed at her hyperbole—but, we are now witnessing the smooth operations of a well-oiled machine.

Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig Mix It Up at the Gotham Awards

 Traditionally, the IFP Gotham Awards kicks off the film awards season. As celebrations go, this decidedly downtown dinner, sponsored by Robert Hall Winery, brings together New York’s movie making elite while honoring lower budget fare in Oscar-like categories. This year, I wanted to coin a category of my own, Best Speech, to be given to Olivia Wilde for her encomium to her "Richard Jewell" co-star Sam Rockwell, awarded one of Gotham’s four Lifetime Tributes. Wilde referred to the Academy Award winner for last year’s “Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri” as “Sammy.” Yes, he’s definitely a Sammy she said later, lifting the train of her flowing white gown to prevent tripping as guests exited Cipriani Wall Street for the night.