DIVA TALK: We Can Be Kind

Hello, diva lovers. By this time, there’s probably not much for me to add to the commentary about the horrific tragedies that hit our country a week ago Tuesday. It is very heartwarming to see how people have banded together, not only in this great city, but in the entire country. I’ve received several moving e-mails from friends and diva lovers around the world, and several have asked what they can do to help. If you’ve already donated to the Red Cross, why not come to New York and see a show? The theatre industry is really hurting at the moment, and we need you, wherever you are, to come and see our shows. . . Music is so much a part of my life, and two songs have been running through my mind since last week’s events. I thought I’d start the column with one, Irving Berlin’s salute to America, and end with the other, David Friedman’s anthem of human kindness.

“God Bless America” by Irving Berlin

While the storm clouds gather far across the sea,
Let us swear allegiance to a land that's free,
Let us all be grateful for a land so fair,
As we raise our voices in a solemn prayer:

God Bless America.
Land that I love
Stand beside her, and guide her
Thru the night with a light from above.
From the mountains, to the prairies,
To the oceans, white with foam
God bless America
My home sweet home.

God Bless America,
Land that I love
Stand beside her,
And guide her,
Through the night
With the light from above,
From the mountains,
To the prairies,
To the ocean,
White with foam,
God bless America,
My home sweet home.
God bless America,
My home sweet home.
WORTHY BENEFIT
The Storefront will present an evening entitled “Arise!” this Monday, Sept. 24 at the Metro Baptist Church to benefit the World Trade Center Relief Fund. Scheduled to begin at 8 PM, you can expect to see a host of performers including two of my favorite ladies, Anne Runolfsson and Alison Fraser, as well as Amanda Green, Natalie Douglas, Robin Lyon, Karen Mack, Andrey Lavine, James Beaman, John Bucchino, David Friedman, David Gurland, Michael Holland, David Sabella, Charles Cermele and Stephen Schwartz. There is a suggested donation of $20 -- pay more if you can, less if you must -- when you enter the church, which is located at 410 W. 40th Street at 9th Avenue.

DIVAS FROM DRG
DRG has recently released two CDs from icons of the stage and screen, the late Judy Holliday and Marilyn Monroe. Holliday, who starred in Born Yesterday and Bells Are Ringing, can be heard on “Trouble Is a Man,” a 14-track disc that features such songs as “I Got Lost in His Arms,” What’ll I Do,” “Lonely Town” and “The Party’s Over.” Although Holliday may not have possessed the greatest pipes in the business, there is a directness about her singing that goes straight to the heart -- just listen to her version of “Lonely Town,” and see what I mean. In fact, the actress brings a warmth and emotional texture to her singing that is quite moving. Monroe’s 16-track collection includes her signature tune, “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend,” as well as “Heat Wave,” “Do It Again,” “My Heart Belongs to Daddy” and “(This Is) A Fine Romance.” The Monroe disc also boasts an eight-page booklet of notes and rare photos as well as a recording of her singing “Happy Birthday” to President Kennedy.

IN OTHER NEWS Due to the recent tragedies, The Broadway Flea Market & Grand Auction to benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS has been rescheduled for Sunday, Sept. 30 from 10 AM to 7 PM. A portion of this year’s proceeds will also benefit The Twin Towers Fund, which was created to address the financial needs of the families of those who lost loved ones in the attacks on this city. BC/EFA has already donated $50,000 to this Fund . . . Tony winner Donna McKechnie will return to the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, N.J., on Oct. 2 to perform her one-woman show Inside the Music. Call (973) 376-4343 for tickets . . . And, Lea DeLaria of Rocky Horror Show and On the Town fame will return to Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater on Nov. 2-4, 9-11 and 16-18. The Tony-nominated actress/singer will perform tunes from her new jazz CD, “Play It Cool.” . . . From Oct. 16 through Nov. 3, veteran singer Margaret Whiting will team with her young jazz protégé, Paul Bernhardt, for a new show entitled “On Second Thought” at Arci’s Place in NYC. The duo will perform songs from the Great American Songbook, including such works as “Day In, Day Out,” “Two of a Kind” and “Hit the Road to Dreamland.” The show will play Tuesday through Thursdays at 9 PM and Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:30 and 11 PM. Call (212) 532-4370 for reservations . . . I must admit I was a bit surprised to learn that Susan Lucci, who stepped in for Bernadette Peters during a vacation from Annie Get Your Gun, will be making her cabaret debut at Feinstein’s at the Regency from Oct. 2 through Oct. 13. Reservations can be made by calling (212) 339-4095; The Regency is located at Park Avenue at 61st Street . . . Add a few more dates to Linda Eder’s ever-growing concert schedule: Jan. 26, 2002 at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, FL, (561) 297-3737; Feb. 15-17 with the Houston Symphony at Jones Hall in Houston, TX, (713) 224-7575; March 22 at University of Nevada’s Artemus W. Ham Concert Hall in Las Vegas, NV, (702) 895-2787; and April 5-6 at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas, TX . . . Diva lovers will have a “golden” opportunity this Monday tonight, Sept. 24, to see Annie Golden, star of Broadway’s The Full Monty, perform her original rock-and-roll songs. Golden will take to the stage at CBGB’s (315 Bowery at Bleecker) at 10 PM; reservations can be made by calling (212) 982-4052.

QUOTABLE QUOTES

Patti LuPone humorously discusses her recent stay in San Francisco, where she performed Sweeney Todd in Concert:
“Should you ever go to San Francisco hit the Tonga Room in the Fairmont Hotel. It's the only one left of its kind. I say no more. I had great fun with Steve Sondheim who on closing night introduced me to the man who nailed my coffin shut in Sunset Boulevard. The one, the only Frank Rich. I did not pull a Sylvia Miles (she dumped a plate of spaghetti on John Simon's head). Instead I bought him and his lovely wife Alex Blue Hawaiians. Funny, what time and two Blue Hawaiians can do. He's quite charming and his wife is very pretty. I can't say I felt all together comfortable, but I was proud of myself for remaining relaxed.”

Terry Byrne reviews Maureen McGovern’s performance in Letters from ‘Nam (Boston Herald):
“In addition to the six soldiers, we also meet Billy Bridges' mother, played by legendary singer Maureen McGovern. McGovern, who exhibits enormous acting skills as well as stunning vocal power, frames the piece with visits to her son's name on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. These scenes, taken directly from a mother's letters, are incredibly moving, perhaps because director Ben Levit allows them to be abstract moments, not tied in to a story line that never gels.”

David Friedman’s “We Can Be Kind”

So many things we can’t control,
So many hurts that happen every day.
So many heartaches that pierce the soul
So much pain that won’t ever go away.

How do we make it better?
How do we make it through?
What can we do when there’s nothing we can do?

We can be kind.
We can take care of each other.
We can remember that deep down inside we all need the same thing.
And maybe we’ll find
If we are there for each other,
that together we’ll weather whatever tomorrow may bring.

Nobody really wants to fight.
Nobody really wants to go to war.
If everyone wants to make things right.
Then what are we always fighting for?
Does nobody want to see it?
Does nobody understand?
The power to heal is right here in our hands.

We can be kind.
We can take care of each other.
We can remember that deep down inside we all need the same thing.
And maybe we’ll find
if we are there for each other,
that together we’ll weather whatever tomorrow may bring.

And it’s not enough to talk about it.
It’s not enough to sing a song.
We must walk the walk about it.
You and I, do or die,
We’ve got to try to get along.

REMINDERS:

BETTY BUCKLEY
That Tony-winning dynamo, Betty Buckley, has just released a new slate of concert performances, which follows:

September 29 at Centre East in Skokie, IL
October 6 at the McCarter Theatre in Princeton, NJ (with Michael Feinstein)
November 10 at the Naperville North Central College Performing Arts Center in Naperville, IL (with Michael Feinstein)
November 14-18 at the Mohegan Sun Cabaret in Uncasville, CT
November 24 at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, NJ (with Michael Feinstein)
December 6 at Abravenal Hall with the Utah Symphony in Salt Lake City, UT (Xmas program)
December 7 at the Ellen Eccles Theatre in Logan, UT
December 27 at the Verizon Regional Performing Arts Center in Philadelphia, PA (with Michael Feinstein)
January 4 & 5, 2002 at the Bushnell Auditorium in Hartford, CT
March 15 & 16, 2002 with the North Carolina Symphony in Raleigh, NC
March 30 at the McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert, CA

BARBARA COOK
Sept. 25 at the Papermill Playhouse in Millburn, NJ
Oct. 9-14 at the Shubert Theatre in New Haven, CT
April 12 and 13 with Marilyn Horne at Michigan State University’s Warton Center in MI
April 26 at Symphony Hall in Boston, MA
June 5-9 and June 12-16 at the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theatre in Washington, DC LINDA EDER
Eder in concert:
Sept. 27 at the Arts Center at Iowa Western Community College in Council Sept. 14 at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia, PA, (215) 893-1999
Sept. 27 at the Arts Center at Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs, IA (712-388-7140)
Sept. 29 at the Eisenhower Hall Theatre at West Point, (845) 938-4159
Oct. 14 at the University of Texas at Austin’s Bass Concert Hall in Austin, TX
Oct. 19 and 20 at the Atlanta Symphony Hall, go to www.atlantasymphony.org
Nov. 3 at the Youngstown Symphony Center in Youngstown, OH, (330) 744 4269
Nov. 16 and 17 at Jacobs Symphony Hall in Jacksonville, FL, (877) 662 6731
Dec. 1 at the State Theatre in Easton, PA (610-252-3132)
Dec. 5 at the Papermill Playhouse in Millburn, NJ, (973) 376-4343
Dec. 11 at Symphony Hall in Boston, MA, (617) 266-1492
Dec. 14 and 15 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, (800) 444-1324

PATTI LuPONE
The Tony and Olivier Award-winning actress has also just released a whole new slew of concert dates, which follow:

October 10 at Symphony Hall in Boston, MA (“Matters of the Heart”)
February 9, 2002 at the Tilles Center with the Long Island Philharmonic (“Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda”)
February 22-23, 2002 at the Kleinhans Music Hall in Buffalo, NY with the Buffalo Philharmonic (“Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda”)

February 28 at Carnegie Hall in New York, NY (“Coulda Woulda Shoulda”)

BERNADETTE PETERS
Oct. 13 at CSU in Bakersfield
Oct. 19-21 at the Powell Symphony Hall in St. Louis
Oct. 24 at the NJPAC in Newark
Oct. 26 at the Roy Thompson Hall in Toronto, Canada
Nov. 3 at the Keneseth Israel Hall in Philadelphia
Nov. 21-25 at the Orpheum Theatre in San Francisco
Jan. 4, 2002 at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater
Jan. 6 at the Barbara Mann Hall in Ft. Myers
Jan. 7 at Van Wezel Hall in Sarasota
Jan. 9 at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach
Jan. 10 at the City Center in Coral Springs
Apr. 5-6 at the OCPAC in Costa Mesa

Well, that’s all for now. Happy diva-watching!

By Andrew Gans

PLAYBILL SITES

CONTACT PLAYBILL

FOLLOW PLAYBILL NOW