Hilary Knight's Broadway

From Vanity Fair!

Moses Moses

(tt) It being Easter they have been playing the Cecil B de Mille 1959 "Ten Commandments" which I first saw in England when I was 12.  The scene where the dear old  lady oiling the pyramid stones nearly gets squashed until gallant Moses cuts her tangled garments free gave me nightmares for weeks.

 I would like to encourage you to see it and here is one of my favourite bits for excellent dialogue which I am sure captures the way everyone talked in those biblical days.

Nefertiri, played with sultry whisky-breathed ease by the delicious Anne Baxter, tries to rekindle a long lost passion wiith the now god charged Moses, who is  dragged into semi- life by Charlton Heston. Mr H seems to have actually been possessed by the potency of his part and probably walked three feet above the sands in his own mind.

  NEFFY: Oh, Moses, Moses.

Why, of all men, did I fall in love with

a prince of fools? Why must you deny

me and yourself?

MOSEY:  Because I am

bound to a God and to a people and

to a shepherd girl.

NEFFY:  A shepherd girl. Does she... grate garlic on her skin?

Or is it soft... as mine?

Are her lips chafed and dry as the desert sand,

or are they moist and red like a pomegranate?

Is it the fragrance of myrrh that scents her hair...

or is it the odor of sheep?

I think the sheep wins. It hasn't any lines.

                 

Another Frank Gehry triumph

On the corner of 18th St and 11th Ave and opposite the Chelsea Piers is this sensational glass iceberg, headquarters of IAC

And here she is after dark

Then onto the M14 and home to our little brick box!

Family Matters

The Priscilla cast were asked to appear at a gala fund raiser for the Family Equality Council which lobbies federally, statewide and locally for the legalisation and recognition of gay, lesbian and transgender parenting and adoption. Among the speakers were Mary Keane,a single gay woman and her family of adopted children, Jennifer Christer

pictured right and Nick Scandalios left who is also a "Priscilla" producer and proud gay parent. Speaker of the Council of the City of New York,Christine Quinn gave a stirring address and the hit of the night was Zach Wahls whose testimony at an Iowan hearing during which he spoke about being raised by lesbian parents became a viral Youtube sensation. If you haven't seen it DO! That's Zach below

Here are some moments of the evening at Chelsea Piers.. the very room that was festooned with camp for the "Priscilla" opening night party

 

Rosie O.  Sheldon and C David

Kyle and Nick from the show

Ashley and Stacey

Audra M. taking in the view

Little Ashton ( one of the Benjies) with his adorable mum,Chrissy

Sheldon,Will and Nick who all spoke wonderfully and then sang "We Belong" while we all dribbled and sniffed onto what had been plates of  wicked chocolate ice cream.

They raised $200,000

forced into Spring clobber

(tt)  Sheldon made me go out and buy a new suit for occasions.   So I went to Loehemans via spring filled 12th St and 13th sts

Sweet little Salam restaurant to which we will probably never go due to Sheldon's aversion to Middle Eastern tucker.

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And here is what I ended up like

What God sees

 (tt) Two views from the secret floor of a secret location on Central Park West  where I was doing some secret assisting on a secret project with a secret Broadway star!!

seance on a wet afternoon on a wet afternoon

(tt)   This new Stephen Shwartz opera was very engaging and often creepily great

There were three standout perfs

Lauren Flanigan

Melody Moore

Kim Josephson

There were odious comparisons to make with "Sweeney Todd", "The Medium: and "Turn of the Screw" but some really glorious music, singing and visuals.

Michael Kepler Meo

Set by Heidi Ettinger