Sunday, August 31, 2008

HAIR in Central Park's Delacorte Theatre Friday Night

Friday night-Aug. 20, a bunch of us went to a “be-in” or a “love-in” I suppose…my friend Peter was able to score some tickets for us to one of the hottest tickets in New York currently: The New York Shakespeare Festival’s summer production of HAIR, performed in Central Park at the Delacorte Theatre outside under the stars (or rainclouds as it was). My friend Diane, who accompanied us, exclaimed “oh my Gosh…everybody at work wants to know how you got tickets! It’s really a hot ticket!” Why she knows people from Rich and Famous Tours (www.richandfamoustours.com !)

If you've never seen a show in Central Park...it's definitely "an event." A wonderful setting under the stars (or clouds as it was Friday). I've seen Meryl Streep and many others for FREE in Central Park...one of the last, good, free things in New York City!

At first it appeared as if the evening would be rained out…we were armed with umbrellas and towels…just in case…but after a 20 minute “rain delay” the show proceeded with only occasional light drizzle that popped up during several segments, but not enough to cancel the show. It was such a literal love-in…I kept running into old friends in the audience like Nina Fineman from years ago when she and I were both pages in Rockefeller Center…Nina at NBC Studios and me at Radio City Music Hall next door.

Nina and I begin kibbitzing…she tells me her little sis Carol (once an assistant in P.R. for the Public Theatre, is now working as a film and event producer with our old pal and co-worker, the successful producer Scott Sanders…my gosh, what a small world. Also my old friend Jack was sitting in our exact same row…Jack and I have been trying to get together for lunch for YEARS and there he is..just a few seats away. Jack works for Superman (well, D.C. Comics actually) and he is harder to get in touch with than a super hero. Diane (a HAIR veteran and former flower child from the 1960’s)was thrilled to see old friends of hers sitting just in front of us. My friend Zora was there and, as it turns out, was a veteran of the original Broadway production of HAIR! Who knew!

How is the production? The performances were “fabulous” and that is an understatement—such a wonderful time-capsule peek into the world of hippies, flower-children and 1960’s anti-Vietnam War protests, today relevant because of anti-war political preaching (doesn't every generation have a war they hated?). Everything old is new again it appears. Much of the audience of liberal New Yorkers (obvious when any anti-establishment comments in the show were met by so much foot-stomping and applause it was hard to hear the show). The cast was huge…28 I think…which is big for Broadway or even Off-Broadway.

The lead role of Berger was played by a spot-on Will Swenson, who I saw earlier this year in 110 IN THE SHADE on Broadway with Audra McDonald in a completely different type of role. The lead role of Claude (the hippie who has been drafted and ultimately ends up dying in Vietnam) was played with a sweet innocence and naïve quality by Christopher J. Hanke (a veteran of Broadway’s RENT)... filling in for Jonathan Groff who opened the show but rumors were flying he left to make a movie. There were 20 or 30 songs…mostly forgettable, but the hit songs are still there…Good Morning Starshine, Age of Aquarius, Let the Sun Shine In as well as the title song.

The kids in the cast had great voices and performed with ultimate exuberance which is essential because HAIR is not really a good show. It’s a landmark musical for many reasons…its songs, its themes of anti-establishment values, Vietnam War, sexuality, nudity and flower children were ground-breaking in the 1960s, especially for mainstream Broadway audiences used to MY FAIR LADY, OKLAHOMA and HELLO DOLLY (These audiences were probably shocked at performers in a Broadway show hurling abuse at their suburban way of life, but they still celebrated the show’s dated virtues of flower-power).

But today we can see HAIR for what it is…and for what it is NOT. It's not really a good, cohesive show: It’s a series of disjointed skits aimed at attacking and shocking its mainstream 1968 establishment audience. That’s why it’s essential that HAIR is done with really good Broadway talent so it can rise above its flimsy book and dated flower-power political message. HAIR is a total period piece designed to push buttons but quite adorable in its naive tone: Make Love, Not War. Nice idea if the world were a different kinda place. I kept thinking of Winston Churchill's famous paraphrased comment of Voltaire: If you're not liberal when you're young, you have no heart. But if you're not conservative by 40--you have no brain!
For private tours of New York, contact: www.RichAndFamousTours.com

Saturday, August 30, 2008

The Re-Birth of Chelsea's Ladies Mile Historic Department Store District in New York City

Peter Allen said “everything old is new again,” and boy was he right. New York is one of those places that constantly re-invents itself and a good example of that is Chelsea’s LADIES MILE shopping district along Sixth Ave. Many years ago when I began leading personalized tours around the Apple (www.jimdykes.com and public tours: www.RichAndFamousTours.com )- I referred to the stretch of Sixth Avenue from 14th Street to 23rd Street as “The Graveyard of Old Department Stores” because of the huge behemoth buildings once built as a shopping “mecca” and long since deserted since many of the big stores followed “society” uptown or went out of business altogether. Many people don’t realize that years ago this was the “heart and soul” of New York City’s most glamourous shopping district, officially known as “The Ladies Mile” since in those days the bulk of shoppers were ladies, corseted into hoop skirts and bustles, and rushing about under the “El” or elevated train that bustled high above Sixth Avenue since 1869.
Today many of these stores are once again inhabited with modern chains but what were they originally? Here’s a rundown for you:
OLD NAVY (Sixth Ave. & 18th St.)--Originally The Price Brothers store (merged with McCreery’s next door) both of these were very popular stores for Upper Middle Class Shoppers. In LIFE WITH FATHER, there’s a famous chapter where “Mother” opens the family’s first charge account at McCreery’s on Sixth Ave.
THE CONTAINER STORE (Sixth Ave. & 18th)-Classic castiron front remains from the original B. ALTMAN’S, long before it moved up to 34th St. and Fifth Ave. Benjamin Altman was a lifelong bachelor retailer known for his exquisite since of good taste. Hmm. Altman’s team of delivery carriages were known for being lacquered maroon with high-stepping gray horses, with a flower in a holder on every carriage. Mr. Altman was known for being the first retailer in New York to shorten the work week from 70 hours to 50 hours and for being the first retailer to build an employee restroom AND subsidized cafeteria. Altman’s former carriage house down the block is now Metropolitan Pavilion, an event space.
BED, BATH & BEYOND, TJ MAX & FILENE’S BASEMENT (Sixth Ave/ 19th St.)- Originally built as SIEGEL COOPER & Assoc., the largest department store in the world at the time. Known for being the FIRST to offer THE FREE SAMPLE. Waiters would circulate thru the store offering FREE samples of chocolates, various edibles, etc. When one entered thru the Sixth Ave. entrance, you came down a marble staircase (now Filene’s escalators) into a wonderland of a store, with a Statue of Liberty in the center of the store surrounded by an ice cream parlor, decorated in colored lights. On the top of the store was a (now long gone) rooftop café with a view over Ladies Mile. The entire building went up in 8 months and was modeled after the architecture from the 1893 Chicago Exposition. The expression “WHITE ELEPHANT” was coined here. They promised patrons they could obtain ANYthing for them so a Fifth Avenue wag tested them by placing an order for a white elephant. Many months later the store telephoned the gentleman to tell him his white elephant had arrived from Africa…”what should we do with it?”

APEX TECHNICAL SCHOOL BUILDING & BALLYS—Originally known as SIMPSON, CRAWFORD, SIMPSON, the most elegant department store in New York. So elegant, in fact, that they never placed prices on items for fear of insulting their shoppers. It’s a quite elegant Italianate structure that is desperate for a makeover.
THE O’NEIL BUILDING CONDOS- originally Hugh O’Neill Department Store, a bargain store for the masses. O’Neill was another blustery Irishman like R.H. Macy and one was always trying to outdo the other one. O’Neill was a devoted Catholic but he was very open-minded with regard to one’s religion and insisted that his employees take off whatever religious holidays that their religions dictated (with pay).
FED EX, etc. (large buildings at 20th St. on Sixth Ave….east side of street) Originally Cooperman’s, the largest shoe emporium in New York.
Former BARNES & NOBLE SUPERSTORE (now vacant) (21st St.)- Originally ADAMS DRY GOODS- elegant dry goods emporium that featured an elegant garden courtyard interior for dining (still there). Also featured large display windows on the second and third floors for riders to window-shop from the elevated trains that passed up and down Sixth Ave.
STAPLES AND BURLINGTON COAT FACTORY (Sixth Ave. & 22nd St.)- Originally Ehrlich Brothers Dept. Store. Joshua Ehrlich’s daughter Julia married John Phillip Sousa, the “march king”….Ehrlich Brothers became famous for being the first dept. store to have special room where mothers could drop small children while they shopped in peace. It featured a clown and nanny to look after the children. They were also the first store to use “omnibus” type advertising.
Around the corner on 23rd Street, the buildings that once housed F.A.O. Schwarz, Macy’s, Arnold Constable, Lord & Taylor, Stewart’s and more are still standing, but used for different things such as HOME DEPOT.
It appears Peter Allen was RIGHT…everything old IS new again.
--Jim Dykes is a private guide/historian and the founder of Rich and Famous Tours (www.richandfamoustours.com ) a unique “niche” tour that shows off New York from both a historic and “celebrity” angle.

Spotting "Harry Potter" on West 22nd Street in New York City

As readers of this blog on www.RichAndFamousTours.com know, I’m a creature of the grimy streets of New York City, leading Rich and Famous Tours all day and sometimes at night. Well, dear blog readers who are fans of “Harry Potter” or Daniel Radcliffe, you should know that there have been several “street sitings” of Harry/Daniel--all on West 22nd Street near Sixth Avenue. I spotted him once, nonchalantly strolling west, and a couple of friends of mine have reported seeing him—also on West 22nd Street—at various times of day and night. Everyone knows he’s in town for his Broadway debut in September in “Equus” at the Broadhurst Theatre on West 44th Street. These spotting go back to mid-summer, so he’s obviously leased (or bought?) an apartment in the fashionable Chelsea neighborhood around the corner from the Flatiron Building and Ladies Mile, the historic re-born 19th century Department Store District (check my later blog). Someone should tell Mr. Radcliffe that this area is heavily populated by gay boys and an excessive number of gay clubs…but perhaps he knows that?
There also are quite a number of heterosexual celebs in the area …when it comes to socializing with other celebs, someone should tell Daniel (Harry) that West 22nd Street boasts Titanic's Kate Winslet with her kids and husband, director Sam Mendes (more Brits in the ‘hood), as well as Roseanne Cash, daughter of the late Johnny Cash and June Carter of country music fame. My old pal, Broadway diva Donna Murphy has been on 22nd Street for years as well as a playwright friend of mine, and movie star Julianne Moore is not too far away neither is Julia Roberts. Chelsea Clinton is on West 23rd Street in the same building where Desperate Housewife Terri Hatcher keeps her New York boudoir when she’s not in L.A.
For celebrity walks, contact: www.richandfamoustours.com

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

IGLTA New York City Cocktail Party Tonight at Novotel Hotel

Tonight Rich & Famous Tours – www.richandfamoustours.com --attended the IGLTA (International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association) cocktail party held at the Novotel in midtown Manhattan. Every gay person in the Greater New York or Northeast tour/travel industry or everybody that hopes to cash in on the lucrative gay & lesbian tourism market were there tonight. The weather was fabulous…warm and summery with a light breeze and low humidity—a good hair day in other words. The party was held on the Novotel’s fabulous outdoor terrace overlooking Times Square—a choice spot for viewing such events as The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade or the Times Square New Year’s Eve Ceremonies!
I told many of the people who would listen about the interesting, quirky history of the structure of the Novotel New York City hotel-- originally one of many rather ordinary buildings built during the pre-1929 building boom and planned to be a skyscraper. When the market crashed, the builders slapped the roof on top of the building at the seventh floor, and it became just a typical midtown Manhattan office structure for 60 years, until Novotel purchased the building nearly 20 years ago and at long last added a tower to the original seven floors, creating the hotel as we know it. Ahh New York City: always being reinvented by new generations!
We were there representing Rich & Famous Tours of New York City - www.richandfamoustours.com –just swapping business cards and attempting to tell everyone in the New York City tourism industry that there is a FABULOUS new “celebrity tour” in NYC. Who was there? An assortment of hotel managers and concierges, many travel agents, consultants, event planners, p.r. people, gay media reps and a hodge-podge of both domestic and international travel folk.
Attendees included: IGLTA Executive Director John Tanzella (whose office apparently is in Fort Lauderdale, FL), Richard Yaeger, Dir. Of Sales at CTN (Consortium Tours of North America), Richard Krieger, Managing Director of Prideworld Travel, based here in The Big Apple, Keith Hickman, Director of Ziptogaytravel.com, Keith Hickman, Director of Marketing at Travel Impressions, Robert Aaron, Sales & Marketing Director of Empire Hotel Group in New York City (owners of The Lucerne Hotel, The Belvedere (one of my favorites in NYC), the Travel Inn (a favorite with tour groups and travelers with cars because of its FREE PARKING), and others scattered around New York City.
There were reps. from hotels like Emilio Morales, Reservation Manager of the Hotel Newton on the Upper Westside of Manhattan, and Monica Spencer Ramos, Director of Sales at The Lucerne. There were also many reporters from various gay magazines like Genre and various gay and mainstream newspapers. Ketel vodka was a sponsor so it was an open bar, specializing in cosmos and other drinks mixed with Ketel…delicious!

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Memories of Night of 100 Stars

My former teacher Louise Hay (You Can Heal Your Life) believes: “whatever energy we put out, we get back…the universe listens.” I’ve always had celebrity experiences because this is the energy I put out…and consequently these have become part of my tours. Years ago I obtained a job at Radio City Music Hall which led me to work on mega-charity event NIGHT OF 100 STARS and its sequels.
I was assigned to the Green Room which was rather like putting the mouse in charge of the cheese. My job was to keep the celebs happy with flattery and small talk and escort them to/from the stage, trying not to gush or drool on them. Celebs were running around backstage like giggling chorus kids getting pictures and autographs of OTHER celebrities. Radio City only has about 20 dressing rooms, so we were forced to pack them with major names. Most didn’t argue because it was for charity. I recently came across my dressing room assignment sheets and it’s a HOOT to see who we threw in together. Please enjoy reading this sample:
201- Olivia DeHavilland, Bernadette Peters, Linda Lavin, Lana Turner, Bette Davis, Grace Kelly.
211: Dustin Hoffman, John Forsythe, Jeremy Irons, Donny Osmond, Danny Kaye, Sidney Poitier, Robert Preston, Sir Laurence Olivier, Christopher Reeve (before), Vincent Gardenia, Ed Asner and James Earl Jones.
302 was the “glamour room”: Diahann Carroll, Linda Evans, Joan Collins(until the Dynasty gals demanded separate rooms!), Raquel Welch, Ann-Margret, Jacqueline Bisset, Brooke Shields, Jaclyn Smith, Claudia Cardinale, Ellen Burstyn, Priscilla Presley, Susan Lucci, Dyan Cannon, Lynda Carter, Angie Dickinson, Ali MacGraw and Jane Seymour all sitting at tiny makeup tables designed for Rockettes. Next door were sports legends: Don Budge, Howard Cosell, Joe DiMaggio, Hank Aaron.
303: Debbie Allen, Marge Champion, Sandy Duncan, Georgia Engel, Nanette Fabray, Bonnie Franklin, Ginger Rogers, Gwen Verdon, Juliet Prowse, Jane Powell, Chita Rivera and Elaine Joyce.
401: Lucie Arnaz, Marisa Berensen, Carol Channing, Petula Clark, Whoopi Goldberg, Patti LaBelle, Michelle Lee, Dinah Shore, Maureen Stapleton.
207: Dr. Christian Barnard, Walter Cronkite, Barbara Walters, Buzz Aldrin, John Updike, Rosa Parks, Martha Graham, Dr. Linus Pauling, and Dr. Seuss.
702: Anne Baxter, Meredith Baxter Birney, Nell Carter, Tyne Daly, Julie Harris, Kate Jackson, Jennifer O’Neill, Charlotte Rae, Lucille Ball and Carol Burnett.
604: Lloyd Bridges, Charles Bronson, Yul Brynner, Michael Caine, Cab Calloway, Bert Convy, Billy Crystal, Matt Dillon, Richard Dreyfuss, Charles Durning, Bob Fosse, David Frost, Ben Gazzara, Jim Henson, Rock Hudson, Ed Koch, Vincent Price, Jimmy Stewart, Tony Randall.
After this, I worked for many other celebrity-packed events…but none was as much fun as my first: Night of 100 Stars. In future blog items I’ll have more memories from these fabulous events.

Jim Dykes is co-founder of Rich & Famous Tours. www.jimdykes.com & www.richandfamoustours.com