A Year Ago Today

Via The West Side Rag, one year ago today, Central Park was the recipient of 20 inches of snow. Remember that?

(photo: Central Park Conservancy)

Fire and Ice: Prometheus and Zamboni-man

Immediately after my early morning Bergdorf's photo-fun in early December, I continued south on 5th Avenue to see The Tree, sans throngs of Christmas pilgrims. Like the Bethesda Fountain at midnight or Times Square during Hurricane Irene, the enveloping silence during these magical moments of missing frenetic movement allows New York's other, less celebrated personality some breathing-room. Equal and opposite to the crush of happy tourists and the rush of impatient natives, here at the the intersection of art and architecture, Christmas and commerce, man and machine, sometimes the hush of contemplation is the loudest voice.

Note: The NYT just ran a beautiful profile of the man who has done this job with dignity and discipline for 20 years.

On a Clear Day You Can See Forever

"On a Clear Day You Can See Forever" at St. James Theatre, December 15, 2012 

Post by Mondschein

Why?

Why change the focus of the story from Daisy, now David (David Turner) to the psychologist Mark (Harry Connick, Jr.) 

Why hire Mr. Connick to perform on Broadway and not let him do what he does best? Did none of the producers and/or creative team see Pajama Game?  "Hernando's Hideaway" turned that show on its ear, combined with the infused chemistry playing opposite Kelli O'Hara.  We get neither here.

Why not have him accompany Melinda's (Jessie Mueller) numbers, particularly "Ev'ry Night at Seven," among several others of which could have been beefed up to accommodate him.

Two Great Albums by Singer-Songwriters With a Christmasy Song on Them

By West Village Bill

If it were possible, I'd have worn a digital groove in my iPhone listening to the great new albums by Matt Alber and David Mead over and over again.

I really enjoyed Alber's first album, Hide Nothing, and his second, Constant Crows, is a very successful follow-up. It starts off with the fantastic "Velvet Goldmine," whose second verse mentions Christmasy things like letting it snow, tinsel, and angels getting wings. And he sings Who-ish syllables toward the end of the song, after the listener has been swallowed up in gorgeous strings and horns.

Another favorite song from the album is "Brother Moon," a fun and sweet number Matt performs with his brother, Bryce. I had assumed that was who his singing partner was and confirmed it by asking Matt on Facebook. Look at me doing original reporting for this review. :-)

The river in question from the title of the second song on the album isn't named until the last three syllables. Read all about it here, if you're a geography buff. It's the longest river in North America but only the 13th largest in terms of discharge of water because it drains from rather dry parts of the U.S. and Canada.

Other highlights are the beautifully produced "Wallingford" and a fantastic cover of Madonna's "Take a Bow" that ends the album.

A couple of quibbles: I would have welcomed some more uptempo songs—after "Brother Moon," the rest of the album is decidedly slow—and some more songs period. There are only 10.

But I'm happy to have this new material from Matt, and I'll definitely try to catch him when he performs in New York in 2012.

Theater Review: Lysistrata Jones

By David

Lysisrata Jones, the new musical on Broadway that opened on Thursday, is quite possibly the most fun I've had in a theater in quite some time.  This is geniune, Grade A, frothy musical exhuberance.

we want a better america

Perry Brass: 12 Seductive Gifts for Christmas

                                                                                 Image courtesy of MySpace. 

“Santa baby, slip a sable under the tree, for me.”

I know Christmas is a drag. There are all these rituals you have to do, like office parties and get-togethers with people you’d rather not get together with, and presents you have to accept from your Aunt Yetta that came either from the bargain basement section of Filene’s Basement (sad, ain’t it that F’s B is going out of business: what will Yetta do?), or the aisles of Walmart, when what you really want to do is . . . of course, get laid.

I mean, like who wouldn’t want to spend the holidays in bed with a gorgeous guy? Is there any red-blooded American who’d feel differently? Even gorgeous straight guys want to spend the holidays in bed with a gorgeous guy—namely themselves—if they could find the right person to accompany that idea.

So, with this in mind, I have solicited my own humpy Santa to come up with 12 scrumptious presents for the 12 days of Christmas. You can tailor this list a bit and cut it down to 8 for the 8 days of Hanukah, but the idea is basically the same: unwrapping something that foreplays further unwrapping. And all of this comes from the author of The Manly Art of Seduction , so of course I know what a seductive present should be like.

1) A book of poems. Start here. A good book would be something like Walt Whitman, Shakespeare, or Perry Brass (The Lover of My Soul , which has a genuinely seductive poem called “The Man Sucked Me Off in San Francisco”; who could ask for anything more?), or Gavin Dillard, the Naked Poet. You can find these books and more at most lgbt bookstores, or even Barnes and Noble. But I prefer you patronize your own seductive neighborhood booksmith. Now, after you unwrap the poems, read them in bed. And if he has a favorite poem, read it to him between recitals of licking him all over.

2) A black cashmere sweater. Nothing looks better on a man, aside from chest hair, than black cashmere. My favorite cashmere sweaters come from Brooks Brothers (it’s a fatal weakness; I admit it). But you can get other cashmere variations at J. Crew or some discount place (OK, back to Filenes, but they’re going under . . . ). The point is, as soon as it comes out the box, put it on him and nothing else. Few things look as good on any guys as just a black cashmere sweater. Now, if you can’t/won’t spring for cashmere, then get a black merino wool sweater, but I have to warn you: anything other than cashmere may make his nipples become erect fast. Golly. How awful. But isn’t that the reason hot Guido-type guys have been wearing tight sweaters with nothing under them since the time of Michelangelo?

hanging out by the wall

QNY Film Review: "Crazy Wisdom"

In 2006 through an experience with psychedelic mushrooms I started down the path of becoming an adherent of Buddhism in this lifetime. Since then I have felt a close kinship to Buddhism that I know goes back to one of my past lives on this planet. In 2006 I was living in Colorado and was privileged to visit The Great Stupa of Dharmalaya in Red Feather Lakes, Colorado at the Shambhala Mountain Center. This Dharmadhatu meditation center was one of many founded by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, considered by some to be the best known Tibetan Buddhist Lama to live in the United States. Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche's brand of Buddhism falls under one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, called Kagyu. He was the founder of the first Buddhist University, (Naropa in Boulder, Colorado) in the West.

When I moved to New York two years ago I searched for that well of Buddhist spirituality here in New York and found it at the Shambhala Meditation Center at 118 West 22nd Street, 6th Floor. Since 2006 I have been constantly striving to experience and learn more about Vajrayana Buddhism and specifically Chogyam Trungpa's Shambhala Training. So when I heard that the Shambhala Meditation Center in partnership with the Rubin Museum of Art was going to show a documentary on the life of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, I knew I had to see it.

The documentary is called "Crazy Wisdom: The Life and Times of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche." Imagine if you will, if there had been a camera around in Jesus, Muhammad's or Buddha's day and pictures were taken and key people were interviewed that knew them. Well, Crazy Wisdom is just that. 

The Cherry Orchard

Post by Mondschein

"The Cherry Orchard" at Classic Stage Company, December 2, 2012

(photo: Carol Rosegg)

Classic Stage puts up The Cherry Orchard, the last production of its Chekhov Initiative, that included The Seagull, Uncle Vanya and Three Sisters in a new and very casual translation by John Christopher Jones.

Mr. Jones reportedly worked directly with the cast during rehearsals to make the vocabulary choices for their respective characters.  It had to have been great fun for the actors, but the result ends up straddling the border of anachronism and "huh?"  It was my first time seeing this play and I can't help but wonder there's something about Chekov that never makes it through translation.

In case my husband has not yet done his Xmas shopping.

THE LEGENDARY JEWELS, EVENING SALE 

13 December 2011 

Christie's New York, Rockefeller Plaza 

Lot 80: THE ELIZABETH TAYLOR DIAMOND

(The Krupp Diamond)

Estimate: $2,500,000 - $3,500,000

Part of the proceeds will support the work of the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation

Lysistrata Jones

 "Lysistrata Jones" at Walter Kerr Theatre, November 18, 2011

Transferring from off-Broadway run downtown, Douglas Carter Beane takes on the Greeks again in this re-telling of the Aristophanes classic.  Tongue remains firmly in cheek, much as it did with Xanadu a few years ago.

Bergdorf Windows Without the Crowds

by baad lamb

If you and your camera want to enjoy Bergdorf's window displays without the massive pre-Christmas crowds getting in the way of your shots (Fifth Avenue sidewalks in December seems to rival Times Square for pedestrian density), here's the trick: Get up pre-dawn on a Sunday morning, pour your coffee in a to-go cup to save time, and arrive on site seven-ish. The tourists have not yet left their hotels, the tour buses are still en route, and the locals are still sleeping or still dancing. You will have the place to yourself (except for the 10 other people who had the same idea!)

Unless you're a professional photographer, shop windows are quite difficult to get full photos of, mostly due to the unavoidable reflection of nearly everything surrounding them. Lights, sky, taxi traffic, other pedestrians, the brightly lit windows across the street, and even yourself, all add complications that only occasionally can be  used to your benefit. So I leave the "whole window" shots to the pros, and instead focus on details, textures, colors, or eye-catching components. Luckily, the Bergdorf's window dressers seems to think that if "less is more", than way more must be excellent! Minimalism is not practiced here.

Even MORE more after the jump...

by baad lamb


Today's "back door" lesson. Just in case you're looking for it...

   This is not Roseland...                                           THIS is Roseland  

Who Would You Pick For The Job Of HRC President?

The search is underway. In this piece for 10thousandcouples.com, I review the job description, talk with some LGBT bloggers and highlight a few LGBT leaders who would be good choices. Agree? Disagree? Got a favorite?

World AIDS Day Premiere of "All the Way Through Evening"

QNY"s Perry Brass sends us this tip:  "I hope you will join me on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011, World AIDS Day, for the world premiere of Australian filmmaker Rohan Spong's moving documentary tribute to several composers who died of AIDS, "All The Way Through Evening." The film's title comes from a series of 5 "Nocturnes" set to my poetry by the composer Chris DeBlasio who died of AIDS in 1993 at the age of 34. The premiere will be at 7:30 PM at the DMAC-DUO Multicultural Arts Center, 62 East 4th Street, in the East Village, and will also feature a program of live music and dance produced by Downtown Music Productions. Tickets are $20 through Smart Tix, and $25 at the box office."

The trailer, and  more information about how you can support the film,  are after the break

QNY Fave: NYC Photographer Andrew Weir

I love his work. Here is his portrait of twins, Travis and Troy Cannata. Check him out in YVY Magazine. And here.

NYC Designing Men: It Gets Better

HIDE/SEEK at the Brooklyn Museum

The exhibition that caused all sorts of hub-bub in the art world when The National Portrait Gallery removed a video piece due to pressure from a congress is now showing at the Brooklyn Museum with the video reinstated.   Showing to February 12, 2012.

Link:
HIDE/SEEK at the Brooklyn Museum

shorakkopoch

ENJOY THANKSGIVING

Coming Home from a Hike Upstate

George Washington Bridge at Dusk

 

Riverside Drive around West 158th St. 

The Greatest Love/Hate Relationship in the World

In a bathroomless New York City, Starbucks offers us more than complicated caffeine. They also provide the life-saving bathrooms that make our daily routines possible. Here's a picture of my Starbucks on Columbus Avenue.

Sometimes a homeless person will tie up the bathroom literally for hours, and God save the person who is next in line.

Do we really want our barristas cleaning those bathrooms? There has got to be a better way to manage this human condition in the greatest city in the world.

museum of the city of new york photo collections

A fantastic collection of historic New York City photos.
Well worth the time:

Link:
Museum of The City of New York Photo Collections

Turkey Talk: Gag Or Gobble

These celebs, including some QNY faves, answer the eternal question: "His body's bangin' but his face is booty! Do you do him or don't him? 25 favorite gaylebrities, including MICHAEL MUSTO, ROBBYNE KAAMIL, and COLTON FORD get down and talk turkey!

Wine-Pairing Advice From Astor Wines & Spirits and a DVD Recommendation for After the Meal Is Over

By West Village Bill

Yesterday, my squeeze Tony P. and I took a walk to the East Village to check out Astor Wines & Spirits. I loved the Match Game–style window display that offered recommendations on which kind of wine to pair with various elements of your Thanksgiving meal.

I realize it's hard to see everything because of the weird angle and the window glare, so I'll note that the pairing suggestions are: cabernet franc with herb (stuffing), pinot noir with roast (turkey), zinfandel with spice (cranberry sauce), chardonnay with butter (butternut squash), sherry with pie (it probably should have said sweet instead), and riesling with char (Brussels sprouts).

I was impressed with the breadth of the bottles inside. There were many wines I'd never heard of.

As you'd expect with any large store, there were some items that seemed like bargains and others that seemed overpriced. Tony and I have been drinking a lot of Oregon pinot noir lately, and we saw one from Benton-Lane Winery that we'd drank before that cost a couple dollars more than at stores in our neighborhood. But we spotted an enjoyable pinot gris from Montinore Estate for the cheapest price we'd ever seen it: $12.99.

Private Lives

Posted by Mondschein

"Private Lives" at The Music Box, November 15, 2011

This London transfer brings Kim Cattrall back to the Rialto for the first time in 25 years, leading this production of the Noel Coward classic.  Her Amanda was hailed in London and she arrives in New York with a new Elyot in the very handsome Paul Gross.

The crossing seems to have had an impact on the production.  I will confess that there was much to live up to in my eyes, having basked in the glorious revival of 2002 with Alan Rickman and Lindsay Duncan. (Unfair?  Perhaps.)

A "Burning" Quandry

Posted by Mondschein

I can't call it a review I have to write about today, though it is about a new play I attended over the weekend.

Let's put some things on the table first, stipulations, if you will:

• Getting a new play produced, particularly in New York, particularly by a company of the reputation of The New Group, is an incredible feat of effort.
• Provocative topics and situations are excellent fodder for playwrights looking to get attention to their work (see The Submission).
• "Downtown NYC" is a great place to exercise those skills.

A few more things to stipulate:

• I've seen a lot of lousy theatre in New York and have walked out on the full range, from multi-million dollar Broadway to dusty, uncomfortable black-box off-off-off Bway productions.  
• I've even performed in a couple of the latter types.

As a member of the ITBA, I see frequent invitations to attend and review theatre of all sorts in the city, as mentioned above, Broadway to black-box, off-off-off Broadway productions.  I don't see everything, but I was excited to see the invitation from The New Group for their production of the world premiere of Burning by up-and-coming playwright Thomas Bradshaw.  I've seen a couple of other productions from this company and looked forward to this.  The premise sounded interesting.  The director has made a name for himself.


This play was the first time I've ever walked out despite having been invited to write a review.

Perry Brass: Lost Gay New York: Who Would You List as the Greatest Gay Activists?

Perry Brass talks about LGBT History at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, Oct, 2011

Something interesting happened in the wonderfully closed, back-biting, infighting, but definitely useful world of gay historians and politicos. It began when CLAGS, the Center for Gay and Lesbian Studies at CUNY (City U. of New York) announced that it was sponsoring a major conference, Sept. 27 -30, 2012 in New York on the life and work of Harry Hary, on the centennial of his birth. I had heard about this conference a few weeks before it was announced, and was of course ebulliant. To me, you cannot overstate the contribution of Harry Hay to what is now the vast, diverse lgbt movement. What Harry had to say was significant: out of the personal dreams, stories, consciousness, and yearnings of every single one of us can come a movement toward our own liberation--it is singular, personal, and we can't do it alone. 


The announcement, though, came right on the heels of another historic event: the death on Oct. 11, 2011--National Coming Out Day--of Frank Kameny, which made the front page of the New York Times (a paper which up to about 20 years ago could not use the word "gay" in it). But Frank Kameny, a life-long curmugeon, professional cranky old man, totally stubborn as all get up, who single-handedly took on the Federal government back when it fired him for being gay in 1958, was now being sited as, literally, the "Father of the Gay Movement."


It. The Whole Deal. 


This was unfortunate, although not completely out of left field. One of the problems of our movement has been a lack of visibility in the form of leaders. In the 1950s, there were no visible queer leaders aside from a few, a bare inkling, of people in the arts who for whatever reason had nothing to lose by being open. Often they were European culture figures like Jean Cocteau, fairly exotic and flamboyant, but in this country to be even vaguely open and a "face"--it just didn't happen. We did have Gore Vidal whose professional life was destroyed for about a decade after he published, in 1948, The City and the Pillar, a book that became as national code word for "queer," and that went on to sell a whopping 2,000,000 copies. We had Allen Ginsberg, but he could hardly be taken that seriously (again "exotic and flamboyant") and Tennessee Williams ("Broadway's Sex Poet," said Time Magazine)--and after that, if you dared showed your face in public, you were hung out for the vultures to get you. 

QNY's Perry Brass is LGBT History Month Speaker at MCC

"On October 27, 2011, the Metropolitan Correctional Center, New York staff celebrated LGBT History Month. Renowned author and social activist Perry Brass presented a version of LGBT history that mixed his life story with general societal progress on LGBT issues. In 1969, Mr. Brass co-edited Come Out, the first gay liberation newspaper in the world. LGBT Program Manager Paula St. John and LGBT Alternate Program Manager William J. Ryan, Ph.D. moderated the program, which concluded with a question and answer period."

Laurie Anderson's Forty Nine Days in the Bardo: The baad lamb Interview

It's no secret I'm a major fan of Laurie Anderson's work. For more than 40 years, this world-famous visual and performance artist has been captivating and thought-provoking in nearly every medium: performance, sculpture, music, painting, spoken word, video projections, photography and pheromones. (OK, I'm not sure about the pheromones, but if she hasn't used them yet, she will!)

I have yet to see Laurie's current multi-media exhibit at the Fabric Workshop and Museum in Philly, Forty Nine Days in the Bardo, where she very publicly works through her grief over the loss of her beloved dog and constant companion, Lolabelle (the Bardo is the 49 day intermediate state of transition from death to rebirth as described in the Tibetan Book of the Dead). I jumped at the chance to speak with her, and ask questions about this new work as well as discuss some of the major themes of her recent (and past) work.

bl

I see the “transitioning” theme of this show - between life and death, death and rebirth, loss and remembrance, underlined in a section of “Animal Stories” from the live lecture: The world as Pre-9/11 and Post 9/11. [note: watch the video above]

LA

“That was just one story, I’m not sure I would be so global about it, but now that you mention it, it is kind of  a different world in many ways... I can’t think of any 10 years in my life time that are more different.”

New York City Marathon 2011

A beautiful and record-smashing day. A record 47,438 competitors started.

"In the Family"

Posted by Mondschein

This film by Patrick Wang opened at Quad Cinemas last night with a pretty strong review from the NY Times.  Check the review out here.  There's not much I would add to Mr. Brunick's observations.

Leaving the theatre, Mr. Wang was standing shyly on the sidewalk, waiting to get some direct feedback about the film.  Within minutes, Stone Phillips (who looks even better since he stopped coloring his hair) was leading the conversation among a group of us who had stopped to congratulate Mr. Wang, exploring some of his plot choices and inspirations.

As you'll see in the review, Mr. Wang hasn't had much success in his distribution efforts.  The film runs a little long, but it's well worth seeing.

Check it out at the Quad before it closes next Thursday.  Get tickets here.

Opening Fireworks New York City Marathon

At our kitchen window tonight, we watched the fireworks over Central Park signal the opening of the 2011 New York City Marathon.

New York City Marathon - this Sunday

All week long, the preparations have overtaken Central Park West. The sidewalks are flooded with cables.

BLOWOFF - This Friday

Always a good time.

Bad Public Art On Broadway

These animals are just plain boring. What is it about the public art selection process that seems to prohibit any good stuff?
You be the judge.
Here's one. Two more by the same "artist" after the break.

Last Rose Of Summer 2011

Given Saturday's freakish snowstorm, this photo of a Central Park rose made last week by BaadLamb won't be repeated for many months to come.

Halloween Fright Tonight

On West 69th Street

More photos after the break!

Happy Halloween!

Mario Cantone and Jerry Dixon tie the knot

Mario Cantone is officially a married man.

The comedian and the musical theater director recently married after 20 years together.

"I got married for the same reasons you did," Cantone, 51, said on Friday to The View co-host Joy Behar, who also recently said 'I do.' "We're older now. We've been together 20 years. After 20 years you're like, 'Thanks for the anti-climactic honeymoon government!' "

Pastor Jay Bakker, son of the late Tammy Faye Bakker Messner, presided over the ceremonious affair.

Cantone gushed about his special day with Dixon, saying, "It was beautiful, just my family there. I love him. He's a good man."

Happy 125th Birthday!

To Lady Liberty, not me. She was only 25 years old when my grandfather first saw her.
I bet every one of us has a Statue-of-Liberty-photo to share?

Go here for livecam views of Lady Liberty, and, at 11AM EST, five live cams mounted in her crown will go live, providing spectacular NYC views. That same link will get you those views.

Pop Souk!

Last Sunday, we stopped into the Hiro Ballroom for that delightful occasional bazaar known as Pop Souk. Among the merchants was Scooter Laforge who was live-drawing, and offering for sale some of his erotic/nefarious iterations of pop childhood imagery.



Pop Souk founder, Lady Fag, describes the event this way:


"Nightlife personalities, artists, musicians, DJ’s, designers, fashion sluts, drag queens and the rest of us who make up the creative landscape of downtown NYC are usually blessed — and cursed — with fabulously overflowing closets.

For one day only, on Sunday, October 23rd, from noon to 6pm, both floors of the majestic Hiro Ballroom will make way for POP SOUK. More than just a marketplace, it’s an event where some of the most talented New Yorkers will be hanging out in their own personal pop-up shops selling treasures from their own closets or of their own designs.

Come listen to some of your favorite New York DJ’s spin, hang out on the top floor lounge and watch the action of people shopping in the stalls below, saddle up to the bar for a drink, get your nails done, taste the delicacies you never knew these night creatures could make and, of course, shop!

Pop Souk is also perfectly timed to hit the week before Halloween, for costume needs, and just as the season demands changes in wardrobe.

We’re excited to welcome on board our media sponsors OAK, Patricia Field and StyleLikeU who will all have their own sections with goodies for you to scoop up. We’d also like to thank the generous support and corporate sponsorship of Perrier, who are providing us with complimentary bubbles to sip on while chilling out in the lounge or browsing the shops.

Pop Souk: where downtown folk sell, not sell out. Join us!"

"Milk Like Sugar" at Playwrights Horizons, October 21, 2011

A few years ago, there were news reports of unhappy high school girls who formed pacts to all get pregnant and drop out of school.  Playwright Kirsten Greenidge has written this concept into the premise of Milk Like Sugar, in which Talisha (Cherise Boothe), Margie (Nikiya Mathis) and Annie (Angela Lewis) are planning their gift list for their shared baby shower including Coach diaper bags and better cellphones.  Margie is already pregnant. Talisha has plans in place.  Only Annie seems to be dragging her feet even though Talisha has picked out a partner for her as well, Malik (J. Mallory-McCree).

As the play opens, the girls have turned up at a tattoo parlor after hours for Annie to get free ink from an uncertified tattooist.  This only one in a continuing series of bad decisions.  Annie's mother Myrna (Tonya Pinkins), cleans offices to support her family.  She fancies herself a writer,  but doesn't seem to understand why she can't use the computers in the offices she cleans.

QNY Film Review: Weekend

By West Village Bill

Last night, Tony P. and I caught Weekend, the much-acclaimed* British film about two men who hook up at a club on a Friday night and spend much of the following weekend together working out whether they have something between them that deserves to continue. That decision is complicated by a plan that one of the two guys has made to move to Portland, Oregon, on Sunday.**

Russell, a lifeguard at a community pool, lives in council housing and grew up an orphan. He's out as a gay man to his close friends but isn't comfortable sharing details of his life with anyone, including his best mate, a straight man named Jamie who grew up with him in the same circumstances, in and out of foster homes. Glen, an aspiring artist, wears his queerness on his sleeve and rants about the larger heterosexual world's disgust with or disinterest in gay men's lives. Glen is insistent that he doesn't want a boyfriend; his fag hag, Jill, explains to Russell that Glen was hurt by an ex's serial cheating and dishonesty. In their first speaking scene together, Glen asks Russell to talk into a tape recorder about their sexual encounter the night before, explaining that it's for some vague art project he's working on. Later, Glen learns that Russell has been cataloging his own sexual encounters on his computer.

TOM FORD TOMORROW

@8pm

Our Night At Studio 54

Linda Morand, Tilal Imani, and David Frank Ray

Having been to the opening night of the original Studio 54, I was excited to attend "One Night Only" with my friends Linda Morand, Jane Thorvaldson and Tilal Imani. It was a mad scene with celebs galore (Cameron Diaz, Susan Lucci, Issac Mizrahi to name just a few that I saw) and I had forgotten just how grand looking the old space was with it's chandeliers etc. Where there used to be white banquettes to lounge on with the likes of Andy Warhol, Liza, and Halston there are now theater seats. But the dance floor remained the same except there were no lights swirling about from above and no moon man with a coke spoon to ogle. And the crowd dancing away to 1970s hits seemed just a little more frantic then I remembered......but all in all it was a fun time. Ah yes I remember it well!

ONE NIGHT ONLY

NEW YORK, Sept. 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ:SIRI - News) announced today that the legendary club Studio 54 will reopen at its original location, for the first time in more than 25 years, for one night only on Tuesday, October 18.

Decades after the opening of one of the most celebrated discos in the world, SiriusXM reunites with members of the original team that worked behind the scenes at the club during its 1977-1981 heyday. They will re-create what will be billed as "One More Night" of the iconic '70s nightlife glamour inside the famed Studio 54 at 254 West 54th Street.

The hand-picked collaborators who choreographed Studio's nightly parties will create the Studio 54 experience for one more night. The team includes: Karin Bacon, Studio 54 entertainment producer; Scott Bromley, Studio 54 architect; Marc Benecke, Studio 54 doorman; Myra Scheer, assistant to former Studio 54 co-owner Steve Rubell; Chuck Garelick, Studio 54's former head of security; Scott Taylor, Studio 54's former bartender and other insiders.

On hand to capture the club's liberated atmosphere, original Studio 54 DJs Nicky Siano and Leroy Washington will play the iconic era's dance classics. Celebrity guests, some from Steve Rubell's master call list; and lucky SiriusXM listeners will be in attendance to flashback or dance for the first time in the internationally renowned club.

The evening will feature authentic, over the top details that helped define the Studio 54 experience, including the famed theatrics, backdrops, aerialist performers and dancers.

"There has been a great response to the launch of Studio 54 Radio and we want to continue that excitement with this special one-time event," said Scott Greenstein, President and Chief Content Officer, SiriusXM. "We are working with many of the members of the original team that Ian Schrager and Steve Rubell so brilliantly assembled to create one more night."

Tom Ford Looking Good