Dorothy Parker is back in the running for another award, 33 years after her death. Britain's top theater kudos, the Laurence Olivier Awards, announced the nominees. Mrs. Parker is included in the category for Outstanding Musical Production. What got her in? A revival of Candide, the 1956 musical that she kicked in the lyrics for one number for, "Gavotte". It has music by Leonard Bernstein, book adapted from Voltaire by Hugh Wheeler, in a new version by John Caird, lyrics by Richard Wilbur, with additional lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, John Latouche, Lillian Hellman, Parker and Bernstein. It is on at the Royal National Theater in London. The show only lasted about two or three months when it opened in New York 44 years ago. There is stiff competition for the Olivier statue (is it a statue? Who knows?) -- A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Dick Whittington and The Pajama Game are up against Parker & Co. The winners will be announced at a lunchtime ceremony at the Lyceum Theater Feb. 18, with televised excerpts from the show to air two nights later on the BBC.
Posted by Kevin Fitzpatrick on Tuesday, January 18, 2000 at 10:52 PM | Permalink  
The Parker Society brunch at The Plaza on Sunday was a big success. Thanks to all who turned out, it was a fun time. Plans were made for what we're doing in 2000. Stay tuned to the site, we're going to have a special DPSNY page with information about upcoming events on it.
Posted by Kevin Fitzpatrick on Monday, January 17, 2000 at 8:55 AM | Permalink
So you always wanted to try the soup at The Plaza? Love Sunday afternoon brunches? You want to rub shoulders with others who think "Resume" is required reading? Well, the next gathering of the Dorothy Parker Society of New York is Sunday, Jan. 16, 2000, at 12:30 p.m. in the Oyster Bar of the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan. We picked this date because it was exactly 80 years ago that Sunday that Mrs. Parker was taken to lunch at The Plaza to be dismissed from Vanity Fair. If you are planning to attend, please RSVP to me by Wednesday with your name and the number of people in your party ( here). Note that we will be in the Oyster Bar at the hotel, not the Palm Court. The attire is sort of dressy -- this is The Plaza after all -- and the menu suits all kinds of tastes, even vegetarian (I think). As this is The Plaza, expect Plaza Prices. Clam Chowder is $8 a bowl and a Bloody Mary will set you back $7.50 a pop (but they are SO good). All attendees get a special free gift and there is expected to be at least one "special guest" but you can decide how special the guest is after eating lunch with him. The reservation is in Dorothy Parker's name, or look for me or Vice President Jill Goldstein. Following lunch we will probably go to the Gonk for a drink or two. There are no dues or membership fees for the DPSNY. It is a non-profit organization and membership is open to all. To see our previous event, check out Parkerfest '99 photos and story.
Posted by Kevin Fitzpatrick on Sunday, January 09, 2000 at 6:30 PM | Permalink
What is the connection between screen goddess Marilyn Monroe, Harvard University, and Mrs. Parker? It seems the doomed actress was also a fan of Dottie. "The Portable Dorothy Parker" was among five books owned by Marilyn Monroe that were donated to the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. (On Oct. 1, 1999, Radcliffe College and Harvard University officially merged, becoming the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard). "This just goes to prove that there was more to Marilyn Monroe than the movie star and popular icon. She was also a reader," Jane Knowles, acting director of the institute's library, told the Associated Press. Serious Parker fans know that Dottie was working on the screenplay for Monroe's last film when the actress died mysteriously in 1962. The books were donated anonymously. All are works of fiction by American women. The other four books are "My Antonia" and "Lucy Gayheart" by Willa Cather, "The Ballad of the Sad Cafe" by Carson McCullers and "The Little Disturbances of Man," short stories by Grace Paley. The books were among a collection of Monroe's personal belongings auctioned in October 1999 for a total of $13.4 million.
Posted by Kevin Fitzpatrick on Wednesday, January 05, 2000 at 11:38 PM | Permalink
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