 Penguin Classics was kind enough to send to the Dorothy Parker Society an advance look at the new cover of The Portable Dorothy Parker. It is by the Canadian artist known as Seth, a well-known creator of graphic novels. The new edition is to be released in late March. The book is edited by Marion Meade, who has three Parker titles to her credit: Dorothy Parker: What Fresh Hell is This? (Villard, 1988), Bobbed Hair and Bathtub Gin: Writers Running Wild in the Twenties (Nan A. Talese, 2004) and writing the foreword to A Journey into Dorothy Parker's New York (Roaring Forties Press, 2005). Meade not only added new material to the Portable, she also wrote a new introduction (replacing the tepid one by Brendan Gill from the current edition). More information on the new book coming soon.
Posted by Kevin Fitzpatrick on Tuesday, January 31, 2006 at 8:02 PM | Permalink | Comments  
 A friend sent this into the site, it looks like a good night out. The playwright-director is Michael D. Jackson. The show is called Three Women, and one of the three is Dorothy Parker. The play is part of The Strawberry One-Act Festival. The email Michael sent to his friends: My latest project is a one act play I wrote and am directing. It is for the Riant Theatre's one act competition, so come see the show and vote for me! If we win in our evening, we go on to the next round and will have more than 2 performances. We're on a bill with 3 other one acts. Pen in the dates into your calendars and I hope to see you there!
To the folks out of town, they are showing this festival on the web for a fee, so if you want to check it out, take a look at
www.therianttheatre.com for the details of the Strawberry One Act. The show is Feb. 9 and 10 at the Producers Club II, 616 Ninth Ave (at W. 43rd St), 9 pm, for $15.
Posted by Kevin Fitzpatrick on at 7:54 PM | Permalink | Comments
 The cast of The Hotel Dorothy Parker, standing, L to R: Gonzague Phélip and Betty Bussmann. Seated, L to R: Susanne Schmidt, Geneviève Mnich, Sylvie Jobert and Yvette Caldas.We are happy to hear that Paris has an original production of Dorothy Parker stories and poems, Hotel Dorothy Parker. The show opened January 10 and has been packed every night so far. It runs till March 18. We are lucky to have an interview with the director-playwright, Rachel Salik, a new member of the Dorothy Parker Society. Our French isn't very good, but you be the judge: Q: Why did you choose Dorothy Parker? A: As an intellectual, she was always ready to fight the good fight for a good cause and her humor could be deadly. She also literally burned her life away as did those of the Lost Generation to which she belonged. The life and works of this woman who lived beyond the norms are still unrecognized in France. With this show, I hope to put a spotlight on her brilliant genius and arouse readers to discover of her universe.  Q: Who did the adaptation and which Parker material did you choose? A: Valéria Moretti and I were inspired by Parker's stories with their caustic spirit and acute observations of her characters, as well as their immediate theatricality. The 9 stories we dialogued plus 3 of her poems set to music are the basic elements of the show. Stories: The Little Hours
From the Diary of a New York Lady
Here We Are
But the One on the Right
Little Curtis
Arrangement in Black and White
Big Blonde
The Waltz
Lady with a Lamp
The poems are:
Song [I] from The Uncollected Dorothy Parker (Romantic melody in English)
Epitaph (Blues in English)
Résumé (Gospel in English)
One song: "How Am I to Know" (J. King and D. Parker, 1929)
Other music linking the sequences are excerpts from recordings from 1929-1930.
Q: How is the show staged? What will the audience see?
A: In perpetual motion, the characters whirl from one scene into the next, shattering proper stage conventions. It's the Roaring Twenties, with sparkling repartee, songs, gestures and visual surprises. Hollywood isn't far away.
Q: Who are the characters?
A: The show has no precise story line. Four actresses share the text, playing various facets of the extraordinary Mrs. Parker as seen by herself or in her short story characters. Costume changes are in full view, with music from the period at a very fast pace.
A 5th actress plays a black maid, a mocking counterpoint to the quartet of idle, alcoholic, bourgeois women, frozen in their social airs and snobbery. This character is important in view of Parker's role in anti-racism. At times, a young man appears in an incongruous non-speaking part, perhaps Mrs. Parker's subversive spirit, perhaps a child having fun...
Q: Where is the show playing, and how does one get tickets?
Theatre:
Theatre Les Déchargeurs
3 rue des Déchargeurs
75001 Paris
(Metro – Châtelet)
Tues. thru Saturday 8:00 PM
Tickets: € 18,50
Posted by Kevin Fitzpatrick on Monday, January 30, 2006 at 5:22 PM | Permalink | Comments
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