Fall/Winter 2024

With James Ivory & Ruth Prawer and the cast of "Giovanni's Room"

Last August I went to a screening of “Merchant Ivory” a documentary about those two remarkable film makers, and was quite unprepared and astonished to see myself in a still photo taken at their country house at Claverack New York to illustrate the range of activities that took place there. I had to back to my scrapbooks and found that in 1998, I was appearing on Broadway in Shaw’s “You Never Can Tell” and along with Katie Finneran was recruited by our colleague Phil Tabor to go on our day off upstate to take part in a reading of Ruth Prawer Jabvala’s script for a film of “Giovanni’s Room”. We were rewarded with an excellent lunch of Indian cuisine (Ismael was a superb cook) and had an excellent outing altogether. Sadly the film was never made. Here’s my own version of the group photo: I’m the one in a sand-colored jacket, Katie’s just in front of me, and Phil Tabor is in the glasses behind me

with KT Sullivan & Steve Ross

On October 6th I co-starred with the stars of New York Cabaret, Steve Ross and KT Sullivan in a concert at The York Theatre called “I Like America – Celebrating 125 years of Noel Coward” produced by the Coward Foundation. We also used the occasion to pay tribute to Barry Day OBE who has been the tireless chronicler and compiler of all things Coward – his books, his films, his stage productions, his letters, his diaries – and who over the years has provided the three of us with many opportunities to perform in revues of his own devising.

Later in November, at The Lambs Club, I read the stage

At the Lamb's Club

directions for a one-woman play called “JBKO” (Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis) by my old friend Tom Santopietro whose latest book “Audrey Hepburn – a Life of Beautiful Uncertainty” has just been published by Applause books. Jackie O was played with her usual skill and talent by Maureen Anderman who starred opposite me in  the Broadway production of Michael Frayn’s “Benefactors” in 1986 when all three of us first met - Tom was the Company Manager on that show.

At the Salamgundi Club

In December, I performed in a concert for The Coffee House at the Salmagundi Club devised and narrated and in one number performed by Steve Brown, with Nancy Winston at the piano. It was called “Shakespeare the Musical  - well, sorta”. It gave me another chance to wear the white tuxedo jacket I picked up at a bargain price from the Ladies Village Improvement Society (LVIS) Charity Shop in East Hampton last August.