City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert After that ridiculous Eat, Pray, Love, I removed author Elizabeth Gilbert from my reading lists, forever. But on the recommendation of a friend, I (reluctantly) read City of Girls, which I (surprisingly) enjoyed. In 1940, nineteen-year-old college dropout ... [Continue Reading]
Save Me the Plums, My Gourmet Memoir by Ruth Reichl
I hate to cook, but I would gladly have worked at Gourmet magazine under the editorial leadership of Ruth Reichl. It sounds like such fun—the exotic travel, the best restaurants, the top-notch writers, and of course, the test kitchen that was always turning out something yummy. Even the gossipy, ... [Continue Reading]
Lillian Boxfish Takes A Walk by Kathleen Rooney
Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney On New Year’s Eve 1984 in New York City, octogenarian Lillian Boxfish has an early dinner at neighborhood restaurant. After dinner, she suddenly decides to walk from Murray Hill downtown to Delmonico’s restaurant for a nightcap. Clad in a mink ... [Continue Reading]
Books for the Guest Room
Books for the Guest Room Tis the season for overnight guests! In addition to a variety of pillows and good lighting, you can make your guests feel extra special by offering a selection of reading material in the guest room. Here are five books which offer something for everyone. Escape ... [Continue Reading]
Florence Foster Jenkins
Florence Foster Jenkins Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant are terrific in this lavishly dressed but slow moving movie about a wealthy woman who thinks she can sing and the friends and family who support her delusion –all the way to Carnegie Hall. "People may say that I couldn't sing. But no one ... [Continue Reading]
Don’t Think Twice
Don’t Think Twice Don't Think Twice is a funny and insightful indy film about creative collaboration and the age old question of how long to hold on to your dream. When one of the members of a struggling improv group in New York City hits it big with a coveted role in a late-night live comedy ... [Continue Reading]
Fever, A Novel of Typhoid Mary by Mary Beth Keane
Fever, A Novel of Typhoid Mary by Mary Beth Keane At the turn of the last century, Irish immigrant Mary Mallon, nicknamed Typhoid Mary by the press, was the first identified asymptomatic carrier of typhoid fever. In her profession as a cook in the New York City area, Mary transmitted ... [Continue Reading]
The Fatal Weakness by George Kelly
The Fatal Weakness by George Kelly In keeping with their mission of “bringing worthy but neglected plays back to the stage,” the not-for-profit Mint Theater Company presents The Fatal Weakness by Pulitzer Prize-winner George Kelly (uncle of Grace.) When initially performed in 1946, the play ... [Continue Reading]
It’s Only a Play by Terrence McNally
It’s Only a Play by Terrence McNally The big play in NYC this Fall is It’s Only A Play—heavy on celebrity casting-- F. Murray Abraham, Matthew Broderick, Stockard Channing, Rupert Grint, Nathan Lane and Megan Mullally-- and light on dramatic merits. Some reviewers were less than enthusiastic, ... [Continue Reading]
NEW YORK THEATER SUMMER 2014
NEW YORK THEATER SUMMER 2014 Earlier this month, I saw three plays in NYC-- two I liked very much, one not so much. But none were as much fun as A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder which opened last fall and is still going strong at the Walter Kerr Theatre. (NOTE: If the producers replace ... [Continue Reading]