Theater Icons & Corona

RIP master playwright Terrence McNally, 80, who succumbed to complications brought on by the corona virus. He was equally adept at drama, comedy and musicals. According to his Wiki profile, he wrote more than 35 plays, the book for ten musicals, four operas, four TV movies and three screenplays, adapting his own works. Along his journey, the Columbia University grad won four Tonys and an Emmy, as well as several other awards. He received lifetime achievement nods from the Tony organization, the Dramatists Guild and Lucille Lortel, and was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the highest recognition of artistic merit in the United States. He even made several appearances as an actor on TV, including four on The Young and the Restless soap opera. Well done, sir.

So who was Lucille Lortel? I’m embarrassed to say I’d had no idea despite the fact that she was an NYC icon. According to Wiki, she was born on the Lower East Side in 1900 to Jewish/Polish immigrants, home schooled, then attended Adelphi University. She was an actress, artistic director, and producer of nearly 500 plays. Her production of Marc Blitzstein’s adaptation of Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill’s Threepenny Opera ran for seven years off Broadway. She founded the White Barn Theatre in an old horse barn on her and her husband’s estate in Connecticut, and focused on non-commercial works, many of which went on to Broadway or off Broadway. In 1955 her husband, industrialist and philanthropist Louis Schweitzer, purchased Theatre De Lys on Christopher Street in Greenwich Village, a 24th wedding anniversary present for his Mrs. It too concentrated on works of a lesser commercial nature. It was renamed the Lucille Lortel Theatre in 1981. The Lucille Lortel Awards recognize excellence in New York Off-Broadway theater. Along her life’s journey she received many honors, including induction into the American Theater Hall of Fame. The beloved icon passed away in 1999 at 98. Here’s a pic:

Unexpected NYC consequence of corona, from Michael Goodwin’s op-ed piece at nypost.com: “Major felonies plummeted 17% between March 16–22 compared to the same period last year.” He also added this: “… virtual happy-hour events are taking place on Zoom, Facebook Live and FaceTime.”… The fact that Prince Charles has tested positive makes one wonder how in the world he contracted it. One would figure it would be almost impossible to get near him. According to radio talk host Mark Simone, the Prince was recently shaking hands with many… It’s tough not to be cynical about politics, which is why I feel the third stimulus bill will be a disaster if passed, and a disaster for Republicans if it is not passed, despite its obvious, egregious flaws. Dems have nothing to lose. They will get some of their agenda passed or regain full power if the public blames the opposition’s blockage of the bill… I’ve been forgetting to include an odd bit of trivia. My mom used to refer to a rosary as corona.

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