Seeing Barry Manilow perform and going backstage to congratulate him was my birthday gift to my daughter Elizabeth and my daughter’s belated birthday gift to me!
I had met Manilow at the Yiddish Theater’s fundraiser honoring him after the “tryout” of his memorable and wonderful musical, “Harmony.”
I’ve always been a fan of his brilliant lyrics — most of which he wrote — and his production is spectacular. So when I heard he was performing live at Radio City Music Hall, I had to be there!
My friend Sandy Cahn, a member of the Yiddish Theatre’s board, sent me Barry’s manager’s email and I asked him if I could go backstage to congratulate Barry after the show. They said yes and left a pass at the will call box!
To our delight, my girls and I cheered Barry as he appeared to the roaring applause from the sold out audience. He sang favorite after favorite song that I love and cherish. I loved his dance moves with his backup singers — we all stood and danced with him.
I adore “I Made It Through the Rain” for its meaningful words. He sang his heart out and he had the enormous audience “in his hands.”
He is returning in October and you can buy tickets now — run, don’t walk!
Later in the week was the powerful Manhattan Power Women event at Bryant Park Grill that also celebrated the 30th anniversary of our “Power Women” events.
A sold-out event applauded and cheered each nominee as she walked down the red carpet to receive her “Vicki.” It was a great night recognizing the Power Women’s greatness, each one a powerhouse of their own, giving back both to their communities and balancing the balls of work, play and family.
Mayor Eric Adams and special guest Rosanna Scotto are recognizing the 30th anniversary of honoring our Power Women at a party to be held at Gracie Mansion. It will benefit the Gracie Mansion Conservancy on Tuesday, May 14. To buy tickets, visit squadup.com/events/graciemansionconservancypowerwomen30.
To culminate the week, I was delighted to attend the 2024 Inner Circle Show, “Turks and Chaos.” It was a night of seeing old friends and meeting new ones while networking and laughing out loud at the media performers who created the show.
James Ford, from PIX11 News, is president of the Inner Circle and was the star of the show, superbly impersonating Mayor Adams, who was “roasted.”
I loved how the cast made fun of Commissioner of Sanitation Jessica Tisch and her plan to replace trash bags with containers, finally solving the city’s rat problem.
The first two acts saw the media making fun of the mayor and the final act was the mayor making fun of them. The mayor lampooned some of the NYC dailies, including my amNewYork Metro, which he said was there to make sure everyone got a free copy. That media outlet distributes daily 400,000 copies of free newspapers in the subways and has 1,000 boxes on the streets throughout the city.
I was delighted to sit at John Catsimatidis’ front row, center table with his wife, Margot, former Governor David Patterson, his wife Mary, and Greg Kelly and his wife.
At another Catsimatidis table, it was funny to see Ed Cox (chairman of the New York Republican State Committee) sitting next to Mayoral Advisor Ingrid Lewis-Martin, both laughing broadly at the many barbs thrown at Eric. I was also delighted to see powerful Republican Suffolk County executives including Ed Romaine and Jesse Garcia.
I smiled as I saw Queens Borough President Donovan Richards in the ballroom and questioned him about when Queens Hospital will be renamed the Claire Shulman Hospital in recognition of her extraordinary service to Queens. He assured me it’s soon to happen!
Then I caught up with old friends Dawn Walker, Jose Bayona, Yvonne Riley, Pat Condren, Arthur Aidala, Bill O’Reilly and the powerful lobbyist Patrick Jenkins.
It was a fun night of meeting the movers and shakers of New York City and watching the mayor with his sweet smile, give all the jabs back!
What a way to end a wonderful week of nights out!
See more photos on QNS.com and DansPapers.com.
Love to you, my dear readers. Until next time!
