My Night with Melba Moore and Friends at the Metropolitan Room

It was a night that I, for one, will never forget, and I am sure I'm not the only one.

Bernie Furshpan's Metropolitan Room, on West 22nd Street in Manhattan, was more than just simply a packed house; it was filled to the shaking rafters with an exceptionally appreciative crowd.

It was a love fest. It was a night of diva worship. It was a birthday celebration, as Ms Moore turned 70 yesterday. (Pieces of Melba's birthday cakes were shared with the room.) It was cabaret at its best. It was joy. It was heavenly. It was a part of entertainment history. It was dynamite!

When I entered the club with my pal Nick Lion, my very good friend Kevin Scott Hall was on a queue of people waiting to get in, which I assumed we'd have to join. Kevin was, after all, Melba's press guest and also did a q&a with her.

Nick went to the front desk and lo and behold, our good friend Denise-Spann Morgan of The "Marvelous" Marvelettes had us on her guest list, so we squeezed into her booth. Bernie greeted us in the lobby and ushered us in. It's always nice to see Bernie and his beautiful wife, Joanne, at the club.

Bernie, Joanne & Nick

NYC talk show host Barry Z sat in the booth directly behind me. 

Richard Skipper was also in the house and we got to talk after the show. Always great to see Richard in the house!

I have to admit that I arrived in a bad mood after an awful traffic day into Manhattan. It's Halloween weekend, the Mets are playing, and a truck burst into flames in the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel, closing traffic there and making my commute complicated and my livery car driver nasty and difficult to deal with. But Melba lifted my spirits high with her performance after I finally arrived.

Melba & Me

Hers was an eclectic selection, kicking off with "Don't Rain on My Parade." Melba did her disco hit, "This Is It," sang "I've Got Love" ~ a beautiful number written especially for her, from her Broadway breakthrough Purlie. She even covered The Beatles' "The Long and Winding Road" beautifully. Yes, it has been long and winding for us all.

Melba's dad, who is 100 years old now, even came onstage to play piano and sing with his daughter aside the piano. His gravelly "Satin Doll" was a delight! Melba had some wonderful duets as well.

Fans brought Melba bouquets of beautiful flowers, and gifts. My own Nick and Denise even went up to the stage to give her presents. Can you believe the diva is 70?! She is still a beautiful babe. Melba wore a white, dressy pantsuit with black trim and a train. The top had a peplum to it. She wore heels but doffed them at some point. Actually, somebody took them off for her. Now, that's true divahood!

Melba's fantastic back-up consisted of a three-piece band and three back-up, all-male vocalists. All were superb.

Nick gifts Melba

This was it, and we all  knew it was a good thing. A great thing, in fact! Nothing but kudos and eternal love, Melba! Come back to Metropolitan Room soon.

http://www.melbamoore.com

http://metropolitanroom.com

A Farewell to Broadway Legend Elaine Stritch

There will never be another like her. Today's New York Times obit described 89-year-old Elaine Stritch as a "Tart-Tongued Broadway Actress and Singer" in its headline.

Younger audiences may know Stritch from her tv appearances on tv's 30 Rock and Law & Order. Or as Jane Fonda's mother-in-law in the film Monster in Law. But her first love, and the medium in which she perhaps did her best work, was the stage.

I was fortunate to have seen her on Broadway in her one-woman show, At Liberty, and she was truly a phenomenon; a force of nature. She talked frankly about her alcoholism, including the anecdote about how she "blew the audition" for the role of Dorothy Zbornack on tv's The Golden Girls when she got juiced before audition and, when asked to read, threw a few choice obscenities into her delivery. The role, of course, went to Bea Arthur.

I recall, also, some good gossip about Ms Stritch when she was to be honored at a cabaret awards ceremony in New York City. One of her demands was having her hair coiffed for the occasion. She submitted an astronomical bill. The awards ceremony's organizer (who told me this story) had a Carol Channing impersonator call Elaine and say (as Channing) he'd heard about the salon through the grapevine and enquired as to cost. He was given a significantly lower price tag. When Elaine Stritch showed up for her award, she was wearing a hat. Now that was a diva!

In musical theater, Elaine worked with the legendary Noel Coward and Stephen Sondheim, famously singing "Ladies Who Lunch" in Company.

She co-starred in a few films, including A Farewell to Arms opposite Rock Hudson, and Who Killed Teddy Bear with Sal Mineo.

Although Stritch claimed to have overcome her alcoholism in At Liberty, on a recent Today Show appearance (February 2014), she freely dropped the F word with Kathy Lee and Hoda when she was promoting her documentary, Shoot Me. Then, she barked out that she, not her hosts, would have the last word on her segment.

And so another great icon departs. Buddy Beaverhausen pays her this tribute. Elaine Stritch was a unique talent, absolutely one-of-a-kind, and she is missed. Tonight, I expect, the lights on Broadway will be dimmed in her honor. Elaine Stritch will always be a star wherever she shines. I imagine, right now, she's doing cocktails in heaven with the winged ladies who lunch.