Last Wednesday my friend, the internationally famous architect Raimund Abraham, died. The car he was driving collided in downtown Los Angeles with a Metropolitan Transportation Authority Bus. He was 76.

I met Raimund in July 2008 at a 75th birthday dinner given for him by Diane Lewis his friend, colleague and favorite student. The party was in the garden of the East Village townhouse where Diane lives. At Raimund’s request, he was the only invited male.

Nineteen women and Raimund gathered in the summer twilight around a large table surrounded by ivy covered walls. A singer from the Beijing Opera came to serenade him. There was candlelight, caviar, vitello tonatto and toasts with champagne. “Every day is a birthday.” Was Raimund’s speech.

I complimented him on his hat and we were instant friends. To Raimund this meant I could be telephoned at whim any time night or ... Read More

The Public theater began its highly anticipated building renovation, Tuesday afternoon with a ceremonial groundbreaking event that was attended by a variety of actors, directors and writers from The Public's celebrated history. The Public is the nation's foremost theatrical producer of Shakespeare and is dedicated to achieving artistic excellence while developing and American theater that is accessible and relevant to all people through productions of challenging new plays, musicals and innovative stagings of the classics. Yearly, over 250,000 people attend The Public to see its productions which have produced over 49 Tony Awards, 149 Obies, 4 Pulitzer Prizes and countless other awards. Guests in attendance for the groundbreaking were Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Sam Waterson, Liev Schreiber, Oskar Eustis, Jay O. Sanders, Ruben Santiago, Laura Bennanti and Gloria Ruben.

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Last Monday I flew out to L.A. for the Oscars, but with a full week of events before Sunday’s big day, there wasn’t much time to relax and enjoy the weather — which for someone coming from New York is amazing, though it’s cool to folks here.

Read More at Sundance Channel…

Folklore and fairy tales were the theme at Sophie Theallet’s fall/winter 2010 show; the collection transported us far, far away, to a forest, perhaps, where a magical journey comes to life, capturing the feeling of when a girl puts on a pretty dress and turns into a princess.

Read More at Sundance Channel…

On Monday night the opening party was held for the cast of When The Rain Stops Falling, at O'Neals' Restaurant. The drama, by Australian playwright Andrew Bovell, follows and Anglo-Australian family over an 80 year period and watches the families dysfunctions repeat themselves over generations. The play premiered at Australia's 2008 Adelaide Festival, was subsequently presented by the Sydney Theater Company and produced in London by the Almeida Theatre. Of the cast the NY Review said, "The nine-member cast meets the challenge of playing various degrees of misery, crating a vivid rainbow of varying shades of emotion." The play is now playing at Lincoln Center. Guests in attendance were Victoria Clark, Susan Pourfar, Richard Topol, Kate Blumberg, Mary Beth Hurt, Laura Osnes, Linda Leroy, Morton Janklow, Clint Ramos and Michael Grief.

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Almost one hundred years ago women across much of the globe celebrated the first International Women's Day in 1911. The idea to create a unified day of celebration was originally voiced by Clara Zetkin (Leader of the 'Women's Office' for the Social Democratic Party in Germany) in order to provide a stronger yearly platform for women to press for their demands. While originally on March 19th, to mark the anniversary of the 1848 revolution, when the Prussian King first recognized the strength of the armed people and gave way and he promised, among other things, to give women the right to vote. It was then converted to March 8th two years later, because very few people understood reference to Prussia, and has remained ever since. In 1975 during International Women's Year, IWD was recognized by the UN. On this lovely International Women's Day, Dior Celebrated the ... Read More

Liza Minnelli, Mario Cantone, Kristin Chenoweth, Jason Danieley, Norm Lewis, Chita Rivera among others, joined Tony Award-winner and host, David Hyde Pierce and Vineyard Theatre in honoring John Kander and the work of Kander and Ebb. The Vineyard Theatre Gala, at the Hudson Theatre, is honoring John Kander in conjunction with it's world premiere of the musical Scottsboro Boys, with music and lyrics by John Kander and the late Fred Ebb. Kander and Ebb wrote some of the most beloved and enduring musicals in the longest partnership in musical theatre history. Their works include Flora, The Red Menace, Cabaret and Chicago just to name a few. Host David Hyde Pierce won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his performance Kander and Ebb's Curtains, and Liza won her Tony Awards for her work in Kander ... Read More

The Gay Men's Health Crises (GMHC), the nation's oldest non-profit organization dedicated to the prevention, treatment and care for those living with or affected by HIV/AIDS, hosted their annual gastronomic fundraiser, Savor, Monday evening at Gotham Hall. The event, hosted by Ted Allen of Food Network's Chopped, helped welcome over 400 guests with a beautiful cocktail reception and silent auction. After cocktails guests sat down to an elaborate four-course meal specially put together for the event by the world renowned chefs of Food Network's Chopped (Scott Conant, Amanda Freitag, Alex Guarnaschelli, Marc Murphy, Aaron Sanchez, Chris Santos and Geoffrey Zakarian). Food represents so much for Savor because it celebrates and brings attention to their various food programs. Central to GMHC's mission is the belief that proper nutrition and the experience of sharing a meal with others are fundamental to ... Read More

The Guild Hall of East Hampton celebrated their 25th Anniversary Academy of the Arts lifetime Achievement Awards Dinner by honoring Bob Blaban, Richard Prince, Marsha Norman and Susan and Alan Patricof. The annual celebration, this year held at Cipriani 42, began in 1985 and recognizes the talent of those with ties to Long Island and East Hampton. Some past recipients include Steven Spielberg, Billy Joel, Mel Brooks, Julian Schnabel, Roy Lichtenstein and Kurt Vonnegut. Guild Hall was founded more that 75 years ago, is a year-round arts center wholly dedicated to serving the residents, members, families, and artists of the East End and offering them, as well as tourists, enriching experiences by presenting relevant and meaningful program in the visual and performing arts. Guests in attendance were Tony Shafrazi, Domenica Scorcese, Robert A.M. Stern, ... Read More