Blog | divamensch

CDA: Nicholas Hitchon

I just read in the NY Times that Nicholas Hitchon had died in July at the age of 65. I didn't recognize the name but instantly recognized...

ladiesvoices

Aug 31, 20232 min read

Diva/Mensch pair for Aug 30, 2023

We're at 1986 - - this is a turning point because this is the first time I saw both of the movies in the theater, and paid with my own...

ladiesvoices

Aug 30, 20231 min read

CDA: Bob Barker

Bob Barker died the other day at the age of 99. I know he was canceled recently but he was an American icon. Here's a lovely tribute to...

ladiesvoices

Aug 28, 20231 min read

Ryan on the Runway: PR 20, ep 11

You know how the show always starts with a tiny recap of the previous episode? It made me sad to be reminded that Korto had been sent...

ladiesvoices

Aug 27, 20235 min read

Fabulous Friday: "From Russia With Love"

I like to do a long-term movie project every year. A few years ago it was all of the Alfred Hitchcock talkies, that was amazing. This...

ladiesvoices

Aug 25, 20231 min read

CDA: Jerry Moss

My brother Howard alerted me to the death of Jerry Moss, who died last week at the age of 88. The name rang a bell so I Googled him - -...

ladiesvoices

Aug 24, 20231 min read

Diva/Mensch pair for Aug 23, 2023

The Best Picture winner for 1985 was *Out of Africa,* a sprawling, serious romantic epic starring Meryl Streep (doing yet another foreign...

ladiesvoices

Aug 23, 20231 min read

Mark Morris Dance Group, Aug 9 2023

Stephanie and I saw the Mark Morris Dance Group at the Joyce Theater on August 9, 2023. I've seen MMDG probably fifteen to twenty times...

ladiesvoices

Aug 22, 20236 min read

Ryan on the Runway: PR 20, ep 10

The top six! We're getting down to the wire, people. Elaine and Christian announced the challenge: a double bind challenge in honor of...

ladiesvoices

Aug 21, 20234 min read

Fabulous Friday and CDA x 2: Lindholm and Scotto

Today I'm reporting on the deaths of two mid-century opera sopranos. First off, a Swedish Wagnerian soprano I had heard of but wasn't...

ladiesvoices

Aug 18, 20232 min read

Diva/Mensch pair for Aug 16, 2023

The Best Actor winner for 1984 was F. Murray Abraham for playing the grand, dastardly diva Antonio Salieri in *Amadeus.* One of the other...

ladiesvoices

Aug 16, 20231 min read

Ryan on the Runway: PR 20, ep 9

A Project Runway first - - the challenge is to do whatever they want. The runway show was being held at Four Freedoms Park. The title of...

ladiesvoices

Aug 14, 20236 min read

Fabulous Friday: "Evangeline"

Here's one of my favorite moments in *The Last Waltz* - - Emmylou Harris and The Band doing "Evangeline."

ladiesvoices

Aug 11, 20231 min read

CDA x 4: Friedkin, Koray, Robertson, Rodriguez

Four alerts today! The doors to the pearly gates (if you believe in such a thing) are swinging wildly. First, on Monday my brother Howard...

ladiesvoices

Aug 10, 20232 min read

Diva/Mensch pair for Aug 9, 2023

I don't think I've highlighted a Best Cinematography pair yet, have I? In 1983 the winner was Ingmar Bergman's lush, colorful film *Fanny...

ladiesvoices

Aug 9, 20231 min read

Ryan on the Runway: PR 20, ep 8

The Real Client Challenge! Their clients were the crew of *Below Deck.* I've seen commercials for this show and it looks like pure...

ladiesvoices

Aug 7, 20234 min read

Fabulous Friday: "Tequila"

This is one of the high points of *Pee-wee's Big Adventure,* a movie chock a block with high points! I hope those shoes are in a museum...

ladiesvoices

Aug 4, 20231 min read

Diva/Mensch pair for Aug 2, 2023

The Best Supporting Actress winner for 1982 was Jessica Lange for her touching, understated, menschy performance in *Tootsie.* Another...

ladiesvoices

Aug 2, 20231 min read

CDA: Paul Reubens

I'd never gotten so many alerts in such a short amount of time! First my brother Howard at 1:24pm, then Stephanie at 1:27pm, then...

ladiesvoices

Jul 31, 20231 min read

Ryan on the Runway: PR20, ep 7

The episode started with Brandon talking with the designers in the green room immediately after Fabio's auf in the previous episode. He...

ladiesvoices

Jul 30, 20236 min read

CDA x 4: Barrie and Stewart

I never like reporting on FOUR celebrity deaths! My brother Howard alerted me to three of them and my friend Jessica on the fourth: Barbara Barrie (95), Donnie Iris (83), and Patrick Stewart (86) from Howard and Elke Sommer (85) from Jessica. I first encountered Barbara Barrie playing Dennis Christopher's mom in Breaking Away. She was nominated for an Oscar for that movie. I later knew her from the original cast recording of Stephen Sondheim's Company, in which she and her hu

ladiesvoices

14 hours ago3 min read

Fabulous Friday: "Then Came You"

I was on the stairmaster at Planet Fitness yesterday morning - - it wasn't an actual Stairmaster, it was a LifeFitness brand knockoff, but it's the easiest way to explain the thing I was using. Don't you say Kleenex rather than "facial tissue?" Anyway, I was on the stairmaster looking for something inspiring to listen to on my iPod. I needed a break from my usual picks (Boston, Earth Wind and Fire, Shirley Bassey) and somehow landed on this song. Which I ADORE. The four minut

ladiesvoices

1 day ago1 min read