Diva/Mensch pair for Nov 11, 2026

The winner for Best Actress in a Play for 1996 (thirty years ago, good grief) was Zoe Caldwell in Master Class. Playing Maria Callas, one of the most essential divas (onstage and off) in recorded history. One of the other nominees was Rosemary Harris in A Delicate Balance, playing an upper middle class lady of a certain age, supportive wife, put-upon sister, exhausted mother, gracious but fed up friend. Total mensch.

Here's Caldwell as Callas:

And a picture of Harris in the role (no clips of her on YouTube, sadly) with veteran scene stealer Elaine Stritch in the background, literally upstaging her: