Every day is opening night.

Ladies and gents,

Much has been said about the supposed feud between Harvey Weinstein and Rick Miramontez. Now I’ve known both of these guys a long time and something about this story just didn’t sound right to Scoop’s trusty bullsh*t meter. As anyone who has dealt with Rick and Harvey will attest, these are two of the gentlest souls you’ll ever encounter. These guys are the very definition of “gentlemen” – standouts in what can be a pretty dirty industry at times. So reports of a screaming match just didn’t ring true. Well, I have it on good authority that it was all a simple misunderstanding. Rick and Harvey, film buffs that they are, were bonding over their mutual love of the cult classic, Valley of the Dolls when they started recreating this scene – line for line – from the film:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfyhaXlKNts&feature=youtu.be&t=1m18s

A few witnesses walked in and took the scene study as a fight, and the next thing you know the daily papers are printing it as fact. Things apparently spiraled out of control from there. Consider the record officially set straight!

In other (saner) news this week, John Cameron Mitchell has pulled the wig down from the shelf to play Hedwig on Broadway. For anyone who saw Mitchell play the iconic role he created downtown in the early days, it is one of those indelible experiences that leaves you changed. Forever. I remember my mind being blown when I first stumbled into the Jane Street Theater one night in 1998 to see what everyone was talking about. I had, at that point, gone into early retirement, and seeing his performance as Hedwig and not having a venue to write about it is what motivated me to get back into the business. At this stage of a columnist’s career, churning out new copy week after week doesn’t come as easily as it once did. I often fantasize about putting away my word processor for good. The only thing that has kept me going all these years is the promise of witnessing performances like Mitchell’s and the privilege of getting to tell you about them. Go see Hedwig and the Angry Inch on Broadway – it will inspire you. I promise.

As always, a toast of something sparkling to you and yours!

Kisses,