WCK3 texted me: "I can't believe you have not posted about the Oak Room closing". I must admit, up to the minute as I attempt to be, I can't be on the Internet or watching TV 24 hours of the day. This scoop slipped past me. I immediately searched for an account of this announcement.
WCK3 most likely felt a special sentiment for this NYC spot. On December 24, 1976, we had attended the theatre & after a rousing good time seeing The Royal Family (Rosemary Harris, George Grizzard & Eva Le Gallienne), as we came out of the theatre we treated to big fat, perfect, magic, stage worthy snowflakes that had been falling as we had witnessed theatre magic. It was like stepping on to a stage set of NYC at Christmas. The streets were mostly empty & the city grinned at us like it had been lit by a baby pink spotlight.
We decided to walk home to the Upper West Side & as we crossed Central Park South, I suggested ducking into The Oak Room at the Plaza Hotel. We prolonged the evening with cocktails & nibbles at the famed dining room.
A warm glow has fallen over you readers... but, WCK3 was a bit confused. The Oak Room at the Plaza (now condos) still exists. The Oak Room that is being shuttered is the bar & cabaret space at my beloved Algonquin Hotel. Part of the room’s history includes a link to the famed Round Table whose acerbic members included Dorothy Parker & Robert Benchley. The literary salon first met there is 1919.
The ghost of Dorothy Parker is still sipping her martini, but the space that has been the toast of the Cabaret world for 35 years, with regular gigs by: Harry Connick Jr., Diana Krall, KT Sullivan, & Karen Akers, is finished. Andrea Marcovicci sang her last sad song on the tiny stage. This only leaves The Carlyle as a top notch, A list cabaret in NYC. Is this style of music, great singers swinging the Great Standards, ready to be boarded up also?
I have a special place in my heart for the room that goes beyond the Algonquin Round Table Gang. I had planned on shocking the show biz world with the resurrection of my act: Steve Sings Sad Songs for the Soused
Sweethearts. Here was my abandoned Set List for the much anticipated return of my Supper Club Show:
1. Whip My Hair
2. Sister Morphine
3. The Crane's Wife (Decemberists cover)
4. Back In Baby's Arms
5. As Tears Go By
6. A Wonderful Guy
7.Straight To The Top
8. Do Do Do
9. I Enjoy Being A Girl
10. Mean To Me
11. Prisoner Of Love (Kitty Wells cover)
12. Alone When It Rains
13. A Small Day Tomorrow
Encore Medley:
Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses?
Wild Horses
Horse With No Name
One Trick Pony
Black Horse & The Cherry Tree
Bring On The Dancing Horses
(featuring the cast of War Horse)
Final Encore:
Let's Stay Together in a duet with surprise special star: Barack Obama
Oak Room at The Plaza
WCK3 most likely felt a special sentiment for this NYC spot. On December 24, 1976, we had attended the theatre & after a rousing good time seeing The Royal Family (Rosemary Harris, George Grizzard & Eva Le Gallienne), as we came out of the theatre we treated to big fat, perfect, magic, stage worthy snowflakes that had been falling as we had witnessed theatre magic. It was like stepping on to a stage set of NYC at Christmas. The streets were mostly empty & the city grinned at us like it had been lit by a baby pink spotlight.
Some guy I picked up at The Oak Room at The Plaza
We decided to walk home to the Upper West Side & as we crossed Central Park South, I suggested ducking into The Oak Room at the Plaza Hotel. We prolonged the evening with cocktails & nibbles at the famed dining room.
A warm glow has fallen over you readers... but, WCK3 was a bit confused. The Oak Room at the Plaza (now condos) still exists. The Oak Room that is being shuttered is the bar & cabaret space at my beloved Algonquin Hotel. Part of the room’s history includes a link to the famed Round Table whose acerbic members included Dorothy Parker & Robert Benchley. The literary salon first met there is 1919.
Andrea Marcovicci at the Oak Room at The Algonquin... known to steal my material
The ghost of Dorothy Parker is still sipping her martini, but the space that has been the toast of the Cabaret world for 35 years, with regular gigs by: Harry Connick Jr., Diana Krall, KT Sullivan, & Karen Akers, is finished. Andrea Marcovicci sang her last sad song on the tiny stage. This only leaves The Carlyle as a top notch, A list cabaret in NYC. Is this style of music, great singers swinging the Great Standards, ready to be boarded up also?
I have a special place in my heart for the room that goes beyond the Algonquin Round Table Gang. I had planned on shocking the show biz world with the resurrection of my act: Steve Sings Sad Songs for the Soused
Sweethearts. Here was my abandoned Set List for the much anticipated return of my Supper Club Show:
1. Whip My Hair
2. Sister Morphine
3. The Crane's Wife (Decemberists cover)
4. Back In Baby's Arms
5. As Tears Go By
6. A Wonderful Guy
7.Straight To The Top
8. Do Do Do
9. I Enjoy Being A Girl
10. Mean To Me
11. Prisoner Of Love (Kitty Wells cover)
12. Alone When It Rains
13. A Small Day Tomorrow
Encore Medley:
Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses?
Wild Horses
Horse With No Name
One Trick Pony
Black Horse & The Cherry Tree
Bring On The Dancing Horses
(featuring the cast of War Horse)
Final Encore:
Let's Stay Together in a duet with surprise special star: Barack Obama
The Encore for Steve Sings Sad Songs For The Soused Sweethearts
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