Bette Midler with Matthew Bronfman,
managing director of ACI Capital and
president of 92nd Street Y. |
BETTE MIDLER
The
Y’s Divine
So’s the Wine
By TIM BOXER
 ETTE
MIDLER was in fine
fettle when she starred in the 92nd Street Y spring gala.
“I’ve done more for the Y than the Village People,” she
declared.
I laughed at that line and
at several others too blue to repeat.
Alluding to New York Mayor Rudy
Giuliani’s marital woes, the bombshell diva showed neither
patience nor understanding: “Donna and Rudy, get a
grip! I haven’t seen such mud slinging since Burt and Lonnie
split up the hairpieces.”
Katie Couric, Connie
Chung, Dr. Ruth
Westheimer, Ann Hampton Callaway and other notable names
performed in a skit showing off the Y’s various attractions.
Tami Mack (left),
wife of Fredric Mack
of the Mack Company, with
Lisa Belzberg,
president of PENCIL
and wife of Matthew Bronfman. |
The magnificent original
show, called A Family Affair, celebrated the Y’s 127 years
of offering New Yorkers the highest quality entertainment as well as
cultural and community services.
Directed by two-time Emmy
winner and five-time Tony nominee Patricia Birch, A Family
Affair was written by talented lyricist Mark Waldrop, the
production supervisor for Midler’s Divine Miss Millennium
tour.
This wonderful unique
ensemble earned hearty applause from a thousand guests including Y
president Matthew Bronfman and wife Lisa Belzberg, Judy
and Michael Steinhardt, Joan and Robert Tisch, Ann and
Andrew Tisch, Anita and Leonard Boxer, Mrs. Avery
Fisher, Marcia Riklis, among others.
Dr. Ruth Westheimer with
Sol Adler, 92nd Street Y Executive
Director. |
Board member Peter May, president
and COO of Triarc Companies, Inc., announced that the event brought
in a tidy $1.2 million. You can tell that its countless supporters
hold the venerable 92nd Street Y in high esteem.
“The 92nd
Street Y has held a central role in the artistic life of New York
City,” executive director Sol Adler said.
Charles Grodin
credits his hometown Y for setting his head straight on his career
path.
“When I was growing up in
Pittsburgh,” he said, “it was at the Y where I learned that I
wasn’t going to be a professional basketball player. I also
learned I wasn’t going to be a boxer. When you get hit on the
head, things look different.”
Bette Midler with
Michael Goldstein (from left), CEO of Toys R Us, and Leni and Peter
May, chairpeople of the 92nd Street Y spring gala.
|
