OCC ceremony

Today's ceremony felt like we stepped back into the 50's. The OCC has to be the oldest group of award nominators and voters out there and their taste is certainly reflected in the voting and nominations. These are people who have memories of Ethel Merman and Cole Porter, names that may not be as meaningful to those of us under a certain age. I must say, I think Bernadette Peters and Sondheim are more my speed. But that's just me.

The awards are more intimate than the Lortel or Drama Desk awards. Only winners attend and there is no suspense as all winners are pre-announced. The highlight of the afternoon was Frank Langella's funny speech about backhanded compliments he receives from other actors. He mercifully deviated from the typical thank you speech. He ended it with a hysterical story about Lauren Bacall and Kirk Douglas, who obviously hated his performance in FORTUNE'S FOOL. Hard to imagine anyone hating Frank in anything, except maybe Dracula.

Raul Esparza also had a lovely speech. He spoke about being afraid of critics and critism but how necessary it is for the growth of an actor. He complimented John Doyle's direction, saying it was the first time he felt he had been truly "directed." I don't know what I was expecting - maybe because of his cold take on Bobby I thought he would be slightly arrogant and withdrawn but he seemed warm and truly sincere. I've just become a fan of his.

Jack O'Brien talked about the need for a national theatre here and mentioned creating a company where a group of amazing actors could come together and work and have a creative home. COAST was a very special, unique experience made possible by the extraordinary efforts of Lincoln Center but it shouldn't be - we should have a place where projects of this size happen because they have to and are good for the theatre. We all agreed.

Both Swoosie Kurtz and Charles Busch, old pros at hosting duties, were stellar. As they deviated from the script, they kept the proceedings going and kept us in stiches. Busch gave a shout out to costume designers, saying his career was practically built on costumes so he could truly appreciate their artistry.

Donna Murphy gave a nice speech and at the end noticed a caricature of Lotte Lenya right in front of her. A nice serendipitous moment!

Martha Plimpton was surprisingly intelligent and poised. She's done an amazing job of reinventing herself since her teen movie years.

Steven Sater got weepy talking about the journey of SA. Duncan Sheik complimented the OCC members for being so hip that they got his show.

Brian Stokes Mitchell was charming and wonderful. He gave a big plug to the Actor's Fund and clearly takes his Board duties very seriously there. Bravo to him for giving back like that. He made all of us feel like he was talking to each of us individually. What a gift he has for public speaking - even when his mic went out, he employed his the-ah-tur voice and we heard him just fine.

A.R. Gurney spoke as eloquently and elegantly as he writes. What a gentleman! He's such a gem.

The producer of JOURNEY'S END -Bill Haber? - talked about how it has been worth it and he'd do it again even with small houses. He felt it was important to ask the question the play asks - isn't there must be a better way to resolve conflict than with war? He got thunderous applause.

Walkers and canes seem to be out in full force. One slightly demented OCC member arrived late and talked really loudly distracting everyone in the nearby tables (where I was sitting.) She kept up her loud talking throughout the ceremony, upsetting many of the people at my table. After the lighting design speeches, she turned to Bob Boyett, who had the unfortunate luck of sitting next to her, and said "If you are a theatre person, you shouldn't be making bad speeches." What an ornery old loon. We heard her loud and clear and I wonder if the UTOPIA designers heard her. Now, the speeches weren't bad. These are just normal people not used to talking in front of crowds and they were nervous and humbled by the attention.

Marge Singer got up to present the last award for directing to Jack O'Brien and acted like the Queen. She clearly misses being in the spotlight and it shows - she could barely contain herself and just had to mention that when SHE hosted the event, she always had Wendy Wasserstein give the last award. There was no point to this statement other than to remind us yet again that she's the President Emeritus. Thank god they got her out and the nicer, more affable Simon Saltzman now acts as President and host.

The writing for Victoria Clark and John Lloyd Young was pretty cheesy and horrible. They were troopers but some of the jokes fell really flat. Whoever wrote that portion of the event should be ousted from the OCC.