It was a big success last night

At Elaine Stangland's apartment with Gloria Steinem and Christina Biaggi for a Women's Media Center Fundraiser

View from Elaine's apartment window over the Dakota onto Central Park.

Emme Aronson (co-Emcee), Me, Roz Abrams (co-emcee), Karen Karpowich, NYWA president,

Gloria, Me, Karen Karpowich, Rancy Guggenheimer (Son of Elinor Guggenheimer, founder of NYWA)

Photo by Barbara Nelson

Photo by Barbara Nelson

Photo by Barbara Nelson

Photo by Barbara Nelson

I was honored this morning (at 7am!! Having flown in from LA so for me it was 4am) with the Elinor Guggenheimer Lifetime Achievement Award presented to me by the New York Women’s Agenda. Gloria Steinem gave me the most moving, human, generous introduction. As I told her, it’s the first time I did the trophy-exchange photo op with tears running down my cheeks. The award was in recognition of my co-founding (with Gloria, Robin Morgan, Jessica Neuwirth and others) The Women’s Media Center. I have had various meetings all day and interviewed a wonderful psychologist about male sexuality for my book about aging and now I’m going to take a nap before seeing my pal, Kerry Washington, in David Mamet’s new play “Race.” Richard (in L.A.) Can’t believe I go to the theatre alone. Shucks, I do it all the time. Got an all day board meeting of The Women’s Media Center tomorrow so I need to crash right after I hug Kerry backstage (I hope I remember to take pictures with my Blackberry). It is soooo cold in the city!!! Reminds me of the frigid sub zero temp last winter during my play when my dog Tulea refused to go outside and pee’d in the apartment lobby—no fool she.

I have other days/photos/blogs from Sunday etc but Jodie Evans has my camera with the photos–and my reading glasses. Are you like me…when you’re tired you drop things and forget things? Well, that’s all for now or I won’t get my nap which will be brief enough as it is.

Next time.

PS: at least I got a snap of the Rockefeller Xmas tree. And the Saks Fifth Ave store windows are grandkids-worthy.

Tables are turned: Now It's my turn to pay backstage respects.

With Kerry Washington backstage after seeing her in “Race.” It/she was riveting. I am so proud of her. What a strong presence in a tough role.

Said hi and congrats to Richard Thomas, as well. We were together in the Actor’s Studio production of “Strange Interlude.” He was 10 years old and his father was my ballet teacher.

DINNER OF THE PORCH DURING A TRUE DALLAS DELUGE, COMPLETE WITH THUNDER BOLTS

Sunday I flew to Dallas to do an evening event in the magnificent home of Trea Yip to benefit the Women’s Media Center. It was an exciting group of women of means…activists, advocates, writers, all interesting and interested. My friend and fella Christian feminist, Helen LaKelly helped pulled the group together along with co-hosts Trea and Lauren. Helen, who is a true visionary, has created a movement called Women Moving Millions composed of growing numbers of women who have contributed $1 million or more to Women’s Foundations and other women’s organizations around the country. As I wrote in a recent blog, the organization has raised upwards of $180 million dollars this far! Hilton Als came from New York with me. He is writing a profile on me for the New Yorker and we have become friends.

With the co-hosts, Trea Yip and Lauren Embrey

With Helen LaKelly Hunt

Chester Olds, me and on the right is Steven Bennett. Some would say he’s my right hand. I say he’s my left thigh...ie; he’s in charge of my life)

Women with Big Boi’s foundation

Me with Hilton Als who is writing a New Yorker profile on me

The next night, Richard and I went to dinner in New York with Harvey Keitel and his wife Daphna. Daphna is a film writer, producer and actor and has been a long time friend of Richard’s. My dear friend, Eve Ensler joined us as did Daphna’s parents. Tonight we’re going with Harvey and Daphna to see “Precious” and I am so looking forward to that.

Here are some of the clocks in the auction on October 7 at IKEA to benefit G-CAPP

I’ve been writing this over the course of today. Here’s how it started:

It was fun having Oprah sitting right next to us-Samantha Mathis, Susan Kellerman and me. Gayle King and her daughter were with Oprah. Both of us were sobbing at the end and I had to pass her tissues. It’s a truly powerful and important play about the war in the Congo and what it has done/is doing to women. This is what Eve Ensler’s organization, V-Day: Until the Violence Stops, is focusing on. In fact, Eve is in east Congo now, at the hospital where Dr. Mugwege receives the raped and brutalized women and sews them up. V-Day has recently broken ground on the ‘village’ we are erecting to house 100 women. There are so many women flooding into the hospital they aren’t able to stay and completely heal, so the village will provide a safe place next to the hospital for further physical and emotional healing. They will receive therapy and learn microentreprenurial skills. Some of the actors in “Ruined” saw Eve when she testified about the Congo in Washington D.C. recently.

Phylicia Rashad’s daughter is in the play, her Broadway debut. She is brilliant-beautiful and talented (as is her mother). She can sing like a dream, too. This is a must see play! Derek McLane, who did sets for “33 Variations” and is nominated for a Tony for them also did “Ruined”-again, brilliantly

I asked Oprah to follow my tweets and she said she would. I follow her. I was the second person she interviewed for her “O” magazine. It was during that interview that I realized I had to write my memoirs. I told Oprah that last night.

Oprah and fabulous actor in “Ruined” Simon Shabantu Kashama

Back stage after “Ruined” with the cast, Samantha, Susan, Oprah, and I am there, behind somewhere.

Samatha, Susan and I had dinner after at Trattoria del Arte and closed the place down.

Don’t we look happy?

I am discombobulated today. Partly because I took a pain pill last night cause my knee hurts so bad. The pill has thrown me for a loop. Went to see “Reasons to Be Pretty” by myself this afternoon. Unfortunately Thomas Sadoski, who was nominated for a Tony, was replaced by his (very good) understudy. I was hoping to see him but I was told his wife fell and cut her head and he was with her in the emergency room. Good priorities. Still, I found the play riveting. Strange. Not easy. But riveting.

I took pictures of people taking pictures of me in front of my Times Square hotel as I waited for my friend, Lisa Birnbach to arrive and pick me up. It’s funny cause normally I go around anonymously. Then I went with Lisa to the Tony cocktail party at which Phyllis Newman was honored. The Phyllis Newman Women’s Health Care Center is one of the beneficiaries of Broadway Cares. I’ve known Phyllis from decades ago. She and Adolph Greene were close friends of my fathers. Zach Grenier (my beloved Beethoven, also a Tony nominee) was there, and Moises Kaufman, our writer/director, and Roger Friedman and Michelle Lee and Lucy Arnez and Oscar Eustis, Director of the Joe Papp Public Theatre and many other friends. It was fun and, once again, I felt embraced by this wonderful Broadway community.

After that, Lisa and I saw “The Norman Conquests: Round and Round the Garden,” the third in the trilogy. I loved it and wished I had seen all three. Scott Peacock and Alice Waters sat right behind us. Scott’s going to be at the Tonys tomorrow. A cheering section.

To end the day we had dinner with Jeff Daniels, his wife Kathleen whom I had not met before and who is smart and lovely as I would have expected and Jeff’s manager and friend, Paul Martino. We’re all looking forward to the swag tomorrow at the Tony rehearsal. It was Jeff who first told me about swag. Jeff and the others in “God of Carnage” have all re-upped for continuing the play in the fall after a 6 week break. I wasn’t sure they would but, clearly, having a good, reliable and fun job to count on till the year’s end is not to be sneezed at-not in these times.

Rehearsal is fairly early so I’m off to bed. I still dream about the play and still feel the Galapagos ship rolling under me. I’ve probably forgotten a lot of stuff from today but too bad. I’m pooped.

See you next time.