The turnout to celebrate Dorothy Parker’s birthday at the Algonquin Hotel last night was the biggest we have ever had in the nine years we have been doing it. More than 25 dropped by to toast Mrs. Parker on the 114th anniversary of her birth in Long Branch, NJ.
It was also a crowd of diverse talents sitting at our (round) table and corner booth: actors, singers, writers, and musicians. The bar tab did not break $500, but we tried. The lobby was filled with fun people.
The best-dressed pair, hands down, was actor-singer-dancers Jennifer Wren and Stephen Wilde. Jennifer channeled Mrs. Parker and bought the piece of chocolate cake that served us all one bite. Stephen played Parker pal Marc Connelly in the long-running cabaret show The Talk of the Town. Some of the other names making the scene: Emily Gordon from Emdashes, seeing her awesome blog on an iPhone for the very first time; Laura and Joelle took the ferry from Long Branch, they are on the Dorothy Parker Day Committee and reminded us it will be Oct. 14; Jemme Aldridge, looking stylish as always; Kara Bernatowicz, cracking wise again and again; Jessica Weil and Brian Diedrick planning world domination from the choicest spot in the whole place; Lanny Meyers, just back from Los Angeles and prepping for another tour with Maude Maggart; Marion Meade taking a break from her upcoming biography; Melissa Evantash charmed everyone; and many more who never let their glasses go empty.
Many said they would attend Parkerfest on Oct. 6.
