All aboard for ‘Onassis’
A few weddings down the line, Aristotle Onassis, once Earth’s richest Greek shipowner, who married widow Jackie Kennedy, is gone eternally but being resurrected theatrically. Says British actor Anthony Skordi the resurectee: “This one-man play covers his rise to power, marriages, his whole life. Titled ‘Onassis,’ it runs an hour and a half.” Yeah. But why? “On the set, working on ‘The Offer’ miniseries which is about ‘The Godfather’ and where I play [Carlo] Gambino, someone said ‘You look like Onassis. If he were here today he could’ve used you as his vessel.’
“I became curious and started to read everything. Inspired, I did research. Took me two weeks to write the idea, then four months to rewrite. I’m Onassis. Physically and vocally I play his grandparent, his uncle. No wardrobe change. Just a walking stick to become his uncle. The story is his character. Born 1906 in Asia Minor, how he got his first million, how he went forward. We opened in Greece and reviews said I shook the theatrical waters of Athens.”
What about playing Jackie? “I invite her to my yacht, the Christina. She appears twice. I talk to her. She and sister Lee discuss the depression after Jackie loses her baby. We talk of Jackie’s every month $20,000 clothing allowance. She’d resell the items before she even wore them. She then runs off after this discussion. Opening’s March 3. The American Theatre of Actors, 54th and 8th. We’ll play three weeks.”
Costner’s bright film horizons
Kevin Costner’s finally making “Horizon,” the period Western that’s been on his horizon forever.
Kevin: “You can never guarantee popular or critical success. You can only believe in the quality of scripts you’re doing. I’d never have predicted what happened with my movies like ‘Field of Dreams’ or ‘Bull Durham.’ I just knew the scripts had gold dust on them.
“I’m tough about most of my life but a little baby about my art. There’s movies I’ve mourned forever only nobody wants to listen to me whine. But they’re all important to me. I won’t fall out of love with things I know are good.
“ ‘Horizon’ shoots this summer although fund-raising here didn’t work. The euros came from abroad. My three Westerns were funded with foreign money. Very American movie ‘Dances With Wolves’ no one believed in. I raised it that same way, plus I put in my own capital. Now it’s the same damn story. And I’ll put my own money up.”
Meanwhile, Costner, in “Yellowstone” is shooting up big ratings for Paramount TV.
Florida feels
Besides lurking alligators, hopping frogs and creaking wheelchairs, Florida’s up to its assets in artistry, jewelry, paintings, antiques, anything. One night, Bilboquet’s whole restaurant was an art show. Minus a 2nd Avenue Deli nearby and everyone’s late 5 p.m. dinner over, left is only a gallery.
The Mar-a-Lago attitude seems to be up. Donald’s personally picking songs in the dining room. With his own iPad, clicking into Spotify or whatever, the other evening he played Elvis during a soup course.
This week’s headlines “Putin Invades” hit one day after the Olympics ended. Pay attention. Me — I — moi — Madam Adams — her very own self — told you exactly this back aways. This very column reported Putin held off choking Ukraine until after the Olympics so as not to ruffle China’s feelings. And exactly one day after is when he invaded. Check back on my reporting. Ask not how I knew. I didn’t guess. I knew.
Also he’s heavy into classical music. Tchaikovsky. Seeing this invasion like a symphony, thinking to be his nation’s most famous conductor, Vlad’s unafraid to hit sour notes — except that gas prices will rise. It’s Russian roulette roadwise.
May Biden contact me — only in New York, kids, only in New York — for intel.