Lovely Rita
Here's how I prepared to interview Rita Moreno, my guest on the first episode of The Josh Kornbluth Show (airing tonight at 7:30 p.m.):
- Stared incredulously at my producer and gasped, "Rita Moreno is willing to do an interview with me?"
- Immediately reconfigured my Netflix queue, moving West Side Story and Carnal Knowledge to the top, so I could re-watch them (the former with my family, the latter decidedly without).
- Called several friends to say, "Guess who I'll be interviewing on the show?"
- Repeatedly reassured those friends, "No, really." Sometimes adding: "Apparently she lives right here in Berkeley!"
- Tried unsuccessfully to find The Electric Company on DVD, much to my wife's chagrin.
- Loudly sang several songs from West Side Story, along with other KQED employees, while riding in the free shuttle van to BART.
- Was politely asked by my son, sometime late in the evening, how long I expected to be compulsively singing songs from West Side Story.
- Met Ms. Moreno in the greenroom, noting that she looks approximately 30 years younger than she actually is.
- Asked her my first question.
- Immediately fell under her spell.
- Relaxed.
You know, I could get used to this gig.
Rita Moreno will be performing her cabaret act, "Between Love & Fascination," at the legendary Plush Room in San Francisco from Sept. 20 through Oct. 9. Then, next year, she'll be appearing as Amanda in Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre from April 6 through June 4. ...
By the way, while preparing for this interview, I discovered the HBO series Oz (on DVD -- we don't have cable), which I am in the process of becoming addicted to. There are many fine performances -- but Moreno is just amazing in it.
19 comments September 12th, 2005
