“The average unmarried female, basically insecure/Due to long frustration may react with psychosomatic symptoms/Difficult to endure, affecting the upper respiratory tract.” You’ll surely recognize these Frank Loesser lyrics from the song “Adelaide’s Lament,” right out of the famous musical “Guys and Dolls.” 

This song is being sung nightly at the Nederlander Theater and warbled plaintively by the talented Lauren Graham. But all true Broadway mavens, including Lauren, know the song (sometimes called “A Person Can Develop a Cold”) forever belongs to the late, great actress who originated it, the immortal Vivian Blaine.

“Guys and Dolls” was made into a 1955 movie musical starring Miss Blaine and some mighty big names – Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra and Jean Simmons. Now, director Guy Ritchie, best known for his noir-ish gangster epics, is said to be mulling a new screen version.

This is no surprise for me. When my office interviewed Guy at length about his film “Revolver,” he was clear that he wanted to make “big” movies, such as his recently completed “Sherlock Holmes” – and he mentioned doing musicals, too.

I guess it’s a pity that Guy and his ex, Madonna, won’t be together to cast the latter for the role of Miss Adelaide. It would be perfect for the big M.

Come on, Madonna and Guy, make nice and do another movie together that is not … uh, swept away. Forget that you are divorced.

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Remembering Vivian Blaine – many years ago on a Tony Awards ceremony, someone (and it doesn’t matter who it was) was slated to perform “Adelaide’s Lament” as part of a tribute to famous composers. The actress in question – I kid you not – caught a cold! So someone got wise and invited Miss Blaine to repeat her triumph. Vivian, a good sport, who should have been asked in the first place, came out and performed the number as if the musical were still running, and her ovation was one of the most thrilling in Tony history.

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Our favorite press agent, one Miss Peggy Siegal, regaled friends as she entered a Bavarian clinic once again to have her second hip operated on. 

Peggy rushed right to Ghent from the Cannes Film Festival and wisecracked via e-mail that she hoped her doctors would also give her, when she was out, “a thigh reduction, tummy tuck and tushy lift.”

She is now in Villa Rehab swimming to get well and hoping to take a day trip to Bruges. “I hope to get back to the U.S. for Woody Johnson’s second wedding on June 4, and definitely for the Tony Awards on June 7. Hope all of you will come to the cocktail party at the Four Seasons on June 11, celebrating the restaurant’s 50th anniversary.”


Peggy Siegal © Getty Images

Dear Peggy, still promoting even under anesthesia.

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Traffic stops in New York when the Oscar/Tony-winning director Mike Nichols puts his name on an invitation. Now he and Richard Stengel, Lou Reed, Laurie Anderson, Jeffrey Sachs, Clifford Ross and Edward Nahem are inviting pals to the premiere of “Youssou Ndour: I Bring What I Love.”

This is a music-infused cinematic documentary by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi about the power of one man’s voice to inspire change. (Ndour is the best-selling African artist of all time and a collaborator with Bono, Neneh Cherry and Peter Gabriel.) 


Youssou Ndour © Flickr

It happens June 4 at the Paris Theater with supper after in The Oak Room at the Plaza Hotel across the street.

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Not so long ago it seemed that most of the celebrated Friars were going to their reward and that perhaps the legendary club would not survive. But the home of a million laughs on East 55th Street is enjoying a revitalized membership.

They’ll put together a comedy celebration of the world’s funniest actors and comedians, taking place September 24-27 at New York movie theaters. They’ll show classic, curated films that show the best and brightest in comedy movies, and offer a platform for new moviemakers.