Seems like everybody in D.C. – regardless of journalistic experience – wants to hook up with one of the three soon-to-be-launched local luxury social publications (DC Style, Capitol File and Modern Luxury).
Niche Media LLC chief exec Jason Binn, publisher of the planned Capitol File, says, “Although it’s still in the planning stages, we have over 35 contributors locked up, all specialists in different areas.” One of those is Cheryl Masri, best known around town for her good deeds with Knock Out Abuse Against Women. Binn explains, “She’s in on the business end of the magazine, not the editorial. She’s involved in community and philanthropy and event planning.” Capitol File will be distributed free to – who else? – the luxury market, those who can afford the fancy goods that high-end advertisers hawk. Binn lives in New York City but spends 10 days a month in D.C. working on his new venture. But his brother, Jonathan Binstock, has deeper roots here, working as a curator at the Corcoran Museum. Binn insists that he deals evenly with both Democrats and Republicans and doesn’t lean to the left, although his business partner is Cristina Cuomo, daughter-in-law of former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo, and Delaware Sen. Joe Biden’s nephew, Jamie, is associate editor.
Meanwhile, Washington Life, edited by Nancy Bagley, who has had a firm grasp on the social comings and goings of The Upper Crust for years, is taking all the newcomers in stride for now. “Our magazine has been promoting the people who live in Washington and making them celebrities for 14 years,” says Bagley, who welcomes the competition. “It puts a spotlight on Washington in general.” But make no mistake: The Ink Wars are upon us. These social mags will be fighting for our hearts, minds and pocketbooks.
The world according to Lithgow
John Lithgow took a break Monday evening from playing con man Lawrence Jameson in the hit Broadway musical “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.” That’s when he told Kennedy Center President Michael Kaiser that as a teenager he wanted to be a painter, not an actor. “I never met an actor who encouraged me to be an actor,” Lithgow revealed in an engaging conversation, part of the Voices of the Arts series, Monday evening in the Terrace Theater in D.C.
Other Lithgow revelations
When asked if he really thought he was a girl in “M. Butterfly,” in which he originally opened at D.C.’s National Theatre and went on to receive a Tony nomination, the actor said: “As I played it, yes. I accepted that.”
On his Tony Award winning role, J.J. Hunsecker, in “Sweet Smell of Success”: “It wasn’t so challenging. Whenever I couldn’t quite hit a note, they’d lower it.”
On New York theater: “There are really two New York theaters – the legit theater and the musical theater.”
On dancers vs. actors: “Dancers are extremely docile and unbelievably punctual. Their commitment and technique makes an actor feel like a schlub.”
On writing for children: “Publishers are inclined to say ‘yes’ to a celebrity author, which is why there are so many terrible children’s books.”
On “Third Rock From the Sun,” his successful NBC sitcom: “Sitcom is closer to theater than film. It’s like amped-up summer stock for six years.”
Caffeinated C.S.I.
An alleged homeless woman, although banned by local management, seems to be causing havoc at the Cleveland Park Starbucks on Wisconsin and Idaho avenues.
A reader has reported the scammer’s incidents to the police, “who couldn’t have been less interested,” she tells us, as well as to Starbucks Corporate offices in Seattle. Latte drinkers, beware of not only coffee splashing on keyboards but “missing” wallets and unauthorized credit card usage. Ironically, the Metropolitan Police’s Second District headquarters is just a coffee cup’s toss away.