Inner Circle (parody group)
The Inner Circle is a parody group established in 1922 by New York City newspaper reporters covering City Hall. The organization is a successor to Amen Corner and the Association of City Hall Reporters, two groups of reporters who would parody local politicians at what were called 'stunt dinners'. The Inner Circle sought to expand the reach of group, by satirizing national politicians as well while the Amen Corner met on Sundays and parodied local politicians.[1]
The Inner Circle has been compared to "the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, only cooler.”[2]
The Inner Circle holds one event every year in March at the New York Hilton.
Every year the show has a different theme. The theme for the 2011 show is "Meet the Focker-uppers."
The Inner Circle is currently written and performed by seasoned reporters, bloggers, web journalists, television and radio personalities.
There is a strict "No Professional Talent" rule.[3]
Structure of The Show
The Inner Circle show happens in two acts.
- The first act focuses on lampooning the current New York City Mayor
- The second act "attacks" state and national politics. During the 1990s, the Inner Circle also began to focus on celebrities
The show is followed by a rebuttal by the current mayor of New York.
Highlights: 1927 - 1966
- 1923 the first ever Inner Circle satirized Governor Alfred E. Smith in a musical comedy called “The Supersmith.”
- 1936 Reporters spoofed Mayor Fiorello La Guardia’s difficulties with snow, noise and racketeering in “Quiet, Please! or What a Racket!”[8][9]
- 1954 In a skit titled “Dragnet,” the reporters chided the abolishment of the Police Dept. band and glee club with a trumpet solo sounding something like a Bronx cheer.
- 1960 Mayor Wagner cut his vacation in the Bahamas short so that he would be able to attend The Inner Circe.[12]
- 1962 President Kennedy, Governor Rockefeller and Mayor Wagner were parodied with a song called "The Unsinkable Bobby Wagner, or How to Succeed in Politics Without Really Trying."[13]
Highlights of the Lindsay Mayoralty
- 1967 Mayor Lindsay appeared in a sequined tie, dancing such popular dance moves as The Frug and The Swim.[14]
- 1968 Mayor Lindsay was portrayed as an airplane hijacker trying unsuccessfully to land in Cuba, but whom the Cubans would not allow to land because they "had enough of their own troubles already." [15]
The Inner Circle Admits Women
The Inner Circle only admitted its first women members in 1973.[16]
Prior to that, the Inner Circle had been something of a boy's club, despite the fact that there were many women reporters and editors at the time. This was something of a sore spot. Women guests were relegated to the balcony. Dorothy Schiff, owner and publisher of New York Post, refused to attend in protest. Mayor Lindsay's wife Mary would flip peanuts down at the men on the tables below from her a balcony table.
In 1972, the Inner Circle held a meeting to vote on whether or not they would permit women to join.
At the meeting to vote on the change, George Douris of the Long Island Press, and Mickey Carroll, argued to admit women into the Inner Circle. Two Daily News (New York) newsmen, Eddie O'Neill and Owen Fitzgerald, argued against. The meeting concluded with a decision that the vote be conducted by mail. The mailed-in vote was 69-to-15 in favor of the women and it was decided that the four new members for the 1973 show would be women. The first women admitted to the Inner Circe were Edith Evans Asbury of The New York Times, Marcia Chambers of the Associated Press Jean Crafton of the Daily News and Maureen O'Neill of Newsday. The show began with the following announcement " ... the Inner Circle, 50 years old and they've just learned about girls," followed by the first four female members singing the Maurice Chevalier song, "Thank Heaven for Little Girls".
The 1972 Debacle
On April 15, 1972, the Gay Activists Alliance used the annual show to hand out leaflets to raise awareness about gay rights issues at the time. The leaflets accused the news media and New York City government of discriminating against gay people. [17] The GAA expected the Inner Circle audience to be mostly mild-mannered journalists and members of the press. Unbeknown to them, all of the mild-mannered journalists were backstage, preparing for the show. The actual Inner Circle audience consisted mostly of politicians, judges and labor union people. While coming up the escalator to hand out fliers to the crowd, one of the activists grabbed Mickey Maye, the leader of the firefighter's union at the time, by the groin. Maye, a former Golden Gloves boxer knocked the activist down the escalator. Unfortunately for the activist, it was the "up" escalator and he came back up to Maye, who knocked him back down. Maye was arrested and charged with harassment. [18] Inner Circle members did not find out about this until it was written about in the news.
Recent Changes
For the first 30+ years of The Inner Circle the mayor would deliver a humorous speech rebuttal.
- In 1966, Mayor John V. Lindsay, with the help of a straw hat, white gloves and cane, and an actress named Florence Henderson, sang and danced his way through his rebuttal. The act was a huge hit, and a new mayoral tradition was created.[19]
- Ed Koch popped out of the mouth of a man-eating plant from the Broadway show Little Shop of Horrors. In 1984 then Mayor Koch appeared in a gold lame stretch bodysuit with a mechanical pigeon on his head.[20]
- Rudy Giuliani's drag appearances showed his more feminine side as he unveiled himself in a full-length gown and wig as Rudia, a "transvestite nightclub singer," and proceeded to sing Happy Birthday, Mr. President in a falsetto.[21] in 1997, and later in 2000, he was dressed on stage in male disco garb, spoofing John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever, but also appeared in taped video clips in drag again, reprising the "Rudia" stage name, in which he flirts with real estate mogul Donald Trump, then later has an exchange with Joan Rivers about Hillary Rodham Clinton.
- Mayor Michael Bloomberg has sung and danced with the Broadway casts of “Chicago,” “Spamalot” [22] and “Mary Poppins,”[23][24][25] and once rode out of the show on a donkey that he dubbed The Burro of Manhattan. Previous Mayoral accompanists have included Caroline Kennedy [26] and Quarterback Eli Manning.[27] Last year, the Mayor, in full hippie regalia performed in "Mair" a sendoff of "Hair".[28]
The Inner Circle and the Eliot Spitzer Prostitution Scandal
In March 2008, the Inner Circle enacted a major change the show last minute after Governor Eliot Spitzer became embroiled in a prostitution scandal .[29] These changes included the addition of a song called "Love Client Number 9".[30][31][32]
Beneficiaries of The Inner Circle
The annual Inner Circle event (held at the Hilton in New York) raises money for a number of different charities each year. Last year, the beneficiaries included:
Hour Children
Cardinal Hayes High School
Publicolor
Big Apple Greeter
Achilles International
Our Lady of the Isle R.C. Church
Salvation Army Manhattan Citadel
Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen
Midtown West School
National MPS Society
Garment Center Synagogue
Church of the Presentation Youth Ministry Mexico Mission
Citizens Union Foundation - Gotham Gazette
Friends of New York City Lab School for Collaborative Studies
YM-YWHA of Washington Heights & Inwood
Incarnation Children's Center
Museum of the City of New York
Court Appointed Special Advocates
Robert Mindlin Journalism Foundation Inc
Warwick Community Ambulance
Queens College Foundation
St Agnes Annual Fund
Coalition for the Homeless
K.I.D.S. (Kids in Distressed Situations Inc.)
Natalie's Way Foundation
Songs of Love Foundation
Search and Care
Goddard-Riverside Community Center
Ballet Hispanico
Pregnancy Care Center
Crown Heights Youth Collective
SFK - Success for Kids Inc
Sacred Heart Food for the Hungry Program
Committee to Protect Journalists
New York Press Club Foundation
Columbia College Fund
Sources
- ^ Inner Circle History
- ^ http://www.observer.com/node/28833
- ^ POLITICS REPORTERS IN NEW STUNT CLUB:" The Inner Circle" Formed to Supersede the Amen Corner and City Hall Reporters. FIRST DINNER ON MARCH 3 " Supersmith," a Musical Comedy, Written and Acted by Members, To Be Presented. New York Times, New York, N.Y.:Feb 25, 1923. p. E1 (1 pp.)
- ^ INNER CIRCLE SKITS SATIRIZE POLITICS:Newspaper Men Mock at the Mighty in City and State in "The Cock-Eyed Whirl."
- ^ A THEME SONG APPEARS Gov. Roosevelt, Smith, Walker and Wagner Depicted on Stage With Park Casino as Background. Theme Song Developed. Scenes in the "Temple." Finale at City Hall. New York Times New York, N.Y.:Mar 9, 1930. p. 25 (1 pp.)
- ^ WRITERS LAMPOON OFFICIALS AT DINNER:Roosevelt, Walker, Smith and Others See Politics in Travesty at Inner Circle Affair. MAYOR IN "ROAD COMPANY" " Bankers" Replenish City's Treas- ure, but Get Its Keepers' Clothes -- "Seabury" Paints Himself White. WRITERS LAMPOON OFFICIALS AT DINNER . New York Times. New York, N.Y.:Mar 13, 1932. p. N1 (2 pp.)
- ^ QUIP AND SONG MARK INNER CIRCLE DINNER:Roosevelt, Smith, Raskob and Walker Among the Leaders to Hear Satirical Sketches. 'JIM'S JAMS' IN EIGHT ACTS 'I'll Get By,' 'Mayor' Carols, While 'Old Man Grover Puts Things Over' and 'Smith' Redefines 'Boloney.' Whalen and His "High Hats." A "Republican Santa Claus." "Mayor" Sings "I'll Get By." New York Times. New York, N.Y.:Mar 10, 1929. p. 26 (1 pp.)
- ^ WRITERS LAMPOON POLITICAL CHIEFS:La Guardia's Defeat in Snow at Moscow Depicted in Skit by the Inner Circle. TAMMANY TAKES HIM IN Hoover and Roosevelt Contend for Glorious America -- Morgenthau Is Guest. New York Times. New York, N.Y.:Mar 10, 1935. p. N2 (1 pp.)
- ^ INNER CIRCLE TWITS MAYOR AND SMITH:Political Writers at Annual Dinner Stage 'Quiet, Please! Or, What a Racket!' 1,100 GUESTS ENJOY GIBES Notables See Thug, Convicted as Pin-Dropper, Seized for Lacking Pistol Silencer. HAMMOND IN SNOW SCENE St. Bernard Takes Highball to a Traveler in a Drift -- 'Al' Asked to Discard High Hat. INNER CIRCLE TWITS MAYOR AND SMITH New York Times. New York, N.Y.:Mar 8, 1936. p. N1 (2 pp.)
- ^ INNER CIRCLE 'RIBS' POLITICAL LEADERS:' Axeman Cometh' Staged by Writers in Tribute to Mayor's Attack on Tammany Hall New York Times. New York, N.Y.:Mar 30, 1947. p. 24 (1 pp.)
- ^ DEWEY SKETCHED AS A 'RINGMASTER':Wagner and Other Figures in Politics Also Lampooned by the Inner Circle New York Times. New York, N.Y.:Mar 7, 1954. p. 38 (1 pp.)
- ^ WAGNERS RETURN:Mayor Cuts Trip to Bahamas to Attend Press Dinner New York Times. New York, N.Y.:Mar 6, 1960. p. 33 (1 pp.)
- ^ POLITICS CHANTED FOR INNER CIRCLE:Kennedy, Rockefeller and Wagner Satirized in Song New York Times. New York, N.Y.:Mar 11, 1962. p. 66 (1 pp.)
- ^ The City's Leading Non-Square Steals Show From Inner Circle By ALFRED E. CLARK. New York Times. New York, N.Y.:Mar 5, 1967. p. 43 (1 pp.)
- ^ Inner Circle Reporters Lampoon Mayor, Nixon and Rockefeller New York Times. New York, N.Y.:Mar 23, 1969. p. 41 (1 pp.)
- ^ 4 Women Get Into the Act In Reporters' Show Here New York Times. New York, N.Y.:Mar 4, 1973. p. 25 (1 pp.)
- ^ Maye Is Held as Harasser In Gay Alliance Outbreak, By LACEY FOSBURGH, New York Times May 23, 1972
- ^ Maye Is Held as Harasser In Gay Alliance Outbreak, By LACEY FOSBURGH. New York Times, May 23, 1972. p. 30
- ^ Lindsay's Song-and-Dance Idea Kept Under Wraps for a Month:Mayor Rehearsed Three Times With His Co-Star, Florence Henderson, Before Making Debut at Writers' Show LINDSAY'S DEBUT WAS KEPT SECRET By BERNARD WEINRAUB. New York Times. New York, N.Y.:Mar 7, 1966. p. 29 (2 pp.)
- ^ http://www.nytimes.com/1997/03/03/nyregion/jaws-drop-as-giuliani-steals-show-in-heels.html
- ^ http://www.nytimes.com/1997/03/03/nyregion/jaws-drop-as-giuliani-steals-show-in-heels.html
- ^ http://www.observer.com/node/28833
- ^ http://www.ny1.com/?SecID=1000&ArID=68749
- ^ http://www.observer.com/2008/inner-circle-08
- ^ http://www.ny1.com/?SecID=1000&ArID=68749
- ^ http://www.observer.com/2009/politics/caroline-kennedy-inner-circle
- ^ http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2008/03/16/2008-03-16_bloomberg_does_song_dance_for_charity.html
- ^ http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/politics/Bloombergs-Flower-Power-Sparks-Laughts-at-Charity-Dinner-89353852.html
- ^ http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2008/03/12/2008-03-12_luv_guv_makes_inner_circle_spoof_change_.html
- ^ http://www.ny1.com/?SecID=1000&ArID=79460
- ^ http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2008/03/16/2008-03-16_bloomberg_does_song_dance_for_charity.html
- ^ <http://gothamist.com/2008/03/16/mayor_bloomberg_40.php
External links