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Wanna See Mayor Bloomberg Get Mocked By Reporters? Then Head To The Inner Circle Show!
By
Jen Chung
Published Mar 24, 2011
Modified Mar 24, 2011
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By
Jen Chung
Published Mar 24, 2011
Modified Mar 24, 2011
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Do you remember when Rudy Giuliani dressed in drag and sang, "Happy Birthday, Mr. President?" Did you know that Mayor Bloomberg wore a headband and legwarmers and danced with crustaceans—and even fist pumped with Snooki and the Situation? It's all been for the Inner Circle Show, where the city's political reporters roast mayors and raise money for charities. This year's show, Meet the Focker-Uppers, is this Saturday night and songs are definitely referencing Bloomberg's recent greatest hits, like the blizzageddon with "There's No Business Like Snow Business" and his Irish-are-inebriated remark in "When Irish Guys Are Drinking." We hope they bring up bike lanes and magnets...and Bloomberg may doing a little Spider-Man: How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying Turn Off the Dark for his act.
National and state politics also get skewered (Paladino anyone?), and the Daily Politics explains, "The Inner Circle consists solely of members of the press doing their theatrical best. Since its founding in 1923, the Inner Circle has enforced a strict 'No Professional Talent' rule. Hizzoner doesn't adhere to that rule, performing a fully staged song-and-dance rebuttal accompanied by top-notch pros from a top Broadway show every year."
For Saturday night’s annual Inner Circle charity dinner, which will feature skits performed by the City Hall press corps and the mayor, Mr. Bloomberg is planning to work some elements from “Spider-Man” into his act — including, if the technical elements jell, Hizzoner flying from the balcony to the stage in the Hilton New York’s grand ballroom, according to two people who work on “Spider-Man” and have been briefed on the mayor’s plans. The two people would only speak on condition of anonymity because Mr. Bloomberg has always insisted on keeping the nature of his performance plans a secret.
The Mayor’s office hasn’t sought flying advice from the “Spider-Man” production, nor has he borrowed a costume, the two people said, and it was not clear on Thursday if he would actually appear in Spidey’s red, white and blue. The mayor’s spokesman, Stu Loeser, declined to comment about Mr. Bloomberg’s plans.
A spokesman for the “Spider-Man” production, Rick Miramontez, said in response to questions on Thursday: “The mayor’s office keeps his Inner Circle Dinner plans very much under wraps, so we’re in the dark. If he were to don the Spidey outfit, everyone at ‘Spider-Man’ would be delighted, of course. And we know he’d look good in tights.”
The tickets are pricey—the reduced balcony tickets are $500; everything over $75 is tax deductible (and there's a cocktail hour, four course dinner, two shows and a collectible program)—but the causes are good (charities include Committee to Protect Journalists, Achilles International, Coalition for the Homeless). And check out the reporters practicing one of the Act One scenes:
Tagged
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inner circle
inner circle show
mayor bloomberg
roast
spiderman turn off the dark
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Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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