Laura’s Dad

Sorry I haven’t been around in a week or so–deadline time at Ms. magazine, where I’m the senior editor.

But I’m back, and here’s a nice song sent to me by Brian Gari that he wrote for Lou Nigro, Laura’s dad. Lou’s still going strong at almost 93, living now in Ithaca, N.Y., near his son Jan, daughter-in-law Janice and their son. When I was doing my book about Laura, Lou was the first person in the family who was willing to speak with me, and remained supportive throughout the project. I’ll always be grateful to him for his trust in me. I had a few nice visits with him in his Manhattan apartment, which was filled with paintings of Laura and her female relatives that were done by her great uncle and great aunt, William Meyerowitz and Theresa Bernstein Meyerowitz (who died in 2002 at age 111!).

 Brian’s song is about Lou’s involvement with the Vineyard Theatre production of Eli’s Comin’ in 2001. Lou was there nearly every night (I think he attended some 36 performances), often greeting people at the door and talking about his daughter. It was a great time in his life, and Brian memorializes it in this song.

By the way, in the cast of the show at the Vineyard was Anika Noni Rose, who has since been in the film Dreamgirls and in an all-black Broadway version of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof . Judy Kuhn, who played the main character in Eli, has since put out an album of Nyro songs, Serious Playground,  and performed full shows of Laura songs. (Those of you who familiar with the famous Life magazine article about Laura will pick up Kuhn’s riff on Stephen Paley’s photo of Laura on a fire escape.)