Reflections on the Unexpected and Service [Updates]

Getting to know and work with Kathryn Grody—whom I absolutely ❤️—to launch her world premiere of The Unexpected 3rd which was a sell-out smash hit (photo of the set above). That’s a great way to kick off one’s first season at a new job, amirite?

Also her son Gideon Grody-Patinkin is really fun to work with (he’s at left in this pic, which features some of the team and Zak Berkman (Producing Artistic Director and my co-leader) at right.

I also got to meet (namedrop alert) Mandy Patinkin a few times. While some fangirling was inevitable, why Mandy really endeared himself to me was because of how clear it was that he absolutely, indubitably, inexorably adores Kathryn, and that he’d do anything he could to support her and her show.

True story below

On a rehearsal break, Kathryn and I were walking into my office, while she was also talking to Mandy on speakerphone. He wanted to know whom to talk to to book his tickets (she couldn’t do it as she refuses to know when he’s attending a performance), and I said, “me.”

So, she gave him my name (not my cell #), and a few minutes later, my desk phone started ringing. When I was finally able to answer the call from a then-unknown NYC area code number (after Kathryn left my office), this is how he introduced himself to me:

I mean… how adorable is that?! 😍 Here is the requisite photo of me with Kathryn and Mandy:

When everything is unexpected

When you start a season with a show that has “unexpected” in its title, it’s difficult to resist the urge to use it as the apropo adjective for… everything. But that is really what the past several months have been: unexpected in pretty much every way.

But that is life, isn’t it? As one of my favorite teachers, Jon Kabat-Zinn would say, during the daily practice he lead for months in the early days of the pandemic: Life is the meditation.

In December, I was inducted into the National Capital Public Relations Hall of Fame.

I was gobsmacked when some of my dearest friends and colleagues from the past 20 years said they wanted to nominate me, and even more gobsmacked when I heard I was an inductee. Because this is pretty much the highest honor you can receive in the PR field, as it is bestowed on you by your peers to recognize your commitment and service to the field over decades.

This will always be a “pinch me” moment for me, and for which I am incredibly grateful. My first boss in DC, Nancy Glick, gave me the most wonderful introduction, which you can see here (PLMK if the link doesn’t work), and the best place to see the video of my remarks is on LinkedIn.

A couple of photos below, one in front of the step-and-repeat, and the second of Crystal Borde (now the Immediate Past President) presenting me with the award (photos courtesy James Minichello):