The Casino File
Usually, an author’s public appearance is limited to questions from an interviewer and/or the audience. But Candace Bushnell, whose 1990s New York Observer column, “Sex and the City” spawned the turn-of-the-century pop-culture juggernaut that was the HBO dramedy of the same name, has something else planned for her Nov. 15 visit to Caesars Atlantic City.
“It’s a one-woman show,” she announced during a recent phone call from her home in Long Island’s Hamptons occasioned by the upcoming presentation of her program, “True Tales of Sex, Success and Sex and the City.”
“People always ask, ‘Is it like a standup [act]?’ But it’s actually a play. There’s a set and there is some video, and it’s really the origin story of ‘Sex and the City’ mixed with my life story—how I came to New York; how hard I worked to get there; how I wrote ‘Sex and the City;’ why I invented Carrie Bradshaw and what happened to me afterward.”
The 66-year-old Glastonbury, Conn. native has been staging “True Tales” since 2021. It was, she explained, the result of a chance meeting with composer-producer David Foster’s manager.
Foster “does a one-man show, and his manager said, ‘I think you can do a one-woman show.’ So, we put it together during the pandemic; that’s when I started working on it. It wasn’t like, ‘Oh, I’m gonna bring this to the stage.’ It was one of those situations where somebody said, ‘Try this,’ and I said, ‘Yes.’ And it worked out.”
It should be noted that when Bushnell claimed the idea “worked out,” she was being modest: Not only has she toured the United States, but the show has been a hit in such locales as England, Scotland, Italy, Denmark, Norway and South Africa. When it was suggested to her that such international success was surprising considering “Sex and the City” seemed like a uniquely American story, she responded, “Well, ‘Sex and the City’ is big all over the world.”
Bringing her life story to the stage is, in a way, a full-circle happenstance for Bushnell, who briefly considered an acting career — until reality reared its unpleasant head.
“I thought about it,” she offered. “I did go to acting school for a couple of months when I first came to New York back in the late-’70s/early-’80s. I just thought I was actually quite bad at it.
“But I’d always wanted to be a writer ever since I was 8 years old. I felt really strongly that I was going to be a writer. So, I had this crazy idea that maybe I could get some commercials, and I could cover the costs of being a writer.”
As for the Caesars’ presentation, Bushnell promised it will be “a really fun show. There’s some video, there’s some little clips of ‘Sex and the City,’ and there’s a game that I play with the audience ‘Real or Not Real?’, because there’s so many things that happened in the TV show that happened in my real life.”
She added that the fun extends from the stage to the audience.
“I have lots of groups of women who come in their ‘Sex and the City finest,” she said. “They wear their Manolo Blahniks or SJP — Sarah Jessica Parker — shoes. And there’ll be groups of women where one will be the Carrie, one will be the Miranda, Charlotte, Samantha,” she added, name-checking the four lead characters from the TV series.
Spoiler alert: As Bushnell noted, those in attendance will hear the explanation of why she wrote the “Sex and the City” column under a pen name, rather than “Candace Bushnell.”
“In the first story that I did for the New York Observer, I went to a sex club called Lit Trapeze. My parents were very conservative, and afterward my mother called and said, ‘We’ve gotten a subscription to the New York Observer.’ And I thought, ‘Oh God, I just went to a sex club.’
“So, the name ‘Carrie Bradshaw’ just came to me, like a bolt from the blue. And it stuck.”
It was obviously impossible for Bushnell’s job to remain a secret from her parents. So, what happened when they finally confronted Bushnell?
“You know,” she said with a chuckle, “they never said anything about it.”
For tickets, go to ticketmaster.com.
New twist for Boogie Nights
Boogie Nights, the venerable, retro-themed danceteria inside Tropicana Atlantic City, is offering something different Saturday night as it hosts the Ozzy Osbourne tribute band, Bark At The Moon.
So why is the disco that emphasizes dance music from the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s staging a live, heavy-metal event?
“Boogie Nights is a celebration of things retro, the fashion, the music, the energy and the party,” explained Boogie Nights Founder and Owner David Peña. “We play all musical genres and that’s what people have come to love.
“We are super-excited to have Bark at the Moon live at Boogie Nights. Ozzy was an icon, music legend and one of the most dynamic performers of our lifetime. And this evening is a one-night-only, must-see event for all hard-rock and heavy-metal fans.”
While Bark At The Moon’s gig is a one-off, Peña indicated that other tribute-band dates are on the horizon
Tickets for the rave-up — which is part of the club’s month-long “Shocktober” celebration — are available at boogienightsusa.com/atlantic-city.
Chuck Darrow has spent more than 40 years writing about Atlantic City casinos.
