The wife of noted New York City sexpert Rudolph Giuliani joins the cast of the controversial The Vagina Monologues off Broadway in May. Donna Hanover will appear from May 30 through June 11. Like another, former First Lady - Nancy Reagan - Hanover herself is an actress by trade, whose roles have included on in The People Vs. Larry Flynt. The Vagina Monologues is based on interviews playwright Eve Ensler did with women about the organs in the title, melding humor and drama in discourse about gynecological and sexual matters, including fantasies and even rape. The play triggered an uproar earlier in the year, when State University of New York campus students wanted to perform it for fundraising efforts on Valentine's Day, and the conservative group CHANGE-NY objected violently to what they called a bid "to shock and inflame the taxpaying public." The performances went on and most sold out at SUNY campuses. But considering her husband's known sorties against the sex business in New York City, how appropriate is it for Hizzoner's wife to appear in The Vagina Monologues? Said her spokeswoman to the New York Post: "She's not being offered this because she is the first lady. She's being offered the role as an actress." But the spokeswoman didn't say whether New York City's First Couple discussed Hanover's taking the role - particularly in light of Ensler being known as close to Giuliani's Senate rival, Hillary Clinton. How close? The Post said Ensler was a member of Clinton's Senate exploratory committee in 1999. Hanover would be joining a distinguished roster of Vagina Monologues alumni - some of the better known actresses who've appeared include E.R. star Julianna Margulies, singer Alanis Morissette, Oscar nominees Amy Irving and Marsha Mason, and Tony winner (for Evita) Patti LuPone.
LOS ANGELES - Heidi Fleiss wants to publish a memoir of her life behind bars, but publishers seem to be spurning the former Hollywood Madam. So much so, according to one published report, that Fleiss and Michael Ovitz' Artists Management Group have parted company. The budding consensus seems to be that there just isn't any palpable public interest in Fleiss's prison story - but a Fleiss creditor has also reportedly served notice that any potential profit from a Fleiss memoir would be subject to bankruptcy proceedings. Fleiss told the New York Daily News, though, that the book is neither dead in the water nor a pedestrian kiss-and-tell book. "I reflect back," she said, "on the circumstances that got me there and how I am lucky to be alive after prison." Fleiss served three years for tax evasion, money laundering, and conspiracy. "You go in like Barbie," she said, "and you come out like G.I. Joe."
CHICAGO - Four face departmental charges for having a hooker in a ladder company firehouse while on duty and violating the Chicago Fire Department's code of conduct. A company lieutenant and captain were charged with inattention to and neglect of duty, while a firefighter and a paramedic are charged with having sex with a 27-year-old prostitute, who told investigators she was paid $25 per sex act. The prostitute herself is now in jail on an unrelated burglary charge, according to published reports. The Chicago Fire Fighters Union had dismissed her accusations previously as the act of a woman desperate to get out of jail. The four could face either suspension or dismissal in the case.
LONDON - Scotland's voters will be asked in a referendum whether they want to keep a current ban on promoting homosexuality in schools. Known as Section 28, its opponents hope the vote proves the government is out of step with Scot citizens. But the millionaire businessman who financed the referendum in what he calls a "Keep the Clause" campaign plans a mail poll of voters in the near future - though he also said he will accept the result of the referendum. Published reports say most Scot lawmakers support repealing Section 28. And a homosexual rights activist group, Stonewall, says Section 28 doesn't stop promotion of homosexuality but does promote discrimination against gays and lesbians.
--- Compiled by Humphrey Pennyworth
