Film star Sharon Stone (pictured above) celebrated Tony Award night at the Actor’s Fund Tony viewing party in Los Angeles. She turned heads wearing a sheer skirt.

Betsy Carmichael’s Late Nite Bingo returns to O’Connell & Company for eight performances, June 18th-28th. The original comedy conceived and written by Mary Kate O’Connell & Joey Bucheker had a very successful run last season. Bucheker returns as Betsy Carmichael, joined by Jerry Mosey, Adam Matthew Wall, Corey Bieber and Ryan Kaminski.

Coming up next season, BUA will present the world premiere of Todd Warfield’s play Load More Guys, a gay porn fairy tale. Directed and designed by Warfield, the play is set to star Michael Seitz, Joey Bucheker, Brant Adamczyk, Jimi Konidis, Tyler Brown, and Bebe Bvlgari.

On Tuesday June 16th, Buffalo will join cities from all over the world for Bloomsday, the international celebration of James Joyce’s masterpiece Ulysses. The 17th annual celebration will be held from 5 to 9pm at the Andrews Theatre, home of the Irish Classical Theatre Company. The festivities, include music by Kindred and Tom Callahan, along with Matt Witten who will sing songs from the novel. The event is free and open to the public.

Darryl Schneider’s play, Two to the Head, was nominated for an Artie Award in 2005. Inspired by life events growing up in the Lovejoy neighborhood, the play was produced by Road Less Traveled. Schneider adapted his play into a screenplay for the film Sugar Wonder Blues. The locally produced independent film will premiere on Sunday, June 14th at 2pm at the North Park Theatre. Produced by Skipping Stone Pictures in association with Triptych Films and Propellerhead Media, the film was directed by Megan Erbacher and stars Michael Seitz, Adam Rath, Dee Perry and the fabulous Laura Mikolajczyk.

Alleyway Theatre is accepting submissions for its annual Maxim Mazumdar New Play Competition, which was created in 1989. Full length or one-act plays or musicals must be submitted by July 1st. For information go to alleyway.com and click on “playwrights.”

Loraine O’Donnell is set to star in Tom Dudzick’s King O’ The Moon, the first sequel to his Over the Tavern. Dudzick will be at the Kavinoky directing his play for Curtain Up. The production will also star Adriano Gatto, Kelly Copps, Steve Vaughan, Dan Urtz, Kelsey Mogensen, and Kevin Craig.

After a busy Broadway directorial schedule last season (A Delicate Balance, The Heidi Chronicles) Buffalo’s Pam MacKinnon is all set to direct David Mamet’s new play China Doll. The two-character play will star Al Pacino and Fran Kranz and will open in November at Broadway’s Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre. Mamet wasn’t very successful with his last new play on Broadway, The Anarchist. That two hander starred Patti Lupone and Debra Winger and closed after seventeen performances. Mamet also directed.

A.R. Gurney will be back on Broadway this season with his 1995 Sylvia, a play about a man who adopts a puppy. The puppy will be played by this year’s Tony winner for You Can’t Take it With You, Annaleigh Ashford. Previews will begin in September.

A small advantage of having a written column is to be able to convey what I had intended to say when I received the Career Achievement Award at the Arties on Monday, June 1st. I had just wanted to thank all the hundreds of people who have worked with BUA over the past 23 years! Also, that there will always be a very special place in my heart for all my Alice girls: Kelli Bocock Natale, Theresa Quinn, Mary Craig, Gail Golden, Jeanmarie Lally, Sheila McCarthy, Loraine O’Donnell, Lori Jacobs, Debbie Pappas, Mary Jakiel, Pamela Rose Mangus, Anne Hartley Pfohl, Mary Kate O’Connell, Tammy Hayes, Syndi Starr, Sue B.Mathner, and Gerri Kasten. I was truly overwhelmed. Thank you Matt, Anne, and Jamie for that introduction. June 1st was also my late aunt’s birthday. She took me to the theater when I was four, and I was forever hooked.

Editors note: after this issue, Javier’s Stagefright column goes on summer hiatus.