COMEDIAN, ACTOR, WRITER
Holidays at “Home”
My favorite meals were at the Upper West Side home of my friend Lily LaGravenese, who I met at theater camp. Their apartment was this cinematic ideal—everything that you would want to experience as someone who didn’t grow up in New York City. And those experiences were often encapsulated by how good the food was that her mom made. They would feed a busload of adolescent musical theater performers—it had the feeling of a remarkable chosen family. And then, when the food was eaten, we’d go to the piano to do what we did best. Lily’s father was a film director, so you never knew who was going to walk through the door. I remember one Thanksgiving with Dame Helen Mirren. I belted “I Dreamed a Dream” probably closer to her face than anyone had ever been before. It was in my key.
See Larry Owens in monthly performances at Joe’s Pub this fall. Next year, look for his debut play on Broadway, Five Sisters (of the) Regan Dauphin.
