Mayor Bill de Blasio poked fun at his frequent tardiness, his low approval rating and other bumps in his first three months in office with comedic skits co-starring celebrity supporters such as actors Steve Buscemi and Cynthia Nixon.
The annual Inner Circle show Saturday night is a New York City version of the White House Correspondents' Association dinner and an opportunity for journalists to 'roast' the mayor through song and dance.
In one skit, de Blasio was pitted against the Rev. Al Sharpton as 'Jeopardy!' contestants -- '39 and heading down to the teens by tomorrow morning,' one clue read.
'The mayor's approval rating?' guessed Sharpton, playing himself. (A Marist poll earlier this month showed de Blasio's rating at 39 percent.)
'What Carmen Fariña would call a beautiful day?' de Blasio answered -- 'correctly.' (The schools chancellor was criticized last month for using the phrase during blizzard-like conditions.)
Saturday was the 92nd year for the Inner Circle, which raises money for charities. Past mayors have donned elaborate costumes. Rudy Giuliani dressed in drag and performed with Julie Andrews. Michael Bloomberg was Spider-Man one year and a hippie from the musical 'Hair' another.
De Blasio played himself in each skit and kept his costumes conservative. He wore a tracksuit while practicing ventriloquy with Buscemi and later put on an Afro wig, like the one his son wears.
NBC's Al Roker, The Roots' drummer Questlove and actor Chris Rock were featured in videos for the mayor.
Weatherman Roker, who waged a Twitter war last month with de Blasio over the mayor's decision to open schools despite a heavy snowstorm, was shown on the set of the 'Today' show complimenting him. After someone calls 'Cut!' and he is 'off-air,' Roker then retorts, 'Great mayor? What a freaking joke.'
In another bit, Buscemi interviews with de Blasio for the post of czar of snow removal and enforcement as his 'Boardwalk Empire' gangster character Nucky Thompson.
'We're in no rush to make appointments,' de Blasio told Nucky, a reference to how slowly he has filled posts.
Other fodder included Bishop Orlando Findlayter, a de Blasio ally spared a night in jail as the mayor called an NYPD official on his behalf.
First lady Chirlane McCray was also a part of the show, playing opposite Nixon on a take on 'The Honeymooners.' Producers also played several minutes of footage from de Blasio and McCray's 1994 wedding, with a long-haired de Blasio dancing goofily.
The Inner Circle's first act Saturday featured a cast of journalists portraying de Blasio as a Robin Hood-like character and his aides and allied elected officials as merry men living in 'Chirlane Forest.'
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Posted by Unknown on Sunday, March 23, 2014 - Rating: 4.5
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