Live From The Hotel Edison Times Square Chronicles Presents, is filmed from the Hotel Edison and is a podcast extension of T2C. We are back after a small hiatus.

Today on Live From The Hotel Edison Times Square Chronicles Presents, we meet Alyssa Wray. Alyssa is a singer, actor, artist, and extremely clumsy romcom enthusiast from small town Kentucky, currently residing in NYC. You may have seen her in 2021 on ABC’s “American Idol” where she was a finalist (Top 9). Her regional credits include: Rocky Horror Picture Show (Magenta) at Bucks County Playhouse, Rent (Maureen) at the Palace Theatre, Murder Ballad (Narrator) at Prima Theatre, Songs for a New World (Woman 1) at the Gateway Playhouse. Other favorite performing credits include her New York City debut solo show at 54 Below, Alyssa Wray: Songs that Speak to Me. She is extremely grateful for her agents at DGRW, Sarah & Dave at Creative Talent Company, Link ’21, and my entire family and community back home as always.

See Alyssa in Going Bacharach at the Marjorie S. Deane Little Theatre running through November 29th.
I am so grateful to Alyssa Wray for her conversation, his joy of life and his art that captures the imagination.

For four days in October, New York becomes a perfectly reasonable place to share a sidewalk with a Jedi, a wizard, three superheroes, an anime warrior and somebody carrying a dragon.

In other words, New York Comic Con is back.

As NYCC celebrates its 20th anniversary October 8–11, the Javits Center may be command central, but the fandom is spilling well beyond Eleventh Avenue. In Times Square, House of Spells is turning its first U.S. location into something of a Comic Con clubhouse, with four days of trivia, cosplay, parties, dragons and enough fantasy worlds to make reality seem terribly overrated.

The sprawling W. 42nd Street destination, between Seventh and Eighth Avenues, opened earlier this summer after House of Spells established itself in the United Kingdom. Founded by Khaja Hussain and Rafeeque Olikkathodi, it is part store, part immersive playground and part shrine to the gloriously obsessed, bringing more than 60 fandoms under one roof. Marvel, DC, Star Wars, Game of Thrones, The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Stranger Things and Fantastic Beasts are all represented, alongside fantasy, gaming and anime worlds, officially licensed merchandise, collectibles, cinematic environments and enough photo opportunities to keep a phone busy for hours.

During Comic Con, however, House of Spells is turning up the volume.

Four Days of Comic Con at House of Spells

Thursday, October 8 — Fandom Trivia Night, 7–10 p.m.

Marvel, comics, fantasy, television, movies and science fiction collide as fans finally get to put all that gloriously specific knowledge to practical use. First place takes home gift cards, a T-shirt, a trophy and, far more importantly in fandom circles, bragging rights. Suddenly all those hours spent memorizing fictional universes look like excellent life choices.

Tickets for Fandom Trivia Night

Friday, October 9 — Cosplay Mixer & Contest, 8–11 p.m.

Friday night belongs to the cosplayers. Guests are encouraged to arrive as characters from their favorite fandoms and let Comic Con’s alter egos take over Times Square. The grand prize is a ticket to the 2027 New York Comic Con—which means someone can theoretically win next year’s Comic Con simply by dressing exceptionally well for this year’s Comic Con. We approve.

Tickets for the Cosplay Contest & Mixer

Saturday, October 10 — Comic Con Crossroads of the World Afterparty, 8 p.m.–1 a.m.

By Saturday night, even superheroes need a drink. House of Spells joins forces with Times Square neighbor Dallas BBQ for the Saturday-night Comic Con afterparty, complete with a DJ, food and drinks and plenty of opportunity to dissect the day’s panels, costumes, collectibles and adventures with people who will actually understand what you’re talking about. Each ticket includes two drinks.

Tickets for the House of Spells Saturday Night Afterparty

Sunday, October 11 — Adopt a Dragon Day & Family Day, noon–2 p.m.

Sunday gets adorable. In keeping with NYCC’s family-friendly final day, the youngest fantasy fans can adopt their own magical companion and undergo immersive dragon training, complete with accessories and lessons in caring for their newest family member. Frankly, considering the price of veterinary care in New York, a dragon may be the more practical pet.

Tickets for Adopt a Dragon at House of Spells

The fandom doesn’t disappear when Comic Con packs up and leaves town. House of Spells has also introduced free Marvel Monday meetups, giving New Yorkers and visitors a place to gather around shared obsessions from the X-Men to the Avengers. In a city where fandom now stretches across generations, it makes sense that Comic Con culture should have somewhere to live after the convention badges come off.

“New York Comic Con is an incredible adventure that brings the fandom world to life, but at House of Spells we facilitate a Comic Con community every single day with the multi-verse on the doorsteps of Times Square,” said Jaime Vidal, President of USA Operations at House of Spells Times Square. “We invite the world of Comic Con to experience the comic community we are cultivating right here with more than 60 fandom fantasy worlds ready to be conquered.”

And Times Square may be exactly where all of this belongs. This is, after all, a neighborhood where costumed characters already roam the streets, enormous creatures appear on digital billboards and nobody particularly notices if Spider-Man walks past them before lunch.

House of Spells is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. until midnight at W. 42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues, giving fans considerably more than four days a year to disappear into another universe.

House of Spells

During Comic Con week, however, choosing just one universe seems unnecessarily restrictive.

Bring the cape. Bring the wand. Bring the lightsaber. Just please don’t bring an actual dragon on the subway.

Times Square Durga Utsav Association brings the grandeur of Sharadiya Durga Puja to the heart of New York with a two-day celebration of devotion, performance, civic welcome, and international cultural pride.

In the center of New York, where languages, ambitions, and communities meet every hour of the day, the Times Square Durga Utsav Association has created a celebration that carries deep cultural memory into one of the world’s most visible public spaces. Its Second Annual Sharadiya Durga Puja presents Durga Puja as both a sacred observance and a living cultural gathering, rooted in Bengali tradition and opened with warmth to a wider American and international audience.

The event’s visual identity reflects that ambition immediately. The poster announces Durga Puja in Times Square with the bright presence of Maa Durga, a ceremonial kalash, lotus motifs, devotional ornamentation, and the skyline of New York. It is designed as a meeting of sacred imagery and urban recognition, placing the face of the Goddess beside the unmistakable energy of the city. The message is direct and celebratory, inviting attendees to experience the grandeur of Durga Puja through ritual, music, dance, community acknowledgment, and public fellowship.

Presented by the Times Square Durga Utsav Association, the celebration spans Saturday, October 10 and Sunday, October 11. Across both days, the program balances devotion and performance with precision. The schedule gives space to chanting, puja rituals, pushpanjali, prasad distribution, cultural programming, music, formal addresses, and expressions of gratitude. It shows a community intent on honoring the spiritual structure of Durga Puja while also presenting the art, leadership, and continuity that sustain the celebration beyond the mandap.

H.H. Dr. Prince Mario-Max Schaumburg-Lippe is named among the VIP international gathering participants, adding a distinguished global presence to the occasion. His participation places him within a wider circle of civic and cultural guests invited to recognize the importance of Durga Puja in New York’s public life. In an event built around heritage, devotion, and community visibility, his presence contributes to the international character of the celebration.

The gathering also includes Zohran Mamdani, Mayor of New York, along with the Consul General of India, the Consul General of Bangladesh, the Consul General of Nepal, and the Consul General of Thailand. Together, these names reflect the diplomatic and civic reach of the program. The celebration is framed as more than a community event. It stands as a public expression of South Asian cultural pride in a city shaped by immigrant leadership and multicultural participation.

Ashok Rakshit, Chairman of CAB, Milan Aon, Convener of NABC 2026, Jayprakash Biswas, Community Leader, Mridul Pathak as Chair, and Dr. Kallol Basu as Host are also listed as part of the international gathering. Their presence points to the networks of service, organization, and cultural continuity that make an event of this scale possible. Durga Puja in a major public setting depends on devotion, but it also depends on coordination, hospitality, and leadership carried out by many hands.

A Two-Day Celebration in the Heart of New York

Saturday begins at 11:00 with Chandi recitation by Satyam Ray Chowdhury. The placement of recitation at the opening gives the day its devotional foundation. Chandi recitation holds a central place in Durga Puja observance, connecting the assembled community to the sacred narrative and the spiritual power associated with Maa Durga. In the setting of Times Square, this opening act carries tradition into a global urban frame.

At 11:10, the program continues with Gaane Stotre Mahalaya, directed by Riddhi Bandyopadhyay. Mahalaya songs are performed by a chorus, with direction by Mohitosh Talukdar Tapas. This segment carries particular emotional weight for Bengali communities, as Mahalaya is closely associated with the invocation of the Goddess and the beginning of the festive season. Presented through music and collective voice, it becomes an artistic bridge between memory and public celebration.

At 12:30, the puja rituals begin, led by PujaPriest Prabhas Chakraborty. The ritual sequence includes the Invocation of the Goddess, known as Devi Bodhan, consecration rituals, known as Adhibas, Shashthi Puja, and Maha Saptami. This portion of the schedule ensures that the sacred architecture of the celebration remains central. The event may be staged in one of the world’s most energetic public districts, yet its inner structure remains deeply anchored in devotion.

At 3:00, floral offerings, or pushpanjali, allow participants to engage personally in worship. Pushpanjali is one of the most accessible and beloved moments of Durga Puja, bringing individuals and families into direct devotional participation. In a city where communities often gather across distance and time constraints, such moments become especially meaningful, offering a shared act of prayer within a collective public celebration.

At 3:20, prasad distribution continues the devotional rhythm through hospitality. Prasad carries spiritual significance, yet it also reinforces the communal nature of the event. Distribution after worship is a gesture of inclusion, inviting attendees to share in a blessed offering and to experience Durga Puja as a gathering defined by generosity.

The Saturday program also includes a felicitation honoring six organizations that have celebrated Durga Puja in the United States for more than 50 years. This recognition is one of the most important elements of the event’s civic and cultural purpose. By acknowledging organizations that have sustained Durga Puja across generations, the Times Square Durga Utsav Association places its own celebration within a longer American story of Bengali and South Asian community building.

From 3:45 to 4:55, the Cultural Programme adds artistic breadth to the day. The schedule does not treat culture as decoration. It presents performance as an essential part of the Puja experience, reflecting the way Durga Puja has long embraced music, dance, theater, design, literature, and community expression. In Times Square, this cultural segment helps translate heritage into a form that can be experienced by both longtime devotees and first-time attendees.

At 5:00, the International Gathering brings together civic, diplomatic, and community figures. The listed participants create a portrait of an event that understands the significance of cultural representation in public space. With Zohran Mamdani, the Mayor of New York, alongside consular representatives of India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Thailand, the program presents Durga Puja as a shared celebration of community visibility, diplomacy, and respect.

The inclusion of H.H. Dr. Prince Mario-Max Schaumburg-Lippe in this gathering adds another layer of international recognition. In the context of Times Square, where cultural events are often seen by visitors from around the world, a VIP presence of this kind underscores the global resonance of the occasion. His participation aligns with the event’s larger message that Durga Puja can remain rooted in tradition while welcoming distinguished friends and observers from across cultures.

Ashok Rakshit, Milan Aon, and Jayprakash Biswas are also part of the gathering, reinforcing the event’s strong connection to established South Asian cultural networks in North America. Mridul Pathak serves as Chair, while Dr. Kallol Basu serves as Host, helping guide a moment that brings ceremonial dignity to the community’s public celebration. These roles matter because events of this scale depend on visible stewardship as much as festive enthusiasm.

At 6:25, Dash Maha Vidya brings dance into the spotlight with a production featuring more than 60 performers, presented by Nrityanjali. A production of this scale requires planning, rehearsal, and artistic discipline. It also demonstrates the intergenerational strength of the community, as large ensemble performances often bring together dancers, teachers, families, and volunteers in a shared creative effort.

The Saturday evening continues at 7:00 with a concert by Mekhla Das Gupta and her group. Music gives the festival its emotional lift, allowing the day to move from ritual solemnity to collective enjoyment. In the context of Durga Puja, musical performance is part of the full experience of gathering, reflection, celebration, and cultural pride.

At 9:00, the vote of thanks by Niruparna Saha closes the Saturday program. A formal expression of thanks is more than protocol. It acknowledges the labor behind the celebration, from priests and performers to organizers, volunteers, guests, partners, and the wider community that turns an announcement into a living event.

Sunday carries the celebration into another full day, beginning at 10:00 with puja rituals including Maha Ashtami Puja, Maha Navami Puja, Bijaya Dashami Puja, and the immersion of the Goddess, known as Visarjan. This sequence gathers several major ritual moments into one day, allowing attendees to participate in the spiritual culmination of the festival. The schedule reflects both reverence for tradition and the practical demands of presenting Durga Puja in a major public environment.

At 2:30, floral offerings and the sprinkling of sanctified water, Shanti Jal, extend the day’s devotional participation. These moments preserve the intimacy of the Puja experience even within a large civic celebration. They allow attendees to step forward, pray, receive blessings, and share in rituals that connect family memory with communal observance.

At 3:30, the Dhunuchi dance presented by Nrityanjali brings one of Durga Puja’s most recognizable traditions to the program. Dhunuchi dance is closely associated with devotion, rhythm, and collective joy. Presented on a public stage, it offers an accessible expression of ritual culture, allowing the audience to witness the beauty and discipline of a form deeply associated with the festival.

At 4:30, Sindoor Khela marks another cherished tradition, associated with farewell, blessing, and the emotional closing arc of the Puja. In Bengali communities, Sindoor Khela carries powerful social and cultural resonance. Its inclusion in Times Square gives visibility to a tradition that is both intimate and communal, linking devotion to shared identity.

The afternoon continues with Premier Brindaban at 4:50 and Joy Ma Durga at 5:15. These segments deepen the devotional and musical character of the day, offering attendees additional moments of performance and reverence. The program then welcomes Diyashini Roy and her band at 5:25, adding contemporary performance energy to the Sunday celebration.

At 6:45, the program includes an address by the proprietor of Asha Home Care and Asha Restaurant. The presence of these community partners reflects the practical ecosystem that supports cultural events in immigrant and diaspora communities. Businesses, service organizations, restaurants, volunteers, and local leaders often become essential partners in sustaining public celebrations.

At 7:00, Miss Jojo Mukherjee and her band take the stage. The evening performance continues the festival’s emphasis on music as a gathering force. In a celebration that moves across worship, dance, civic recognition, and fellowship, the concert setting offers attendees a final shared cultural experience before the formal close.

At 9:00, Sasadhar Howlader gives the vote of thanks, bringing the two-day program to a close. The listed leadership includes Mridul Pathak as Chief Advisor, Sasadhar Howlader as President, and Niruparna Saha as General Secretary. Their names appear with the authority of stewardship, representing the organizing structure behind the Times Square Durga Utsav Association and the careful work required to bring Durga Puja to such a prominent public stage.

The event’s partners, Asha Home Care and Asha Restaurant, are also acknowledged. Their presence in the program points to the wider circle of support that gives cultural celebration its practical foundation. Durga Puja is sustained by devotion, but it is also sustained by service, sponsorship, food, coordination, hospitality, and the willingness of local institutions to stand behind a shared vision.

The Times Square Durga Utsav Association’s Second Annual Sharadiya Durga Puja presents a clear and positive model of cultural celebration in New York. It honors religious tradition without narrowing its public welcome. It uplifts Bengali heritage while engaging diplomats, civic leaders, artists, community organizers, and international guests. It recognizes elders and organizations that have sustained Durga Puja in the United States for more than half a century, while also giving younger performers and contemporary musicians a place in the program.

In Times Square, visibility carries meaning. To present Durga Puja there is to affirm that diaspora traditions belong in the public story of the city. The program gives New Yorkers and visitors a chance to witness a celebration shaped by devotion, discipline, artistry, and community pride. It allows the sacred rhythms of Sharadiya Durga Puja to stand confidently within one of the world’s most recognized urban settings.

The participation of H.H. Dr. Prince Mario-Max Schaumburg-Lippe as a VIP guest contributes to that broader sense of occasion. Alongside elected leadership, consular representatives, community figures, artists, priests, performers, and partners, his presence reflects the event’s international reach and its gracious spirit of inclusion. The celebration is presented as an invitation, a cultural statement, and a carefully organized tribute to Maa Durga.

Above all, the Times Square Durga Puja affirms the strength of community. It gathers people around prayer, music, dance, gratitude, and recognition. It places heritage at the center of civic life. It celebrates continuity while embracing a broad public audience. In its second annual edition, the Times Square Durga Utsav Association has shaped a festival that is devotional in purpose, international in presence, and unmistakably connected to the cultural life of New York.

I’m usually reporting at “High Noon” for the Dutch Treat Club’s educational and entertaining Tuesday lunches, but this time the occasion called for evening attire. The club kicked off its 2026/27 season with its Opening Night Dinner, featuring Maria Cooper Janis, daughter of legendary actor Gary Cooper, and Tony-Nominated Broadway star Robert Cuccioli.

The Dutch Treat Club meets every Tuesday for lunch, with the first Tuesday of each month reserved for a special dinner event. The Opening Night Dinner set the stage for another season of fascinating guests, lively conversation, and the club’s long-standing tradition of bringing members together over good food and great company.

It a was a combination of Old Hollywood and Broadway Royalty evening.

After the traditional tuneful “Welcome back” from President KT Sullivan, Entertainment Chair Raissa Katona Bennett introduced Robert Cuccioli, best known for creating the dual roles of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in the acclaimed musical Jekyll & Hyde, earning Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and FANY Awards for his performance. Cuccioli will be featured in the Mabel Mercer Foundation Cabaret Convention on Oct. 15^th, and the upcoming off-Broadway production of Every Wednesday Night, in Spring of 2027. Accompanied by acclaimed Broadway Conductor and pianist, Joseph Baker, he thrilled the club with 4 songs including “It’s Now or Never/O Sole Mio” (paying homage to his Italian ancestry) and an incredibly moving rendition of “The Impossible Dream” which elicited tears and “bravo’s” from the crowd. Then, in a tribute to Gary Cooper, he sang Cooper’s favorite song, “Old Man River”. He did that, because Gary Cooper’s daughter, Maria Cooper Janis was the evenings speaker in conversation with acclaimed author and professor, Foster Hirsch.    

Mrs. Janis has written a book Gary Cooper off Camera: A Daughter Remembers which gives an inside look into the persona of one of the greatest movie stars of all time. In addition to her writing, she has enjoyed a successful career as an artist and was married to the world-renowned concert pianist, Byron Janis whose busy schedule led them all over the world. Mrs. Janis has collaborated on three television specials, one produced by TNT “Gary Cooper, American Life, American Legend,” another, part of TNT’s Biography Series entitled “The Life and Times of Gary Cooper” and she has worked with A&E to contribute to a special on her father for their Biography program titled, “Gary Cooper: The Face of a Hero” which was aired in March of 1998. She has collaborated abroad with a PBS/French production of “Frederick Chopin: A Voyage with Byron Janis.” Mr. Hirsch deftly led her through an interview which highlighted all these accomplishments, but what was most moving, was to hear that Gary Cooper valued his family and their time together, above all else.  Mrs. Janis shared many special memories of her life with parents, and shared that above all, her father was a man of principles, especially during the “Red Scare” that Hollywood faced.

Among the notables present for the opening of the 2026/27 season of the Dutch Treat Club were Cuccioli’s wife, Television and Theatre Star, Laila Robbins, who is starring in Richard Nelson’s “We’ll See” at the Public Theatre which opens Election night, Nov. 4^th, Cabaret producer/performer Mary Porter, acclaimed journalist, Magda Katz, who was the liaison to the speaker, and Broadway/Cabaret performer, Ann Kittredge, to name just a few.

On a personal note, Eda Sorokoff, a classical pianist who concertized in her youth and has always had a particular affection for the music of Chopin, had the thrilling opportunity a few years ago to “talk Chopin” with the legendary maestro Byron Janis at a dinner party. It is a moment she treasures. When Eda shared the photograph I’ve included in this article, Maria remarked that it perfectly captured Byron’s characteristic physicality— his fully engaged manner when immersed in conversation.

Whether the Dutch Treaters meet at “High Noon” or after the sun goes down, the formula is always the same: interesting people, good conversation, great entertainment and plenty to learn and laugh about.

THE DUTCH TREAT CLUB

KT SULLIVAN, President

KT SULLIVAN

RAISSA KATONA BENNETT, Entertainment Chair

ROBERT CUCCIOLI

ROBERT CUCCIOLI

ROBERT CUCCIOLI

MARIA COOPER JANIS & ROBERT CUCCIOLI

MARIA COOPER JANIS & FOSTER HIRSCH

MARIA COOPER JANIS & FOSTER HIRSCH

MARIA COOPER JANIS & FOSTER HIRSCH

MARIA COOPER JANIS & FOSTER HIRSCH

ANN KITTREDGE & RAISSA KATONA BENNETT

MAGDA KATZ & MARIA COOPER JANIS

MARIA COOPER JANIS & KT SULLIVAN

ANN KITTREDGE, RAISSA KATONA BENNETT, EDA SOROKOFF, KT SULLIVAN, LAILA ROBBINS

JOSEPH BAKER

MARIA COOPER JANIS, EDA SOROKOFF, STEPHEN SOROKOFF

KT SULLIVAN & MARIA COOPER JANIS

THE DUTCH TREAT CLUB

KT SULLIVAN

KT SULLIVAN & MARY PORTER

SHANNA FARR , ANN KITTREDGE, RAISSA KATONA BENNETT, EDA SOROKOFF, KT SULLIVAN, ROBERT CUCCIOLI

BYRON JANIS & EDA SOROKOFF