Waiting for Fran Drescher

IT WASN'T quite "Waiting for Godot," but it did resemble the waiting game that Russian President Vladimir Putin played on Pope Francis last week in the Vatican.

Like the Russian leader, who made the pontiff wait for more than an hour on Wednesday, Fran Drescher kept Mayor Nutter waiting for more than an hour during Gay Pride this past weekend.

On Sunday, at the 27th annual Pride Day LGBT parade, Drescher was scheduled to join the mayor and Gayborhood celebrity and parade emcee Henri David on stage at Penn's Landing.

I'm told that the long wait gave Nutter and David time to exchange some friendly banter while Drescher's entourage fought its way through traffic. Reportedly, the two tried to ad lib for a while but eventually ran out of things to say into the mic, resorting to mumbling and commentating to each other, including a quip from the mayor on David's flamboyant boots. This earned them a few laughs from the crowd.

When Drescher did arrive, the mayor read a proclamation dedicating June 14, 2015, as Gay Pride Day. He gave Drescher a small Liberty Bell as a gift from the city, an award from the Philly LGBT parade officials and the two parted amicably with kisses. When Drescher finally addressed the crowd, all was forgiven, and she was embraced with enthusiasm.

Wynton Learson Marsalis, the nine-time Grammy Award-winning jazz trumpeter, will receive the 2015 Marian Anderson Award in the fall.

Mayor Nutter announced the prize Monday, acknowledging Marsalis as an iconic jazz musician and advocate of the arts.

Marsalis, from a famous New Orleans musical family, will be presented with the coveted award during a star-studded gala on Nov. 10, at the Kimmel Center (300 S. Broad St.), where he's set to perform.

"The Marian Anderson Award honors great artists whose talents are surpassed only by their commitments to improving the world around them," Nutter said.

"This year, we'll recognize the huge impact that Wynton Marsalis has had on American music, on New Orleans and on the arts-education community."

Catch Philly-based garage band Soraia this Friday at Kung Fu Necktie (1250 N. Front St.), in Northern Liberties. They'll be co-headlining the bill with the Doughboys, from Plainfield, N.J.

I interviewed ZouZou Mansour, lead singer of Soraia, earlier this week. She told me that their newest single, "(I'm Not) Like Everybody Else"- a cover of the song by the same name from the Kinks - became the No. 1 rock song in Peru after spending eight weeks in their commercial-rock radio station's Top 40.

"We're garage rock inspired by Blondie, the punk scenes of the 1960s and '70s. . . . I think [Peruvians] like soulful, intense vocals like that," said Mansour.

Also joining Soraia and The Doughboys on the bill are the Droogettes and Knif. This will be the Doughboys' first show in Philly.

Kathy Romano, of the Preston and Steve Show on WMMR; guitarist Paul Hammon, of the band Get the Led Out; and guitarist Brian Quinn, who just finished a tour with Michael Allman (son of Greg Allman, from the Allman Brothers) will be at a Philly music-industry party tonight at a club in the Valley Forge Casino.

From 7 to 10 p.m., musicians, artists, radio DJs, promoters, booking agents and media reps can be found at the new Valley Beach Poolside Club. Each guest that makes it to this free event will receive a free season pass to the Valley Beach Poolside Club just for attending. Happy networking.

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