New & Noteworthy A night in October

By Eileen Murphy

Well, Sunday was quite a glittering night in October, as celebrities of all shapes and stripes gathered to celebrate the Broadway opening of Dan Gordon’s one-man show, "A Night in November." By all accounts, one couldn’t swing a cat for fear of whacking a famous face at the post-performance party in Night Owls (which is part of Club El Morocco). Not that one would want to start flinging felines at such a fancy party. At least not when there’s an open bar.

It seems like only yesterday that "November" made its New York debut at Sidetracks Restaurant in Queens. After a stint at the Irish Arts Center in Manhattan, the show has finally made the big leagues, and had the guest list to prove it. Opening night well-wishers were an eclectic bunch: authors Pete Hamill and Malachy McCourt, actors Anna Manahan, Milo O’Shea and Kim Catrall, director Michael "Roger & Me" Moore, feminist icon Gloria Steinem and Progressive Unionist Party leader Dave Ervine.

The tip sheet teased us with the possible appearance of Liam Neeson (who didn’t attend) — we assume the Ballymena had his hands full with his libel action against a London tabloid (see story). Steve Buscemi was also on the list, but he didn’t make it to the show. But — be still, o beating heart — hunky movie star Kevin Costner was there. In the really-good-looking, thinking-woman’s-sex-symbol flesh. Which is, like, totally unfair, because at that exact moment we were home with our hair in curlers (metaphorically speaking) watching the network premiere of "Rob Roy." Which normally would constitute a swingin’ Sunday night around our house, but . . . arrrrgh!

Of course, we’re thrilled for "November" star Dan Gordon, who has worked long and hard to make his show a success. But really, it’s just not fair that we missed meeting Kevin, on whom we’ve had a painful crush since he played the corpse in "The Big Chill." We’ve remained faithful, in good times — Field of Dreams" — and bad. Can anybody else claim to have seen "Waterworld" twice? And liked it?

Anyway, enough about Kevin (sigh) — as Willie Shakespeare said, the play’s the thing. (Although one thing still drives us crazy: How can Kevin ever ask us to marry him if he never actually meets us?)

"A Night in November" is set on the eve of the 1994 World Cup soccer match between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. It’s been described as funny and poignant (as is our love for Kevin, but that’s another story entirely). Dan Gordon plays Kenneth McCallister, an East Belfast Protestant who finds himself transformed by the depth of his own bigotry.

Sounds good to us, and we’re looking forward to seeing the show. As soon as Kevin calls with tickets and dinner reservations, that is. The rest of you can catch it at the Douglas Fairbanks Theater, 432 W. 42nd St. For tickets and information, call (212) 239-6200.

Take us out to the ballgame . . .

Love baseball? Rooting for the Yankees? Can’t get enough of Kevin Costner? Wanna be in a movie? Read on . . .

Kevin Costner is returning to his "Field of Dreams" — in this case, Yankee Stadium — where he’ll step up to the plate and try to hit one out of the park, or at least into the left field bleachers. Metaphorically speaking.

Actually, Kev will be filming scenes for his new movie, "For the Love of the Game," in which he plays a major league pitcher who falls madly in love with the pert and sassy entertainment columnist of a leading Irish-American newspaper . . . or something like that.

Anyway, the movie producers are looking for baseball fans (or just plain folks) to work as paid extras in scenes filmed at Yankee Stadium in November. (Yes, AFTER they win the World Series.) If you have some free time between Nov. 2-24, and want to be in a major motion picture and want to watch Kevin Costner pitch, there will be an open casting call in the Bronx this Saturday, Oct. 10, at the Bay Plaza Shopping Center, at Baychester Avenue.

The casting call runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and applicants must be at least 18 years old. Bring a pen and a recent snapshot of yourself (fully clothed, thanks). If they pick you, you’ll earn $70 per day for every day you’re filming, and get a free lunch in the bargain. And, of course, you’ll be able to impress strangers at holiday parties by mentioning that film you did with Costner.

For more information, call (212) 978-7878.

What God has joined . . .

Liam Neeson and wife Natasha Richardson must be feeling vindicated, now that they’ve won a libel suit against the London tabloid that printed rumors of an impending divorce.

The happily married couple, who tied the knot four years ago, and have two children, were awarded £50,000 in damages from Britain’s Mirror Group MGN, which owns the Daily Mirror in England and the Daily Record in Scotland. The couple also received a public apology for the embarrassment, hurt and distress they suffered as a result of the allegations. MGN accepted "unequivocally" that the story was entirely false.

Neeson and Richardson have announced that they will donate the £50,000 award to the relief fund for victims of the Omagh bombing.

Corrs contest update

It looks like there are legions of Corrs fans out there in "New & Noteworthy" land, judging from the staggering response we’ve had to the ticket giveaway contest we’ve been running. The band, who are widely regarded as The Next Big Thing to come out of Ireland, have begun their first major American tour, and will be appearing in cities across the country.

Just to bring our readers in the Philadelphia area up to speed, the show which was scheduled for the Theater for the Living Arts on Oct. 27 has been changed. The group will appear this Thursday, Oct. 8, at the TLA. We’ll choose winners from among the Philly entries we’ve received so far; winners will be notified by telephone (and don’t bother to call in — trust us, if you’re a winner, we’ll track you down). Sorry for the inconvenience, but really — when you hear the Corrs in concert, all will be forgiven, if not forgotten. Hey! that might make an interesting title for a debut album . . .

By the way, in more Corrs news, we hear that fashion designer Donatella Versace just absolutely dotes on the sibling quartet. In fact, she dotes on them so much, she invited them to be her guests of honor at her show in Milan. Donatella flew them in her private jet, and when they landed, she had them fitted with clothes she designed especially for them. Beats shopping in Dunnes Stores any day.

U2 update

Just to reiterate, the "Best Of" album hits the stores on Nov. 3 assuming you want the bonus B-sides CD, and really, who wouldn’t? We’ve also been hearing the band’s new/old single, "The Sweetest Thing," all over the radio, which is sort of a mixed blessing: It’s nice to have something new, but it would be even nicer if it were really good . . .

Finally found out what the "Sweetest Thing" is actually about. It seems that Bono once, 10 years ago, forgot his wife’s birthday, and apparently she’s never let him live it down. He wrote the song for her, which some would say is cheaper and more creative than popping out for a box of Milk Tray and an economy size eau de toilette.

All of this explains why Ali Hewson is starring in the video, and why Bono had banners hung up all over the place with sentiments like, "I’m really really sorry" and "I love you." It almost explains why there’s an elephant in the video (they never forget, dig?). What it doesn’t explain is why there’s no comma in between the "reallys." But then, maybe we’re just really, really picky.