Rudolph Giuliani endures troublesome Good Friday

Crowd protests police shooting; wife lands role in long-running play with touchy title

April 21, 2000
Web posted at: 4:39 p.m. EDT (2039 GMT)

NEW YORK (CNN) -- New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's Good Friday has proven particularly difficult, with crowds protesting his reaction to a string of shootings of unarmed black men by the New York City Police -- and with his wife, actress Donna Hanover, landing a high-profile role off Broadway.

An estimated 2,000 protesters marched from the borough of Brooklyn to New York City Hall early Friday to demand that the mayor tender his resignation over his handling of the controversial, fatal police shootings.

Many of the protesters on the three-mile-long march chanted, waved placards comparing Giuliani to Hitler, and vowed to make sure that he is unsuccessful in his bid to gain entrance to the U.S. Senate.

Giuliani will likely face first lady and newly-minted New York resident Hillary Rodham Clinton in the race to succeed retiring New York Democrat Daniel Patrick Moynihan in Congress' upper chamber.

He is expected to gain the New York Republican Party's nomination for the seat at the state party convention on May 30 in Buffalo.

"You all have got to vote!" shouted Marie Dorismond on Friday. Dorismond's brother, Patrick, was killed by police outside a Manhattan bar.

"All of this will mean nothing if you don't vote. One vote will make one big difference. I'm tired of crying for black brothers."

The mostly Haitian-American crowd specifically chanted the names of Amadou Diallo, Dorismond and Malcolm Ferguson, punctuating their cries with: "Giuliani must go!"

Diallo was killed just over a year ago by four white police officers who were acquitted a few weeks ago of murder charges.

Ferguson, who was fatally shot during an undercover drug raid, and Dorismond were killed this year.

Giuliani has gone to great lengths to stand by the police in the wake of each case. He has occasionally sought to shift blame for the shootings to the victims, and has been criticized for releasing Dorismond's sealed juvenile criminal record.

The mayor commented on the protests later in the day, saying, "People have a right to protest, I really have no problem with that at all as long as they do it peacefully."

Meanwhile, it was announced Friday that Giuliani's wife will take one of the three leading roles in the controversial off-Broadway play, "The Vagina Monologues."

The play was penned by Eve Ensler, a friend and supporter of Mrs. Clinton. Hanover will participate in the production from May 30 through June 11 -- just as the state GOP convention is underway.

Hanover, who has appeared in films and hosts a program on the Television Food Network, will share the play's dozen or so monologues on topics such as orgasm, sexual abuse, sexual fantasies and childbirth with two women who have not yet been cast.

"The Vagina Monologues is beautifully written and I'm delighted to be following in the footsteps of magnificent actresses like Annie Potts, Gina Gershon, Audra McDonald and Claire Danes," said Hanover in a statement released Friday.

"We're thrilled that Donna Hanover is going to be participating in The Vagina Monologues," said David Stone, the show's producer.

Hanover, who has a masters degree from Columbia's Graduate School of Journalism, has also appeared on "Law and Order," "Family Law," and "Ally McBeal."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.