Will Oprah eat up 'Deceptively Delicious?'

Jessica Seinfeld being sued for plagiarism

By LIZ SMITH

NOW THAT Jessica Seinfeld is back in the tabloids being sued for plagiarism in the matter of her vegetables-for-kids cookbook, "Deceptively Delicious," it leads one to wonder -- if Jessica loses her fight against the original vegetables-for-kids chef Missy Chase Lapine of "The Sneaky Chef" fame, does this mean that Oprah will sit Jessica down in her studio someday and lambaste Ms. Seinfeld the way she devoured author James Frey for not telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but in his "memoir"'--"A Million Little Pieces." (Oprah all but handed Frey a pistol advising him to shoot himself for misleading her endorsement of his book.) But maybe Jessica Seinfeld will win the lawsuit and that will make everything all right with Oprah and these days, making everything all right with Oprah is practically the publishing world's 11th Commandment.

TALK ABOUT a comeback! On Aug. 7, lots of people get the chance to see Liza Minnelli at the 30-year-old Seaside Summer Concert Series outside Asser Levy/Seaside Park in Coney Island/Brighton Beach. The 62-year-old show biz phenomenon is back from Europe after rumors that she has "made millions" over there with her hard-driving organic talent. The Huffington Post recently described her as "a lightning rod of timing, movement, voice...American showbiz at the top of its game!" Liza is currently thin and trim, still prepping, but soon to launch that show about her famous godmother, the late choreographer-creator Kay Thompson. Yes! Liza intends to bring back Kay and "the Four Williams Brothers." (Shades of the 1950s and the famed Persian Room at the Plaza Hotel.)

I HAD dinner recently with the talented young playwright-lyricist Anne Berlin in Joe Allen's cafe where tributes to B'way flops adorn the walls. She was so enticing with her get-up-and-go attitude that I'm going to see her original one-act with hopes of not repeating the word "flops." "Charlie Chang and the Mysterious Salami," a musical spoofing the old movie serial, pokes fun at racial stereotypes. That starts July 21 at the Grand Theater, 358 W. 44th. This is part of the N.Y. Artists Unlimited's Bad Musicals Festival. We don't do enough to encourage struggling talents in this big city.