Ravinia's Dueling Divas

So... when I was in New York last month, I saw Ms. Patti LuPone at 54 Below. More on this later, I promise. When we arrived at the club, the hostess asked me how close to the stage we wished to be sat. I said as close as possible without, you know, actually being on stage. Wish granted! While we were sitting there, the couple next to us wondered if it was too close. To which I replied (even though they were not speaking to me, per se) that, in the case of The Patti, there is no such thing as too close. She's Worth It.

Fast forward to last night - Gala Night at the Ravinia Festival, featuring Ms. Patti and soprano Patricia Racette. A totally odd and incredibly random pairing, but whatever, She's Worth It. (I am reasonably sure that I have actually seen Ms. Racette perform at Lyric Opera - although I am not officially sure any more what opera I saw her perform in. I think it's either Tosca or Madame Butterfly. Whatever. I had heard of her, knew she was pretty good, even if I couldn't remember specifics, so I was happy at the prospect of the concert).  Thanks to some wonderful friends, I had tickets in the pavilion in Row X, dead center, with no one in front of me.

The concert was billed as "The Leading Ladies" but I instantly renamed it "The Diva Duel" - and it was time for Round 1. It kicked off with the National Anthem (despite the fact that the Pretty Party People had not entirely taken their seats), and then the CSO played the overture to Rosamunde.


Then Ms. Racette came on, in a lovely dark blue dress (So.Much.Fabric. I was sitting there in a slip dress and I was hot. I don't know how all the Pretty Party People (PPP) were surviving in their tuxes and fancy dresses, let alone how the orchestra, conductor and soloists were coping in the heat). She sang a few arias - one from La Boheme, Un Bel Di from Madama Butterfly, the Song to the Moon from Rusalka, and Ebben? Ne Andro Lontana from La Wally.  And I'm really sorry to report, she was kind of boring. The arias were beautifully sung but just a bit bland. She performed the best in the Butterfly aria, but the others were kind of blah.

Then came Patti. This one knows how to command a stage - it took her a matter of moments before she had the entire audience right where she wanted us. She looked glam and divalicious in a strapless red dress (That's right red - as if to remind us exactly whose house this is, thank you very much, and you'd best not be forgetting it!) and some insane wrist bling, and sang Don't Rain on My Parade, Easy to Be Hard, Don't Cry for Me Argentina, and Being Alive. The audience totally came alive, and as she left the stage with a little wave, it was like, don't go, Patti! Stay and sing a while! Please??!?!!

Round 1 of this Diva Duel went easily to Patti.

How does one follow that? One sends the orchestra out with some Wagner. No kidding. The overture to Tannhauser. It put me in the mind of hell's waiting room - dark and hot, with Wagner playing in the background.

Out comes Ms. Racette, this time in black. She took the mic, and said "How about some Piaf?" To which we in the audience responded (mentally, anyway) Sure, what the hell! This program really couldn't get much weirder, right?  But the Piaf medley she sang was really lovely. Much more interesting, strangely, than the arias. The medley included Milord, Padam, Padam, La Vie en Rose nd Mon Dieu! for those of you keeping score at home. This would have been a great opportunity for Patti to join her, since she's got some Piaf up in her bag o'tricks, but no.

She did come back, though, in black this time, and launched into another section of Broadway selections - As Long As He Needs Me, Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered, Everything's Coming Up Roses (with a special shout out to the Ravinia Festival and to Mr. Kauffman) and Ladies Who Lunch (a rather interesting choice, I thought, given that this gala was, in fact, celebrating 50 years of the Women's Board, the very embodiment of the song). On her last "Rise!" she flung the water out of her glass onto the PPP in the front row ("It's just water!" she said to the patron(s). I can't imagine that a little dousing wouldn't have felt good, since it was 2000 degrees in the pavilion, so hopefully they were cool about it, since it was just water, not battery acid, and there probably wasn't much of it. Being the North Shore and all though, I guess you never know how people are gonna react.

Then the two divas made an appearance on the stage together, singing Get Happy/Happy Days are Here Again.  And there the concert should possibly have ended, but the orchestra played a (long!) interlude from Ravel's Daphnis et Chloe (which I initially read as Dolphins and Chloe, which is a different story all together!)

Whatever. Round 2 - also went to Patti.

She clearly won this Diva Duel - I don't know why they didn't have her alone on the bill in the first place, or pair her with someone with whom she could have truly shared the program (Audra? Mandy? Laura Benanti? Someone a little less random?)

to rome, with love

Like Midnight in Paris but without what's-his-name-Wilson and all of the French people. It doesn't have the same whimsical spirit and focus of plot that Midnight in Paris has, but it's a glorious love letter to Rome, which is the biggest star in the film. Cute, quirky, laugh out loud funny, it flits back and forth between storylines. Great cast with Alec Baldwin, Woody Allen himself, Penelope Cruz, Ellen Page and Roberto Benigni, speaking Italian, what could be better? Made me want to go back to Rome (but stay in a place with air conditioning this time).

it's a good thing they're all so pretty

Not as much fun as I'd been led to believe.
Rather a disappointment.

abraham lincoln, vampire hunter

Went to see Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter last night. It was...well, yeah. Don't get me wrong - I read the book, and I enjoyed it very much. It was like a little hidden part of history, that was kind of like, you think you know what happened during the Civil War? Well, you don't.  This is what really happened, and here is the never-before-heard-story of Abe Lincoln, who was much more kick ass than we were ever led to believe in school. So I had high hopes for the film, especially given the fact that it stars Ben Walker, who I was extremely fortunate to have seen making history all sexy-pants (what?? that's what the poster said!) as Andrew Jackson in Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson on Broadway (again during that fateful trip a few years ago.).  Yeah, he was awesome in that. So much so that I was sort of calling it Andrew Jackson Vampire Hunter. Whoops. Wrong presidential mash-up.

Anyway, Mr. Walker was really good as the ax-spinning defender of human kind. And really? Was the ax spinning really that necessary? It looked really cool, sure, but did the vampires get any deader after watching Lincoln twirl the ax like a baton? Did they get impressed to death?  Abe survives just about everything in this movie - he gets pounded by the vampire who killed his mother (don't ask), he gets a crazy-looking wild horse thrown at him (really, don't ask) in a looong sequence that looked really crappy, during one of his vampire hunting escapades, the tables are turned and he finds himself hanging upside-down in a dungeon - and escapes! Unharmed! With another notch on his ax handle, of a vampire vanquished. And then, towards the end of the movie, there's a super long, extremely pointless sequence on a flaming train. Oh and the (long, tall, wooden) tracks have been set on fire too! And they're on the side of a cliff on the way to Gettysburg to deliver silver weapons to the union troops to defeat the vampire rebels on the confederate side (I told you not to ask). Super Hero in Chief!!

But aside from that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the show? (Ha! Sorry, couldn't resist).  I think it could have been better.  If it had been done in a sort of (don't laugh) more realistic way, like it was giving you a glimpse of an untold story, it might have worked better. As it was, people went into it (not many, though, from the look around the theater) thinking the premise was crap and then having that belief confirmed by flying horses and flaming trains.  I didn't hate it. It was enjoyable in a WTF is going on here, unintentionally funny kind of way. If you're interested in it, I'd suggest reading the book first.

a note about shopping

When I was in New York, as I mentioned, I went shopping. I love shopping. But I tried to go places that I can't go to here in Chicago. I went to Uniqlo (two branches! wheee!) and the Strand, and the HBO Experience Store for True Blood stuff (whee!). But what I really, really wanted to find was New York Giants merchandise.

I am a converted Giants fan. I have divorced the Bears (and it wasn't me. It was definitely them.) and cheered on a new team to super bowl victory. When I was last in NY, all of the stores were PACKED with Giants gear. Packed, I tell you. And it wasn't just jerseys and boys' shirts. There were scads of cute  shirts and gear for ladies. But at the time, I decided not to buy (I had a worrying feeling and was trying not to spend crazy amounts of money).

This time, I decided to right the wrong. I'd get a cute ladies t-shirt! Maybe a pillow pet! Maybe another cute t-shirt.... except I couldn't. I went into several sports stores and all kinds of touristy I love NY stores, and NONE OF THEM had Giants gear worth mentioning. One of the sports stores had men's shirts and jerseys, and a shirt Victor Cruz wore (designed? Something?) for something (Puerto Rican day parade? Maybe?) but that was IT.  It was wall to wall Yankees. A little bit of Mets stuff. Some Rangers some Knicks stuff, and some Jets stuff (mainly Tebow jerseys. Don't even get me started on him). But I hate baseball, I don't care about basketball and Tebow? How about Te-NO?). But it was all guys' stuff. None of the adorable Alyssa Milano touch stuff. At all. It was baffling.

I was left wandering Times Square muttering "But... Super Bowl... WON... they did!" (in my confusion and angst, I had somehow turned into Yoda).

But for real. On Navy Pier, you can buy sports gear for ALL the teams, including the Bears. And they aren't even GOOD, people. But you can't find cute Giants gear for love nor money in NYC. Don't people want to support their team during the summer? It's a mystery to me. In the end, I gave up. I guess I shall have to buy my gear (AND my pillowpet) on the interweb. But really New York? Why are you making it so hard for me to be a Giants fan? Don't you think I'll have trouble enough without you giving me problems too??

i love new york in june...

So I was in New York a few weeks ago - the first time I've been back since that ill-fated trip I took a few years ago in November (okay, I guess the trip itself was fine. It's what happened after the trip that was ill-fated. I don't hold New York responsible for that flaming psychotic bitch I used to work for, even though I worried obsessively the entire time that something bad was going to happen, and I was right, as it happens. What a time for me to be right, huh?).

Well, quite.  I sometimes think that I've de-bittered from that experience just a little bit, but I guess not.  Anyway - THIS trip to New York was wonderful. Here's a little summary (pictures to come!)

Day 1 - I arrive! Awesomeness ensues! And then - a show!
woke up disgustingly early to get a 7:00 am flight. You know the worst part? I am not able to have coffee due to some gastric problems I have. My doctor said "you could try decaf" but WHY WOULD I DO THAT? I'm drinking it for the caffeine, silly man! Arrrgh. So I had breakfast and some orange juice and spent the flight reading celebrity magazines and also the SKY MALL catalogue. Some of that stuff is SO ridiculous, I swear.

Anyway. Land, get bag without any problems. Cab it to the UWS, only slightly thrown by the car with the Illinois plate that was ahead of us on the road. I was like, but wait!?! Didn't I leave? Was all this just a dream?  Got to the hotel (it's a sweet little gem and I'm not telling you the name of it, because I am keeping it all to myself!) on broadway and 70-somethingeth, dumped the bag, did a brief but complete bed(bug) check, and hit the town for some lunch and, naturally, some caffeine.

Stopped at the Shake Shack. Had a plain hot dog, fries, and an extremely large coke. Took a walk - did I mention the weather was gorgeous?  In the 70s and low 80s the whole time. Stunning, it was. Then I did some shopping. You know, like you do. Ended up in Times Square and I swear, it was like Navy Pier times a million zillion. People everywhere, most of them tourists, the Naked Cowboy, assorted people dressed up as assorted Disney characters... I was bored, so I went and high-fived Grover. You know, like you do.  Went back to the hotel, showered, changed and headed out to dinner. Did that great thing you can do in New York, just wandered the street until I came upon a suitable looking restaurant. Had a salmon burger. I didn't even know they could make salmon into a burger. Delicious.

Headed out to Show #1 (but of course!) - Anything Goes.  I know, I know. It's been around for a while (but closing this weekend - glad I had the chance to see it!) and the delightful an extremely talented Sutton Foster is no longer in the show. But I wanted to see it. Nothing else was really calling to me when I was making my plans, and I booked this one first. Well, okay, second. I'll give you a guess as to what I booked first.

And it was a wonderful show. Stephanie J. Block was good as Reno Sweeney (I'll give you a guess as to who I wished I was seeing... but I would have needed a time machine for that) and Joel Grey was hilarious. Also in the cast was Robert Petkoff who had recently graced the stage at CST as Buddy in the exceptional production of Follies. (I have such wonderful happy memories of that show and being in the same building as that great cast, I was happy to be able to cheer him on in a really awesome comic performance). The whole cast danced their collective faces off, it was so much fun to watch. I had never actually listened to the whole cast album, or known anything about the plot, which if you think too hard about it... well, never mind. It doesn't matter, because it just makes you feel good. It was delightful. It was delicious. It was delovely.