did i tell you about the ferris wheel?

People! The Toys R Us in Times Square has a ferris wheel. Like, inside.

My mind? Totally blown. (And no, I didn't ride on it. But I was tempted.And yes, I am very easily impressed.)

I'm Andrew !@#&$^ Jackson!

I don't know why I'd heard of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson - I get email on a regular basis from the Public Theater, and it seemed to enjoy a good off-broadway run. When it made the move to Broadway, it started getting Buzz. But then I saw an ad in Time Out New York (which I am still getting! I love you, TONY!)

And I mean, really? I for one am totally in favor of history getting all sexypants.It was my major after all, and how could I say no to an emo-rock musical about our 7th President? I would totally have a beer with AJ (and I don't even drink beer!) and his tight, tight jeans.

The scene is set the second you step into the theater - it's bathed in red light, and moody rock music is blaring out of the speakers. And then our frontier hero emerges and commences to rock. I'm telling you, I was hooked the second the show started. It was fast, funny, and relevant. Told entirely in 2010 vernacular, we followed Andrew Jackson's progress with the assistance of a storyteller - until he shoots her in the neck, growling "I'll take it from here!" Ooooh, yeah, he's SO that guy!

Some of my favorite moments - "meanwhile back in Washington..." introducing the power players: John C. Calhoun, Henry Clay, John Quincy Adams ("If my father got to be the president, I should be president too!" and who later exclaimed, upon being "elected" president "I'm SO EXCITED! I never win ANYTHING!"), Van Buren ("damn it, VanBuren! Why do you have to be such a motherfucker??") and all of the others came dancing out to a Spice Girls song... One of them (maybe JQA or Van Buren?) exclaimed "How laissez un-fair!" Oh, my history geek heart was a-flutter. I remember learning about all of these guys in Mr. Daiberl's class! We had to identify pictures of John C. Calhoun and Henry Clay. I wonder how he'd react to the line in the show that James Monroe was a "douchebag"....

When the election of 1824 got stolen from Jackson (winner of the popular vote but not the electoral, I think?) he sat downstage, looking dejected, and the following came blasting out... "You're standing on the edge of nowhere.... there's only one way out, and your heart's gotta go there..." Yep, it was Cher's "Song for the Lonely" which played, disco ball and all as time passed and Andrew Jackson geared up for his 1828 campaign. You gotta love a show that invokes the Cher.

Jackson won the election with flying colors, becoming the first "People's President." He pledged to be the voice of the people, who rallied around him and voted for him because of his awesome tight jeans and because they'd totally have a beer with him, you know?

But it's hard, right, because the people don't actually know what they want (Just look at Dancing with the Stars. I mean, Bristol Palin? In the final? Really? I liked the girl, I did! She seemed like a really nice person. And major snaps to her for her growth as a dancer. That shit is hard! But still. The final? Really?) and Jackson realized that he couldn't just be Best Friend in Chief - he had to make the hard decisions himself - about the National Bank (a weird factoid just popped into my head about Jackson and the gold standard...) and the Indians and all the rest of it. He'd lost his wife (she died of grief, which as the show points out, is "the kind of shit that happened in the 19th century") and dedicated his life to serving the people (Populism, yeah, yeah!). Major bummer, dude. Is he still that guy?

The show ends reflecting on Jackson's legacy - with terror at home, unstable borders, the rich in charge and the working class suffering (sound familiar?), this Jackson thought of himself as a hero, doing what had to be done on behalf of the country. And on that score, you know, he did awesome - he doubled the size of the country, kicked out the English and French and the Spanish and solved the "Indian Problem." Yeah, Jackson really put the "Man" in "Manifest Destiny." But, the storyteller, back as an angel, points out that there are some who'd argue that Jackson was actually something of an American Hitler, taking drastic measures against the native population. I didn't really think about Jackson's legacy much one way or another. They certainly don't tell you all the good stuff in school (like the whole Jackson marrying someone who was already married thing. Wouldn't you have paid more attention in history class if you were learning stuff like that??)

But anyway, I loved it. I recommend it and would see it again and again. If you're in New York, go and see it. If you're not in New York, go there and see it. Stay at the Belleclaire - no bugs!

I left, happy, splashing through Times Square in the rain, singing the song "The Battle of New Orleans" - all together now! "In 1814 we took a little trip, along with Col. Jackson down the mighty Mississip..."

so nice they named it twice...

So, there is a lot of stuff going on for me, personally, I don't really want to get into it right now. But I realize I didn't say ANYTHING about my trip to NYC a few weeks ago, and since thinking New York makes me ridiculously happy, and happy has been hard to come by this past week, I am going to talk about my trip.

I had been nervous to go, because of all of the news out of NYC having to do with the bedbug "epidemic". Because look - suddenly these things weren't just in hotels anymore. They were in stores, in movie theaters, in all kinds of public places. All I do in NYC is eat and sleep and shop and go to shows. Very much risk for picking up unwanted guests with these activities, yes?? I was scared to death of going to a hotel and getting bitten by creepy crawlies when I slept, and I was absolutely TERRIFIED of unknowingly bringing these critters home with me. DISASTER! Being me, my head went into Worst Case Scenario Mode and it made me crazy. No matter that I had been there in June and we'd been FINE (I didn't know. But still). I dithered for ages, trying to make up my mind. But what the hell? I finally decided that I couldn't just sit around and seal myself up over something that might or might not happen. You've gotta live your life, am I right?

So I found myself buying theater tickets. Booking a flight. Reserving a hotel. Canceling said hotel when I saw a Trip Advisor report of the Bugs. Booking another hotel. And then suddenly it was Tuesday, November 16 and I was at O'Hare! Honestly, at that point, I figured that a bout with bed bugs might actually be BETTER than all of the crap I was dealing with at work.

It was the easiest flight I've ever taken - checked my bag curbside, went through security in about 2 seconds (no full body scan) boarded, took off, yada yada yada, landed at LaGuardia, bag was waiting for me when I got to baggage claim, got on a cab, off I went.

I cannot say enough about the hotel I chose - the Hotel Belleclaire (77th and Broadway). I found it online, booked it because it was bedbug free (!) and had a great stay there. Everyone was so warm and friendly, it was ideally located (right across from the Manhattan Diner!) my room was clean and quiet and blessedly bug free (I checked). I hate elevators, so I never took it - I was on the 3rd floor and so it was easy for me to climb them up and down.

I went to the Shake Shack for lunch - I got the New York dog - without reading the menu. I had no idea New Yorkers put sauerkraut on their hot dogs! What's up with that NYC? Shoulda gotten the "Shack-cago" dog. Even though I don't eat them that way either (and I freaking live here!).

And then I walked. I bought an umbrella at Duane Reade, and then I just started walking. I thought that the city might have changed somehow, with all of this bug stuff. I don't know what all I thought I'd see - buildings with Scarlet B's on them? People furtively itching as they made their way down the streets and on the subway trains? But it was exactly the same as it always was - crowded and chaotic and inviting. I love the feel of New York City. Without a whole lot of effort, I can see myself living there.

So I walked to Lincoln Center and visited the Metropolitan Opera. Alas, no opera on this trip, but I paid my respects to the gift shop. It started raining and so I grabbed the train to Times Square. Oy, Times Square. It's one of those places that you totally have to see, but once you've seen it, it just becomes a massive pain in the ass to deal with. I actually try to avoid it as much as possible, which is difficult, since all of the theaters are right in that area. I had a show at 7:00 (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, for those of you keeping score at home) but until then, the afternoon was mine and I wandered happily. I ended up in Bryant Park - there's a little holiday craft thing there, little kiosks selling ornaments, knit goods, other gifty type things. I didn't buy anything, but it was fun to just look. I continued wandering, and looking for a place to grab dinner. It was WAY early for dinner, but I stopped at a little Italian place (right near the Belasco Theater, which I found accidentally) and had some delicious lentil soup and a caesar salad. There was a tv playing over the bar, where I was sitting, first it was a soccer game. Then the owners (maybe?), gabbing in Italian, changed the channel - so they could watch the Barefoot Contessa. She was doing something holiday related and the owners were joined by the servers in watching the BC prepare a herb sauce for chicken or turkey or something. That? Was hilarious.

I was early (but what else is new?) so I picked up all of my show tickets, trawled Shubert Alley and spent a whole bunch of time hovering outside of BBAJ.

More on the show later....

start spreading the news...

I'm going to New York in about a week in honor of my thirty-something-eth birthday. Huh, that sounds a bit clunky. Let's just call it 29th and be done, yes? Naturally, I have packed my three days full of shows:

- Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown: I have tickets for this and am excited for it, despite the rather disappointing reviews it's been getting.

- A Life in the Theatre: Patrick Stewart + TR Knight + David Mamet = theatrical awesomeness. A no-brainer

- Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson: I still need to get my ticket for this one, but how could I resist a show whose ads blare the slogan "History just got all sexypants"??

Am also debating wedging in a matinee of A Little Night Music but I guess we'll see...

the lady with the torch...

I promise you we did more in NYC than see shows and slurp down delicious chocolatey ice cream confections - bright and early on Tuesday morning, we also took the Staten Island Ferry nearish the Statue of Liberty. It was a beautiful day, and although it was a sticky slog through lower Manhattan, it was nice and cool on the water. After this, we took a walk around Wall Street and then visited another venerable NYC institution - Century 21.

brooklyn!

The last few times I've been in Brooklyn have been completely by accident. Usually I get on the subway, with the intent to go downtown. My problem is that I'm looking for Fulton Street, but the stop is actually called something else and so then I miss it completely and end up staring with dismay out the window as I see water and then coming to the conclusion, "Oh, crap, I'm in Brooklyn!" Twice, I've done this. But no, a week ago today, we went there on purpose via the Brooklyn Bridge. I'd never crossed it before and wanted to. So yeah. We did it!

Except it was kind of disappointing on the Brooklyn side. We'd intended to find a nice water taxi to take us back to Manhattan except you know what? THEY DON'T EXIST ON WEEKDAYS except during rush hour (we were there at 11:30). We'd been looking forward to the famous ice cream they've got over there, but the stand didn't open until 12:00. We had already gotten our exercise (plus we were hungry!) and didn't really want to cross the bridge on foot again. It looked like we were going to have to until I spotted a cab and flagged that sucker down. It took us back over the bridge to city hall which I have to say was the best 6 bucks we spent on the whole trip.

speaking of food...

We had lots of great food while we were in NYC. Just quickly, some of our food stops:

• Shake Shack on the UWS
• Crumbs for cupcakes. Panic attack moment when it appeared the UWS outpost had moved and wouldn't be open until July 1 - fortunately, old store a block or so away was still open and we were able to procure red velvet, vanilla, hostess, and cookie dough 'cakes without incident. Except later, when Heidi was eating her cookie dough cupcake and discovered this weird, chocolatey fudge center. "It's staring at me!!"
  
  
• Pigalle for dinner pre-Mamma Mia! Where the words "raspberry sorbet" escaped my lips completely on their own volition because I had meant to order lemon.


• Nice Matin for the Best Waffle in the Universe (they don't list them that way in the menu, but they should, I tell you. They should.)


• A Salt and Battery for fish and chips (and yes. We went there just for the name.) We had a bit of a Venice flashback here, because the guy behind the counter was so intent on the World Cup match he was watching, we had to wait to place our orders until there was a break in the action. The adorable English guys next door at Tea & Sympathy were also watching the game - but on a Spanish tv station. I guess soccer is a universal language.


• Bagels and lox and shmear at a place on the UWS (79th and Amsterdam, I think) because we thought that they would probably throw us out of Manhattan otherwise. Don't they check your blood-cream cheese levels at the airport now??


• Max Brenner's Chocolate Bar OMG, OMG, OMG. The man has his own chocolate philosophy and his own gift shop. How could I not love this place??
  

My "Eighties Milkshake" including vanilla rum ice cream, and chocolate and probably some other things too, with an artful chocolate shell (a milkshake with a shell!! Squee!) and served in the "Alice" glass (the other side says "Drink Me" Too right I will!) BEST. MILKSHAKE. EVER. I may or may not have purchased an Alice glass of my own to keep forever and ever.

Heidi's treat involved creating her own popsicle using the above shown vanilla ice cream bar and her own little assortment of fixings. We may or may not have used our spoons to just eat the chocolate in that little bowl.

• Dinner at Landmarc in the Time Warner building with Cara, my lovely former college roommate, now a high-powered New York attorney.

this ain't yo mamma's musical, punk

So yes. American Idiot. I had been curious about it, which fueled my desire to see it. It's kind of an interesting idea, marrying punk rock with musical theater. It's been done before, of course, in shows like Rent, Spring Awakening, Hair. What interested me the most though, was the idea that this show is about our own time and our own issues, not about living in America at the end of the millennium, or during the 1960s or 1890s Germany. The concept here is inherently relatable to our lives today since we're living it. Aside from that, I know of and like Green Day, and it sounded like fun in a loud and angsty sort of way (how could someone not love a show that was called "Hair's sullen, cynical grandchild"?)

This is, essentially, how I summed it up to someone a few days after I saw it. It was good. Good, not great. Was it the best thing I've ever seen? No. Would I see it again? Yes. Would I recommend it? Also yes.

Plot? The time is now. The show follows three young men (introduced early on, but names promptly forgotten, at least by me) coming of age in our own turbulent times, confronted by a sea of conflicting messages constantly being blared over the airwaves by the media. And boy, are they PISSED OFF about it. An hour and a half and 21 musical numbers ensue, following Johnny (an excellent, excellent John Gallagher, Jr.) who struck out to the big city to play in band (maybe?), met Mimi (whoops, I mean, well, actually she's called "whatsername") and does some serious drugs doled out by "St. Jimmy". Johnny's friend Tunny goes with him, decides to join the army, goes off to fight and comes back wounded. Their other friend, Will, is all set to go off with them but finds out his girlfriend is pregnant. Time for him to get off the couch and grow up.

All of them do a lot of growing up, actually, in this fast-paced show. Green Day's music is like poetry (no, seriously) and although I went in knowing a handful of songs, I have had several of them in my head since we've returned (damn it). My friend Heidi is well-known in our circle for reading her Entertainment Weekly and therefore knowing her shit, and she told me that the album American Idiot was written sort of like a rock opera, with a theme running throughout. The transition of this music to the stage seemed like a natural progression, and the music actually lends itself to this kind of dramatization and aggressive, physical, non-jazz hands style dancing.

So - what worked for me? The amazing cast and their tremendous energy. Every one of them gave 110% for the entire show- especially the girl in the opening song, who made her entrance upsidedown on a trapeze like thing. She hung there for a good long time, bopping and head banging along with the music. Then she came to the ground, got off and started dancing. Dude. I can barely headbang standing up without getting dizzy, after doing all that, I would have fallen down or something. I also now have a serious crush on John Gallagher Jr. I loved at the end (SPOILER ALERT HERE, people!) the curtain had gone down and came back up on the whole cast holding guitars. They played and sang "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" which is one of my absolute favorite songs. Also loved the voice of "Whatsername" Johnny's love interest, played with serious awesomeness by Rebecca Naomi Jones.

So what didn't work for me?? Oh, I don't know. I didn't hate it or anything, I'm just kind of lukewarm about it, I guess. I had issues with the "plot" such as it was. I didn't feel a strong connection with the characters. I remembered "Johnny" but not really any of the others. If you don't know their names, how can you be expected to care about them and what happens to them?

I remember reading somewhere that it was a good idea to listen to the cast album prior to attending the show, to really hear and understand the music and what was happening. I mean, I'm not a dummy and so it wasn't like I didn't understand what they were saying, but there was a lot going on and it was really LOUD. And I think sometimes they could have gone further - this music has strong messages in it, you have tvs all over the set, just go for it. I left with kind of an "oh" feeling, not quite knowing what they wanted me to get out of the show. Although, I have been sitting around pondering it since last Tuesday, so maybe it did something right after all?? I just didn't know though - Is it a call to action? A call to awareness? Am I supposed to leave happy? Sad? Pissed off? Should I go off and start a revolution? Is the answer that maybe there ARE no answers and maybe I'm an American Idiot myself??

Afterwards, we went to Junior's for some post-show discussion and snacks. I had cheesecake (strawberry shortcake cheesecake, in the interest of full disclosure) and Heidi (surprise!) had soup.

just one look and i can hear a bell ring...

We arrived in NYC last Monday and stayed until Thursday morning. I wanted to cram the visit as full of stuff as possible, including shows. I was a little worried, because although I personally see no problem with spending my days in darkened theaters, my dear friend might not have agreed with my plans. As I planned the trip, my list of must-sees dwindled - mainly because so many of them closed in the meantime - A Little Night Music (we were a few weeks too early to see Bernadette Peters and Elaine Stritch take over in this show.), God of Carnage and Sondheim on Sondheim were a few on my list that closed before we got to town. I also wanted to see American Idiot, La Cage, Promises, Promises and Everyday Rapture. The nerd in me wanted to go to the Addams Family to see what had been changed since I saw it here in Chicago. So much to see, so little time. In the end, we decided on two - Mamma Mia! (one of the rare shows open on Monday) and American Idiot.

I love, love, love, love, love, Mamma Mia! I've seen it twice here in Chicago, the first time was at the Auditorium Theater and the second, last January, in Rosemont, and I just love it to pieces. I'd been wanting to see it on Broadway, just because I thought it would be a great evening of big, splashy fun.

And it was. The cast was wonderful, the best I have seen, and included Beth Leavel as Donna. She was amazing. She sang her face off, she was hilariously funny. The rest of the cast was good as well and included John Dossett as Sam - he also played Herbie in the Bernadette Peters Gypsy - I was so sure I recognized his voice from somewhere, and after a phrase in "Knowing Me, Knowing You" I was like "Herbie!!" I had been a little nervous about our Sophie, as her bio indicated she'd been on the recent national tour - and the Sophie we saw in Rosemont SUCKED a whole bunch - but it was not this girl, Natalie Gallo, who was a fantastic Sophie.

The plot, let's face it, is completely ridiculous but WHO CARES? The music is happy, cheery froth, and there is nothing better than standing up at the end and singing "Waterloo" with the rest of the audience and the cast in their awesome metallic 70s gear. The thing that still bothers me, that I notice every single time, is the line in "Thank you for the Music" which is the original and goes "I've been so lucky, I am the girl with golden hair" when Sophie is not actually golden haired. I just sit there and go, no, you're not. The logo bride isn't golden haired either, so I'm not sure what's up with that. Is she singing "Thank you for the Music" as a song that she learned from her mom? But it seems to be delivered like the rest of the songs, as the character's dialogue, and the rest of it seems to fit - "mother says I was a dancer before I could walk..." etc. So I don't know. I guess it is not one of those things that we are supposed to think too much about.

It is such a feel good show, I left the theater on a cloud of ABBA-induced euphoria. How can I resist you, indeed.

NYC or Bust!

Even though I'd been to NYC (many times) before, Heidi had not. I wanted to be sure we did all of the great stuff that one needs to do on a first visit. Fortunately, I had some assistance in planning the itinerary:

"lemme see... first stop, fish market, nom, nom, nom... next stop, stachoo liberty, and den I am finking bwoadway show. Whaddabout Cats? Dat my favwite."

(Oh yeah, he was a big help, all right!)

TOMORROW NIGHT....

Barring all snow-related flight delays, I will be in New York City tomorrow, and seeing the Divine Ms. Renee Fleming in Thais... Oh, I am so very excited. I saw Renee sing this role in Chicago back in 2003, and it is gorgeous. Speaking of gorgeous, check out the Thais photo from the Met.

Wow & wow & wow. So glamorous. They are, it must be said, doing an outstanding job with... pretty much everything. The promotional photos (which started - last year?)are AMAZING, the HD broadcasts, I even got an email reminder for the performance tomorrow night (as if I could forget!). Bravo, Peter Gelb. Bravo.

The Morning After

Notes that I took on Monday, June 16


Today I...

• Ate waffles at Nice Matin (just as good as I remembered!)
• Completely by accident, found the New York Public Library (had planned to just get subway to 42nd Street and walk to 5th, but stop actually let me off right there. Yess! Sometimes, am brilliant!)
• Walked from library down 5th to 57th - just cuz. Stopped by Rockefeller Center, Radio City Music Hall (ahhh!), Carnegie Hall
• Ate at a deli down the street from City Center (not Carnegie Deli - too crowded and was hungry) and had massive piece of cheesecake. I had trouble deciding which to order and waitress said, helpfully "Do you want to look at them?"
• Took N train back to 42nd and wandered around. Shopping.
• Found myself in front of the St. James theater (again, completely by accident) and picked up my ticket for tuesday performance
• Saw "The Happening" - for god's sake, don't see that movie. Was terrible. Should have waited 35 minutes to see the Zohan.
• Went on nighttime bus tour. Still daylight. Got rained on while we came back from Brooklyn. Had to wear unattractive plastic bag style poncho with hood. Tour cut short.
• Bought umbrella, went back to hotel.
• Changed clothes, went to dinner at Ristorante LaGrolla on Amsterdam Avenue.
• Ate (delicious) risotto with salmon, safforn, peas and scallions.
• Lost umbrella (damn)

Notes that I took on Tuesday, June 17th

Today I...

• Ate another waffle (helloooo, lovah...)
• Took the wrong train while attempting to go downtown and ended up in Brooklyn (grrr. Not brilliant.)
• Shopping for birthday present at South Street Seaport, rapidly got tired of touristy kitsch and went (somewhat inexplicably, yes?) back to 42nd Street. More shopping. This is what I do when left to my own devices??
• From there went to Lincoln Center to buy "This Charming Man" by Marian Keyes (had to get something to read on the flight home!)
• Went to the Historical Society. Replica of guillotine worth $6 (student) admission
• Went also to American Museum of Natural History.
• Realized am totally uninterested in Natural History-style exhibits. An hour and a half (and $11 student admission) that I am not getting back.
• Because I am SO.INCREDIBLY.PARANOID about missing curtain, I arrive in midtown ridiculously early. Eat at Junior's (but no cheesecake) and wander around for the hour and a half or so before it is time to head back to the theater.

Time for the show. Ohmygod. I could again go on & on & on & on & on, but then this would be a really long post & you all probably would not like me very much. I think I have said that I could listen to Gypsy every minute of every day of the rest of my life and be happy. I am not kidding here. If I lived in NYC, I would go and see the show a whole lot. I would be happy. Broke, but happy. This marked the 10th time I have seen Patti do Gypsy, and every time, I marvel. I know what's going to happen, I even know some of the inflections they will use, the movements they will make, and yet, I am entranced, enthralled, enchanted, every single time. It was even more special this time around because so many people were there to support the cast after the big Tony wins. It - oh, I can't even describe the thrill I felt. The anticipation beforehand, anxiously bouncing around in my seat when the lights went down, cheering wildly for Patti's first entrance, and then for Boyd's, and then for Laura's.... until the audience was nearly told off for being so vocal... then we all settled down... I have tried to explain the experiences I've had in the theater to people who don't know, who don't go to live theater and have no clue what I am talking about. It was like a spiritual experience. Is that too much to say? It's how I feel.

Afterwards, booked to stage door, and got a fairly decent spot. Got shoved to the front when Patti turned up, which was good, but I always get so overwhelmed, I couldn't rub two brain cells together to form an intelligent sentence. It always seems to me that saying something like "you were great" or similar doesn't really capture everything I'd mean to say to her, doesn't convey the impact, the specialness of the occasion, so I can't even say anything, which is annoying, but ah, maybe next time!). The lady next to me said something to her about knowing a teacher of Patti's - "Which teacher?" Patti asked, while scribbling her name on extended programs and stagebills. The lady said something rather incoherent and Patti clearly had no idea what she was talking about because all she said was, "Huhhh..." and moved on. You either got it, or you ain't.

As for me, it was in a cab and back to the hotel for frantic last minute packing.... The next morning I left for LaGuardia by 8:00. United had canceled my return flight since I had not flown with them on Sunday, and so I spent a little bit of time getting that straightened out. No other problems and back home...

Let me just say this, kids, it's gonna take me a long time to get over this one...

new york minutes...

No trip to NYC is complete without a trip to the Met...

I just wandered around it though.

No viewings of "Satyagraha" in Sanskrit (!!) for me!

Post Patti Pizza (alleged "Chicago Style" deep dish)

Nice try, Manhattan, but no dice.

Here she is, boys!

Lookit, it's not just me who thinks so. What are you waiting for?

Times Square

Waiting for my waffles at Nice Matin!

Just going through the photos I took last weekend. Reality keeps trying to knock on my door, however hard I try and keep it out... I also seem to have developed some sort of cold/flu thing, while I was still taking antibiotics. I know that antibiotics wouldn't help a cold anyway, but this is the kind of reality I am looking at here, people. From one illness to another... Zicam and OJ, I guess. A few more to come...

weekend roundup

Details to come, but here, in a nutshell, is what I was up to this weekend:

1. Opening Night of Gypsy (!!)
2. Drinkin' cosmos (c'mon, they're good for ya!) at Angus McIndoe
3. Waffle time at Nice Matin
4. Downtown shopping trip
5. Upper East side walking adventure (and then, uh, cabbing adventure after I realized that it's a long damn way to walk from 79th and Columbus over to east 60th where a friend of mine had recommended a restaurant)
6. MoMA
7. Sunday in the Park with George at Studio 54
8. More waffles (honestly, they are SO good!)
9. August: Osage County
10. Dinner at Angus McIndoe's (no cosmos this time though)
11. Gypsy!
12. Brunch with legendary theater bloggers (I felt inadequate in their presence so awed was I at their collective brilliance and knowledge)
13. Gypsy! (yes, again. That was number 9, counting City Center and Ravinia) And really? I would be in such trouble if I lived here, because I'd just go and see it all the time. I could listen to Patti and Boyd and Laura singing that music every minute of every day for the rest of my life and be happy.
14. "Chicago Style" deep dish pizza for dinner at Pizzeria Uno on 81st and Columbus (what the hell, right?)

So... when can I come back?

Soon...

I'm exhaustedly tired today (ever have one of those nights when you want sleep - desperately - but your brain has decided to throw a party instead? I was wide awake for most of the night. I think I got about 3 hours total. I did manage to have a sort of prophetic dream which kind of surprised me.)

Anyway, the point (yes, there is one. I totally mean it.) is soon I will be in New York, seeing my favorite people and some really great shows...

In a few short days: Curtain up! Light the lights!

March Madness (and I ain't talking about basketball!)

I just booked my next trip to NYC in March and whew! I'll need a vacation to recover from this whirlwind weekend. I am going out there in late March to see this, this and hmmmm, what else was there? Oh, right... THIS

So. Excited. Because I so.need.a.vacation.

Serenity Now!

Yoga in the middle of Times Square - gotta love it.
(from www.nytimes.com)

Gypsy!!!

Sweet fancy moses.... I got in this morning and was innocently checking my email, when I see these GREAT HEADLINES. Looks like I am New York bound again.... In July!

Onegin at The Met....

I'd been looking forward to last Saturday night for many many months. I'd bought my ticket the moment they went on sale, and booked my ill-fated JetBlue (JetPoo!) flight in October. It's been a long, Diva-less winter, and I was excited to see Renée on stage, performing a role.

God, I love the Met. There is really no other place like it - the plushy red velvet seats, the gold gilt interior, the large majestic stage, the sparkling chandeliers (I still get a thrill watching them rise up to the heavens before the performance starts.) And it was beyond cool to maybe take a stroll to the ladies' lounge and exchange a hug and air kiss with someone I knew - and scan the audience and see friends sitting there - in the front few rows....

It was my first Russian opera - the music was gorgeous, the staging gorgeous, and the incomparable Ms. Renée was simply breathtaking. The sets were spare - but it worked - highlighting the drama, and the story, and the principal singers. Highlights for me were - well, anytime Renée was on stage, the pretty (if lengthy) aria by Ramon Vargas.... and I'll be honest, the scene where Dmitri takes off his shirt. You could hear sharp intakes of breath all around the auditorium.

Contrary to what some people (Nosy Tom) happen to think, going backstage after a performance, to greet the Diva, is INCREDIBLY cool. All of the assembled TBV groupies met backstage and waited in eager anticipation. We chatted, we snapped photos, we talked about the opera, and suddenly.... there she was. As many times as I have met her, I still find myself at a loss for words. She makes it so easy to talk to her though, and I am a lot less shy around her than I used to be. She spent time with each person, signing and taking pictures. She is sweet and gracious and so generous with her time. She is a very very classy lady.

sorry~grateful

Why does the weekend have to be so short?? I think there needs to be a vacation buffer zone to help get back into reality after such a good time with friends. It was so great, as always, to see the group - it is amazing to me how such a diverse group of people from different backgrounds and ages and everything else can get together and have it seem like they've known each other forever. Every TBV member I've met I've liked. I'm happy we were all able to spend some time together, even if it was just a few days (in some cases, and only a few hours in others!)

More to come when I have a minute to catch my breath. In the meantime, enjoy this shot, taken in the green room by my friend Wanda. I will post mine later on (I promise!)