stuff in my bag... the cleanout edition

So my bag weighed a ton yesterday, and I had to do my weekly cleaout ritual a few days early. Here's what was happening...

- 4 True Delights dark chocolate almond raspberry granola bars (free! given out by the train station and in front of the Thompson Center in the morning for the past week. May I say they are Truly Delightful...)

-8 lipsticks and lipglosses. I think it is safe to say that I don't especially need ALL of those in my bag at once, as I think I only really regularly use just one... the boring old softlips

-5 pens (you never know when you might need a pen, and I have this weird fear that I will be somewhere and need a pen and that it will run out of ink. So I have extras.)

-1 pair of rubber gloves (don't ask)

-1 sharpie (Be Prepared. That is my motto. You never know when a sharpie about your person might come in handy.)

-Much loose change

-2 bottles of eyedrops

-about 3 different containers with Tylenol, Advil, and prescription stuff. Just call me Dr. Feelgood

-Post its.

-Keys, and also my office swipe card

-phone

-tissues

-my schedule book planner thing that I meticulously record things in but mysteriously rarely look at.

-random receipts and assorted debris

-Parking Lot floor level reminder sheet. You know when you park really early in the morning, and it's kind of a blur? So I took one of those little sheets to remind me later, in case I forgot. It was a long day. But I remembered - P4 Luggage Blue Level

-gum and mints, hard candies

-ipod (really really really the best purchase I've ever made)

-an invitation to the Kravis Center Gala featuring MandyLu (PatMan? ManPat?) (Oy, long story about why this happens to be in there, but needless to say I will be spending March here in Chicago and not chilling out on a beach in West Palm, sipping fruity beverages.)

Happy Friday!

the rite of spring....

What have I been doing with myself these past few days, you may ask yourself? I am gearing up for our Winter Program, which opens next week. For a sneak preview, go hereand check out the video. Then, if the spirit so moves you, get some tickets and check it out! It's going to be a great show!

think about it...

I am too brain-dead and coming down with a cold to say anything meaningful today, so I think the best thing to do is get the phrase "junkies with monkey disease" stuck in your heads, so I can get it out of mine. Cool? Maybe we can all sing along with Bret and Jemaine when they come to Chicago in April!!!

grammy roundup

Watched the Grammys last night. I was hoping for a glimpse of the winners of the typically non-televised categories - the classical category, naturally - although, heck, I think they presented all of 6 awards on the show last night. I think they went for a full half hour and only presented one. Still, it was a nice way to pass Sunday evening. Some of those cats are just so unbelievably cool - U2, Coldplay, Radiohead, all of those guys who were wandering around with their sunglasses on... inside. It made me wonder - did they wear them all night? How did they see anything? Is seeing stuff passe when you're so cool?

But hey-who, I digress. They did not scroll any of the other categories, which is kind of a bummer, man, but they wanted us to follow them on Twitter and on Facebook, which I didn't do. Anyway, I found out this morning that the Grammys for Best Classical Album and Best Opera Recording went to the Rise and Fall of The City of Mahagonny, featuring Patti and Audra! Wheeeee! I saw both of these live and in the personal flesh. I was surprised about Mahagonny though, I thought for sure that Eugene Onegin from The Met would sneak in there and grab the Grammy Gold. The production was gorgeous and, I don't need to tell you, gloriously sung by Renee and Dmitri... Who knows what lurks in the hearts of Grammy voters? But congrats to Patti and Audra - Patti adding to her award-haul (sort of, anyway, I don't know if the artists get the physical awards for these?) and in the opera category!!

have you never been mellow?

Yesterday I saw Xanadu, and let me tell you, in the parlance of 1980s California, it was rilly rilly awesome, man! Because, really (or I guess I should say, rilly) now I think that everything I go to should involve disco balls, roller skates, and of course, glow sticks.

Fun for all. Go and see it! I will even see it with you!

why is it everyone now is a pain in the ass?

Or do I have the word "Sucker" stamped on my forehead or something? Yesterday, at lunchtime, I was on my way to drop off a package and someone outside Borders stopped me "Excuse me, miss, can I ask you a question?" Usually I say no, or just hastily move to the other side of the sidewalk, but then the (cute) guy went on to ask "About your hair?" Huh? My hair? That threw me, and I stopped. What could he possibly want to know about my hair? Well, you guessed it, it was a sales pitch for some alleged salon in the south loop. It involved all kinds of special treatments, all for one low price, and if you give me your credit card number right now, we'll sign you up. Yeah, right! I don't give my credit card information to people on the street, I don't know about you. As lovely a plan as this sounded, I had no idea if the salon actually existed AND, I don't give my credit card information to people on the street. He got the huff with me and was all like "Do you think I'd memorize this stuff for fun?" etc. and told me to call the salon, call 411 etc. Regardless. He told me he only had 4 of the coupons left blah blah blah, so if I changed my mind... I had to come back that way, and he was still standing out there. He was actually still standing out there when I headed home that evening too. I started wondering why I always get called out for these kinds of things - do I look nice? Is my little round face too trusting looking? Or gullible looking? Or, in this particular instance, did he think I had bad hair and desperately needed this package?

Then on the train yesterday evening, I was scribbling away in a notebook (lists, you know) and this girl parks herself in the seat in front of me and starts talking on the phone. She talked solidly from Union Station all the way to Morton Grove (1/2 an hour!) . She was going to Libertyville (figures, doesn't it?) and I heard all about her journey on the Amtrak train. She freaked out because a lady with a baby sat in front of her. In her words "And I was like, 'Are you kidding me? I hate babies" she tells whoever she's talking to "HATE them!" Who the hell hates babies? Crying babies can be annoying, it is true, but hate the crying, don't hate the baby... Did she really think it was more courteous to her fellow passengers to yammer away at top volume on her phone for 30 solid minutes? At least the baby has an excuse... I hadn't put on my ipod while I was writing because I tend to get all absorbed in what I'm doing and I didn't want to miss my stop. But finally, I couldn't take it any more, and I put the headphones on and selected Patti singing "Mr. Tambourine Man" and you want to know something? I could still hear this chick babbling away. Over Patti. Singing at top volume. And her "Mr. Tambourine Man" is not a quiet song. I left my seat one stop away from Morton Grove and stood in the vestibule for the rest of the ride. Thank goodness it's Friday, huh?

a fond farewell to Gypsy...

New York magazine has published a gorgeous photo diary from Gypsy's final moments... Oh, how I wish I could have been there for the final one, but I'm happy that I had the chance to be there at all...

a classic love story on skates

That's right! I just got my tickets for Xanadu! I am excited, it sounds like so much fun. Every time I walk by one of the theaters downtown (I pass the Cadillac Palace and the Oriental on my walk from the station every day), I start singing "ZZZZZZZ---AANNNN-- AHHHH-- DOOOO" so now I can finally see it and get that out of my head. And about time, too, I think people walking by and hearing me singing away are thinking I am a bit farmhouse nutty.

This also reminds me of one of the Rock Boat cruises. All of them took place on Carnival ships that had been decorated sometime in the 70s and had pretty much not seen any updates since. It was all bright colors and blinding patterns - which was not fun after a few drinks, I am telling you. Anyway, the last cruise we were on, some of the shows took place in the Xanadu lounge. Ah, good times, good times...

Can't wait! I'm seeing it on Sunday 2/8, and will report fully afterwards.

a night at the opera...

From today's Sun Times, Neil Steinberg is giving a healthy push in favor of going to the opera, and the paper is giving away 100 tickets for Cav/Pag next month. If you haven't been to the opera before I would not necessarily recommend Wagner as a first opera, but Cav/Pag are good ones to see. See Mr. Steinberg's article below. It lists the link for the ticket giveaway. Good luck!

Opera audience in another world
LYRIC Here's a preview for 100 ticket winners

January 26, 2009
BY NEIL STEINBERG
Culture can be a duty, almost a burden, and to be honest it was not without qualms that I slipped into my seat at the Lyric Opera on Friday afternoon to catch the dress rehearsal of Richard Wagner's "Tristan und Isolde." First, it's five hours long. That's a long time for anything; Angelina Jolie performing a lap dance could grow wearisome toward the end of the fourth hour. Unlikely, but possible.

Second, it's Wagner. Heavy stuff, with its crashing minor chords and overheated lovers locked in doomed embrace, singing their hearts out in praise of Liebestod (love-death). No sooner do Tristan (the boy) and Isolde (the girl, to stretch the term) meet than they are anticipating the grave the way other new couples ponder china patterns. But once you actually break out of your routine and find yourself there, the world melts away. Heck, just walking into the Civic Opera House is thrill enough, with its soaring ceiling and bronze Jazz Age opulence. The fact that they also put on a show is an added bonus.

Last Monday, I plumped the opera a bit, teasing for the 100 readers I'm inviting to join me next month at the paired performance of "Pagliacci" and "Cavalleria Rusticana." I mentioned how you don't have to speak a foreign language (there are projected English titles) or dress fancy.
Frankly, because of space, I missed a few other important elements. Seeing an opera is a social experience. People talk to one another during the intermissions. You can listen to a CD at home, but you won't find yourself, as I did, sitting next to Arnold Voketaitis, a former Lyric singer, sharing memories of our common acquaintance, Valdas Adamkus, onetime president of Lithuania.
Not only do people chat, but there are bars -- I limit myself to peppermint candies, but if a stiff brandy helps you, then by all means it's there and you won't be alone.
Lastly -- and the Lyric folks might want to skip this paragraph -- you don't have to adore every aspect of the opera, and true fans don't. Disliking things is part of the fun. I could fill the column with judgmental comments I heard at Friday's "Tristan" -- the swordplay was tepid (true); the big boulders in David Hockney's set were unfortunate (also true, though I considered them rather Ernie Bushmillerian).
And so to the gist. The Chicago Sun-Times is giving away 50 pairs of tickets to the Feb. 18 performance of Pagliacci/Cavalleria. There are rules, and I'm sure someone will read them. The most important restriction is that you cannot have bought tickets to the Lyric before -- and yes, they'll be checking, so they tell me. To read the rules, and to apply, go online at suntimes.com/win and click on "The Sun-Times goes to the Lyric Opera." Good luck.

frost/blago?

So I've been thinking... (yes, that is what that sound was) our governor has decided to ditch his impeachment trial in favor of chatting it up with the ladies on The View. Why not bring in our friend David Frost and give the governor the trial he doesn't want to have? Maybe he can illicit a deep dark confession from the governor. Or have a conversation about hair products, whatever. Brilliant, mais non?

tell me if this is too bitchy

People, I need to know something - Can you unfriend somebody on Facebook? And, furthermore, is it considered rude/bitchy/immature to do so if you discovered that someone who "friended" you, who was actually someone that you knew from when you were in jr high and didn't really like and has now become a born again christian with pro-life and anti-Obama style views that you have to read about on the status page all the time? I feel that it is kind of immature and rude, because everyone is entitled to their opinions. I haven't done anything yet, and I am pretty sure I can just do the live and let live thing (even if that person is a tough, arrogant, redneck dairy farmer with a rather limited world view... no, scratch the dairy farmer part, but the rest is true). We weren't friends back in the day and we aren't friends now. I am pretty sure we could not have a conversation about anything without it devolving into something not very pretty. I am happy if she is happy, I don't wish ill on anyone, but reading that crap makes me so angry. I had to stop myself from writing narkily on her wall - which would be even more bitchy and immature... Hmmm. What is the etiquette here? This is all so exhausting. Someone friended me the other day and I have no clue who she is. But I said yes anyway, because you know, whatever.

Have I mentioned that I kinda hate facebook?

Frost/Nixon

Every year, I make (in vain) the same vow: that I will see all of the Best Picture Oscar nominees before the ceremony, so I have at least some clue as to what's going on. That hardly ever happens though, due to a variety of reasons. Sometimes it's a schedule thing, but most of the time, it's because I have no interest in any of the nominated films. Too smart for me, maybe or too epic or too something. I had no interest in The Departed, for instance, No Country for Old Men or There Will Be Blood, or even Syriana. I have to be in a certain mood for heavy films, or Cohen brothers films, for that matter, and sometimes, I just can't get there. And then I wonder if it is worth it spending my hard earned money on something that I don't know if I will like. And, also, sometimes these best picture nominess are so bizzarely obscure, it's like huh? Who the hell is watching this? What the hell were they thinking when they nominated this??

Anyway. This year is a little different because, for once, I have no serious issues about seeing any of the nominated films. I would happily sit through each and every one of them and so I have, once again, made the vow that it will happen before the ceremony.

I attended my first of the nominated films this afternoon, Frost/Nixon. I have been wanting to see it since it came out, but as with so many other things, it did not happen until today. It's only in about 2 theaters that are close by, so I figured I had to see it before it went away completely. It fascinated me - not just because of its two stars that also starred in the Broadway show of the same name, but because I had no idea that this interview had ever taken place. Weird, no? It's true - I love history and even majored in it. But none of my classes had ever ever gotten to history past WW2. Seriously. There is a lot of effort spent in schools over the constitution (understandably) and the early years of the nation etc., the Civil War, all of that, but I've never gotten to Vietnam in a class. Or heck, even the Korean War. So, while I had learned OF Nixon, and probably had to memorize one or two interesting facts about his administration back in 8th grade when Mr. Daiberl taught us about the Presidents (some of these come in handy, the other day, a Jeopardy question focused on who was President during the Tea Pot Dome Scandal. Hello? It was Warren G. Harding, duh. I have no clue what else he did, but that, I knew.)

So. I knew of Nixon, and that he'd resigned, and that it was him and his lying and his cover ups that soured politics and the presidency for my mom forever, but I knew nothing about David Frost and his interview, giving the 37th President "the trial he never had." Who was this funny little man, with his penchant for colorful socks, and what made him think that he would be able to get the answers out of the former President, whose nickname, after all, was "Tricky Dick"?

The film goes back, sets up the context for those of us in the audience (me) who had not actually been alive during Nixon's administration, introduces Frost (played by Michael Sheen), a talk show host, with a failed show in the US, who has this crazy idea to interview Richard Nixon (apparently for the ratings it would bring and the credibility it would lend to his reputation), and then brings us into the world of Nixon (a jowly Frank Langella, who I am assured portrays a very accurate Nixon). He is living in California and is resisting the trappings of retirement. He takes the interview with Frost because he figures it will be a way to get himself back into public life, and that Frost will most likely be a soft and sympathetic interviewer. He is well prepared, in the initial sessions, and Frost is not. But the final session is what everyone's been waiting for, when Frost gets Nixon to admit to wrong doing in office and even letting the American people down.

It's fascinating, even more so because it's true. I'm glad I caught it - and I admit that I was inspired this morning after seeing an interview with Frank Langella on the CBS morning show. He is riveting as Nixon.

ding dong, the witch is dead...

Wicked is ending its Chicago run this weekend. I saw it, when it first opened here, I think we took Beth for her birthday?? Don't remember. We were all the way in the back of the house in the nosebleeds. I remember it was loud, it was fun, there was a lot of rah rah girl power sisterhood stuff in it, and the music was pretty (and we sang the shit out of when I took voice classes at Virtuoso) and now? I am Over It. Time Out Chicago had this to say about the show's departure... here

So, as soon as we get rid of Jersey Boys, we will be able to have more stuff tour through here. It's not like I have anything against juke box musicals per se, but I have zero interest in Jersey Boys. If I want to listen to the 4 Seasons, I'll listen to the 4 Seasons, a little of that voice (or people pretending to have that voice) goes a long way... That said, I will most likely wander around for the rest of the day going "Walk like a MAN, my Sooo-ohhohhoohh-NNN!" because their music is infectious. But anyway, now that the Oriental is freed up, we will be able to bring in the tour/homecoming of August:Osage County (according to Playbill.

the audacity of hope...

"there always has been - another tradition to politics, a tradition that stretched from the days of the country's founding to the glory of the civil rights movement, a tradition based on the simple idea that we have a stake in one another, and that what binds us together is greater than what drives us apart, and that if enough people believe in the truth of that proposition and act on it, then we might not solve every problem, but we can get something meaningful done..." - Barack Obama

i haven't watched an inauguration in 8 years!

You'd better believe I would not have missed this one for anything in the world. To celebrate, we projected live stream onto a wall in our conference room and had pizza... WLS across the street was also broadcasting live to a small gathering of people on the sidewalk. I admit it, guys, I was WRONG in the beginning. I didn't "get" the fascination with this man. But I do now, I was wrong, wrong, wrong, and today I am SO proud & excited & hopeful.

Can you believe it's really here?

Bye, Dubya! It was... yeah, pretty crappy! See ya around, though... Maybe you can open a Presidential Library or something... (Can you imagine what he'd have in his library?)

you never know who you're gonna see on check, please!

Last night, WTTW re-ran an epoisode of Check Please! (SO much better when Amanda Puck was hosting, am I right?) that featured a retail buyer, a Chicago firefighter and... an Illinois state senator named Barack Obama. During the show, Mr. Obama listened thoughtfully, offered polite and eloquent comments and was generally very charming and positive about each of the dining experiences he'd had. His choice? The Dixie Kitchen in Hyde Park. On the night that he and Michelle went there, he enjoyed a southern combo platter and saved room for the peach cobbler (which got a hearty endorsement from our now President-elect!)

times is hard...

It seems that these hard times are having an effect on even the most seemingly invincible institutions - including, according to the New York Times, the mighty Metropolitan Opera with their gazillion dollar endowment and forty + person development department. Peter Gelb has had to cut several new revivals (including one of Frau, according to the Times, which is no great loss, if you ask me, but nobody did...) and may even (GASP!) take a pay cut...

it is colder here than it is in alaska...

I can see Indiana from my window!

the following takes place between 8:00 and 9:00 am

So, I was watching something or other on the tv and I saw a commercial for McCafe beverages, you know, the new fancy coffee at McDonald's. Hmmm, I thought, watching the foamy hot milk and the delicious looking chocolate pools. I wonder if those are good? Probably cheaper than getting the brew at Starbucks* and look at how fantastic that looks on tv and do they really make the "M" like that in the foam? And lo and behold the following morning I went and got myself a mocha because they just looked so darned good on that commerical. It was okay, not terrific, I was happy to hold a hot cup (this was yesterday) and so I think I would have thought a cup of steaming hot water a delicious prospect. There was no M in the foam (damn).

Also, I've been getting sucked back in to a few tv shows I'd sort of grown away from. The two hour premiere event for "24" was on Monday and I really like Kiefer Sutherland, but the thing with 24 is that it takes itself so seriously. Like, I would have had that song "So you had a bad day" playing over the commercial teasers, because honestly, this man has had nothing but horrible days in his life. Just once, it would be kind of fun to have the show open with Jack wearing his bathrobe and enjoying his morning coffee and some pancakes BEFORE all the wacky mayhem ensues. Or, "the following takes place between 9:00 and 10:00" showing Jack trying to return something without a receipt. Or, like, checking his facebook page (Hey look, Tony Almeda just "friended" me!) Anyway, 24 was on, I was doing something else, but I found myself getting all drawn into the action. Gosh, I thought, how is Jack going to bust Tony out of the FBI HQ? Is the FBI computer chick (Janeane Garofalo! Where have you been??) going to out-Chloe Chloe (Pft. As if!) who was doing some ace FBI systems hacking? So I had to watch and see what was going to happen. I went away during the second hour, so I don't know what other trouble Jack has managed to get himself in to, but I am afraid of getting too sucked in...

AND speaking of getting sucked in, American Idol has started up again. In the past, it had so pissed me off (ooh, I think it's because Chris Daughtry was prematurely voted off) and so I had started a one-woman anti-idol crusade. It was weird though, because even though I wasn't physically watching it, I STILL knew what was going on. So last night, the audition round in Kansas City was on, and I got all sucked in and started watching it. I really do like the auditions, but as the show goes on, I lose interest. It was kind of boring last night, actually, Simon was not too terribly narky (although he got in a really good dig at a girl by telling her her song sounded like a cat falling off the empire state building) Paula was not too terribly crazy, the new judge seems cool, where's the fun in that??

* Remember the disasterous tea latte thing? I emailed Starbucks' rival, telling them how much I aime their product and how I will never stray again and... I've heard NOTHING. Not even thanks a lot for liking our tea!

let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

So this was totally me this morning (minus the suitcase and umbrella, and slogging through the snow covered streets of downtown Chicago and not Racine, but why are you getting so bogged down with these stupid details?). I really really really really hate snow and why are we getting so much of it? I blame Dubya (for most things, actually. The war, the economy, the snow, my sinus infection, all of it. Very convenient, no?) Can we keep blaming him after next week?

sing out, louise

Haven't you seen Gypsy yet? Do you not believe me when I rattle on in blog posts about how great it is? "The Stuff Broadway Dreams are Made Of" according to the Daily News, and lemme tell you, they are not wrong. It closes on Sunday, so get your ass in gear and get some tickets. I had planned to go when it was set to close in March, and I found out upon my return from my most recent NYC trip that it would close early. That was also the same day I got into my little fender bender - and really? I think I was more upset about the show closing... Since my checkbook will not sustain another jaunt to the city so close to the last one, I will have to be content with the last time I saw it, which you know? Was pretty damn great. All in all, I saw the thing 12 times, counting Ravinia, City Center and Broadway and it was worth it - great show, a diva who is the very definition of "beyond beyond" new friends (who taught me all I know and who just understand) and lots of memories.

Ravinia

(I am totally in this photo - back row on the right - you can see my head!)

City Center!

tears of joy...

The Chicago Tribune (which I don't usually like, since it converted to its new, obnoxious and USA Today style format) has a story today about moments in theater/art/music that make us cry. They interviewed Chicago arts community notables Barbara Gaines and Bill Mason and ask about moments that have moved them. So I got to thinking what moments have truly moved me whilst watching live theater? I don't usually cry at things, but there have been a few instances... these are the some of the ones I remember most clearly.

Billy Elliot - So, yeah, I was pretty much laughing and crying throughout the whole thing. I think the labor struggle, and the "he can go and he can shine" thing really got to me.

Company - I'm with Barbara Gaines on this one. Raul Esparza singing "Being Alive" after spending the entire show not playing an instrument and being on the outside, looking in, Bobby sits down at the piano... so powerful.

Sweeney Todd - the closing night, after scoring front row tickets, for which I will always owe a debt of gratitude to Sarah, sitting there, looking up at the cast, whose emotions were written all over their faces, and getting stared down by Ms. Patti, at her fiercest. Oh, I am not describing this very well, but this, for me, was the first time I'd ever been moved to tears during a live theater performance. I'm used to going to shows and being entertained AT, and this was the first time I'd been engaged through all my senses, I felt part of it, and that's why this performance will always be kind of special to me...

At the ballet? I don't usually cry when I'm watching performances at the Auditorium, but I did cry a lot at Mr. Arpino's memorial service, during the last piece the company performed. It is called Trinity, and it ends with the dancers coming out onto the stage with candles. They put the candles down on the stage and then leap away, leaving one solo dancer among the flickering lights. He is holding a single candle, and continues the dance, then he puts his candle down and exits, leaving a dark stage, empty except for the tiny points of flickering light. When the company came back to take their bows, the solo dancer lifted one of the candles to Mr. A's box, in a salute to him. That was a very moving tribute.

As far as I can recall, I have never cried at an opera, except maybe some tears of joy when some particularly stinky ones ended (Manon Lescaut, this means YOU. I would also be talking about Frau here, as well, but we left before its great hulking HORRIFIC-ness sucked the life force out of us...)

almost friday

Just reading over that last post... that's an awful lot of punctuation, huh? Still, I was (am) very excited for the opening of Sugar Bliss, they've been announcing the opening of their new shop since the summertime.

Verdict on the cakes? Not, sadly, as good as Crumbs (and not as big as the Crumbs ones, either)but pretty darn good. So go and check them out and swing by the office and say hello while you are at it. If you come by on a Monday night, you can catch me in my tap shoes.

What else? Really terrible sinus infection has morphed into a really terrible cold, I don't know what's going on anymore. So in addition to all the hanging around over bowls of hot water, I am also eating a lot of soup, and have become very fond of TheraFlu's new Warming Liquid. Right now, I am sipping an Earl Grey Vanilla Creme tea latte from Argo - THAT is how you make a tea latte, bitches.

mmmmmm, cupcakes...

It's a good thing that I didn't make any new year's resolutions relating to losing weight, because people, listen up! Sugar Bliss has (finally!!) opened its shop a mere block away from work! I can walk to cupcake happiness in minutes! Look at me, using all these exclamation points and I haven't even had any cupcakes yet!!!

Dear Starbucks, For the Love of God...

STICK TO COFFEE! PLEASE! I drank half of the vanilla roobios, I doctored it with cream and sugar, extra water, everything and finally, I had to toss the offensive brew that you call a "tea latte" and start all over again, with a new cup of tea made here at the office. This thing has taken over my morning - I love starting the day with a nice hot beverage and now I'm traumatized. Thank goodness for the chocolate croissant my colleague has generously shared with me...

Coffee. That's what you do. Live it. Love it. No more craptacular tea drinks, please. Oh, but if you feel like bringing back the chantico chocolate deliciousness, there would be no objections from Chicago.

Thanks loads!

tea time?

So. I am writing this morning with the assistance of a tall vanilla rooibos tea latte from Starbucks. They are attempting to belatedly join the Argo tea latte bandwagon and introducing a new Tazo tea line. My dad found a coupon for a free tall tea latte, and because I would never pass up a free beverage (or a free pretty much anything, actually) I picked one up.

Let me just say, Argo? You have nothing to worry about. This vanilla roobiwhatever is NO earl grey vanilla creme. I am just glad it was free...

welcome to 2009

Hello, everybody. How's the new year been treating you?? I rang it in with a FIERCE and persistent sinus infection, that I've had off and on for the past few weeks. On New Year's Eve, after Heidi cooked a lovely dinner, and we played some Rock Band, and watched Dirty Dancing (I have to admit - I'd never seen the whole thing until that night. I was not a movie person when I was a kid, and so I missed the whole thing entirely.) I went home at 11:30, and was therefore in the shower, steaming my sinuses, when the clock struck 12:00. New Year's Day and the rest of the weekend found me either in bed, hovering over a bowl of steam with a towel wrapped around my head, or... well, actually, that was about it.

I'm resolved to do a few things, namely learn to purl, then make things utilizing both the knit and purl stitch WITHIN THE SAME PROJECT (Ooooohhhhhoooohhhh), and pretty much, I've decided that this is the year that I'm gonna become fabulous. You know that there are those people that when you think of them you gush effusively to your friends "Oh, that so and so. She's FABULOUS" - yeah, well I want that to be me. I've enlisted the assistance of Clinton Kelly and his book (wait for it) "Freakin' Fabulous" which is very very useful. Oh, and since we're offering free classes at our new Academy, I'm going to be donning the tap shoes once again. For nothing is more fabulous than tap dancing, no?

this 'n that...

A few things that caught my eye this morning, while I scanned the headlines and sipped hot tea...

First of all this story about a POTO sequel is so incredibly bizarre, it doesn't even merit thinking about. Do we really really need another chapter in the Phantom saga? Especially one that happens at Coney Island (is there some sort of time travel involved?) with some kind of robo-Christine? Does this not sound like the Worst. Idea. Ever?? All that said though, let me just tell ya, if Gerry Butler is cast as the Phantom, I will be there with bells on. I'm not proud of this fact, at all, but it's true. I'd go and see him do anything. Even 300. He can't sing, really, though, but who the hell cares?
(A word to the wise - Run away, Hugh Jackman! Run away now, while you still can...)

Also, unrelated but nevertheless interesting - Something called the Lake Superior State University has published their (apparently) annual list of words/phrases that should be banned due to overuse. Go check it out here. I too, totally hate the constant use of "going green." Going green, seeing green, it ain't easy being green, but it's no use yakking on about it if we don't actually DO anything about it. A little less conversation with idiotic catchphrases and a lot more action is needed. And how icky is the word "staycation"? I can't think of any I'd ad to the list just yet, but I will probably think of a couple...

dance one year in, kiss one goodbye...

Haven't had a Patti video in some time... Happy New Year, everyone!

dublin carol...

Last night, Heidi and I trekked out to Steppenwolf to see William Petersen (of CSI fame) put on an Irish accent in Dublin Carol. We were in the very last row of the "Upstairs" theater, but it was smaller than the downstairs theater, so the last row is not as bad as it sounds. Only tickets I could get, too.

The show was, well, yeah. Short, 80 minutes, no intermission. Cast was small - Petersen's character John (I think - I didn't get a playbill until we left so I didn't read it till later), an almost recovering alcoholic estranged from his family and now working at a funeral home, Mark, the 20 year old nephew of Noel, the owner of the funeral home (in the hospital, so much discussed but never seen), and Mary, John's daughter, who came to visit to tell him that Helen, her mother, his wife, was dying in the hospital. The play basically told his story -- drank to escape from himself, ruined his life, his children's lives, his wife's life, had an affair, hit rock bottom, was rescued by Noel, in an act of kindness. He was offered the job in the funeral home and a second chance at life. It was a show about making connections with people - John with Noel, and then with Mark, and then with his daughter. There was never any big huge revelation, it was a quiet, introspective drama, with quite a few laughs. It ended rather abruptly and left me with a kind of "oh" feeling. I wanted to know what happened next, and it offered more questions than answers, a hopeful and optimistic but ratehr vague ending to the story.

One of my favorite lines was about an advent calendar - John thought that perhaps they should make a year 'round one, you open the little window and you get words of wisdom, advice, some jokes, maybe... as in "November - you're being a spazz, cop onto yourself" which let's face it, could be words of advice for me, personally every day of the year...

...that's what it's all about

Last night, in the strangely unseasonal weather (very warm! much rain!), we braved it over to the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts (and we didn't even need an ark!) to see Mandy Patinkin's show, Dress Casual. I can't say I was the youngest person in the audience, because I saw two little girls there with their families. I can probably safely say that both mom and I were the only shiksas present though. We had happily unobstructed seats in the balcony (I live in constant fear every time I go to the North Shore Center, even though the Northlight thing happened in a totally separate theater. Same building) and we were sitting right in front of a Patinkin relative (I thought it was a little weird that the poor old girl had to sit all the way the hell up in the balcony, but whatev.)

The show was lots of fun - Mandy greeted the Skokie crowd warmly, reminisced about his childhood on the south side of Chicago, attending some Jewish Community Center type dances in his youth, some favorite makeout spots... He had a few major technical glitches with a new microphone type thing he said he was trying out - a contraption that fit over his ears and were like eyeglasses in the back of his head - at one point he ripped the thing off and just held the mic part, causing him to quip, midsong "I had an easier time with prostate cancer!"

But he managed to sort it out and sang to us, wonderful songs from Sondheim ("Children and Art" "Sunday" "end in the Clowns," I know there were others but now I am blanking)..., Rodgers & Hammerstein, some American Songbook classics, some what I assume was Yiddish. He made us all stand up and do the hokey pokey whilst he sang along (in Yiddish!) which was actually very much fun. He talked about politics, sex, and religion, adding that the world is awfully screwed up because of these three things but, "Now we have Obama, and it's gonna be okay." He's a performer, a big ham, and the voice was strong and solid and unique as ever.

At the end of the show, he said he'd sing "one more" and the crowd started tossing out requests. "Fuck it," he announced to his long time accompanist, "It's been microphone hell night, let's give them what they want!" and he launched into a pretty long encore set that included "Oh What a Circus" from Evita (a request... I think... that prompted him to comment "That gentleman shouted out something about that show... about that bitch from Argentina..."), "Bring Him Home" from Les Miz, and oh, a few others. It was a lovely fun evening, and I am glad I decided last Monday to buy these tickets!! After the show, we sloshed home again, only to find that our basement had flooded. But that's another story...

busy per the bee...

This is a crazy fun weekend coming up! If you don't hear from me, I'll be flung in an exhausted heap somewhere... here's what's cooking...

Nutcracker tonight...*
Nutcracker matinee tomorrow...**
Mandy Patinkin (AKA "The Patink") tomorrow night at Center East
William Petersen in Dublin Carol at Steppenwolf on Sunday...

WHEW!

* No, I am not obsessed with Nutcracker, I'm WORKING, see?
** IS this the year the Mouse King wins?? Come and see for yourselves!

a christmas meme

Joy to the world, my darlings, I hope you all got what you wanted for Christmas...

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper all the way. So much more fun & satisfying to rip open a package on Christmas morning.

2. Real tree or Artificial? Real tree, I've had one every year that I can remember, although family lore says that way back before I was born, we had an artificial tree, but the cat knocked it over, so it's been a real one since then...

3. When do you put up the tree? around 12/15, my mom's birthday

4. When do you take the tree down? January 6, the Epiphany

5. Do you like eggnog? No!

6. Favorite gift received as a child? I don't remember a specific gift. Although last year rocked because my parents gave me a new bag for work and a pair of sneakers to do my commuter walk in... best presents ever!!

7. Hardest person to buy for? My dad.

8. Easiest person to buy for? My mom.

9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes - several actually.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail. Another question I guess would be store bought or handmade, and this year it was store bought... they were cool though, so I guess it's all right.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? A brooch in the shape of an elephant from a neighbor of my grandmother's. Sweet of her to get me a gift but what 10 year old wants an elephant brooch?

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Charlie Brown's Christmas

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Whenever the mood strikes.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Not that I can recall.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? cookies!

16. Lights on the tree? Is this a yes or no question? Do people not put lights on their trees? Yes, we have lights on our tree. They are colored lights, not white ones.

17. Favorite Christmas song? Happy Xmas (War is Over) ONLY by John & Yoko, Merry Christmas from the Family (Dixie Chicks), Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree (ONLY Brenda Lee), the Bells of St. Paul (Linda Eder), Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) - U2... I will probably think of a zillion others...

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? I've been at home for Christmas every year (not only in my dreams...)

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Dasher & Dancer & Prancer & Vixen &Comet & Cupid & Donner & Blitzen & Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer!

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? An angel

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas morning - Santa does not come on Christmas Eve!

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? The crowds, the weather, the playing of christmas music from halloween...

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? We have lots of cat ornaments, angels, ones that I made when I was a kid, antiques from my grandmother...

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? I don't really have a favorite for dinner. We change it around each year.

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? World peace and maybe another new bag for work

'twas the night before christmas...

And all through the Tower, all the workers were stirring, thank god we've got power!
Ha. So yes, I am at work today. Merry Christmas, Sugar Plums!

elton john made me cry (or is that the pain in my feet?)

I know I've been MIA lately, but I've been lost in the Land of Snow - both physically (this is a Chicago winter like we have not seen in some time. Why? Why? And again Why?) as well as metaphorically, with the opening of our beautiful Nutcracker on Thursday.

Anyway, I'm not done reliving last weekend yet - what a difference a week makes, huh? At this time last week, I was standing outside the St. James Theater (yes, again. Shut up.) waiting to see Gypsy (#12). This week, I am hiding out inside my house and wearing a million layers. Anyway, last Saturday was a double feature - Billy Elliot matinee and Road Show in the evening. I started my day with another fortifying waffle from Nice Matin and then needed to make an emergency trek to the Skechers store on 42nd Street because the new boots I'd just bought on my birthday? Were not made for walking and my feet were KILLING me. The things are little black ankle boots with no heel - I thought they'd be perfect, but alas, no. KILLING me. So it was off to skechers to buy some cute shoes, flat, but with an athletic sole, so I could walk and be comfy and still match all my outfits. So much better! It was like walking on pillows (but I tell you, it's about a week later, and my feet STILL kind of hurt. Stupid black boots of death.)

I got to the BE theater really early, so I wandered around a little, saw John Lithgow walking along on his way to the All My Sons matinee, did a little browsing in the Broadway book shop, and through Shubert Alley, caught a little of a protest outside a Scientology Center, then ended up back at the theater STILL really early. I ended up just hanging out until doors opened. The BE theater is the same one I saw August: Osage County in before its move to the Music Box, and I had almost exactly the same crappy seat. I was a few rows from the back of the house (enigmatically called "Rear Mezz" by telecharge. Rear Mezz to me means in the back of the mezzanine, not 2 rows from the back of the house! But maybe that's just me?) I was also smack in the middle of the row, which made any intermission escape pretty much impossible. Arrgh.

But anyway - the show was WONDERFUL! The Billy I saw was Kyril Kulish - he was an ok singer, but oh, could that boy dance! I'd seen the movie when it came out and loved it, and I loved the show, too. It made me cry - a lot. I was up there laughing and cheering and applauding and bawling my eyes out. Everyone kind of goes in thinking it's a show about a little boy wanting to do ballet, but it's definitely got an edge to it, with the miners' strike always in the background. There's a really powerful sequence "Solidarity" with the little girls in their tutus dancing among the striking miners and the police. And I also loved the opening to Act 2 with "Merry Christmas, Maggie Thatcher" Billy's dad singing "He Could Go and He Could Shine" and Billy's song "Electricity." Very powerful stuff, but a lot of fun, too. Well played, Sir Elton! Well played!

After that, it was out for a quick dinner and two trains to the Public Theater for Road Show. I got a little bit lost, since I'd very helpfully written down the wrong address for the theater. Finally, I saw a sign that said "Public" and I kind of followed that. Voila. Yeah, I totally meant to do that!!! I was in the front row for Road Show, and can I tell you that I don't remember doing that on purpose? I remember buying my tickets for Gypsy as close as possible, and even remembered the whole Rear Mezz nonsense when I was ordering my ticket for BE, but I don't remember buying the Road Show ticket and selecting the front row. Weird. I wasn't sure what to expect from Road Show. I know it started its life as "Bounce" and was in Chicago at the Goodman. It got some rewrites, I think, and re-emerged as "Wise Guys" more re-writes and now exists in its current 1 hour 40 minute no intermission incarnation. So yeah, not sure what to expect, but as someone sitting behind me pointed out, "Even second rate Sondheim is still Sondheim..." and therefore, better than pretty much anything else running. Aside from that, I really wanted to see Michael Cerveris (with hair!) and Alex Gemignani on stage together again.

So it was, yeah. I enjoyed it. There was no uncontrollable sobbing, or anything, but it was enjoyable. I laughed. I got covered in the fake money that both brothers and several other of the show's characters were flinging around the stage. The music was filled with the slight echoes of earlier works, but there were some really beautiful songs in there, a few that I wish I could hear again. The final line of the show maybe says it all - it is something to the effect of "sooner or later we're bound to get it right!"

On my way back to the UWS, I stopped by a local Crumbs and procured a bedtime snack. It was much easier getting back than it had been getting down there... but now I know how to get to the Public!

hijinks on the high seas

Ugh, I hate snow. I very very much hate snow. But as you might have noticed, I'm sitting here typing this, and so obviously made it home unscathed. Praise the lord.

But back to my lovely long weekend, so much more pleasant to think about than crappy cold Chicago weather. Friday's agenda was this:

-Waffles at Nice Matin
-Pick up Gypsy/Billy Elliott tickets
-Walk down 42nd St. in search of the aircraft carrier Intrepid
-General chilling in the Village
-Lunch
-General chilling elsewhere about town
-Nap
-Dinner
-Gypsy (ROW A!!!)

I had my beloved Nice Matin waffle. I am always worried that I have made them out to be so wonderful in my head, but will be a disappointment when I actually go and eat them. Let me tell you, they are wonderful. Sweet, crispy and delicious. Mmmmm. Amusingly, while I was sitting there with my waffle, recording the previous day's events in my little journal, I was earwigging on the table next to me. A recently laid off woman was talking about job options with a friend of hers. Apparently looking for a position in communications, she said she'd had an interview where the person she met with had to remind her to include her contact information on her resume. She was whinging on about how she hadn't had to prepare a resume in ages, etc. but I mean come on, Ms. COMMUNICATIONS professional! How are you going to get hired if you don't at least list a phone number?? So, yeah, good luck with that one. Don't call us, we'll call you. Well, if we even had your phone number... Ha.

Anyway, went to then pick up several evenings' worth of tickets and then trekked down to pier 86 to the aircraft carrier Intrepid (history geek, much?) She was built in 1943 during WWII, and sustained a number of kamikaze hits. She also saw action in Vietnam and was a launch or landing pad or something for the space program. Famous Intrepid crew include George HW Bush, Paul Newman, and John McCain. I love this sort of thing and it was great fun. I got there early, so was in and out before the crowds (and their children) showed up. I climbed the little staircases to see inside the Ready Room, the Code Room, the Anchor Chain Room, the mess hall and the sailors' quarters, the forecastle, the captain's bridge, all that good stuff. THEN, the most fun part was going out on top of the Flight Deck and seeing all the planes. It was windy as all heck, but at least it wasn't raining and freezing cold. I took pictures - I will post some up here later. It was cool as hell though, and I had a really great time. I was feeling all Ziva David on NCIS, doing a ship investigation - although I bet Ziva wouldn't go falling on her ass like I did in the middle of one of the hallways. I'm surprised that I didn't fall off one of those little stairways, they are tiny and steep. I can't imagine the sailors having to do that all the time and do it quickly. So yeah. COOL is all I have to say about Intrepid. I get all weepy watching the WWII videos and seeing the vets - my family has a long association with the Navy and I think this is where I get it from. That and the history major thing. So yes, fun AND educational.

What else? Oh, I wandered around town for a while, like "Oh, let's go HERE" and then hopping off the subway, going "Huh" and then getting back on the subway. I was using some pages from TONY and looking for cool fun areas where I could browse or shop or explore. Trouble is, it will give you subway directions as in which train to take but not so much what to do once you get off. And by this time I was getting hungry and thinking "Cheeseburger" and I had one of those things where there were restaurants everywhere but not one of them that looked appealing to me. So back on the danged subway to Burger Heaven at 5th and 49th. And oh, was I ever in Burger Heaven. So nice...

Gypsy (#11) up next, but it needs a post all its own...

one more, in the name of love...

CAR UPDATE: Methinks I will need a new bumper... Joy, unbounded. I will keep y'all posted.
(Funnily, now I've got Mazeppa "Revolution in Dance" in my head with her line "Maybe there's something wrong with your bumpah")

But back to happier days... last Thursday. I'll spare you all the travel details. Original 8:00 AM flight got canceled - LaGuardia + rain = disaster. But American Airlines seemlessly seated me on the 9:00 flight which left without incident. I landed, arrived at the hotel and had lunch. Imagine, if you will, a weary and hungry traveler, just off her flight. It is raining and she just wants some hot soup and a sandwich. Or better, a sandwich and a cup of tea as she's not had any caffeine yet today. Off she wanders down Amsterdam, looking for a cozy diner to park in. Wanders. And wanders. Her jeans are getting wet. She passes many places that are either too expensive or too fried (her stomach just cannot handle something called "The Chirping Chicken") or too bizarre (sushi, and what appeared to be a Japanese Italian restaurant. Quoi??) when all she wants is a damn bowl of soup, people! Suddenly, a light shines out in the darkness. It is a divine establishment known as "Crumbs" they sell not soup, but perhaps the next best thing - CUPCAKES. Ah, she's gotta come back here. But wait! She's getting wetter and wetter and thinks that's it, goddamn it, it's my VACATION. If I want a cupcake for my lunch, I'm gonna have one!!! So the weary traveler rested her wet self and had a not so nourishing but nonetheless delicious lunch of a massive red velvet cupcake and a steaming cup of earl grey tea. After that, our heroine goes back to the hotel and commences to... take a nap.

Yeah, I know. Livin' it up in Manhattan! I am very very exciting!!! But I needed my strength for the opera. LONG shower and sinus steam, then off to dinner (spinach ravioli at La Grolla, also on Amsterdam, yum!) and The Met.

I arrived really really really early, and it was pouring down bucketfuls of rain. I wandered some more around the Renee Shop, oh, wait, I mean the Met Shop - which had a gigantic shrine erected to the Diva, complete with her (gorgeous!) opening night gowns, her cds, her (gorgeous!) face plastered on season posters, the season book, and kniccknacks like mint boxes and something else... but I don't remember. Also bottles of her perfume La Voce. I was afraid I'd drop the bottle, so I didn't venture near it. The new shop is nice, but not as cluttered with stuff as the old one was, so it didn't take too long for me to browse around in there. So I hung around for, oh, I think it was close to an hour, looking at the neat looking Dr. Atomic sculpture (I WISH I had made it to the Met to see Dr. A again!! It was UNBELIEVEABLE! And this from someone who seriously dislikes modern opera. It rocked. If I had not been otherwise engaged at a work function, I would have gone to see it in HD.)Anyway, the Met is pretty spectacular, all shiny chandeliers and red velvet walls... My seat was not great - orchestra, left side all the way in the back, a few rows before the Standing Room area.

Thais is actually one of the only operas I have seen multiple times. I saw it three times when Renee and Thomas Hampson performed it in Chicago in 2003 (and one of those was the infamous dress rehearsal that I got to attend because I also purchased a ticket to a planned giving lecture. Now they seem to think I've got money and send me stuff all the time. HAHAHA! Yeah, right.) Thais has some incredibly gorgeous music, including the moving "Meditation" which I think is one of my favorite classical pieces of all time. The plot is... odd. Fun loving actress courtesan Thais is living it up in Alexandria, when this monk sees her in a dream and decides he needs to - what else - save her soul. The chief monk tells him to keep his nose out of it, but does he listen?? No. So off he goes to the ugly set of Alexandria to find Thais. She laughs in his face, but later, when she's alone (in her weird bedroom set that features many additional chairs all facing the bed - WTF? Guest chairs? Is she expecting an audience??) she ponders his words. She worries that when she's old and ugly, nobody will love her and CERTAINLY Christian LaCroix won't be designing her glam designer wardrobe any more. The monk appears and convinces her, in the span of maybe 20 minutes? That she should follow him. He sells it well - eternal life! Happiness! A convent! Wheee! Sign me up! And then - after a little "Meditation" she decides to go with it. Great, he tells her. Burn all your stuff and then we'll take a little walk through the desert. Awesome, she says, I'll be right with you, padre. So he brings her to the convent. His "teachings" she tells him, have shown her the way, and she has traded all of her great clothes for sackcloth (which looks pretty glam, too!). He goes home, tormented because - wait for it - he has really loved her all along. He realizes he'll never see her again, then gets another dream that she's dying. But no! He heads back across the desert to find her - 3 months later - a saint and waiting to be welcomed into heaven. Then she dies.

So yeah, totally believeable. Great music though. Thomas Hampson is simply incredible. At one point, the man is singing off stage and yet he was as clear as though he was still standing front and center. I don't think he was mic'd either. And Renee? Well, she was just sublime. What a perfect role for her, it fit her like a glove, perfect for her voice, a joy from beginning to end. The production was imported from Lyric, so it was like being home except you know, 100 times cooler. It was, in fact - Metacular. Hahahaha.

More to come...

bitch stole my taxi! and more (upper) west side stories

I'm back from NYC! And you know what?? I shoulda STAYED THERE! Not only is it zero degrees here, icy and freaking SNOWING, I got into a fender bender this morning. Everything is okay. The only fenders that got bent, unfortunately, were mine. It is all kind of a blur - I was backing into a parking spot to prepare myself for a cleaner exit later tonight, I am not used to doing it, I was anxious about doing it, suddenly there was another car there, and I am not sure he knew I was going in reverse, and he kept coming forward, I kept going backwards, and CRUNCH. His car? Not damaged. My car. Damaged. Arrrrghhhh. I love my car and am upset that I'm a total moron because - here's the best part - if I'd pulled into the spot, I would have been FINE. Well, I guess it is true. Life's a bitch and then you die.

But you want to know about my trip, right?? And how it was in the 60s yesterday when I left??
More later...

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.

start spreading the news...

Well, Thursday is when I leave for my next trip to NYC, my big 30th birthday gift to myself. I really really really (really!) need this vacation, as guilty as I may feel about spending this money when the economy is in the crapper and our governor is in prison, I think it will really be good for me to take some time for myself, see some friends and do what makes me happy. So I might have to live like Thais when she finds god for pretty much all of January, but this weekend, it's all about the relaxing. Because you're only 30 and young and irresponsible once, right?

Wow, Illinois, words fail me.

Blago is in big trouble. Reportedly the scope of the corruption is "staggering." Awesome. I am so proud to be from Illinois today.

Sidebar- the other big Yahoo headline story also comes from Illinois - Oprah is apparently embarrassed about her weight gain. And this is news because why? Am I the only person in this state that does not care AT ALL about what Oprah thinks, says, reads, wears, weighs?

Camelot at Ravinia!

This is in today's Sun Times:

Broadway veteran George Hearn, Grammy winner Sylvia McNair and baritone Rod Gilfry -- acclaimed for their 2007 performances in the Ravinia Festival's staged concert version of "The Most Happy Fella" -- will reunite with director Marc Robin June 5 for a single staged concert presentation of "Camelot," the Lerner and Loewe classic. Hearn will play King Arthur, with McNair as his Queen Guenevere and Gilfry as Sir Lancelot. Erich Kunzel will conduct the Ravinia Festival Orchestra.

The complete Ravinia season will be announced March 13, with tickets for all performances on sale April 16.

shopping on black friday

On Black Friday, I ventured out and commenced to Commit Commerce, in order to do my part for the economy (Dear Chairman of the Fed: YOU'RE WELCOME!) among the things I bought... Oh, yeah, right. Like I'm going to broadcast that to the internets? No. I will say that I bought holiday cards - I'm not making any this year. It's just as costly as buying a box of cards and when I make cards that I like, I am less inclined to actually send them to people because I just like them too much to give away - it's like "Here you go, Merry Christmas, now gimme that card back!" Since I don't usually have a single card design in mind when I make them, they're all unique and that can be time consuming. So, yeah. I bought cards.

We also spent a whole lot of time in Champps (the extra "p" is for...) where the five thousand tvs broadcasting every variety of sporting event competed for attention with the piped in Christmas music. Arrrrghhhh. It's officially the season now and everything, I know. But it is still really really too early to subject shoppers to the latest chart teenybopper chart toppers warbling christmas songs. Do we really need another version of "Sleigh Ride"? Or "I saw mommy kissing santa claus"? Or "A Very Special Christmas" (That one makes my ears bleed, I hate it so much) or, as I heard in Old Navy "Happy Christmas (War is Over)" - lots of people can remake lots of songs, but I think this one should remain off limits. Forever and ever. Whoever you are, you ain't John Lennon, so kindly shut the hell up so I can try on this performance fleece.

I've also done a lot of shopping online, which is probably the best answer to the holiday shopping question. You can shop any day at any hour, you don't have to battle for parking, face long lines and rude people, you can sit in your pjs or whatever, and you don't have to listen to Jessica Simpson singing "Rockin' around the Christmas Tree" (unless you really want to).

deck the halls...

Found this little ornament over at Cafe Press- the perfect addition to any tree, and I think the best gift any of us could have asked for this Christmas.

giving thanks

And so it's turkey day! We're having dinner here at the homestead today, and I HELPED. It's a good time for reflection, isn't it? And so, here goes, a few things that I am thankful for, on this day, the 3rd day of my 30th year: I am thankful for my family. For my mom who listens to me babble endlessly about this ailment or that ailment, and she never ever yells at me or tells me to shut up because I'm being totally ridiculous (well almost never). She shops with me, knits with me, goes to the opera with me, cooks with me, and is a great friend. For my dad, who taught me about football, the value of a good work ethic and probably my sense of humor and certainly my sense of drama. For both my parents who encourage me always to do what makes me happy. For my dear little Start & Finish who bring furry feline joy into my life every day. For my friends who I love like family, who make me laugh, who taught me how to dance dance and rock out in rock band and who are always share their old lady problems with me with the utmost of candor (usually, for some reason, in a booth at Baker's Square). "You don't even care that I'm so weird - that's AMAZING!"

I'm thankful for my job, even though it has, quite literally, given me an ulcer. I had promised myself that by the time I was 30, I would be in a job in the performing arts world and now look! It's been a year and a few months, and I'm in that very job I dreamed about having. It involves more than I ever could have expected, and it's certainly a learning experience, every single day, but I am thankful that I am a small part of this completely amazing company.

I am thankful that aside from a few issues, I am mostly healthy. I am thankful for my home and my car and the new boots I boought from Skechers the other day. I am thankful that Barack Obama won the election, and I am also thankful that Hugh Jackman won the title of "People's Sexiest Man Alive." I am thankful for good food, good friends and good music, Starbucks holiday coffee, and that I have an Old Navy, a Sarah's Pastries, an Argo Tea AND an H&M within walking distance of my office. I am thankful for artists making their art on stage - we need you now, more than ever, in hard times, to uplift us and take us away somewhere else for a while. What else?? I am thankful to Al Gore for inventing the internet (ha!) so that I can jump online on a whim and go to WebMD to see what else I may be coming down with, or to chat with my friends at TBV (9 years! Can you believe it?) I'm thankful for Patti LuPone's Les Mouches album, the song "Super Trouper" and my new K-Cup coffee machine. I am thankful that I've gotten a lot of my holiday shopping done already and won't have to go out much tomorrow (but I will anyway, because I love to shop). I'm thankful that it's not snowing and that I'm going on vacation soon...

Happy thanksgiving, everyone!

oh mickey, you're so fine...

(Last Friday)
My phone: Ring, ring! Why doncha give me a call??
Me: Hello?
Jimberly*: What are you doing tonight?
Me: Nothing.
Jimberly: Wanna go to the Niles North Variety show and watch our friend* in the faculty do a dance?
Me: But of course!!

*Name changed/withheld to protect the innocent

So off we went to Niles North, land of the free, home of the Vikings, to see the variety show. I don't remember having a variety show when we were in high school, but apparently we did. Maybe they called them "talent" shows back then?? We didn't even bring a camera, but some crazy cat in the audience DID and put this on Youtube. It kind of rocks.

if you don't vote, you can't complain, but still...

I wanted Lance & Lacey to win Dancing with the Stars last night!!!!! Boo. The finals aired on my birthday, and I was out with my friends eating awesome mashed potatoes at Johnny's. So I didn't even watch, let alone vote. I guess I can't complain, but I'm going to anyway - they weren't even top 2! And I loved Warren Sapp, loved him to death, but top 2? I think not. Whine, whine, whine... Anyway, keep on dancing with your bad self, Lance Bass. You rock. AND you should have won. So there. See ya on tour, baby*







(*Yes, I'm kidding)

moi? hard to shop for?

Dear Santa,
Only 30 more shopping days until Christmas! I have apparently gotten the reputation of being hard to shop for, and I wanted to be sure that you had plenty of ideas so I don't wake up Christmas morning with an empty stocking! So, here goes:

1. I commute, Santa baby, and it kinda sucks. Not as much as circling the globe in one night on a sleigh pulled by reindeers, but nearly almost as much. So, anything that can make my commute faster, easier, and more entertaining would be a good thing. Books, puzzles, magazines, a rocking playlist, stuff like that. Commute gear is also possible - last year I asked my family for a good pair of walking shoes for my hike from CUS to the office, and a work bag. The same things can apply this year - a good pair of sneakers to walk in (I'm an 8 as much as I sometimes pretend to be a 7.5, it's not good) and a tote that I can put all my crap in would be awesome. I also like knee socks - keep the legs warm in cold weather!

2. I have a lot of stress. Things that can help me de-stress are always welcomed. I'm kind of sensitive to scents, so be careful there. But I am not opposed to gift cards - like to go and see movies with my friends, or to my favorite stores, since I really really like to shop. I like to journal, and love those pretty books sold for these purposes. I like to knit (still no purling) and so needles or yarn or books that would teach a lefty to purl would be nice.

3. I am really, really, almost tragically, easily amused. I bought a pack of pens from Staples awhile ago (multi-colored uni-ball siglos) that promise me that their special ink helps prevent check fraud! God, how I love these pens. And stickers, and all kinds of stuff like that. Little stuff. Stupid stuff. I get almost unnaturally excited by these things.

4. I like to read - almost anything. I am trying to figure out how to learn to use the PhotoShop I just installed on my MacBook, and would love like an Idiot's Guide to PhotoShop or something like that.

5. I am strangely trapped in the 70s. Did the disco dancing give it away? Think Abba. Think DVDs. I would be Abba-solutely over the moon (hahahaha)

6. Accessories! I love shiny things, and I love bright, bold colors

7. My office is cold: I love wearing scarves and sweaters, and drinking hot beverages from my favorite Loop coffee purveyors - Argo Tea and Starbucks.

8. I have a thing for jackets and coats - not just outerwear.

9. I like to be cozy - and one can never have too many pairs of comfy pajamas.

10. One word: Fossil - Bags. Watches. Wallets. LOVE THEM.

11. Here's another word: Hunks! If it's possible, could you wrap up Mr. Butler and leave him under my tree on Christmas morning? That would be mucho appreciated. I will leave you some extra goodies in the living room - I heard once that you prefer jerky and beer over milk and cookies, and you know, whatever floats your boat, baby.
If you're really at a loss, check my amazon wishlist - it's under my yahoo email address, don't look at the AOL one, it's ancient.

Love to you & the wife,
Kristen

the world makes sense again!

UPDATE: So I just got a great email from Northlight, and all is forgiven. See what a little goodwill and decent customer service does for you??

Welcome to 30...

Age is just a number, right? I mean, RIGHT??? So, anyway, in the spirit of being young at heart, everybody turn this on, turn it up, and have a disco dancing extravaganza in my honor (yes, even if you are at work. Makes it more fun that way, yes?)

a (diasppointing) afternoon with the Edies

So, Grey Gardens. Gosh, how long have I had these tickets? How long have I been looking forward to seeing this show? What a perfect way to celebrate my 30th birthday, I thought, seeing something I really love... And the show, it must be said, was wonderful.

What I could see of it.

I had bought my tickets, and was delighted to see that I got close seats (wheeee! 2nd row! Happy birthday to me!). What they failed to mention to me, when I purchased those tickets, was that I wouldn't be able to see a damn thing during the second act, because the !@#&*$^ piano was obstructing my view any time the 2 Edies were inside the house. WHich is, like you know, pretty much the entire second act. If I leaned over to my extreme right, I could see Little Edie. But big Edie? When she came out to take her bow, I was like, who are you? Oh, right. Well, bravo, but I couldn't see you, ever. The only time I could see anything was when they were off the rotating house set, and then they never faced me anyway. The first act was okay, we saw a lot of backs, but it was fine. We attempted to try and switch seats, but the place was packed, no additional seats to be had. And the front of house manager, it has to be said, wasn't much help.

Here's the thing: I paid full price for those tickets and it never said, anywhere, I that these were obstructed view seats. Because if it had, I would not have bought them. You all know me and my ticket buying tendencies. I do not pay full price for crappy seats. So boo, Northlight, see if I ever darken your doors again. I just sent an email to the director of marketing over at northlight, inviting him to sit in those seats during the second act and see just how much of it he would be able to see. And, in case you're thinking this was just me, the people in front of me had the exact same problem, and had no prior knowledge of the obstructed view. I just went and checked on tickets.com and nada. It says nowhere that there is even a possibility of not being able to see the entire !@&^$ second act (Jerry loves my corn!! Arrgh!) from that seat for which I paid full price.

But hmm, let's get on with the show. I liked the performances. Who needs to see, right? The cast did a great job with the material, which I still think is a little uneven. Hollis Resnik was a great Big and then Little Edie, even if her accent veered from East Hampton to British sometimes. She did her songs well - "Will You" "Around the World" and "Another Winter in a Summer Town" being my favorites.

I was, as usual, the youngest person in the audience (which is saying something, seeing as I am nearly on the eve of leaving my 20s) but they seemed pretty with it. Heck, they probably all read about the Edies in the newspaper, voted for Nixon, etc etc.

The verdict?? Go and see it. I'm disappointed with my experience, but I won't say a bad word about Grey Gardens because it is certainly not the show's fault that I had crappy seats. I love the show, it's a great, tragic and funny story, it's well done, the music is gorgeous. Northlight and BJ Jones do a great job with the show and it deserves to have wide viewership outside of NYC. But a word to the wise? Call ahead when you book your tickets. I would suggest seats in the center section and back a bit, because there are a few scenes in the attic that really suck if you're in the second row all the way on the danged side.

da-da-da-da-DUM

Grey Gardens at the Northlight Theatre tomorrow afternoon! I've seen a few things there before, Master Class (with the wonderfully Callas-like Carmen Roman) and Pride & Prejudice a few years ago (when a former teacher of mine played Mr. Darcy). I'm looking forward to this one - I saw it on Broadway with Christine Ebersole and Mary Louise Wilson and I am interested to see what Northlight will do with it.

Also got tickets to see William Petersen in Dublin Carol over at Steppenwolf. I have no idea what to expect from this one, but it will be fun anyway. Here's a warning though, a lot of the December shows are already sold out, so if you have any interest at all in seeing it, buy now.

ANTMcKey!

McKey won ANTM last night! Wooo! Shout out to the chick from Lake Forest (I take back everything I've ever said about you, Lake Forest). McKey is the 2nd top model to come from the Chicago area. Who knew we were all so pretty out here? Must be something in the water or maybe it's that bracing winter air that makes us all such hearty souls...

Now, all I need to be happy is if Lance & Lacey win Dancing with the Stars on Tuesday...

a month till vacation...

Since it is officially Welcome to 30 in about 11 days (AARRRGGHHHH), I have decided to give myself a long weekend in NYC to celebrate. I. CAN'T. WAIT. To say I need a vacation is a ginormous understatement. So let's say it again: I.CAN'T. WAIT.

I have packed my weekend with shows, shows, shows - my two favorite Divas, a little Sondheim, and of course, some dancing, brought to me by one Reg Dwight... I heart ya, Elton.

TOC interview with Amy Morton

This week's issue of Time Out Chicago features an interview with Amy Morton, back in Chicago to direct William Petersen in Dublin Carol at Steppenwolf. Below is a comment from Amy about L.A. & winter... spoken like someone who has experienced many winters in the Windy City... I agree with her, actually. I too need all the shit that comes with winter, the grey,cloudy, snot freezing cold days, the snow, the shoveling and scraping, the white knuckle driving, all of the layers of clothing, heavy sweaters, parkas, boots, hats, gloves and scarves (and being me, losing hats, gloves and scarves) all of that stuff. Because otherwise, how can you really appreciate the warmth and renewal of spring and summer?
(Read the whole thing here)

TOC: You’ve done L.A. a couple of times. You’ve also said, “Hollywood holds nothing but terror for me.” Why is that?
Amy Morton: "...I also don’t get it. The sunshine every day? I’d wake up and say, “Another sunny day. Jesus, I can’t stand it.” Because you felt guilty staying inside all day. I need winter. I need all the shit that comes with winter."

"America, we have come so far..."

Last night, from the comfort of my own kitchen, I watched history being made. And yes, I colored in a map with red and blue crayons, each time a new state came in (I know! Such a geek! And I had glitter crayons, too, so that there was the subtlest hint of bling on my lovely map.) I can't describe how happy I am feeling, and how hopeful. We've finally gotten it right, America, without any chads, hanging or otherwise. I know he is one man, and we are putting a lot of hopes and dreams on his shoulders, but I feel optimistic that he can help us make things right again.

There is a lot of work to be done, and tough times to come, but for now, let's just enjoy the happy...

many happy returns?

Our little friend Rod makes a good point. Go out and vote! Yes, he is a Republican, but my vote canceled him out.

Woke up at the crack of 5:30 so I could get to the polls by 6:00. Yes, there was a line. This is a good thing - in elections past, it's been us and the election judges, and the tumbleweeds. Being Morton Grove, the election judges are mostly elderly, and so the slow pace is sort of perfect for them. Give them a crowd though and, well, they get a little confused. Our line was not moving at all, because there was much confusion.

I was the lucky number 13th voter in our precinct AND I got a sticker.

VOTE, please. If you don't vote now, you can't complain later. Well, you can, of course, but I won't listen to you.

as we hold our collective breath...

Plans are underway for the City of Chicago's election night rally for Barack Obama - I heard from a colleague that they have removed mailboxes and trash cans from the city streets. In case people want to blow them up. This is serious shit here, people.

Personally, I am getting the hell out of dodge as soon as I am done with work tomorrow - yes, it is exciting and historic, but either way it goes, there is way too much potential for mayhem, riots, etc. I'd really rather not be around for that, thanks very much. I will be watching the returns from the safety of my suburban home (or Heidi's suburban home actually) with my dry erase board (an homage to Tim Russert, naturally), my blank US maps and red and blue crayons.

seven doors

Last night, went to Prop Thtr to see the closing night performance of Seven Doors, translated from Botho Strauss's German text. It was a series of sketches, as the program called it "SNL meets Samuel Beckett." We were in the front row and got a great view of the action.

Time Out Chicago describes it like this:
"Before Timothy Spencer’s handsome, multiple-doors, Japanese-screen-style backdrop, the actors file on and off to a squeaky-jazz-meets-Berlin-techno soundtrack, shuffling moddish chairs and door frames between scenes. The vignettes themselves drop logical-extension conundrums into standard dialogue of everyday frustration: A disgruntled tenant complains to his faceless corporate landlord that another building is squatting inside his; a bodyguard-for-hire considers a society entirely structured by bodyguardism; a Cubs-like public failure is given the full Hollywood treatment. Strauss’s wry, thin-air trains of thought arise organically from each situation, bending back to Earth when just about to disintegrate."

Um, yeah. I liked it, was amused by it but felt often that it was too smart for me - like there was a deeper meaning to the words that I should be getting but wasn't. I think maybe another viewing would have been helpful, there was a lot going on in each sketch that focusing on it all would have been impossible. The language was a little bit odd as well, kind of obviously translated, the sentences were all declaimed, Shakespeare style and included clunky phrases like "the building in which I live" - it reminded me of reading philosophy and I guess it was a kind of philosophy, about the connection of people with other people.

remembrances...

Chicago lost two cultural icons this week - Gerald Arpino and the great Studs Turkel. I have fond memories of close encounters with both of these men:

Studs Terkel
It was several years ago, and I was volunteering for Lyric Opera's annual Operathon fundraiser. I think this was the first year I volunteered for it, and I was placed on the 4th floor, with the assignment of bringing guests to the radio room for their segments. Sounds exciting, doesn't it? It really wasn't. We only got a handful of guests and the rest of the time was spent staring into space. I'd had no idea what to expect, so I hadn't brought anything interesting along in my bag - no book, magazine, something to doodle on, nothing. Who would have thought I would have needed something to do? Anyway, I was sitting there, waiting for something to happen, with another volunteer who had brought a book along with her (she was considerably older than me, and not inclined to start talking to some kid, I guess) when the door opened and Mr. Studs Terkel was escorted out. He was, I believe, walking out with Ed Pashke (who had designed the poster for Sweeney Todd that year - which tells you how long ago this was! I think about 5 years ago?) Studs stopped, spotted my name badge and chatted with me about my appropriately operatic last name. He was completely charming, and it was the highlight of my afternoon.

Gerald Arpino
When I met "Mr. A" (always Mr. A for me, I could never call him "Gerry." Kind of like when I was student teaching with a teacher I'd had in eighth grade. I always called him "Mr. Daiberl" never ever "Richard" or "Dick." I just couldn't do it. Out of respect, I guess. Or perhaps a sort of reverential awe?) he was already well past his prime years of choreographing. Still in the studio and around the office though, he was a familiar figure with that dark hair, perfect dancer's posture and big coat. He had no clue who I was, of course, as he was starting to become forgetful. It was just accepted that I too was part of his company (administratively speaking) , and if I should bring him in his cup of coffee or did something to help, I was given a big smile and a fond, "Thanks, baby."

The last few times I saw him were in September. The first was at the company's free performance at Pritzker Pavilion honoring the victims of 9/11. I sat behind him, watching him as he watched his company perform two of his great works, Kettentanz and Round of Angels. Someone in the seat in front of him turned around and said "Thank you for giving these to us."

It was strange during the fall program, not to see him in his usual spot in his box, or hearing his familiar voice calling "Bravo!" to the dancers. He said once that the company had been watched over by angels - those in heaven who'd given them their start, and those on earth who helped the company through the most difficult of times. Now, he too, is one of those angels, watching over the company.