Oh What A Beautiful Weekend

Well, the rest of this trip has been a whirlwind, but in a good way. After my last post on Friday, we stepped outside into yet more rain, thus time a light drizzle. We ran into a Times Square souvenier store and got an umbrella and by the time we got outside and opened it up, the rain was prety much gone, and three blocks later it was totally gone, and was gorgeous for the rest of the weekend. One other thing I noticed was that the Starbucks that was acrossthe street from the Crowne Plaza two years ago is now gone, so I guess it's no big deal that I slept in so late, there was no centralized meeting place anyways. Next time I'll have to double check on Starbuck's website that the store I'm planning on going to is still there.

So, we went to the Biblical Art Museum at Columbus Circle, which was very nice. It was fairly small, we got through it in about 90 minutes, but they had a very nice, extensive collection of Medieval prints on display. Afterwards we had lunch at Fiorello's and then took a long walk through the park where I snapped about 200 pictures. We headed back to the hotel around 4 and briefly rested (and caught the fabulously shocking news about Sarah Palin) and then left about 5 for an early dinner at Seasonal. I cannot recommend that restaurant highly enough, it is our new find and favorite destination. The fod was excellent and the space is so nice. After that we headed off to the Marquis and I was pleasantly surprised to find that 9 to 5 is a very good musical. The three women were excellent (and I am not much of a fan of Allison Janney, but she was superb). Stephanie J. Block of coruse was fabulous and Megan Hilty perfectly captured the essence of Dolly. The music was very catchy and I will definitely be getting the cast recording when it comes out in a couple weeks. I can see why the critics weren't totally enamored of it, there were a couple too many fantasy sequences, especialy in the second act, which did make the story feel kind of lightweight, but it was thoroughly enjoyable, which is what really counts. Plus, as a bonus, there was a lot of eye candy on stage, my coffee invite list is going to be much longer on my next trip. Afterwards we headed up to the lobby bar to meet a friend for drinks and ended up hopping from there to Thalia for several drinks before calling it a night around 1 am.

The next morning we again slept in and then met some friends for brunch at a French restaurant whose name currently slips my mind but it was on 9th at 41st, and it was very good. After that we had just enough time to head to Broadway New York where I got a keychain to replace one I've had since I first got my driver's license that recently broke, and then it was off to the Jacobs for God of Carnage. However, on the way, I had my first confirmed celebrity sighting in all the times I've gone to New York (I do think that I saw Ralph Fiennes in 2006 when he was doing a play, but it was from a distance and no one was there to give a second opinion so I really don't count that one). We were walking down 44th past a deli across from the Shubert and right inside was Rupert Everett buying soup! My companion actually saw him first and I confirmed that it was him, so it's official. We left him alone, it was getting close to showtime and he was probably in a hurry, but it was kind of a thrill, and we kept going on our way to GoC. That was an interesting play and while I liked it, I'm still not sure how I feel about it. It seemed a little lightweight and contrived to have won Best Play and Best Director, and Marcia Gay's performance was one those that's so out there that it really seems like some critical deity just flipped a coin and decided that was good but consensus really could have just as easily gone the other way and deemed it too over the top and bad. Still, it was entertaining, and like 9 to 5, that's what counts. Everyone was excellent, although Hope Davis was my favorite with Jeff Daniels a close second. James Gandolfino tried to throw a little too much Tony Soprano mannerisms into the role which was rather distracting, and that mumbling style of talking made him hard to understand at times. But, I'm still glad I got to see it with the original cast.

Afterwards, we took the subway to the village and walked around and then went to Strand where I got some good books (one a very critical biography of Bruno Bettleheim, who founded the institution where I got my first job after graduation; I hated that job so I'm very excited to read the book). We then hopped back onto the subway to 57th and walked to H & M where I got a couple of shirts (for less than $20!!!) and we then had dinner at an Indian Bistro on 9th around 50th. I had a very nice and mild tandoori lobster and they were giving out a free glass of wine with dinner, so I now have a second Indian Restaurant in New York that I will eat at if my companion insists on Indian. We then dropped off our purchases at the hotel and went to the Booth for Next to Normal.

First, Mr. Kyle Dean is even hotter in person than he is in his picture. I would really love to spehd some one on one time with those abs, pecs, and biceps on my next trip. That second scene of his where he's only wearing boxers with a towel drapped around his neck was worth the price of admission (plus, we had really good seats since the theatre is so small every seat is close to the stage). However, going beyond the eye-pleasingness of the show (and the rest of the men in the cast were not unpleasant to look at either, and the set was superb, having seen Billy Elliot's London set, I am surprised that N2N didn't win that award as well). The music was excellent, although I still think BE should have won that award, and everyone was fantastic, particularly Alice. She really deserved that Tony and Jennifrer Damiano really was robbed, having seen Haydn and Martha, and being familiar with Carole Shelley's role, if not her exact performance, I have to say that Jennifer seems to be the most deserving, and hopefully I'll see Karen's performance next time I'm here so that I can know for sure who was best. I am surprised that Aaron didn't get a nomination because that role seemed to require more work than any of the others with all the running around all over stage, but it was a crowded field this year. My companion liked it, but said it was his least favorite out of the 4 we saw because it was so sad. It was my second favorite, after Blithe Spirit. It will be a classic, although the end still needs just a little tinkering, it was still somewhat unresolved, and while that's kind of the point, they could have driven hat home in a more clear manner. Still, that is a very minor quibble and I'm annointing N2N as the show to see this summer. Originality like this needs to be encouraged. We them headed back to the hotel, fighting our way through the throngs leaving the fireworks display, and called it a night.

Today we again slept in and only managed to check out about 15 minutes before the noon deadline. We stored our luggage and went to the International Photography Center and saw the Richard Avedon exhibit, which was so fascinating. He was quite talented, although after seeing so many fashion photographs, I was expecting to see Tyra Banks at the exit saying "America's next Top Model is. . . Novina!" Afterwards we had about an hour and a half before we wanted to be in a cab on our way to Newark, so we just kept walking east on 42nd until we got to Tudor Village where I got a lot of good pictures of the shoreline, Brooklyn, and the UN. That is quite an impressive area, it doesn't even feel like a part of the city. I could see myself living there if I had unlimited riches. We then turned around and headed back, got our bags, and caught a cab. I was expecting that traffic was going to be awful, with holiday travellers cloggimg up the highway, but it was like driving in the middle of the night. We seriously got to Newark from the Times Square Crowne Plaza in 25 minutes! So now, I'm way early for my 7:15 flight (it's now 4:40), and I'm sitting at the gate typing this up on my phone. So far the flight is on time and with the weather being nice here and at home, hopefully there won't be any problems.

So, it's been a terrific trip. I've got one more week all to myself and then it's back to another 10 weeks of class with a residency in Arlington thrown in for good measure. Fortunately I'm now well rested and in a much better mental place than I was at the end of the term a few weeks ago. Next up is the CSO at Ravinia on the 15th. See you in Chicago!