7/2, Saturday
A day off.
Finally.
It hasn’t been the kind of day off I was planning…but it has been a work-free day, which is a start.
Last night, in the apartment below us, there was a water leak and the water in on half of the building was shut off. So Elizabeth and I woke up and were not able to shower or even flush the toilet.
I ran a couple of errands with Elizabeth before she flew back to Atlanta for a long holiday weekend. She’ll be spending a couple of days with Nathan and her family. She’s been looking forward to this for weeks. One of our errands this morning was picking up a slice of New York cheesecake to carry on the plane and give to her dad as a late Father’s Day gift. I hope the it makes it back as a Carry-On.
We went to the world-famous Carnegie Deli on 7th Avenue. There was a line spreading down the sidewalk waiting to get in. I’ve never eaten there but evidently it is a New York staple and has been around a long, long time.
We skipped ahead of the line to order the slice of cheesecake To Go.
Back on the train we headed back to our waterless apartment so Elizabeth could get to the airport on time. She headed to the airport and I decided to take a nap.
Post-nap I took in the play, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? I had the option of getting a cheap ticket the other day and I took it. The show will be closing in a few weeks and I had wanted to see it before it closed. Kathleen Turner and Billy Irwin are starring in the revival and the reviews have been wonderful.
Though I’ve read the Edward Albee’s play before I had never seen it staged (and I’d never seen the movie with Elizabeth Taylor.). I was stunned watching the show come to life in front of me. There was so much I didn’t mentally absorb when I read the play. Seeing it on stage was a tremendous treat. I felt like a child, like a student again. I felt like I was sitting at the feet of Masters of their craft. I was enamored with the performers and their work. By the end of the first act, I was in utter awe at the power of these four actors on one stage.
During the first of two intermissions, I walked out of my row and into the side aisle. I leaned up against the wall and read over the show’s Playbill. As I was reading Billy Irwin’s bio I heard someone call out my name.
I looked up and into the face of a friend I hadn’t seen in over a year. Charlie Frew from Atlanta was walking down the aisle of the Longacre Theatre towards me. I was speechless for half a minute trying to comprehend how I could be seeing the old friend from Atlanta in a New York theater.
During the first 12 minute intermission we chatted and caught up. We missed each other before I left Atlanta and hadn’t been able to meet up for lunch or dinner to say goodbye. Suddenly New York was feeling like a very small city.
The play resumed. Once again the entire audience was sucked back into the barbs of a couple in the throws of destroying each other by their love for each other and their resentment of each other.
By the end of the third act you could almost most see and feel the entire audience on wrapped up in the lives of two couples who had spent one night ripping into each other’s weaknesses and desires. It felt like there was no air left in the theater.
I walked to the subway, my mind still reeling. I want to submerse myself in that kind of work. I want to write and act with that kind of skill.
I’ve felt that feeling two other times…last week at the end of Beast on the Moon and last year when I witness the powerhouse performance of Tonya Pinkins in the musical Caroline, or Change.
Visit : www.carolineorchange.com and www.beastonthemoon.com
That musical profoundly impacted my life. Afterwards I spoke with Ms. Pinkins and I couldn’t stop the tears. I told her that watching her at truly inspired me to strive for better work.
Visit: www.tonyapinkins.com
It was after that trip to NYC and seeing Caroline, Or Change that I made the decision to move to here.
I love the sensation of Awareness. I love that feeling of knowing that you are standing in the middle of an experience that will change the course of your life.
My mind is so full tonight.
P.S.My water is back on and the date went very well.
