Lestat

Well…LESTAT.

What can I say?

I read Anne Rice’s novels a couple of years ago…Interview with a Vampire and The Vampire Lestat.

I love the music of Elton John and Bernie Taupin. They’ve given us some of he best songs written in popular music.

But together…they just don’t work.

It had the makings of a great show. I really wanted it to be great. It just isn’t. There are several beautiful songs and nice moments in the show, but the story is nothing but holes. You can’t follow it, no matter how hard you try. The moments you think you do know what the story is, you realize that it’s really just a day in the life of Lestat and you’re seeing a snapshot that doesn’t explain where it’s going.

Elizabeth and I hoped to win a lottery to see Drowsy Chaperone, but didn’t. So, using her Student I.D., we got $25 Student tickets for LESTAT – literally 30 minutes before the curtain went up.

So, it wasn’t a major investment. Speaking of investments…it should be said that the actors in LESTAT were incredible. Beautiful voices and powerful presence on stage. When the show was over and Elizabeth and I were riding the subway home I said it was very obviously to me that they were all doing the best with what they were given to work with.

Visit: www.lestat.com

Darling, I love you...but give me Park Avenue

On a dinner break from work I walked to the library and crossed over Park Avenue.

As I walked across 58^th Street I saw brilliant red tulips in the median that runs all the way up Park Ave.

Spring in New York is here.

Easter, Christopher Street and Judy Garland

Quite possibly the most beautiful day since I moved to New York. It wasn’t too hot or too cold. No humidity. Solid blue sky. Constant breeze.

Gorgeous Easter.

I went to church this morning and then made my way down to the Village. I got off the subway at Christopher Street, in the heart of the Village, and was greeted by the sounds and smells of a small neighborhood street festival. It couldn’t have been a more perfect day for it.

Since today is a holiday - theaters needed patrons. For literally a few dollars, I had a prime seat for The Property Know As Garland, an Off-Broadway show set in the backstage dressing room the night of Judy Garland’s last concert. It is told almost completely as a narrative. It was very interesting and enlightening. I know very little of the life of the legend that is Judy Garland.

Visit: http://www.propertyknownasgarland.com/

The Wedding Singer AND Based on a Totally True Story

I normally have Friday’s off, but I worked today so a co-worker of mine could have a long weekend with her family for Easter.

This is an exciting time in the city. New shows on and off Broadway are Opening almost weekly. Some are praised before they even Open, others are ripped to pieces…also before they even start. Two huge mega-musicals, Elton John’s Lestat and Disney’s Tarzan are two such examples. Both shows are still in Previews but critics and audiences are being very vocal about the work that still needs to be done before their official Openings.

I haven’t seen either, so I can’t comment. Yet.

One big show I have seen is The Wedding Singer. It is based on the Adam Sandler film that came out several years ago. I never saw the movie but I got a chance to see the show last night while it is still in Previews. Audiences are loving this film to stage musical. It is a lot of fun. Not the best show I’ve seen but a good show. There is a lot of energy and many stand out performances.

I love that Stephen Lynch is making his Broadway debut as the lead in this show. It must be an incredible feeling to have your face plastered all over Times Square before you’re even a household name. He did a great job in the show. He had an amazing energy on stage and was strong throughout. For me, it was also good to see Felicia Finley back on stage. I saw her several years ago in one of my favorite musicals, AIDA.

The show hasn’t officially Opened yet, so there are still changes being made. I know with other shows, like the forthcoming musical Lestat, changes are made daily…sometimes just hours before it starts an actor is handed new lyrics or lines to a song he or she will be singing later that evening. I like The Wedding Singer. It’s a cute, fun show. It seemed a little long to me but the whole audience was eating ever note out of the performer’s hands.

Visit: http://www.theweddingsingerthemusical.com/

Some times smaller shows can get lost amid the big blockbuster musicals and plays. Tonight I saw a great Off-Broadway, Based on a Totally True Story. I loved, loved, loved this play. It was funny and ever moment was so well timed.

The lead actor, Carlson Elrod, was fascinating to watch. Entertainment-wise I enjoyed the show immensely but craft-wise I thought he was pure and brilliant. I found myself studying him. I would see the show again just to go back to “school.” The mannerisms and expressions Carlson wraps the character of Ethan in were wonderful, honest and real. It was great. Absolutely great. The same can be said of the show other leading man, Pedro Pascal. He was beautifully intertwined with Carlson’s timing and their dual story-telling seemed so natural it was like a window into their character’s relationship.

I am not ashamed to say that I laughed throughout the show and by the last few moments found myself moved to tears by the honesty of the life and emotion conflictions that were shown. The show didn’t have some overly dramatic, mushy ending. The play ended in reality and that’s what hit close to home for me. I related to moments in the show that I’ve personally stood in.

Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, the show’s playwright is to be commended for sharing his life and through a play that’s based on a totally true story – his.

Visit: http://mtc-nyc.org/BasedTrueStory/index.htm

Taxes

Got my taxes done!

Finally.

I should’ve done them weeks ago but I kept putting it off. I’ve been a big fan of the Tel-a-File system over the last couple of years. This year, that’s not an option. It’s all about E-Filing.

I got the computer CD from the public library just around the corner from The Container Store and I set into getting them finished. It took me a while but I got them done.

I clicked the button to send them in but something on my computer didn’t support something else and it wouldn’t go through. So, I printed it all out and mailed it in the old fashion way.

The good news is that I’m getting a good amount back.

Whoo-hoo!

Rabbit Hole

Today I went to the closing of the Broadway play, The Rabbit Hole. The show sported an all-star cast that included Cynthia Nixon and Tyne Daly. I think the show got mixed reviews when it Opened at the beginning of the year, but personally I’d heard nothing but good things about the play.

I wanted to see it and I did. There were limited seats left to the show’s Closing performance and I was surprised and thrilled to nab a seat on the last row for very $25 (those sitting beside me paid close to $100).

The show is about how a family copes with the accidental death of their 4 year old son. The play explores how different people process grief and loss and how each person’s timetable is different.

I’m so glad I didn’t miss this play.

Also enjoying the closing performance of Rabbit Hole: screen legend Lauren Bacall and incredible stage actress (and Tony Award winner for the play Doubt) Cherry Jones.

Visit: http://mtc-nyc.org/RabbitHole/index.htm

The PLAYBILL cover of RABBIT HOLE, stage shot of Cynthia Nixon and Tyne Daley, and a photo from outside the theater.

The Drowsy Chaperone

Tonight I saw show that’s been getting nothing but positive word-of-mouth since it started Previews a couple weeks ago. The show just kinda showed up out of no where. It’s called The Drowsy Chaperone and it is the only original musical (not based on a film or book) Opening on Broadway this season. Three months ago I had never heard of it…not a lot of people had…now it is the talk of the town.

The Drowsy Chaperone is unique and just pure theater magic. I LOVED it…start to finish. Anyone who loves musicals, especially musical theater, will love it. It acknowledges and fully embraces the joys of escaping into the music of a show.

About 20 minutes into this one act musical comedy within a comedy I realized that this is what it feels like to see a HIT show - a show where every moment on stage is saturated and used. Nothing is wasted. Everything works.

The first week living here in New York I got to see Sutton Foster in the musical, Little Women. The show was ok with a scattering of nice moments. As I think I probably wrote before in my Journal, you could physically see Sutton carrying the show on her shoulders. She was what made the show work (in the places it worked). It is pure delight to see Sutton Foster on stage in The Drowsy Chaperone. Actually the entire cast is just great.

Visit: http://www.thedrowsychaperone.com/

Sutton Foster and the PLAYBILL for the new comedy musical, The Drowsy Chaperone.

Spring can really hang you up...

Spring is here.

Full on.

The trees on 117th street are starting to bloom and my allergies have arrived. I feel fine but am battling a lot of sinus congestion.

Today, I’ve been a New Yorker for 11 months. Time flies.

Ring of Fire

Had a wonderful day off. Very low-key really.

Tonight, for just a couple of dollars, I got to see the new musical, Ring of Fire. The musical is based on the songs written or made famous by the late Johnny Cash.

The music in the show was wonderful. I recognized many of the songs though I’m not overly familiar with Johnny Cash’s work. The show doesn’t tell the story of Johnny Cash, like the recent movie Walk the Line, but it uses his music to flesh out the lyrics of the songs.

On a whole the show doesn’t stand up as a Broadway musical. It felt more like a musical revue. The vocals and performances were both very, very strong. I’m glad I saw it, though I was hoping for more as far as a structure the music…some sort of storyline to follow.

The theater (the Barrymore where I saw Jessica Lange in The Glass Menagerie several months ago) was only half full, so I fear that the show will have a short shelf life, but I am glad for the experience of hearing Johnny Cash’s songs in the heart of Manhattan.

Visit: www.ringoffirethemusical.com

Guess Who?

It was a gorgeous day…actually, our first truly warm day, and as I was walking up 7th Avenue I saw someone walking towards me. The woman was tall and seem to be too bundled up for such a warm day.

She wore a bulky black coat, hate and sunglasses. When we got even with one another my eyes met hers behind the sunglasses. From the side the tint of the glasses was light enough that I could see her eyes.

Just below the sunglasses was one of the most recognizable mouths in American cinema.

Once she passed me, I had to stop. I turned and watched her walk away. Her gait was the same as I’ve seen in many of her movies. I hadn’t been dreaming. It was her.

Have just begun Previews in the Broadway play, Three Days of Rain, the night before – her photo was on the cover of the New York Post this morning, which explained her extremes in concealing her familiar facial features.
Julia Roberts.

Tryst & Confessions of a Mormom Boy

The new season on Broadway and off-Broadway is starting to take shape. New shows seem to be opening every week. It’s exciting to see all the people cramming into Times Square making their way to see a show.

My friend Bill (we were in The Civil War together in Atlanta) is in town on a last minute vacation. He’s packing in as many shows as he can. I’ve gotten to meet up with him for dinner a couple of times and it’s been fun hearing the excitement in his voice as he talks about a show he saw the day before or the one he’s on his way to.

On Friday, Bill saw Spamalot and I saw Bridge & Tunnel which was just across the street.

Bridge & Tunnel was remarkable. It is a one-woman show written by Sarah Jones. She has spent her life listening…really listening to the people around her. Within the 90-minute show Sarah Jones plays no less than 20 characters ranging from an elderly Jewish grandmother from Long Island to a teenage boy from the Bronx. All of the stories she shares paint pictures of what it is like to be an immigrant, not 100 years ago but today. She moves effortlessly between each role, completely embodying each person. It was amazing.

Visit: www.sarahjonesonline.com

Today, I scored not one but two tickets to a couple of Off-Broadway shows that have garnered a lot of attention recently.

One was Tryst, which was playing on the Upper West Side. This two person show was intense from beginning to end. The clever tag line on the poster, Who’s game is this?, was very fitting. The show is a dark romantic thriller. It is the story of a con-artist who preys on middle class women, making them believe that he loves them and then taking whatever savings they have.

In the play, Tryst, his game begins to backfire when it seems that the poor seamstress he’s trying to bilk may be on to him and have a plan of her own. The play’s ending took me, and the rest of the audience by surprise. It takes a very unexpected turn within the last 5 minutes – and as you walk out of the theater you realize that you too have been played.

Speaking of unexpected twists and trysts…I went right from the Upper West Side to the Village to see the one-man show, Confessions of a Mormon Boy.

The show is a true account of the actor/playwright’s experiences within the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints when he discovered and battled his sexuality. The show chronicles his life and struggle as he has everything and loses it again and again in a desperate fight to save his marriage and soul. The truth eventually rises to the surface destroying his marriage and his life. He moved here, to New York, and lost himself completely in a downward spiral of drugs and prostitution.

The show and his life have an incredible redemption. Just like the play earlier in the day, this show also had an unexpected twist toward the ends that struck to the heart of everyone in the audience. The honesty and power of his story and journey was overwhelming.

It was so refreshing to discover that all the hype and word of mouth was very well deserved.

Visit: www.mormonboy.com

On the Job...with Sigourney Weaver

All in a day’s work…

Day in and day out I get to work for a great company, with amazing co-workers. I get to help customers find solutions to save them time and money. Like a lot of different jobs, you help people, they leave, you never seen them before and you’ll never see them again.

I don’t know if I’ll see her again, but this evening one of my customers was none other than amazingly talented (and tall!), Sigourney Weaver.

Dressed casually, just getting her life organized.

That's New York for you...you never know who you'll walk beside when you're crossing at a traffic light (Barbara Walters), who your cab will pull up beside on 96th Street (Kevin Bacon), or see at The Container Store - Sigourney Weaver.