From Spring Awakening:



Can you tell why I loved it?

Labels: musicals, New York, theatre

So November was great. I was a little apprehensive about Nathan Lane in a straight (no pun intended) play, but his performance was remarkable. The whole small cast, really. And the lighting design was by a well-known (for that kind of thing) Ithaca College alumnus.

After the matinee, I came back to my hotel room briefly. I had a few hours to kill, so I decided to make the most of my City Pass and haul ass over to the MOMA. I love that place!

The icing on the cake though was when I walked out of one of the galleries and was admiring an interesting piece of art (a black-framed mirror with a light floating in the middle of it), when I noticed a vaguely familiar face. Not wanting to stare, I realized who it was after a couple of furtive glances.

It was John Cameron Mitchell.

Ohmygodohmygodohmyfuckinggod!

This man is a creative genius and he was right there next to me. I had my camera out because I was snapping photos of the art I particularly liked, and I didn't have the nerve to ask for a picture with him. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Ack indeed!

Ah well. I'm waiting for my uncle to get here so we can make our 7:15 reservations. Tomorrow: possibly the Today Show, that 11:00 AM massage, the Natural History Museum, and then Caroline's (I think).

What a fabulous whirlwind!

Labels: birthday, New York, personal, theatre

I'm having a great time in New York. I got to spend time with my friend Damon, who I lived with my senior year at Ithaca and who I haven't seen in a few years. I've been spending a lot of quality time with Miriam, which is wonderful. (I forgot to add that we went to see Hannah and Her Sisters last night at the Film Forum...there really is nothing like seeing a Woody Allen film on a big screen in NYC) Tonight I'll have dinner with my uncle and then see my friend Marla.

So far I've been to the Met and the Guggenheim and we went to see Spring Awakening on Friday night. I'm about to head down to the TKTS booth to buy a matinee ticket to David Mamet's new play, November, starring Nathan Lane and Laurie Metcalf.

Tomorrow (my birthday!), I may just try to get to the Today Show (Dad really wants me to). Then I have a deep tissue massage scheduled, thanks to my sister (thanks Deb!). I'm going to try and get down to the MoMa tomorrow too. Then tomorrow night, my cousin David is performing his stand-up act at Caroline's.

I said I was going to make the most of this trip, and damnit, I am! When I get back, I'll try to start doing a better job of saving, because I've been reminded of just what I'm missing in Tucson!

Labels: birthday, Debra, Miriam, musicals, New York, personal, the arts, theatre

Saw the national tour of Avenue Q tonight. Loved it. Was waiting to see it for almost 3 years, ever since I first heard the score. Really brilliant. It leaves Tucson this weekend, so catch it if you can.

The only disappointment was the acoustics of the TCC Music Hall. The space was just poorly designed for that, which is ironic, since it's a MUSIC HALL. I am a bit more picky about this than most things though, since the sound design professor in the theatre program I graduated from literally wrote the (one and only) book on sound design for theatre, including theatre designed for sound. I TA'd for the man for three years, so I have a soft spot for good theatrical acoustics.

But I digress. Seeing the show in person was a wonderful experience and I will certainly be humming or outright singing the songs fairly constantly for the next few days.

Brilliant work. Absolutely brilliant.

Labels: theatre

I don't really have enough on any single topic to justify posting, so here are a few droppings on an assortment of things. Now with linky-goodness in almost every bite!

I'm edging closer to making reservations for my birthday trip to NYC, I just want to make sure I can afford it. You only turn thirty once, right? Unless you're my mother, in which case you just keep turning 29 year after year.

Speaking of Phyllis: her latest quip that made me uneasy, from a couple of weeks ago. When they were back east, they decided that instead of getting buried in caskets when they die, they will be cremated (to save us kids the money and trouble, of course). As mom put it, they're going to get "crispy-fried". She kept repeating "crispy-fried crispy-fried crispy-fried" with almost a southern twinge, like she was trying to channel the Colonel.

It will be public knowledge soon enough, so I think it's safe to leak it on the ole blog first: I've been named Outstanding Advocate of the Year by the Men's Anti-Violence Partnership of Southern Arizona. I'll receive my award along with five other honorees at the MAP Gala on November 18 at the Westin La Paloma. I'm deeply honored to be among such an amazing group.

Yes, Wingspan's Executive Director resigned after less than a month on the job. No, it's not the end of the world. Wingspan was around before Kent Burbank and Joseph Bodenmiller, and it will be around after them. The strength of the organization lies not in its figurehead, but in the community that has built and sustained it over the last 20 years. The sky is not falling. This too will pass. Chill.

Speaking of Wingspan, the Annual Benefit Dinner is September 29. Have you bought your ticket yet? I hear they've sold out.

I really love being a consultant. No, really. If I can figure out how to do this and continue making a good living, I'm totally doing it. Health insurance be damned!

Patreus or Betray Us? The Republicans are just grumpy because MoveOn came up with a pithy rhyme and Republicans hate whimsy as much as Germans love David Hasselhoff.

I bought my Avenue Q ticket! Yay! And I bought it as part of the LGBT&S Alliance Fund benefit, so it's going to a good cause. The internet is really really great...

I have a new favorite TV show. Mad Men on AMC. I love anything mid-century Americana, but this has an edge of realism that I particularly admire. Television Without Pity has it on their recap roster.

I also recommend Moliere, which is playing at the Loft. In case you don't know, Moliere is often referred to as the French Shakespeare. Which I'm sure the French love.

And finally, my yoga practice was thrown off by being out of town last weekend and by meetings in the evenings throughout this week. In the last 7 days, I only made it to yoga class twice. Saturday's 3-hour yoga practice has been canceled due to a major event at the studio. I hope not all of the classes are canceled, or I may be one very grumpy yogi when Monday rolls back around.

Labels: birthday, career, jobs, MAP, mom, musicals, New York, personal, Republicans, television, theatre, Wingspan, yoga