foxy

I just bought a ticket for a matinée performance October 21. It’s received good reviews. Just wondering if anyone here has seen it and what they thought?

I’ve seen Jonathan Groff in several Broadway shows. He’s always terrific. A few years ago I saw Once On This Island and he was sitting next to me. We talked a bit during intermission and later I saw him talking to some fans in the lobby. He’ a very nice guy in person. He’s received the best reviews for this show. I’m going to the box office in a few days to see if I can get a decent ticket that doesn’t cost a huge fortune.

I have tremendous stamina for art museums if I say so myself. Last year I did two back to back days of 6 hours each at the Prado. A few years before that I did all of Museum Island in Berlin in 3 days from opening to closing hours. I just switch into something like a drug induced state and detach from my sore feet. Slow museum walking is harder than jogging especially on marble floors. I wish this stamina carried over into other areas. I do like the Art Nouveau at the D’Orsay.

This was my 3rd visit to the museum and today I spent 7 hours there. Still not enough time. The Impressionist section is swoon inducing.

The artist and his relationship with his dealer Paul Guillaume. Over 100 paintings, 50 drawings and a dozen sculptures makes for an impressive show.

Monet’s water lilies are beyond beautiful. Having recently been to Giverny, his garden that inspired them, made the experience even more wonderful. IMG_4914.mov IMG_4922.mov IMG_4918.mov IMG_4904.mov

Paris has been crazy crowded. Today was the Paris Marathon and there were 31,000 runners plus at least that amount of spectators. So I needed to go someplace without too many people and enjoy the beautiful weather. Pere-Lachaise is the largest green space in Paris with 70,000 graves. More famous names than you can imagine. So I stopped off to see Chopin, Edith Piaf, Gertrude Stein, Oscar Wilde, Jim Morrison, Bizet, Maria Callas, Marcel Proust and many others. IMG_4824.mov

The new Frank Gehry building is pretty spectacular. Unfortunately I will miss the big Mark Rothko retrospective opening in a few days. I especially liked the cascade fountain thinking how much fun it would be to play in on a hot day. IMG_4760.mov

The military cemetery, Omaha Beach and the museum. A difficult and important day.

Despite its name it’s not actually a tapestry but an embroidered piece of cloth 230 feet long and dates back to the 11th century. It tells the story of William, Duke of Normandy who became King of England after the Battle of Hastings in 1066. It contains 58 scenes, 626 characters and 202 horses. It is, in one word, magnificent. You see it in one piece, dimly lit with a recording that explains it scene by scene, the original can not be photographed as the light would damage it. These photos are of a reproduction and from a 16 minute film. The town of Bayeux is worth a visit. It was not bombed during the war so many of its old buildings are intact.

Today I visited Monet’s garden. To see the water lilies is almost a religious experience.

So I guess some might consider this too much jewelry

I live fairly close to the Cloisters, go often and have been a member of the Met for many years. I go to the Cloisters when I want the feeling of being in Europe but don’t want to get on a plane. I love the Cloisters. In a few weeks I’ll be in Angers and look forward to seeing the Apocalypse Tapestries again. They are spectacular.

I wear an 18kt gold snake chain. It’s very subtle. On it is an 18kt gold pendant, about the size of a dime that contains the ashes of my late husband. So he’s always with me.

Housing one of the world's finest collections of French medieval art, the highlight for me is the gorgeous Lady and Unicorn tapestries.

I didn’t know that. Thanks. if anyone is interested the movie is available for free on Max. On Amazon Prime you can rent it for $3.99. Certainly a lot cheaper than my $149 theater seat.

Why was the Florida production infamous?

Seymour was played by Lee Wilkof in the first production I saw. Rick Moranis played Seymour in the movie which I’m sure I’ve seen but but haven’t for a long time. They made changes in the movie. Ellen Greene was Audrey again. I have to look for the movie and have another look.

Have you ever decided it was too hot to cook and just ordered a pizza? Have you ever thought about the person making that pizza in a hot kitchen? Have you ever thought about how much sweat was dripped onto that pizza? I suppose the hot ovens cooked it all off. But still….. Sometimes it’s best not to think about what goes on in kitchens, at home or in restaurants.

This was Hunter Foster in 2003 when I saw him in the show. At the time, after the performance Hunter was posing for photos with Kerry Butler who was Audrey For a $20 donation for Broadway Cares you could be in the photo with them. So I did it. I’ve cut myself out of the photo but just before the picture was taken I slipped my hand around Hunter’s back. That was worth $20.

This afternoon I saw Little Shop of Horrors. It’s a show I really like. I saw the first production in the East Village in 1982 with the great Ellen Greene playing Audrey. After that I saw it in 2003 with Hunter Foster. Unfortunately I missed the Encores production with Jake Gyllenhaal in 2015 but saw Jonathan Groff in 2019. Today was Jeremy Jordan playing Seymour. Interesting all these handsome guys playing a nebbish. It’s a small theater and I was in second row orchestra center with no one in front of me. I was about 8 feet from the edge of the stage. At the end when the plant Audrey leaps forward into the audience I almost got eaten.

Check your politics at the door, put on your disco shoes and a pair of ear plugs. Now you’re ready for the David Byrne, Fatboy Slim production of Here Lies Love. It’s the musical about the life of Imelda Marcos all done to a disco beat. It has the distinction of being the first Broadway show with an all Filipino cast. Lots of talent in this show.

I’ve never been a fan of candid camera type shows. I’ve always thought them sort of cruel taking advantage of people’s gullibility. But this show now streaming on Amazon turned out to be very different. The premise was that it was supposed to be a documentary being filmed about the behind the scenes of an actual jury process in a real trial but it was actually all fake with actors except for one unsuspecting person. That person turned out to be one Ronald Gladden who turns out to a “hero”. He’s sweet and charming and really quite attractive and his interactions with all the characters shows what a nice guy he turns out to be. Also fun that the very attractive James Marsden plays himself as an over the top version of himself. I watched all episodes in one evening as I wanted to see how it played out. I liked it a lot. James Marsden on the left, Ronald Gladden on the right James Marsden in his bathing suit which has nothing to do with the show . I just like the way he looks.

I’m totally in agreement in adding National Parks to the Museum forum. I’m also a big fan, have visited several and plan to go to more in the future. I also have a lifetime pass which is a major bargain.

The new science wing at the American Museum of Natural History is quite impressive. Like walking around the huge set of a science fiction movie. Many exhibits to keep you interested and entertained for days.