foxy

When I arrived at the theater May 15 I was told the performance had been canceled. No reason given and I received a full refund. So now I think I’ll wait a bit before buying another ticket.

I saw the original production of Camelot in 1960 when I was a mere infant. I’d never heard of most of the cast. I think tickets were less than $10 which seemed like a lot then. Today I saw the revival at Lincoln Center. Despite mixed reviews and knowing there had been a lot of changes in the book, I just wanted to relive the score with a full orchestra and good singers. Jordan Donica singing “If Ever I Should Leave You” gave me goosebumps. The singing equivalent of Richard Burton speaking. The staging I thought was simple and quite stunning. Again, very different from the old production. I loved the show and would certainly recommend it.

I saw the production today and thought it was very good. Josh’s acting has improved and as usual sings very well. Annaleigh Ashford was hysterically funny. And also sings quite well. In 1979 I saw the original production with Angela Lansbury and Len Cariou. Somehow I heard they were signing copies of the cast album. I mentioned it to some friends who asked me to pick up a copy for them. On the day of signing I approached the dais with six copies of the album. So I had a few minutes with each star. Cariou was quite pleasant. When I got to Lansbury she started signing the albums never looking up. So I said “Miss Lansbury I saw the show the other night and I thought your performance was brilliant”. Still not looking up she said “yes”. I was glad she agreed with me.

NYC

Probably most famous for her flower paintings, this show focuses more on watercolor, pastel and charcoal drawings by Georgia O’Keeffe. Some very abstract with a few realistic works thrown in.

This show is still in preview and doesn’t open till May 30. But it stars Laurie Metcalf who is always so good so I went and bought a ticket for this weeks matinee. There’s a kind of deja vu to this since Metcalf starred in Misery on Broadway in 2015. A somewhat similar plot perhaps. Sadly the other star Bruce Willis was not very good and kept forgetting his lines. Maybe the beginning of his health problems with aphasia? But Metcalf was good and managed to make a bad production better. So I’m curious to see how this goes. Since it a “scary” play there can’t be any details about the plot I guess.

It’s true the show is not very Fosse. Maybe they should have just called it Dancin’ . I’d still recommend it but only 2 days left. I feel sorry for all those soon to be out of work dancers.

If you go to the Karl Lagerfeld exhibit at the Met you have to scan a QR code and join a virtual line. There’s something like a 3 hour waiting list to get in. If you’re a member like me the wait time is half. However I’m sure I looked like a very grouchy old man about this since I’m a long time member. I complained to the woman checking people’s phones. She took one look at me and said “go right in”. I smiled thinking sometimes it pays to be a grouchy old man.

I was hoping to like this play by Lorraine Hansberry (A Raisin in the Sun) more than I did. It’s received pretty good reviews although most have said Hansberry who died while it was running and perhaps would have made changes for the better if she’d lived longer. It has a notable cast led by Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) and Oscar Isaac whose been in a number of plays and movies. At almost 3 hours it tended to ramble on perhaps too long for my taste. But I had a very nice seat thanks to TDF.

You have to see these clothes close up to appreciate the exquisite craftsmanship. I look at them more as architecture or sculpture rather than just fancy dresses. But I can’t help thinking you can never sit down in any of them. Being a rich thin woman can’t be easy. It’s a wonderful show.

I saw the show today. If you think you’d like to see it you’d better hurry. After only 82 performances the show will end it’s run May 14. No Tony nominations didn’t seem to help but today looked like a pretty full house. It’s a shame it’s closing since it’s an enjoyable show. The Playbill lists 22 dancers. I think I counted 15 on stage at the same time. They’re all incredibly talented and some very good singers. Each dancer is unique with their own style. Several get solos. The opening number of Act 2 is Benny Goodman’s Sing, Sing, Sing is worth the price of admission alone. The original show opened in 1978 lasted 1774 performances.

What I’d truly love is a ban on loud (or any music) playing in a restaurant. Part of the pleasure for me in dining out, besides the food, is dinner conversation with friends. Having to scream at each other is awful. When I walk into a restaurant and music is playing I turn around and walk out.

I’ve been to Egypt but have seriously considered going back just to visit this museum. It looks pretty spectacular.

I admit to being something of a museum addict. I belong to 8 museums in NYC. The benefit is that I can just show up and go when I want on a whim. However when I travel it becomes a whole other process. Last October I was in Rome and wanted to visit the Vatican Museum and the Borghese. Both required making advance reservations and the museum websites were sold out so it required using one of the many tour companies that sell timed tickets at an added price. The Borghese was worth it but the Vatican visit was one of the worst museum experiences of my life. The crowds were staggering and I hated every minute of it. Seeing the Sistine Chapel at the end helped but I’ve cautioned everyone I know to not even bother. The lines to visit St Peter’s Basilica were 2 hours wait time in plus 90 degrees. I didn’t even bother. I’ve been there before. This coming September I’ll be in a Paris. I’m seriously thinking of skipping the Louvre all together. There are many other less popular museums to visit. On the one hand I’m glad that museums have become so popular. Support the arts! Yay! But sadly major museums have become Disneyland popular and that makes for a less than aesthetic experience in my estimation. The days of just showing up at the door at the last minute seem to be over.

The New York City Center production of Parade was such a success it’s now playing on Broadway. The leads, Ben Platt and Micaela Diamond both turn in strong performances in this tragic tale, based on fact, about a Jewish businessman wrongly accused of murdering a young girl. The action takes place in Georgia in 1913-1915. You won’t leave the theater humming any happy tunes but the score is really good.

Recently I decided to have my hearing tested. I was told I had some loss, not serious, but could benefit from a hearing aid. I was also told that in my case one of the over the counter hearing aids would be sufficient. I haven’t done anything about it yet but wondering if anyone here has tried one and how you went about it. Thanks.

Today I saw the matinee performance of the Life of Pi. I thought it was terrific. The animal puppets are pretty astounding. Hiran Abeysekera stars as Pi and is wonderful. He won an Olivier Award for his performance at the West End in London. I had a good seat in the mezzanine which I think gives a better view of the stage and the really creative lighting. I’d recommend it highly.

Today I thought I’d take a look at the new Museum of Broadway. Lots of wall displays of posters and ephemera of shows past and present, There are some costumes and models of a few sets. On every floor there’s a young employee with lots of show biz pazazzz to explain things to you, but keep it simple. They are only there waiting for a call back. So it’s worth a one time visit. Maybe if you have out of town guests. The museum charges Broadway prices. https://themuseumofbroadway.com

FThe Club Baths, in the East Village, 1st Avenue and 1st Street. It was part of a nationwide chain. It was almost luxurious. Almost. Probably closed around 1980.

Pippin was always one of my favorite shows. I saw the original production and a few revivals. In the original John Rubinstein was so attractive. He’s still good looking. The standout for me was Irene Ryan who played Granny on the Beverley Hillbillies. She was only 59 when she got that role and died when she was only 70. She played Pippin’s grandmother and gave good advice. When I hear the song “No Time At All” which was a sing-a-long in the show it always chokes me up for some reason. The moral of the song, don’t waste time, life is over quickly, enjoy every moment.

So how did Queen Victoria handle this?

I wasn’t sitting that close and my opera glasses weren’t that strong.

True but few opera singers take their clothes off which is probably a good thing.

I was fortunate to see the brilliant Anthony Roth Costanzo as Akhenaten in the opera by Philip Glass. Aside from his singing, his entrance down a staircase was totally nude. I realize that male nudity on stage is not, or should not be a big deal….but still, a lot of serious opera goers did reach for their opera glasses. He looked as good as he sounded.

Saw the show today. Aside from the huge murals the outtakes were interesting.