I just spent the last 5 days in what
I will soon be able to claim as my city, with my eternal friend and life travel companion Sean. We viewed this visit less as a visit and more as a preview to my attack of the proverbial Big Apple. 
We watched Julie and Julia. We sang, we pranced. We wore hats. But most of all, we FROZE. Oh my good gracious, it was so cold, the sort of cold that you're legitimately afraid that you're going to flat out die, or at the very least, lose some toes. Every time I stepped from the relative warmth of an interior, the wind and the bitter cold smacked me like a spurned lover. People up and down the streets were making undulating, unintelligible noises just in an attempt to ward off the impending frostbite to their vocal chords. Extreme. Of the many things I did while I was there, I managed to find an apartment! The aforementioned yoga/dance people have agreed to take my sorry butt in for the next six months, and they are very very sweet. So far, Michael has been an absolute delight, and I'm excited to live with him; I have not met Rebecca yet, but by all accounts she's lovely too. The location and price are excellent, and it's nice to feel a bit more settled in that regard - it's always a comfort to know you have somewhere to go.
Perhaps most noteworthily from this weekend, I saw Angela Lansbury perform LIVE in Sondheim's delightful "A Little Night Music". That was incredible. I mean, I don't get starstruck at all, but if you have to choose someone to be in the same room with before you die, I can't think of anyone better. We breathed the same air for a little bit, and what a joy that was. She was amazing. Her comedic timing was perfect, her voice was impeccable as ever, and she looked beautiful. I jumped up and down like a little girl from my $27 student rush standing room only "seat" and found all my expectations met. ALSO, the girl who performed "The Miller's Son" was the hottest thing I've ever seen. She managed the singularly difficult achievement of singing her face off while she acted the bejesus out of the song. Her name is Leigh Anne Larkin, and you should keep your eyes peeled for her in the future - with a performance like she gave, she will definitely keep getting work. She was awesome, and not only did her number get the biggest applause in the show, but her curtain call was second only to Angela herself, despite her being a supporting. Absolutely incredible.
And just because we were feeling daring, Sean and I jumped right from one theater into another, going from this wonderful show downtown and catching student rush for the Off Broadway production of "Our Town".
Now, I must start a new paragraph for this, just to get your attention. This performance was possibly the greatest feat of acting I have had the pleasure of seeing. If you are ANYWHERE near the city, get your butt over to the Bower Street Theatre and see it immediately. And go quickly, because it's not going to be up for much longer. I would see it again if I lived there now. Directer David Cromer received stellar reviews from people whose opinions matter far more than mine, but as a mere audience member and theater goer, this show out and out rocked. It was intense, and stirring to the core, and so incredibly intimate. A beautiful performance - there was not ONE weak link in the entire cast.
I think I will end with this, because it is so important and wonderful, because it is late, and because this entry is getting rather long. More to come.
0 comments:
Post a Comment