Monday, June 13, 2022
"Jersey Boys" and the Three Rivers Arts Festival
Sunday, June 12, 2022
Purses
(This short entry originally was a post that I made on Facebook yesterday morning. I decided that I wanted it to be part of a more permanent record. Hence, this re-posting.)
If you knew my wife Marilyn, you know that one of her trademarks was the gigantic, heavy purses she would always lug around. Two of those purses have sat on the floor of our closet since her death in October, and last night I decided to empty them out so I could donate them to Goodwill. What I found inside was just so, so Her. Eighteen pens, three pair of earrings, an address book (filled with doctors’ phone numbers), a Tide Stick, five packets of artificial sweetener, a pill bottle filled with various aspirin, excedrin, Tylenol and such for “emergencies “, a clutch purse from Paris, a tiny Wonder Woman doll, a small pin of a sheep from Ireland, about thirty - I didn’t count them - pennies, and various other items such as band aids, wet wipes, hand sanitizers, and God knows what else. I went back and forth from smiling, laughing, and crying, mostly crying, all night long. I miss complaining to her about her “goddamned purses”, and I miss her.
Monday, June 6, 2022
A New York State of Mind
- Neil Simon was an authentic genius of American comedy and culture. His comedy is timeless. The producers of this show made the choice to keep the play set in 1968-69, the time when it was written and first produced. Thus, you have reference to a wedding at the Plaza costing $8,000. There is no need to alter the time or setting of this show.
- Broderick and Parker are real pros. When you have only seen them on TV or in movies, seeing them live and on stage is a revelation. They know how to play to an audience. Also, I never thought of either of them as being physical comedic actors, but they were amazing in performing the physical schtick required of them in this play.
- I loved this show and laughed uproariously, sheiekingly so, on several occasions, and I also appreciated some of the more bittersweet observations that Simon sprinkled into the show. I also know that while I enjoyed the show when I saw it back in 1969, there could have been no way that I would have appreciated it nearly as much as a seventeen year old than I appreciated it now.
The shows aside, we had an absolute ball in New York. I spent one afternoon in the city with Bill and Joann Montrose in 2017, but had not spent any extended time there since a week long business trip in 1983, so it was like being there for the first time. The noise, the thousands upon thousands of people, the constant activity. It was a forty-eight hour adrenaline rush for both of us. We have vowed to make a trip like this an annual event, at least, for us.
- Remember the scene in "The Godfather" where Luca Brasi was stabbed in the hand with an icepick and garroted to death? That as filmed at the bar in the Hotel Edison where we stayed. We had a drink there. The name of the restaurant is Bond 45, and I am amazed that there isn't an historical plaque there to commemorate it.
- Walking through Times Square at 11:00 on a Tuesday night amidst thousands, tens of thousands, of people. It was loud noisy, colorful, entertaining, and thrilling. The City truly does never sleep.
- Meeting Loyal Littles Podcast co-hosts "Chuck and Roxy", aka, Louis and Megan. They joined us for dinner on Wednesday night, and what nice people they are. A delightful couple of hours. In addition to hosting the podcast, he is a Broadway musician and conductor, and she is a Radio City Rockette.
- On the recommendation of our friend Winnie, we stayed at the Hotel Edison on West 47th Street, and mere two blocks from Times Square. Convenient and within walking distance of a ton of theaters and other attractions such as Rockefeller Center, Radio City Music Hall, and St. Patrick's Cathedral. Thanks for the tip,Winnie!
- The hotel was right across the street from the Richard Rodgers Theater, where "Hamilton" is playing. On Wednesday afternoon as we walked back to our hotel, Linda notices a guy in costume leaning out of a stage door and shmoozing with the theater security guard. He was wearing a green period costume, which I recognized as the costume of Alexander Hamilton himself. I recognized him as Miguel Cervantes the actor whom I know is currently playing the title role in New York, and who played the role when Marilyn and I saw the show in Chicago in 2017. I went up to him and said so, to which he replied, "well, you need to come in here and see it again!" After shaking my hand, he cut short the conversation by saying, "I'm due back on stage right now." It was Wednesday, matinee day! The guard told me that if wasn't in the middle of a performance, he'd have stayed and chatted endlessly with me. So THAT was one pretty cool experience!
- New York is expensive, no doubt about it, but you can find bargains. While strolling the streets in the afternoon, we found a pizza joint the offered "two New York slices and a can of soda" for $3.99! When we were leaving the theater after "Plaza Suite", it was pouring rain, but standing right outside the door was guy selling umbrellas for five bucks apiece. Those crappy umbrellas may not survive a gentle breeze, but they got us through the four block walk back to the hotel, and they now sit in each of our cars for emergency situations.
- A shout out to the Brooklyn Chop House, the restaurant across West 46th Street from our hotel. Just opened in April, we stopped there for a nightcap after "The Music Man" on Tuesday, and we liked it so much that we met Chuck and Roxie there for dinner the following night. The place was gorgeous, the food was good, and the staff couldn't have been more friendly and accommodating. There was a reason that they were so nice with us, but that is "the rest of the story" and one that I am not going to put in this space, at least, not yet. I'll be happy to share it with you face to face, though, if the occasion arrises. Regardless, put the Brooklyn Chop House on you list of places to eat next time you go to New York.
- One big step into the 2020's for us....out plane tickets/boarding passes for our return trip home were on our phones. No paper!
- I mentioned my late friend Bill Montrose earlier. No one loved and appreciated Broadway and New York more. Marilyn and I saw "Beautiful" on Broadway with Joann and him back in 2018, and I think of him every time I see a play or a musical. How I wish he were still with us so I could share the stories of this trip. You had better believe that a toast was raised to him both nights that we were there.
A final $18 glass of wine!
Two slices and a Coke for $3.99! Can't be beat!
"La Cheeserie" with Roxy and Chuck...and Tony!
At the bar where Luca Brasi was sent to sleep with the fishes.
Not breakfast, but a Mid-Morning Coffee at Tiffany's.