Hello my loyal and faithful readers. When I woke up this morning at the usual 8:00am it was ugly and nasty out. The temperature was 37 degrees and it was lightly raining. It didn’t bode well for tonight’s American League Championship Series, Game One, Yankees vs. Los Angeles Angels, game time @ 7:30pm.
My mood darkened even more when I checked the 3 daily newspaper for their forecasts because this is the consensus for game time --
Friday night - “41 degrees - feels like 26. Chance of rain - 60%. Winds NE 22 mph.”
Saturday night - “43 degrees - feels like 35. Chance of rain - 80%. Winds NE 11 mph.”
If either game is postponed then the makeup game will be sometime on Sunday (time to be determined by MLB and Fox) but the forecast isn’t much better - “48 degrees - feels like 38. Chance of rain - 70%. Winds NNE 20 mph.”
This put me into a major funk, but nothing I can do about it. I have a ticket to each game and I will be there regardless of the weather. One good thing, I have a new heavy duty Yankee jacket that I will wear under my poncho. Bring it on!!
Well, it is now 11:00 and guess what? Why, it has stopped raining and has cleared up a bit and the temperature is 41 degrees. Oh, I know, we’ve got a long way to go but it has put me in a somewhat better mood.
Enough about weather - on to the postseason. The Yankees played excellent ball in sweeping the Division Series against The Twins and it appears as if A-Rod has broken out of his postseason miasma. The starting pitching and bullpen was excellent. There was a lot of excitement in the stadium for each of the home games.
I need to send a “shout-out” to Erik (a full season ticket holder and a professed reader of this blog) who was sitting to my left for the second game, won by the Yankees 4-3 in the bottom of the 11th. “Hey, guy, you left in the bottom of the 8th, something you never ever do. What gives? It didn’t go unnoticed. The 3 guys seated right in front of you are going to give you a world of grief tonight. Actually, include me in, too. So, buddy, you are forewarned. Seeya tonight.
I personally think that The Angels have the second best team in baseball, second only to the Yankees and that the series will be excellent baseball, with each game a nail-biter to the very end. The winner of the series will advance to The World Series and will be the odds-on favorite to win. Please Dear God, in the name of GeorgeS, please let it be the Yankees. Please Please Please!!
Since my last entertainment posting most of my time has been involved with baseball, of course, but I also have seen a couple shows, which I will comment about now ---
Monday - 10/3 - “Brighton Beach Memoirs” - Broadway. “BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS centers on young Jewish teen Eugene Morris Jerome and his extended family living in a crowded home in the Brighton Beach section of Brooklyn in 1937: his overworked father, Jack; overbearing mother, Kate; his older brother Stanley; Kate's widowed sister Blanche and her daughters, Nora and Laurie. As Eugene spends his time daydreaming about a baseball career, he must also cope with his family's troubles, his awkward discovery of the opposite sex and his developing identity as a writer.” (discounted TDF ticket).
I saw this revival of the 1966 Neil Simon comedy/drama in early previews. It will run in repertory with “Broadway Bound” which begins previews in mid-November. The set for the Jerome house was terrific. I wasn’t blown away by the performances but overall the show worked well for me, so I will give it a rating of “B.” I really am looking forward to “Broadway Bound” with Josh Grisetti (Enter Laughing), playing the role of the adult Eugene. The rest of the cast remains the same.
Thursday - 10/8 - “Oleannna” - Broadway. “David Mamet's Oleanna is an account of a power struggle between a male university professor and one of his female students. Starring Bill Pullman and Julia Stiles and directed by Tony Award winner Doug Hughes, David Mamet's incendiary play is regarded as one of the most provocative dramas of our time dividing audiences into heated debate by compelling them to side with either character. This new production marks the Broadway premiere of this visceral, modern-day classic.” (discounted TDF ticket).
OK, in the name of fair and unbiased reporting I have to admit that David Mamet drives me fucking crazy with his 150 mph dialogue, profanity and characters, who no one can identify with, screaming at each other from opposite ends of the stage. I usually leave the theater angry, but ... then ... I can’t get the show out of my head. And I guess this is what being an awarding-winning playwright is all about, isn’t it?
In this performance the actors, Bill Pullman and Julia Styles, do an adequate job with the very difficult material but my problem was that when the show was over I didn’t give a rat’s ass for either character - I just wanted both of them to go the fuck away. So, my loyal and faithful readers, on the Billi Pod scale this show gets only a C+
Tuesday - 10/13 - “Finian’s Rainbow” - Broadway. This is part of the press blurb for this show: “The acclaimed City Center Encores! production of this beloved 1947 musical returns to Broadway. With a lush score of standards (“How Are Things In Glocca Morra?” and “Old Devil Moon”) and a whimsical story that dances between romance, satire, and fairy tale, Finian's Rainbow features a large cast headed by Tony Award® winners Jim Norton and Chuck Cooper along with Kate Baldwin and Cheyenne Jackson.” (discounted TDF ticket).
The easiest way for me to discuss my feelings about this show is to post on this blog a posting I made right after I saw the show on the chat board called All That Chat (www.talkinbroadway.com/allthatchat/), in response to a poster, whose opinions I respect, who said, in part ---
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“Don't read on if you don't want to hear what I didn't like about this production - which was everything except Kate Baldwin, Jim Norton (kinda), and Rob Berman & his band.”
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and my response posting was ---
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“Thank you for your straightforward observations.
You know, I saw it last night from the second row of the mezzanine and I have to agree with 98.25% of your comments. Bottom line - I was underwhelmed, to put it mildly.
I had not seen the movie or any stage production that I remember but I like most of the musical score, so I went into the show with rather high expectations, bolstered in part by the generally favorable “buzz” generated on this board.
Throughout most of the show I found myself asking my inner “me” ... “Is this show not working or am I just in a blah space/mood for some reason?” The 30s guys sitting on either side of me seemed to be very non-involved.
Walking back to my apartment after the show I was hit by the thought that I was very glad I had seen it with a TDF ticket rather than paying full-price.”
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So, this show gets a Billi Pod rating of only a C.
OMG!! - It is noon and it has cleared up a lot. Folks, let’s keep our finger’s crossed for tonight.
I know, I know, it seems as if I have fallen into the slime pit of negativity but I haven’t because I now want to share with you my thoughts on a show I saw last night that I really enjoyed --
Wednesday - 10/14 - “The Understudy” - Off Broadway. This show is part of my Roundabout Theater season subscription series. This is the press blurb: “Behind every great star, there's a great actor hoping he'll get sick. The star he's working with doesn't get the play. The disgruntled stage manager happens to be his bitter ex-fiance. The set technician is high. Just another day in the life of an understudy. The most thankless job in theatre takes center stage in this new comedy which looks at the underbelly of the acting world. Through the course of a dress rehearsal, we glimpse all the genius, bitterness and ridiculousness that underscore a life in showbiz. Tony Award winner Julie White (The Little Dog Laughed) returns to Roundabout alongside Mark-Paul Gosselaar (TNT's Raising the Bar) and Justin Kirk (Showtime's Weeds ) in this New York premiere” (subscription series).
OK, now I have to admit that there were parts of this show that didn’t work, but, for me it was a lot of fun and I enjoyed it, especially Julie White. I guess also that my acting experiences (way back when) contributed to me really getting into the moments on stage. I needed a good laugh and this show gave me what I wanted/needed, so it gets, tada, an A-
On to a totally different subject. What will it be you are no doubt breathlessly asking? Well, this it is the Homecoming Weekend for the Florida Gators, who play the Arkansas Razorbacks on Saturday at 3:30 (CBS). The Gators are heavy favorites.
On Friday night at The Swamp is Gator Growl. What is Gator Growl? “Gator Growl 2009 is in its 86th year at University of Florida. Hosted by Florida Blue Key, Gator Growl is produced by more than 500 student volunteers, making it the largest-student run pep rally in the world. Each year, Gator Growl is held the night before the Homecoming football game. World-renowned musical and comedic talent such as Bill Cosby, Jerry Seinfeld, Robin Williams, Jay Leno and Lynyrd Skynyrd have performed for the University of Florida community. Performing for the 2009 show will be comedian Dana Carvey.”
50 years ago - the Director of the 1959 Gator Growl was a 25 year old soon-to-graduate Business Administration major, Florida Blue Key member, UF Hall of Fame inductee, Kappa Alpha brother, named BILL NORRIS.
Go Gators and Go Yankees!!
Billi Pod
“Don't pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you.”
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