A Great Time With My Lady

Good Sunday morning everyone.

Had a great time last night with My Lady, Dian Crystal, at Joe Allen for an early pre-theatre dinner. Although Dian was born and raised in Manhattan and is a diehard theater-nut like moi, this was her first visit to this world-renowned Restaurant Row landmark.

We had expected our mutual friend Marty Kosarik to join us but unfortunately at the last minute he wasn’t able to. He did meet up with us later for our theater event.

One of the interesting features of Joe Allen are the posters and placards on all of the walls in the dining area and in the bar area. What newcomers (out-of-towners) don’t realize ... every show featured was a total 100% flop. This has been a standard for the 50 years the restaurant has been in existence.

The atmosphere, food and service was excellent.

When we finished dinner we leisurely walked over to our theater on 42nd Street where we met up with Marty and another one of Dian’s friends, Raellen. Our seats for the show were in the very last row of the mezzanine, but no matter, the sight line was fine.

Billi Pod’s report card on the Broadway show, in early previews, DON’T DRESS FOR DINNER, about a romantic rendezvous gone awry==>B+

This show is in terrific shape for early previews and I am rather confident it is going to be a huge audience pleaser. We laughed openly and continuously through the 2 hours of rapid banter. We also erupted into belly laughs many times - there are some really funny sight gags, including an onstage costume change that evoked a roaring audience response.

The cast is uniformly good and the great thing is ... they will only get better, through the preview process, until opening night on April 26th.

Billi Pod says==>add this show to your “Must See” list.

The weather in The Big Apple is still windy and cold. It was only 41º at 8:00am. Yuck!!

Billi Pod has another entertainment doubleheader for today ...

2:00==>MASTERWORKS FESTIVAL CHORUS & NATIONAL CHILDREN’S CHORUS @ Carnegie Hall - Works by Haydn, Rubstov, Stroppe and others, concluding with Mozart’s “Requiem." ($9.00 TDF ticket).

Of course I have no clue where my seat will be but my seats for the last two Carnegie Hall concerts, also with $9.00 tickets, have been awesome, both in the first tier box seat area.

I anticipate that the concert will be over around 4:30. I don’t plan to come back to PHC but rather will spend the next several hours just walking and wandering, weather permitting, of course.

Then for the evening is ...

7:30==>ROADSIDE: Musical’s In Mufti -“Set in the carnival world of the Old West’s traveling tent shows, Roadside tells a love story of mythic proportions about two kissin’, punchin’, cussin’, larger-than-life characters who refuse to settle down and be ‘house-broke’ by the arrival of fences and laws.” (Off Broadway - subscription series)

Book and lyrics by Tom Jones, music by Harvey Schmidt. Really looking forward to this. A stellar way to end a fabulous week.

Have already compiled the entertainment stats for March 2012 and, my loyal and faithful readers, they are==>AWESOME!! Hopefully, will post them tomorrow.

WOW!! Kentucky vs. Kansas on Monday night. GO SEC!! GO SEC!! GO SEC!!

GO YANKEES AND GO GATORS!!

Billi Pod

“Don’t pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he’ll just kill you.”

ALEX-222