Monday, May 26, 2014

Sunday Was A Great Day


Monday==>I am happy to report to all of my loyal and faithful readers and followers that yesterday’s entertainment doubleheader was totally enjoyable for your favorite blogger here in The Big Apple, The Greatest City In The World.

First of all, the weather was AWESOME, at long last, in the upper 70s with blue skies and a nice breeze. This in and of itself majorly contributed to what was a terrific walk and wander day, details below.

My first event was an Off Broadway show in a theatre in the Upper Westside (UWS). 

I left early so I could have a leisurely walk and wander session in the UWS mid-70s area. The major reasons I like walk and wander sessions in the UWS are the wonderful array of classic brownstone buildings, high rise modern buildings, and lots of trees, meaning most of the time I can be out of the sun.

The entertainment event was an Off Broadway show ...

AMERICAN HERO, about three down-on-their-luck misfits who take jobs at a sandwich shop run by a recent immigrant from some unidentified homeland who turns out to be a no-show on the grand-opening day==>A-

The reviews for this show basically criticized the story line as being too contrived to be believable and I sorta agree.

But ... despite this, Billi Pod gives the show a high grade because of the performances from the stellar 4-person cast:

Jerry O’Connell as Ted, an MBA who lost his job at Bank of America.

Ari Graynor as Jamie, a horny single-mom mired in a custody battle.

Erin Wilhelmi as Sheri, a teenager working two jobs to take care of her ill father.

Daoud Heidami as Bob, the mysterious franchise owner. He plays other roles, too.

There are a lot of jokes and funny scenes but also much anger, frustration and angst over the basic theme that in today’s corporate world uniformity and profit are valued over creativity and inspiration.

My friend Will Macadam was ushering at this performance and afterwards he told me he totally loved it.

Billi Pod says==>this is definitely worth seeing.

It is playing at the McGinn/Cazale Theatre @ Broadway and West 76th Street, has a running time of 1:30, without intermission, and runs through June 15th.

When the show was over I began a rather leisurely walk and wander session heading down to Lincoln Center for my second entertainment event at Avery Fisher Hall.

Along the way I stopped at a Pizza place and had a nice slice and a diet coke.

The weather was even better because it had cooled down a bit. It just felt great to be out and about. Lots and lots of people agreed with me because the sidewalks were pretty crowded, even on the cross streets.

My second event was a classical music concert ...

DISTINGUISHED CONCERTS INTERNATIONAL @ Avery Fisher Hall - “Celebration & Reflection, Part I:

The program was:
Mozart - Coronation Mass; and,
Ellingboe - Star Song (World Premiere)
(complimentary ticket)

The concert featured performances by the Distinguished Concerts International Orchestra & Singers and 4 excellent soloists and it was totally enjoyable.

My comp. seat was in the 4th row, house left, which is a bit too close for Billi Pod. Just before the concert was to begin, I was able to get a nice seat a bit further back.

When the concert was over the weather was great, with a nice breeze, so I opted to walk back to the apartment, adding mileage to what turned out to be a great walking day.

Moving on ...

Today’s entertainment event is yet another classical music concert ... 

7:00==>DISTINGUISHED CONCERTS INTERNATIONAL @ Alice Tully Hall - “Celebration & Reflection, Part 2”

The program is:

Chilcott - Requiem
Clausen - Festival Te Deum (World Premiere)
Clausen - Sure on This Shining Night
Effinger - An American Hymn
(complimentary ticket)

This will be my third DCINY concert in four nights, each at different venues: Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, and Alice Tully Hall

We will close this posting with the usual sports stuff ...

Yesterday afternoon, in Chicago, The Yankees (26-23) beat the White Sox (25-27) 7-1 behind another stellar outing from our ace Masahiro Tanaka, to even the series at 2-2. Soon-to-be 40 Derek Jeter had a great day, going 4-5, driving in 2-runs and racing to a standup triple.

This afternoon at 4:10pm, in St. Louis, will be the first game of a 3-game series against The Cardinals, the defending NL Champs. On the mound for The Yankees will be Chase Whitley (0-0) who?? vs. Michael Wacha (3-2) for The Cards (28-22).

In closing ... with yesterday’s great walking mileage the week added up to some pretty good stats ...

Yesterday’s Pedometer mileage==>6.60 miles (or, 14,438 steps)

Total mileage for the week==>37.07 miles (average 5.30 miles per day)

Total mileage for 2014==>533.20 miles (average 3.68 miles per day)

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.”

No comments: