Saturday, November 1, 2014

Weather - Gators/Dawgs - Forever Deadward - Sticks and Bones - Riverside Symphony


Saturday==>It is a chilly and dreary morning here in the Big Apple, The Greatest City In The World.

At 8:30am it is lightly raining with a pretty strong wind coming off the Hudson River. The temperature is 46º, wind chill down to 41º and the forecast is for the rain to continue for the rest of the day and into the evening.

Well ... that’s great ... it pretty well summarizes your favorite blogger’s mood as he rather nervously awaits the 3:30pm kickoff of the Florida/Georgia game from Jacksonville, carried nationally on CBS.

The Dawgs are favored now by only 11 points ... yeah ... right. Our freshman quarterback Treon Harris is making his first start in a game that will make-or-break the Gator season and Coach Muskrat’s future in Gainesville.

As much as I hate The Dawgs my gut tells me that it will be a close game in the first half and then they will pull away in the second half, winning by a score of 35-14.

Oh well ... now ... let’s move on to some positive things ... like ...

Billi Pod’s report cards on yesterday’s interesting entertainment doubleheader ... starting with ...

The reading of ...

FOREVER DEADWARD, a pop rock musical that lovingly takes a bite out of everyone's favorite vampire series, and a few other pop culture icons along the way. The show playfully examines our culture of obsession and our obsession with the fantastical==>THUMBS UP!

Remember, I usually do not give letter grades to readings and workshop productions.

This show is part of the Developmental Reading Series by The York Theatre.

It has a very funny story line with excellent music and lyrics delivered by a cast of zombies and werewolves, joined by a parody of the Harry Potter “team.”

The cast was excellent, especially Cortney Wolfson as Ella Fawn, Colin Hanlon as Deadward Cologne and Jared Zirilli as Jolon Black.

The running time was about 1:45, without intermission. The show needs to be trimmed a bit, or set in two acts with an intermission.

I hope that it continues in the developmental process because it definitely has potential.

I saw this with my friend and theater-buddy Dian Crystal aka My Lady and she also liked it a lot.

When the show was over I subwayed back to the apartment, had my usual pre-theater snack, a fruit and cheese plate, and then it was time for the second part of my doubleheader ...

The Off Broadway show ...

STICKS AND BONES, this revival of David Rabe’s Tony-winning play is a portrait of an American family pulled apart by their son's return from the Vietnam War. Ozzie and his wife Harriet are overjoyed to see their eldest son David again, but the furies that haunt David begin to overwhelm them and their happy-go-lucky younger son Ricky==>C

Man, do I have mixed feelings about this show. The press blurbs kept referring to this as being either a “dark comedy” or a “satire” of the American family (hint ... Ozzie and Harriet ... get it?) but folks ... your favorite blogger found virtually nothing funny about this show. Yes, there were a few laughs but they were uneasy laughs at best.

Yes, it does grab your attention from the very beginning as you wait for “better” things to develop on stage, but they never do.

The story line is totally implausible and all of the characters are unappealing and unlikeable, except for the happy-go-lucky younger son Ricky and even he become a dick in the jaw-dropping final scene.

Yes, I know it won a Tony way back when ... but ... your favorite blogger has a responsibility to his loyal and faithful readers and followers to give his honest opinions/report cards, even if it places him in the minority.

The cast is excellent, headed by Richard Chamberlain, Holly Hunter and Bill Pullman and the acting is stellar even though by the end of the 2:20 running time, with intermission, you basically want to run on stage and bitch-slap each of the characters.

The house was sold-out.

I have a feeling the critics are going to give this revival mostly favorable reviews. We will see.

Billi Pod says==>see it, then let me know what you honestly think about it.

It is playing at the Signature Theatre Complex on West 42nd Street, has a running time of 2:20, with intermission, and runs through December 14th.

Moving on to today’s entertainment events ...

This afternoon I will be in front of my 42” flat screen TV watching college football, including, of course, the Gator/Georgia game at 3:30pm.

Then ... for the evening ... it will be a classical music concert at Lincoln Center ...

8:00==>RIVERSIDE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA @ Alice Tully Hall - “Romance in the Air” - The program is:

Lansky - Line and Shadow;
Faure - Fantasy for Piano and Orchestra;
Chopin - Grand Polonaise Brillante; and,
Schubert - Symphony No. 4 “Tragic”
(complimentary ticket)

Yeah, Chopin and Schubert ... nice!!

OK, my loyal and faithful readers and followers ... it is college football time here in apartment PHC ... so ... 

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND EVERYONE!!

Yesterday’s Pedometer mileage==>3.00 miles (or, 6,572 steps)

Total mileage for October==>134.84 miles (average 4.35 miles per day)

Total mileage for 2014==>1,246.40 miles (average 4.10 miles per day)

GO GATORS==>BEAT GEORGIA

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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