The Last Week of November

I have just finished making the final reservations for the upcoming week and as usual my entertainment pallet is full. Some shows are on a “holiday” schedule which means weird performance times in order to make up for Thanksgiving, when most Broadway shows are dark.

So, without further ado ... tada ... here is Billi Pod’s schedule for the next 7 days --

Sunday - I will stay in for the afternoon and watch the Jets vs. Tennessee game, and then ...

7:00 - “Monty Python’s Spamalot” - Broadway. Clay Akin heads the cast of this very funny show, which is closing on January 11, 2009. I have seen it several times and just wanted to see it one last time before closing. It is a lot of fun if you like Monty Python humor (and I do) and I feel in the mood for a zany show. (discounted TDF ticket).

When I get back to the apartment and thaw out I will turn on Comedy Central to see: “A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All!” In NYC it is showing at 10:00 and then a repeat at midnight but check your local listing. The advance buzz is very good.

Monday - 8:15 - “Zero” - Off Broadway. “A shockingly hilarious, gritty day in the lives of six distinct characters that offers a glimpse into the speed bumps a man goes through as he realizes he's crossed that threshold into the dreaded adulthood he fears, wants, worries about, and wrestles with. At what point is he forced to let go of who he was in high school and stop making getting drunk and 'getting some' his number one priority? Or does he ever? Warning: Zero is intended for Mature Audiences Only, and is not a play for children or younger teens due to crude and sexual humor.” (complimentary ticket).

Tuesday - 7:30 - New York Philharmonic Orchestra @ Avery Fisher Hall. The program is: Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 1; Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5; and, Schumann’s Symphony No. 4. (subscription series).

Wednesday - 2:00 - “All My Sons” - Broadway. This revival of Arthur Miller’s 1974 drama stars John Lithgow, Patrick Wilson and Kati Holmes and is about a businessman’s World War II dealings with government. It has gotten generally very favorable reviews. (discounted ticket).

8:00 - “Dividing the Estate” - Broadway. “The decay of values, in both property and personal conduct, is the subject of Horton Foote’s latest elegy for small-town American Life. A multigenerational Texas clan sorts through its material and emotional heritage in this 13 character production.” (discounted TDF ticket).

This show has just opened and it has gotten decent reviews.

Thursday - HAPPY THANKSGIVING DAY!!

2:00 - “The Big Apple Circus: Play On!” @ Lincoln Center. “If music be the food of love, PLAY ON! So begins the BIG APPLE CIRCUS 31st season. Set to a jazzy mix of classical, rock and soul, Play On! features tightwire acts, feats of balance, juggling, acrobatics, trapeze artistry, clowns and more, with focus of one ring with no seat more than 50 feet away.” (discounted TDF ticket).

I try to catch a performance at least once a year. It is always different and usually very entertaining.

Friday - 2:00 (yes, that is the correct time and date) - “The Seagull” - Broadway. “This complex romantic ecology of Anton Checkov’s 1893 classic is a daisy chain of she-loves-me-nots and stars award-winning actress Kristin Scott Thomas (The English Patient).” (discounted TDF ticket).

I have to admit to having second thoughts about booking this show. I know I have seen it before but I remember nothing about it except leaving the theater wondering ...”what the fuck was that all about?” I hope I have it mentally mixed it up with some other show. It has gotten very good reviews, however. it clocks in at 2 hours and 50 minutes with one intermission.

8:00 - “Prayer For My Enemy” - Off Broadway. “Between wars, what is there to do but recall the last and plan for the next? As the Red Sox fight the Yankees for the AL title, and an enigmatic outsider unspools a tale of filial responsibility, an American family confronts its demons - a son returning from Iraq, a father battling the bottle, and a triangle of unresolved romantic tension. Crag Lucas’s new play is a keenly-layered drama about the preciousness of life and the grace to share common ground even with those we love the least.” (discounted TDF ticket).

This is in very early previews. Doesn’t it sound interesting? It has an outstanding cast, including Jonathan Groff, late of “Spring Awakening.”

Saturday - 3:30 - Gators vs. FSU @ Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, FL - carried on ABC. The Gators should kick-butt again. Hell, I could write a whole posting about this rivalry but I won’t except to say that I continue to pray that Bobby Bowden remains the ‘Noles head coach for as long a Joe Paterno is at Penn State. Go Gators.

So, my faithful and loyal readers, I know you will agree with me that the upcoming week will be very interesting.

But, wait - there’s more to report. What you are breathlessly asking? Well, about things and stuff I did since the last posting on Thursday, so ... Oh, come on now ... keep on reading ... you know you love it ...

On Tuesday night I saw “Dust” in very early previews, maybe even the first preview performance and ... it was strange. I wanted to like it because of the lead actors, Richard Masur and Hunter Foster, but it just didn’t work for me and it had one of the oldest of all theater clichés ... a gun on stage, meaning, someone has to die, and, I didn’t care a flipping fuck who it was. Funny thing happened ... as the female character was leaving the stage in a scene she had trouble opening the apartment door and had to yank at it several times before it finally opened. It was awkward.

The New York Philharmonic concert on Thursday night was excellent, except for a discordant cello piece by Penderecki. All was made well though with a rousing performance of Beethoven's Symphony No. 5.

I had more classical music on Friday night, The Dresden Staaskapelle, performing at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center. My complimentary ticket was very good, Tier One, row AA. The concert was opened by Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1 - awesome. At intermission I ran into my theater-going friend Phil Parnes, who is a retired violinist, and he told me of some open orchestra seats, so I left the First Tier and joined him in the rear orchestra, not far from where my NY Phil seats are located. Oh man, the concert ended with Brahms’ Symphony No. 4 - wonderful. A great concert with a comp. ticket - it doesn’t get much better than this in The Big Apple.

Saturday was a busy day. It was very cold. I had a matinee ticket to see a show called “The Language of Trees” - Off Broadway. “When an American translator is sent into a U.S. war zone in the Middle East, a friendly neighbor volunteers to help out his wife and young son. As events abroad spiral out of control, the lives of all the characters are turned upside down. The Language of Trees is about the fragility of language, the ecology of war and the meaning of neighborliness in an age of terror.” (complimentary ticket).

This show was very thought-provoking and very well acted and I am glad I finally got a ticket to see it.

During the afternoon The Gators kicked butt, beating The Citadel by a score of 70-10. Wow!! The game was not carried locally.

I stayed in Saturday night (hey, don’t be critical - I am retired so every night is a Saturday night for me) to watch the Oklahoma vs. number 2-ranked Texas Tech game, with The Sooners favored by 7 points. My son, Bill, is a huge Sooners fan and we talked several times during the game, which as you know if you are a football fan, Oklahoma won by a jaw-dropping score of 65-21 Who could have possibly foreseen this? No one, that’s who.

I would love to see The Gators play The Sooners in the BCS Championship game. All we have to do it get by FSU and ‘Bama, not an easy task.

OK, folks, this has gone on for too long, so ...

Talk with you later.

Go Gators!!

Billi Pod
wanjr@aol.com