Tuesday - February 4th - “Lansky” is a one-man show by Mike Burstyn about the last years in the life of mobster Meyer Lansky, including his unsuccessful attempt to become an Israeli citizen. It was very well performed and I learned a lot about the Jewish mafia. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS SHOW.Wednesday - the All Mendelssohn concert by the New York Philharmonic was wonderful. The conductor was former Musical Director Kurt Masur and he gave a very emotional tribute to his friend, composer Lucas Foss, who died earlier in the week.
Thursday - in the February 4th posting I made the following observation about the Encores! production of “Music in the Air” --
“The Encores! can be hit or miss but my experience has been more hit than miss.”
Well, unfortunately, this revival of the 1932 musical by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II gets put in the miss column. The show just didn’t work for me. It didn’t help that my seat was in the far rear mezzanine where the sight-lines suck.
Friday - the early preview production of “This Beautiful City” was outstanding. The show is a musical based on interviews done in Colorado Springs and focuses on the impact the Evangelical movement has had on the city. Needless-to-say, the fall of Ted Haggard played a major role. The staging and sets were excellent.
Saturday - in the afternoon I took a deep breath and finally saw the Brad Pitt movie “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” about a man who ages backwards. The reason I had delayed seeing it is the running time - 2 hours, 47 minutes, which is a long long time. Having said that, I found the show to be very good, especially the performance of Cate Blanchett. It has been nominated for and won numerous awards. I recommend it.
Thank goodness it had warmed-up because my evening show, “Jeffery Self - People I Have Slept With Who Never Called Back,” was at the Ars Nova venue, located about as far on the Westside as you can get. It is a long walk from the closest subway station.
The house was sold out and as might be expected, it was a very young audience of mostly gay guys in their 20s. The show was funny, risqué and very enjoyable, lasting just one hour.
Sunday - in the afternoon was an outstanding concert at Lincoln Center by Joshua Bell, violin and Jeremy Denk, piano. The audience gave them a well-deserved roaring standing ovation at the conclusion of their concert.
That evening I saw another movie, “Doubt,” starring Philip Seymour Hoffman and Meryl Streep, about a nun who believes a priest is having an “improper” relationship with a young altar boy. She sets out to drive him out of the parish, even though the evidence of his so-called wrongdoing is scant at best.
I believe Streep deserves and will win the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the role of Sister Aloysius. Man, I am not even Catholic and she scared the crap out of me. This is another “must see” IMHO.
Last night, Monday, I saw the very first preview performance of the new Broadway drama “33 Variations” starring Jane Fonda as a music scholar who is investigating the true reasons behind Beethoven’s seeming obsession with a trivial waltz, for which he wrote 33 Variations.The house was full and as might be expected for a Monday night performance, there were a lot of “theater-type” folks in attendance. The woman is also dealing with her diagnosis of The Lou Gehrig Disease, which is always fatal. In the cast is Colin Hanks, Tom’s son, and he does a nice job. I found the play to be very entertaining and thought-provoking and I liked Jane’s performance. The show got a thunderous standing ovation. They have a month of previews before opening so I am certain it will only get better and better.
So much for things I have seen - tonight is a Broadway two-man musical called “The Story of My Life” which has received mixed buzz. Wednesday afternoon will be the well-reviewed comedy “Becky Shaw. Thursday the comedy/drama “The Savannah Disputation,” and Friday night I will return to The York Theater to see “Enter Laughing” for my 4th time. Yeah, I know, but I really think the show is funny, I am a York Theater patron and the young man who plays the lead does a terrific job.Saturday is open at the moment.
Sunday evening at 8:30 at Carnegie Hall will be a concert called: “Music of Bach, Handel, Sibelius, Bernstein, and Wagner,” performed by various choruses and orchestral groups from around the county. (discounted TDF ticket).
Again, as described in a previous posting, I have to admit that the highlight of the past week was the scoring of the tickets to see tapings of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report.
Let me end this posting with an update on the brothel issue that I reported on in the February 1st posting. In that posting I questioned whether the super and staff knew what was going on in the apartment on my floor. Well, this is what I learned from a “source” who has a “source” on the condo board --Yes, the board suspected something illegal was going on and they had attempted to get the owner to do something about it but were unsuccessful because the owner was: old, retired and living in Florida; unaware that anything was going on;and, was pleased with the occupant’s payment history. The board felt it didn’t have enough evidence to institute action themselves against the occupant. This building is a condo, not a co-op.
But, a board member had a connection to the local vice squad, so the staff began to keep a record of the comings (no pun intended) and goings in the apartment and ultimately the board convinced the police that something illegal was happening, thereby resulting in the sting operations. The city initiated the proceedings to bring about the ouster of the occupant.
Whether this is true or not I don’t know but the occupant moved out of the apartment on Monday, however, there has been nothing official from the condo board or the managing agent about what happened and I think that most of the residents remain unaware of what went down (again, no pun intended). I also find it rather unnerving that the doormen were keeping records regarding an occupant’s activities and all that stuff.
But, as far as I am concerned - case closed and I can honestly say that I no longer live in a brothel aka a whorehouse.
And, you loyal and faithful readers ask, what about A-Rod’s use of performance enhancing substances in 2003 before he joined the Yankees? Well, all I can say at this point is ... A-Rod is a Mother F**king A-Hole.
Go Gators!!
Billi Pod
wanjr@aol.com
1 comment:
I'm glad to hear the whorehouse is gone and you dislike what A-Rod has done. You, being a Yank-me fan it is hard for me to believe that you are sincere. But I will give you the benefit of the doubt, since you spoke words of sensibility to counteract what your son was saying during Christmas. What you said, you ask? Doesn't matter, I know where you stand. Love ya lots, and take care.
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