"Unusualality" In The Big Apple

One of the many reasons I love living in The Big Apple is the diversity of the almost limitless entertainment opportunities that are available 24/7, especially as it relates to the theater scene - Broadway, Off-Broadway and Off-Off Broadway.

As I was looking at my daily log (log, not diary - real guys don’t keep diaries) I was struck with the, let’s say, "unusualality" (I think I just coined a new word) of 3 upcoming shows I have scheduled, one Broadway and two Off-Broadway.

Now, my loyal and faithful readers, I’m not making up what follows because even Billi Pod’s rather warped sense of humor could never have conceived the story-lines/plots of the 3 shows that I will describe for you below, so please keep reading ---

Tomorrow night (Friday) is:

“Made in Heaven” - Off Broadway. These entire advance blurb for this show is: “Conjoined twins Max and Benjie share everything -- a life, a career, even a penis. But when they plan to propose to their mutual girlfriend, Benjie reveals a secret so big it threatens to tear the brothers apart. Family ties are put to the ultimate test in this irreverent comedy about love in all its various forms -- and the messy complications that invariably get in the way.” (complimentary ticket).

I have learned that the “secret” is - Benjie is gay. The show had a sold-out run at the recent Midtown International Theatre Festival.

Now the Broadway show on Tuesday the 27th (and this is the entire title) is:

“In the Next Room or the vibrator play” - Broadway. The press blurb, somewhat edited for length, is: “This new Broadway play is set in the 1880s at the dawn of the age of electricity, when some doctors utilized vibrator therapies on their female patients in the name of medical treatment. And what did the women think was happening to them when doctors allayed their so-called 'hysteria' with a very personal newfangled machine? That is what playwright Sarah Ruhl wondered when she set out to write this play. Hysteria was a real diagnosis, and a quite common one given to women in the Victorian age. Just as common was medical treatment with electrical stimulating machines, the vibrators of the day, to ease their condition. It is the provocative, funny and touching story of a young doctor and his wife. Dr. Givings (Michael Cerveris) is obsessed with the marvels of technology and what they can do for his patients. His wife, Catherine, (Laura Benanti) is only a bystander in her husband's world - listening at the door from the next room as he treats his female patients. Dr. Givings is not sure exactly how the vibrators help the women he treats - but they do keep coming back. The only woman whose problem is not helped by the doctor is his own wife who longs to connect with him - but not electrically.” (discounted TDF ticket)

There’s not much I can add to the above except to remind you that it is being produced on B R O A D W A Y!!!!

And then my trifecta is completed on Sunday, November 1, with:

“Circumcise Me” - Off Broadway. “Yisrael Campbell is just your average Irish-Italian Catholic kid from Philly, comic actor, sober alcoholic, recovering drug addict, husband, father, Reform, Conservative, Unorthodox, Orthodox Jew. His name is Yisrael Campbell, (the artist formerly known as Christopher), and this is his story - a spiritual journey stretching across four decades, two continents, and three circumcisions.” (discounted TDF ticket).

Again, there’s nothing I can add to the above except to say that it sounds like it should be a lot of fun.

So, my loyal and faithful readers, I hope you agree with me about the “unusualality” of these three shows. Only in New York!!

Now, briefly on to other things. All of this is being written on Thursday afternoon as I anxiously await the 5th and hopefully final Yankees vs. LA Angels ALCS series game. I want the Yankees to win tonight so they can have plenty of rest before facing the Phillies in Game One of the World Series on Wednesday the 28th, at Yankee Stadium (and, of course, I will be there).

I had a great time last night with Michele Purcell and her friends Mary Ann Pipping and Mayme Clark of Polk County, FL. They saw the wonderful musical “Billy Elliot” and when the show was over we met up at Angus McIndoe for a great after-theater dinner. When our meal was over we then walked over to 420 W. 42nd Street so they could check out Penthouse C. Thankfully, I hadn’t left anything embarrassing laying around. I can report that they liked my new pad, especially the awesome views. So, Gals, it was great being with you and enjoy the rest of your time In The Greatest City in The World.

Before I end this posting I want to recommend a very funny, albeit risqué, movie called “Zombieland” starring Jessie Eisenberg and Woody Harrelson. This is the synopsis:

“The entire world is hit with an apocalyptic infection that turns people into zombies once they have been bitten by an infected zombie. Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) is a young geek who has a lot of phobias about almost everything from clowns, to bathrooms, to checking the back seat of cars. Being alone and scared of the outside world has kept him alive. His new fear is being eaten by zombies. To survive, Columbus has begun making a long list of rules to survive. Each time he gives you one of his rules, you see an example of his rule in action. Columbus explains to the audience in a background voice such as wearing your seat-belt, or the double-tap rule after you shoot a zombie make sure he is dead by shooting him in the head again. This is not a wasted shot. The number 1 rule is to be sure that you can outrun the zombies, because the overweight and slow people were caught first. He decides to go home to Columbus to see if his parents are still alive. Along the highway, he meets Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson) a redneck zombie killer who loves Twinkies and misses his puppy Buck. They team up and head for Tallahassee. On the way they meet and join forces with two girls, Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abagail Breslin). They may be the last surviving people on earth, and they must rely on each other to survive.”

If you need a laugh or are in the mood for something bizarre and funny, then I highly recommend this show. If not, stay the Hell away because you will hate it.

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.”