What Went Down With STONE AND STONE??

You know ... it is fun and also interesting for me to record the often mundane things and stuff that routinely happen in Billi Pod’s daily life in The Big Apple, The Greatest City In the World. I have tried to be honest and forthcoming about what goes on ... the good ... the bad ... the interesting ... the boring ... the WTF ... the bland ... the “senior moments” ...the “I can’t believe that just happened” ... etc etc etc stuff.

What Billi Pod Blogs does is to provide a record for me, something I often refer back to, even as far back as 2008, when this blog was created. And, of course, it provides enlightenment to you loyal and faithful readers who reside out there in the hinterlands.

Why am I writing about this now? Well, this is an intro into what went down last night regarding my scheduled entertainment event STONE AND STONE, the twin brother’s performance at The People’s Improv Theater. So ... let’s begin ...

I had never been to this venue before. I got there at around 7:40pm and the lobby/bar area was already jammed with mostly the cool 20s-30s crowd. Checked in at the box office and got my ticket, which was just a small piece of paper. I just happened to notice that the regular ticket price was $10.00. They told me that we would be let into the theater no earlier than 7:55.

Made my way to a space as close to the entrance as I could get and started texting to pass the time. Then ... I heard a voice that said ... “Oh My God! Is that you Bill?” I turned around and there was one of my best AA buds that I hadn’t seen in over a year. I will give him the name of “Bob” but that isn’t his real name - you understand.

OMFG!! I had really missed seeing Bob at the meetings I attend over on The Eastside. We hugged and began immediately talking as best we could over the ever increasing noise. I learned that his job was now downtown and that was why we no longer went to the same meetings.

It was really getting more crowded ... uncomfortably so, in fact. This was his first visit to this venue too. Bob said he was really charged about seeing STONE AND STONE ... and I told him that I was too.

At 7:55 the double doors opened and the teeming masses, including us, made our way to the theater entrance, down some steep stairs and into the rather cramped performance space. There was no ticket-taker (odd, thought I). We scored two seats in the front row, dead center. The space quickly filled and soon there was standing room only.

Bob and I kept talking. Then it was show time. A guy came out and made the usual pre-show speech, including reference to the fact that since this was a “free” show, they would pass around a jar for any contributions we wished to make.

Bob and I exchanged puzzled looks ... then a troupe of 8 young performers took the stage and I remember thinking that this was obviously the opening act for STONE AND STONE. I would guess they did about 8 short sketches and each one was funny and very well performed. Hummmmmmmmm ... they performed longer than I thought an opening act would ... but ... then they left the stage;

It was time for STONE AND STONE ... BUT ... we could see another troupe getting ready to come on stage. WTF?

Bob and I exchanged puzzled looks and I saw him turn to the young guy seated next to him and they exchanged words and then Bob turned to me and said ...

“Man, we have f**ked up big time. We are in the wrong f**king place. STONE AND STONE are in the space above us.”

And just then the second troupe took the stage and since we were directly in front of them in the first row we just couldn’t get up and leave. Also, we had no way of knowing whether they would let us into the other space.

Oh well ... we exchanged rather bemused smiles and settled back in to try to enjoy the rest of the show, which, in all honesty, was also quite good, funny and extremely well performed.

As we were leaving the theater I mentioned to the box office manager what had happened to us and he looked at me and said ... “well, sir, I personally warned everyone over the PA that we had two shows going on at the same time and to be sure you were at the right one.” Obviously, Bob and I had missed that announcement. Oh well ... we both laughed, exchanged contact info, said it was great seeing one another and split.

I will make every effort to see STONE AND STONE in their March performance ... they only perform once a month at this venue.

The evening wasn’t a bust because I got the opportunity to reconnect with Bob and to see two very talented Improv groups.

OK ... to the few of you loyal and faithful readers who are still with me ... let me move on to tonight’s entertainment event ... which is ...

6:00pm==>WAGNER’S GOTTERDAMMERUNG (“Twilight of the Gods”) @ Metropolitan Opera House @ Lincoln Center. (Opera - full price expensive ticket)

This is the final part of Wagner’s “Ring Series.” Yep ... it starts at 6:00pm, has 2 long intermissions (to allow everyone the “opportunity” to have mega-expensive dinner(s) with mega-overpriced wine) and gets out at 11:30pm ... gasp.

As I had posted earlier, I have seen The Ring Series: Das Rheingold; Die Walkure; Siegfried; and Gotterdammerung twice and had no interest in seeing it for the third time but, for whatever reason, I opted to buy a very expensive orchestra seat ticket for this performance.

I like classical music at lot, as you know, but I have never been a fan of opera, but ... and a huge but ... I like the music from opera, without the usual overweight and often age-inappropriate performers. In other words Billi Pod likes “Opera Without Words,” especially all of Wagner’s works ... so ...

Billi Pod will make sure his iPhone is charged, that his charger is in the backpack, along with some protein snack-bars and that he has a cup of extra-strong coffee just before leaving PHC at 5:00pm.

At least when I finally get back to PHC the results of the Republican primary election in Florida will be in and, hopefully, Newt will be history.

Let me close with a HAPPY BIRTHDAY shout-out to my fraternity brother and long-time friend BOB KENT aka BK, who lives in Jacksonville, FL.

GO YANKEES AND GO GATORS AND GO BIG BLUE!!

Billi Pod

“Don’t pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he’ll just kill you.”

ALEX-161

Errands Monday and Report Cards On Yesterday’s Doubleheader

Good Monday afternoon everyone.

I apologize to all of my loyal and faithful readers for the delay in today’s posting but today, being Monday, is my usual errands and stuff day and I thought that I would get them out of the way before working on my daily blog ... well ...

It seems as if everything took longer than I had anticipated and nothing worked out exactly as I expected. I won’t bore you with too many details other than to share that they all revolved around getting the necessary hardware and stuff to frame and hang the artwork I had gotten out of my Bartow storage area a couple of weeks ago.

One of the few downsides of living in a metropolitan area like New York City is ... no shopping malls ... meaning a lot of walking and a lot of subway rides to get things and stuff. My first store was on 57th and 7th Avenue and it didn’t have what I wanted/needed so I headed further uptown to 97th and Columbus Ave. and they only had part of what I wanted/needed. Damn!!!

So I came back to PHC, went online and was able to order the rest of the stuff. Why I didn’t think about doing that first I really don’t know ... but I didn't.

Anyway ... at least I have made the first step toward overcoming my artistic sloth.

As most of you loyal and faithful readers know, yesterday was another entertainment doubleheader for Billi Pod.

His first show was MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET based on a chance (but true) meeting between Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Elvis Presley, in a recording studio.

When I first saw this show back in March 2011, during its Broadway run, I gave it an A. I am happy to report that it also works very well in the smaller Off Broadway venue at New World Stages, so my report card is==>A.

Each of the performers bore a passable resemblance to the rock ‘n’ roll legends they were portraying. Each of the characters performed their gold record hits in basically a jam-session format.

I have to admit that once again it brought back a lot of memories since it is set in 1956, when I was a mere 22 years old and just beginning to really get into rock music. I left the theatre with a happy smile on my face and my ears ringing.

As planned I didn’t go back to PHC but rather headed down to the Astor Place area for my second show.

Had time to check out John Scott Reed’s aka Fabson new apartment location. Fabson is leaving Brooklyn to return to Manhattan, where he belongs. His building is located on 10th Street between 1st and 2nd Avenues. It is a happening area and I will post more about it later. Also had time for some coffee and something sweet, again as I had planned.

Met up with my theater buddy Dian Crystal just before the show. She was traveling without her usual posse.

OK ... OK ... I know ... you are tired of waiting for me to report on my second show GOB SQUAD’S KITCHEN, a reconstruction of Andy Warhol’s firms and lifestyle, set in 1965 ... well folks ... even though more time has transpired I am still uncertain just WTF was going on ... so ... Billi Pod’s report card is==>WTF.

It was certainly different to say the least. Unfortunately Billi Pod did not get selected to appear onstage with the cast ... dammit ... Neither Dian, but she really didn’t want to do it, whereas, Billi Pod did ... oh well ...

As I posted yesterday, it is a multimedia presentation that breaks the 4th wall multiple times. I will be very interested in the reviews once the show officially opens.

Now ... moving on to today ... or rather ... tonight ...

8:00==>STONE AND STONE - “Twin brothers perform at The Peoples Improv Theater.” (comedy show -complimentary ticket).

I think that the following press release about the show is very interesting ...

“On a quiet morning in 1983, twin babies were placed in an open basket in the Hudson River on the New Jersey side. They passed over the calm waters to the island of Manhattan where they were discovered, rescued, and later raised by a beautiful and kindly beggar-woman. One day during their eighteenth year, the twins went to play in Central Park. While rubbing sticks together to create a spark, a whole bush caught on fire and a mighty voice spoke out to them. The twins asked the bush what they should do. “Should we found a nation for twins?” asked Adam. “Or discover the cure for gout?” asked Todd. “No!” said the flaming bush. “You must go to Wesleyan University together, start a comedy show and then hit the New York comedy scene. Now!” And that is what they did.

Always dressed in double-breasted blazers, the Stone twins, Adam and Todd, created a two man comedy act called "Stone and Stone" during their sophomore year at Wesleyan University. Since graduating in 2005, they have performed at comedy clubs and theaters throughout New York

City.”

I think this should be fun.

OK ... still got things and stuff to do ... so ...

GO YANKEES AND GO BIG BLUE!!

Billi Pod

“Don’t pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he’ll just kill you.”

ALEX-160

A Sunday Doubleheader For Billi Pod

Good morning to all of my loyal and faithful readers out there in the hinterlands. Hope your weekend is going well ... mine is.

On this bright, brisk and windy Sunday morning in The Big Apple, The Greatest City In The World, it was 38º at 8:30am and now two hours later it has dropped down to 36º. Burrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Hope it doesn’t get any colder because Billi Pod has an entertainment doubleheader for today that will require him to leave the cozy confines of PHC around 2:00pm, not to return until around 10:00pm.

Oh well ... ain't nuttin' I can do about the weather ... so ... moving on to ...

Billi Pod’s report card on last night’s IONESCOPADE, the vaudevillian collage of playlets and poems by the absurdist master Eugene Ionesco, playing at The York Theatre==>B+.

It is different, a lot of fun, with an excellent cast. The use of the word absurdist in the press blurb is certainly fitting, and, Billi Pod has to admit that some of the bits were, for him, basically unfathomable ... but ... the performers were incredible and that saved the day.

If one is to enjoy this show one has to let the inner critic go and just let the performers take you to wherever they want ... then you will have a lot of fun and become one with the show.

The show is in very early previews and will probably earn an A once it opens.

Had a nice visit with The York Theatre’s Producing Artistic Director, Jim Morgan (a FaceBook friend), before the show and at intermission.

As mentioned above ... Billi Pod has a somewhat “different” doubleheader schedule for today. First is ...

3:00==>MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET - “A treasure trove of the greatest rock 'n' roll, gospel, R&B and country hits based on a chance meeting between Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Elvis Presley.” (Off Broadway - complimentary ticket)

I saw this show during its very successful Broadway run and enjoyed it a lot. In fact, a lot more than I had anticipated. It has now moved Off Broadway and I thought I would give it another look-see.

When the show is over I will not return to PHC but will, instead, head downtown to Astor Place for the second part of my doubleheader. Will have time for coffee and probably something sweet.

Then ...

7:00==>GOB SQUAD’S KITCHEN - “Gob Squad returns to 1965 to reconstruct Andy Warhol’s films and lifestyle.” (Off Broadway - complimentary ticket)

Yeah ... I know ... and it is really Gob Squad, not God Squad. I already have a kinda strange feeling in my gut about this show.

It is a multimedia work and it is my understanding that audience members are selected to perform on stage, to directions given them via headphones.

Hummmmmmmmm ... does Billi Pod want to make his Off Broadway debut this way? Oh ... wait ... I made my debut when I did TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD way way Off Broadway, up in Yonkers. Well, if selected I will give it another shot, being the professional that I am ... right ...

Anyway ... will also be on the lookout for my theater buddy Dian Crystal. Don’t know whether she will have part of her posse with her or not.

To update you loyal and faithful readers who religiously (as you should) keep track of Billi Pod’s scheduled activities ... I have just added a Thursday matinee ... yes, it is unusual for a Thursday ...

Thurs - 2:00==>HONESTLY ABE (Off Broadway - complimentary ticket); Evening==>meet up with Justin Allen Pifer for face time and dinner in da ‘hood.

You are sooooooo very welcum.

GO YANKEES AND GO BIG BLUE!!

Billi Pod

“Don’t pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he’ll just kill you.”

ALEX-159

Billi Pod Says==>You Gotta See RUSSIAN TRANSPORT!!

A Happy Saturday afternoon to all of my friends and loyal and faithful readers.

Yes, it was nice and warm this morning in The Big Apple, The Greatest City In The World.

Actually ... just kidding because it was a cold and breezy 38º @ 8:00am. But ... I must say that it is much warmer at 1:30pm - 45º and sunny.

Hummmmmmm ... may be just right for a bit of wandering after I fulfill my reporting responsibilities to all of you loyal and faithful readers. We will see ...

OK ... so let’s get down to business with Billi Pod’s report card on last night’s entertainment adventure ...

RUSSIAN TRANSPORT, the family drama set in the Russian Jewish community of Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn==>A+

Folks ... this is the BEST straight play (meaning non-musical) I have seen in a long time. The story line is powerful, believable and engrossing. Yes ... it is another mega-dysfunctional family dealing with virtually overwhelming daily problems, with a lot of shouting, yelling and cursing ... but ... and a huge but ... the playwright makes the audience care about the characters and what happens to them.

All of the characters speak some of their lines in Russian but this is not a distraction ... rather ... it just adds to their believability.

The staging is spot-on even though the front 3 rows have a bit of a problem seeing what it is happening in the second level bedroom.

The cast is stellar, led by a young star-on-the-rise, Raviv Ullman, playing the 18 year old son. Folks, remember the name because this young man is gonna make it big-time, trust Billi Pod on this ... he is gonna be a star in the very near future.

If I have the opportunity I will see the show again and I HIGHLY recommend it to all of my theater friends in the greater New York area==>see it ASAP!!

Billi Pod’s entertainment event for tonight couldn’t be further from last night’s event ... 180º different ... without a doubt ...

8:00==>IONESCOPADE - “A vaudevillian collage of playlets and poems by the absurdist master Eugene Ionesco, filled with mime, farce and parody.” (Off Broadway - complimentary ticket).

This is being presented by the York Theatre Company, one of my favorite theater groups. My theater buddies who have seen this show have all highly recommended it. Looking forward to it.

I want to share with you something very funny forwarded to me by my friend Renzy Hanshaw of Orlando ... this is funny and very topical ...

A NEW WORD IS BORN -- I knew someone would find a name for our election process for this year ...

“ELECTILE DYSFUNCTION: the inability to become aroused over any of the choices for President put forth by either party in the 2012 election year.”

Thank you Renzy!!

In closing I want to share with you what my entertainment schedule will be like for the upcoming 9 days - more details will be in the daily postings, of course ...

Sat - 8:00==>IONESCOPADE (Off Broadway - complimentary ticket);

Sun - 3:00==>MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET (Off Broadway - complimentary ticket);

7:00==>GOB SQUAD’S KITCHEN (Off Broadway - complimentary ticket). Yes, it is GOB, not GOD.

Mon - 8:00==>STONE AND STONE (comedy show - complimentary ticket)

Tues - 6:00==>WAGNER’S GOTTERDAMMERUNG (Metropolitan Opera - full price expensive ticket) - gets out at 11:30pm

Wed - Feb 1 - 2:15==>Eye Doctor Appointment;

7:30==>NAKED OLD MEN (Off Broadway - complimentary ticket)

Thurs - Meet up with Justin Allen Pifer for face time and dinner in da ‘hood.

Fri - 8:00==>LEO (Off Broadway - complimentary ticket)

Sat - 3:00==>PSYCHO THERAPY (Off Broadway - complimentary ticket);

evening open at the moment.

Sun - 3:30==>LOVE SICK (Off Broadway - complimentary ticket);

6:30==>SUPER BOWL

Yep ... this is why Billi Pod loves living in The Big Apple.

Have a great rest of the weekend everyone.

GO YANKEES AND GO BIG BLUE!!

Billi Pod

“Don’t pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he’ll just kill you.”

ALEX-158

What Happened Last Night???

It is gloomy and nasty out this Friday morning in The Big Apple, The Greatest City In The World.

But at least it is a Friday for all of my Worker Bee friends who are counting down the hours as they trudge through their mundane tasks in their cubicles, or at their assigned tables, or in their classrooms, or in ... whatever ...

Just remember guys and gals ... as a Worker Bee your weekend cannot ... repeat ... cannot ... start any earlier than 5:05pm ... as Billi Pod has constantly reminded you. Soooooooo ... keep at it until the designated time arrives.

Anyway ... now on to more important and interesting things ... like what happened to Billi Pod last night. What, those of you not on FaceBook are doubtlessly asking? Well ... this is what went down last night ...

It was 7:30pm and I had just braved the rain to reach my theater, The New World Stages on W. 50th Street, to see RENT with my FaceBook friend, Josh Grisetti, in the lead role of Mark. I picked up my TDF ticket and went downstairs to the theater areas. Just before I gave my ticket to the ticket people I checked my email ... and ...

OMFG!! There was a FaceBook message to me from Josh telling me that he wasn’t in the show tonight because he has the flu. OMFG!! I was there solely for the purpose of seeing him. OMFG!!

I went back upstairs to the ticket booth and told the nice box office lady about the message from Josh and that I really needed to exchange my ticket if at all possible. I even showed her the message from Josh. Frankly, knowing the hard-ass reputation of The New World Stages, I figured I had less than a 10% chance that they would let me exchange the ticket.

Well, my loyal and faithful readers ... to make a long story short==>nice box office lady gave me all the necessary info on how to exchange the ticket for a later date. WHEW!!

Thank goodness I had checked my email before I actually went inside the theater because otherwise I wouldn’t have found out about Josh’s absence until just before the curtain, if then, because I probably wouldn’t have bothered reading the PlayBill since I am so familiar with the show.

So, Josh==>thanks for taking the time to message me and GET WELL SOON!!

I left the theater and sloshed my way back to PHC. Man, was it nasty out.

Spent the rest of the evening alternating between doing crosswords and watching the CNBC programs on Mark Zuckerberg (the founder of FaceBook) and Bill Gates. The Zuckerberg program was very interesting but the Gates one was merely a pandering biopic on what a “wonderful person” Bill Gates is. Sorry, folks, that doesn’t work because==>once The Antichrist, always The Antichrist.

Moving on ...

Billi Pod’s entertainment event for tonight is ...

8:00==>RUSSIAN TRANSPORT - “This family drama, set in the Russian Jewish community of Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, involves a family which is shaken by the arrival of a dangerous uncle.” (Off Broadway - complimentary ticket)

All of my theater friends who have seen this have given it good reviews so I am looking forward to seeing it. It is playing at a theater on my block and that is nice, especially if the weather doesn’t clear up.

WIT opened last night and received mostly very favorable reviews. The only negative one was by The Wall Street Journal, which is not surprising since this rag has a negative view/opinion on EVERYTHING in the World, regardless of what it is.

Let me close with the latest picture of my darling great-granddaughter Saylor ... she is growing up so quickly ...

Billi Pod

“Don’t pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he’ll just kill you.”

ALEX-157

Billi Pod’s Doubleheader Was Intriguing!!

Good afternoon all of my loyal and faithful readers out there in the wastelands, hinterlands and morass known as cyberspace.

It is overcast and 38º at 1:00pm and the forecast is for rain later on in the afternoon and into the early evening ... not the most enticing of expectations. At least it ain’t snow ...

I think it is time to get past Thursday and move on to Friday ... what do you think?

Anyway ...

Yesterday’s doubleheader was intriguing to say the least, starting with the Broadway show ...

WIT, which follows a brilliant and exacting poetry professor as she undergoes experimental treatment for cancer==>A.

Cynthia Nixon was awesome in dealing with her character’s impending death ... not an easy topic for the mostly over-65 Wednesday matinee audience. My only quibble with the show, this production and the original one I saw several years ago, is that it is a bit long. IMHO I think 15 minutes could/should be cut.

I have to share with you loyal and faithful readers a thought that kept running through my head during the show ... and that was ... how interesting would it be if all of the characters switched genders, with the lead character being a 45 year old guy dying from prostate cancer and the male doctors all becoming female?

Think about it ...

Anyhow ... then for the evening I went down to The Village for my evening entertainment event, which was ...

THE NIGHTMARE STORY, about a young boy who must journey to a distant mountaintop to retrieve a flower that will magically revive his comatose mother==>A.

The show featured a highly talented cast who each played multiple characters along with playing musical instruments. There was a lot of laughs and some contemplative moments. I can certainly see why it won the 2011 NYC Fringe Festival Overall Excellence Award.

I totally enjoyed it and the 50 minutes flew by.

Billi Pod’s entertainment event for today is ...

RENT, an Off Broadway revival of Jonathan Larson’s award-winning musical. (Off Broadway - discounted TDF ticket).

It is playing at New World Stages. I saw it back in December and loved it. I am seeing it again because my FaceBook friend Josh Grisetti has just joined the cast in the lead role of Mark.

Over the years Josh has developed almost a cult following that came about largely due to his highly regarded performance in the revival of ENTER LAUGHING, that had its premiere at The York Theatre, which is, as you know ... one of my favorite venues.

So ... Josh==>BREAK A LEG!!

On Tuesday Jorge Posada made his retirement from The Bronx Bombers official. It was a very emotional press conference, to put it mildly.

Posada's departure reduces the "Core Four" to just a dynamic duo, as he follows the path set by Andy Pettitte's retirement 12 months ago. Only Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera remain.

Posada did it in style and on his own terms and Billi Pod admires him for that. He contributed sooooooo much to maintaining the pinstripe legend.

Make no mistake about it, Jorge==>YOU WILL BE MISSED.

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.”

ALEX-156