Review - Massacre (sing to your children)

 I have yet another busy show week ahead (wow, is the end of the season jam-packed this year or what?!), but I wanted to throw down a few thoughts of a show I saw last Friday at Rattlestick, Jose Rivera’s Massacre (sing to your children).  Oh, and I forgot to get a photo of the marquee, but here's the program, and I got a shot of the new Freedom Tower as I was heading downtown...

[spoilers will follow in this review]  Clearly I thought the title would be a metaphor for something, or else this show may not have been at the top of my list of ‘must-see shows.’  J   But, no, no metaphor.  Just massacres.  And although this play is NOT my cup of tea in any way, shape or form, I do grudgingly appreciate what it was trying to do.

The play begins with an assault on all the audience’s senses, when a bloodied body rolls onto the stage, then other bloodied cast members, wearing weird animal masks, come careening onto the stage, with music blaring, lights flashing and much screaming.  It’s loud loud loud and immediately places you at the height of strong emotion.  You see almost orgiastic behavior, though there are some characters who have regret or weak stomachs (yes, we have vomiting into a bucket).  My eyes were closed for quite a stretch of the beginning of the play, but once the actors began to calm down and wash off, I could open my eyes and try to engage.

The seven bloody cast members have apparently killed their neighbor, who was the head of the small town where they all live.  Each cast member speaks to the atrocities committed at the hand of Joe, the gentleman they killed.  I guess we do have a metaphor here, because Joe seems to be a metaphor for a dictator of a small country (at least to me).  But each cast member also seems to be trying to convince themselves that what they did was the right thing.  But was savagely killing a killer really the right thing to do?  They begin to question, reason, then turn on each other, when suddenly there is loud knocking on the door.  Intermission.

It was at this point I thought I needed to leave.  I’m not good with all this violence, and since I had looked at the cast list in the program and knew Joe was going to be a character in the play, I began to think I wouldn’t be able to take a revenge scenario in the second act.  Unfortunately (or fortunately), I was sitting right next to the playwright, so leaving wasn’t an option.

I’m kinda glad I stayed, though, because I do think the second act was worthwhile.  Anatol Yusef, as Joe, was a really powerful actor and character, slithery and cool in an all-white costume and a blood red poppy in his lapel.  Even though in actuality he was outside the door of the room, in the play he’s on the inside – inside all of the characters’ heads and fears.  His dialogue is poetic and vivid.  He tries to tear down all the characters and their reasons for wanting to kill him.  He’s completely lethal.  The plot starts to turn, but it was also at this point that I had a bad feeling:  I began to count how many characters were left to hear their stories told.  For me, that meant the script was getting too long-winded.  Perhaps it was getting overly repetitious for me.  Also, the actors were starting to get more and more over-the-top in their acting, and if that was a stylistic/directorial choice, it didn’t work for me.  A little less, thank you, will really help me in.  But, as my theater-going companion pointed out, perhaps they didn’t want to let me in.  Emotionally engaging isn’t really the raison d’etre for Rattlestick productions.  So maybe if I saw this piece someplace else, we’d get a different approach.

Not that I could see this piece again, though, I don’t think.  It’s just a little too intense for my tastes.  I admired the production for going balls to the wall, and there were some striking images and strikingly poetic language, but ultimately, I’m really a wuss.  I freely admit it.  I just don’t like the stomach-churning anticipation of ‘what are they going to do with that ice pick?!?!'  I did amuse the playwright, though, a couple of times when I screamed and covered my face.  I think he liked my reactions. 

If you like this kind of type of work, you may want to check it out this week, because the playwright, Jose Rivera, is going into the cast for a few performances.  I do enjoy hearing a playwright speak his own words.  I don’t think I’ll be able to make a return visit, though.  Side note:  Jose was very nice to chat with and reassured us that we were outside the ‘splatter zone’ in the second act (our seats were in the fourth row - closer than that, beware). 

Reviews - Evita and The Big Meal

Gee, I haven’t had a two-show day in a long time, but yesterday I unexpectedly saw the matinee of Evita (my boss’s ticket-date canceled, so I got the nod) and then the evening performance of The Big Meal at Playwrights Horizons.  I definitely enjoyed them both!  Though I’m getting much too old to see two shows in one day – I feel almost hungover… ;)  

Evita is the first Broadway musical I ever saw.  I have very strong memories of it (the rocking chairs!), along with repeated viewings of the Tony broadcast numbers.   It’s the first cast album I ever purchased, so I’ve been listening to Patti and Mandy wail on those songs for YEARS.  It’s been so long, though, that I was looking forward to seeing a new take on the material.

On the whole, I enjoyed the revival.  I thought the staging was terrific; the choreography was fantastic; the sets and lights were stunning; the characterizations were solid.  If the show on the whole came off as less exciting as I remember it, well…ok.

I’ve never really been on the Ricky Martin bandwagon.  I saw him in Les Miz a million years ago – I remember thinking he looked quite fetching in the Marius costumes, but his singing was painful.  Painful as in “I’m fearing his vocal cords are going to come out of his mouth at any moment.”  Almost as painful as Pierce Brosnan’s singing in the Mamma Mia movie.  Blech.  I will say that his singing seemed much freer and stronger in Evita.  His sound was perfectly pleasant and he held the stage gracefully.  But he’s not very compelling.  He’s a genial narrator of sorts, instead of Patinkin’s Che Guevara/opposition to the Perons.  I think the show loses something in that change.  There’s no push/pull,  no tension.  Maybe the show is robbed of some of its electricity.  Ricky Martin finally got a chance to dance in the second act and he moves very nicely.  Perhaps they should’ve taken advantage of that earlier in the show.  The Argentine tango is used quite effectively throughout this production as a parallel to politics.  I liked how it was used, and think they could've utilized Ricky Martin better through the dance. 

Michael Cerveris is, as you might expect, wonderful.  J   He captures the pompousness and egotism of Peron, and includes an extra dimension of warmth and affection for Eva.  I liked how he saw her as an asset to his campaign, but also as a woman.  He sings beautifully (too bad he doesn’t have more to sing) and moves quite well, too.  He and Eva have a bit of a tango in “I’ll Be Surprisingly Good to You” that is very effective.

Yes, I’ve saved the star for last.  Elena Roger, who is originally from Argentina, played Eva to great acclaim in London a few years ago.  She’s a tiny slip of a thing, so to see that much ambition and raw appetite in such an itty bitty lady was quite interesting.  I liked her acting, her dancing was fantastic and her singing was…not.  God love her, she can’t really sing.  And, hello, if nothing else, the lead female in an Andrew Lloyd Webber rock opera should be able to sing.  I’m not wrong here, am I?  I could’ve gone with the overly-nasal tone of her voice if she just could’ve hit the notes.  Sigh.  And I believe we have yet another reason why this show wasn’t as exciting as I would’ve wanted it to be.  But when she was dancing (and not singing), especially in “What’s New, Buenos Aires,” she was exhilarating. 

So…I guess I give Evita a qualified thumbs-up.  If you have memories of the original production emblazoned on your brain and you want the excitement of the Hal Prince version, you’ll probably be very disappointed in this revival.  But if you like the musical well-enough and don’t mind seeing it presented in a very different way (and without a powerhouse singer as Eva), you should check this one out.

A few months ago, I was at a seminar featuring playwrights Annie Baker and Dan LeFranc, talking about their work and careers.  They were both really charming and delightful, and the way Annie and Dan described Dan’s work made it sound like stuff I would really want to see.  So when tickets finally became available for Dan’s The Big Meal at Playwrights Horizons, I pounced on them.  And I was not disappointed.

 The Big Meal is about eighty years in the life of one family, presented at various restaurant’s dinner tables.  It speeds along at a quick clip, about 90 minutes, but you never feel rushed or short-changed.  The family dynamics are immediately familiar, yet you go to places you couldn’t really expect at the start.   The fantastic cast of eight plays everyone in the various generations, so we have a couple in their 20s, a couple in their late 30s, and an older couple of a certain age, plus two children.  So, the couple we meet in the beginning on their first date will eventually be played by the older actors, as the younger actors begin to play the children, grandchildren and even great-grandchildren.  It’s a wonderful conceit.  You’ve always heard ‘we become our parents,’ yes?  It’s quite moving to see that sentiment played out, yet not.  There are clichéd situations, but they’re never written, performed or directed in a clichéd manner.

The ephemeral aspects of time, sibling rivalry, birth, death—all aspects of the lives of three generations of a family are played out.  I think the way the author wrote about death, in particular, and the way the director has staged it, is genius.  I won’t spoil it, in case you want to see the show (which you should – they’ve just added another extension, so stop reading and buy tickets!), but it really takes balls to go there.  For the actors, too, I think.

All of the actors are grand, but I just want to single out Anita Gillette and Jennifer Mudge, as really finding so many layers in all of the characters they play.  And they even use the layers of the previous actor when they take on a role themselves.  Brilliant.

The show is quite funny and very touching and I highly recommend it.  In the interest of full disclosure, though, there were quite a few people in the audience last night who were bored out of their minds.  I know this because they began talking to each other in their outdoor voices, and/or began texting furiously.  I also have a couple of friends who didn’t enjoy it quite so much.  And, honestly, I do think it’s maybe ten minutes too long, with one too many ‘end scenes.’  But I found the play to have a fresh voice on an old topic and I look forward to what Dan LeFranc brings us next. 


Reviews - End of the Rainbow and Newsies

I got to see three shows this weekend (plus spend time with friends), thanks to the generosity of out-of-town pals.  Since one of the shows was a return visit to Death of a Salesman (where I found Philip Seymour Hoffman a tad more effective and Linda Emond less so), I’ll only speak on the other two.

Friday night, I went with a grad school chum to see End of the Rainbow (thanks, grad school chum!).  I was curious about seeing this, since much has been written about Tracie Bennett and her performance as Judy Garland.  I don’t remember hearing much about the play itself, which purports to be a dramatization about Judy preparing for concerts in London months before her death.

Well, I think the buzz on Tracie Bennett is certainly justified.  She’s giving an incredible performance, not just an impersonation.  She sounds uncannily like Garland (of course she doesn’t have the ineffable specialness of Judy, but who does?  you suspend disbelief on that and move on) and just tears into this icon, making her all-too human.  I’ll admit to thinking a couple of times, “oh, sister, dial it down,” but then she would do something so breathtakingly interesting, that I was back on board.  Though I’m firmly in the “Nina Arianda for the Tony” bandwagon, I wouldn’t quibble with Bennett taking the award.

Michael Cumpsty is his usually wonderful self as Anthony, Judy’s gay accompanist.  So much is going on behind that placidly kind face.  And the look on his face when Judy makes her choice at the end is heartbreaking.  Tom Pelphrey as Mickey Deans is less successful, but the playwright has also done him no favors.  I found his performance very shallow and surface-y.  I realize the character is probably shallow and surface-y, but it seemed to me an actor issue.  The set is gorgeous, the on-stage band is terrific.  The costumes are nice and seem appropriate to the period and the characters.

BUT, I think this play is kinda terrible.  It’s trying to be too many things – a docudrama, a lurid tabloid exploitation, a concert-within-a-play… and it fails at all things, I think.  Who wants to see Judy Garland crawling around on the floor as a dog, lifting her leg to pee?  Who wants to see Mickey Deans stuffing pills down Judy’s throat?  Who wants to hear more arguments about who loves Judy more – gay men or straight men?  Then there were the monologues with all the exposition we didn’t really need.  Judy’s children were not mentioned once (for legal reasons, I’m certain).  I didn’t find any of the dialogue to be dramatic or interesting, though Bennett and Cumpsty delivered so well (Bennett is especially good at the bitchy comeback) that I was caught up in the characterizations while simultaneously being repulsed by the dialogue.

I guess, on the whole, I’d say the show is worth seeing (via a discount only) for Bennett and Cumpsty, but if you will be offended by the disrespect (and bad writing) shown to Judy, stay away. 

Moving on.  When my other out-of-town friend was asking me which shows I’d like to see with him, he said something like, “well, I have tickets for Newsies, ugh, which you probably don’t want to see.”  I’m like, uh, YEAH I want to see Newsies!  Hello!  I’m one of those crazy gals who love the movie!  And, double hello, I’m a single woman of a certain age, of COURSE I want to see dancing newsboys!  Please.  ;)

Newsies is a bouncy, tuneful musical that surely doesn’t want anything more than to be a bouncy, tuneful musical.  There’s no great wit or point of view, but it’s warmhearted,  well-crafted and performed with good cheer.  The audience was filled with kids who were screaming with pleasure, so that was also fun.  I definitely had a good time.

I did feel the most successful songs were the ones from the movie.  Alan Menken's music and Jack Feldman's lyrics are quite exciting in those group numbers for the newsboys.  The newer songs seemed of a different style (which I guess makes sense, since they were written more than twenty years past the original impulse), plus they seemed to slow whatever dramatic build there is in the story.  I did, however, like the love song added in the second act, and the new love-interest’s character song.  Harvey Fierstein’s book seemed a bit subdued, though the waiter in the newsboys’ favorite deli had some choice zingers.

Jeremy Jordan is a charming leading man.  Though the script doesn’t ask much more of him than to be charming, he nevertheless holds the stage and commands attention.  Poor John Dossett has terrible scenes and an even worse song as Joseph Pulitzer.  Which he has to sing twice.  Blech.  Capathia Jenkins is also saddled with a terrible song as the music hall hostess with a heart of gold, and she must’ve been under-the-weather, because she delivered the song most underwhelmingly.  I've seen and enjoyed her before, so I can only assume it’s a big number that she just couldn’t do because of her illness.  Kara Lindsay as the love-interest (this is a new character, and I’m a tad conflicted on her – she’s a newspaper reporter yet has a relationship with a seventeen-year-old newsboy?) looks like a Disney princess come to life and sang nicely.

The other stars of the show are the ensemble, though, and their rough-and-tumble athletic choreography (by Christopher Gatelli) is really engaging.  There’s leaping and somersaulting and backflipping (and a tap number!  hurrah!), with enough energy to lift the spirits of even the biggest curmudgeon.  If some of the more balletic choreography looked out of place (as did the tallest newsboy who just couldn’t un-classical himself enough), those moments were few and far between.  Their group numbers were really terrific – their voices blended nicely in the songs and their dance chemistry was excellent. 

I didn’t love the scaffolding/rolling set, though it was effective in one number in the second act, and the projections were used maybe too sparingly.  They just looked like accidents rather than part of the set, and I’m sure they weren’t visible to many parts of the audience at any given time.  The costumes were good and the lighting was especially fine. 

So, thumbs up on Newsies from me.  If you’re not, however,  a fan of the movie or of dancing newsboys, I’d say stay home.  lol   

Food photos I've neglected lately

For some reason, I've been neglectful of several restaurants I've vistited recently where I had really tasty food.  I'll try to remedy that now.

I finally stopped by the new wine bar in Astoria - DiWine.  It's only a couple of blocks from my apartment and I've meant to go for...forever.  Usually, when I pass by the restaurant, it's packed with loud people.  For some reason, on this night, it was completely empty.  Yay for me!  So, I dropped by and had one server all to myself.  Unfortunately for me, it was not the devastatingly attractive young man who waited on the couple who came in after me.  Oh well...

I started off with a glass of malbec, which was delicious, then I got a personal pizza.  The menu here is very meat-heavy, and I wasn't really in the mood for a big fish entree.  So a mushroom and basil pizza sounded good to me.  And it was.  It might've been a little too cheese-y (yes, there is such a thing), but the crust was good and the mushrooms were tasty.  I'd definitely order it again.  The vibe of DiWine is nice--the music isn't too loud and the lighting is all by candle (to loosely quote The Nanny, after a certain age, a woman's best lighting is by candle and/or moon...).  So thumbs up on DiWine.  I'll definitely be back, though, again, it's not an everyday place.  The prices are a little high for my neighborhood, in my humble opinion.

For my birthday, some pals and I went to West Bank Cafe.  I love West Bank Cafe.  They always have a nice wine list and very tasty food.  When we got there, our server promptly informed us that the deep fryer was down, so no fried foods.  Hmmmm.  Well, I guess we wouldn't be getting the risotto ball appetizer.  Oh well.  Instead we shared the guacamole and the truffled mac & cheese.  Yummmmm!  That mac & cheese was to die for.  I know it looks like soup in the photo, but it wasn't nearly that runny.  The pasta was orzo and it had gruyere, fontina and parmesan cheeses, with a little truffle oil on top.  It was rich and earthy and delicious.  I don't think I could ever eat an entire dish of it by myself, but it was great to have a third of it.

I was going to be a good vegetarian for my entree and get their spaghetti squash dish, but I just couldn't resist getting scallops.  Hey, it was my birthday!  :)   And boy, was I glad I got this dish!  We have another candidate for best dish of 2012.  It was yum yummy.  The scallops were served on top of a velvety celery root puree, along with some pan-roasted brussels sprouts and butternut squash.  All around the dish was a pomegranate vinaigrette along with some pomegranate seeds.  Wow!  The acidity of the vinaigrette really cut through the richness of the puree and the meatiness of the scallops.  And the seeds were a great crunch element.  It was really just a perfectly balanced dish for me.  Thumbs WAY up.

For dessert, I got my uber-favorite, the frozen lemon mousse with a toasted meringue on top, and candied pistachios and fruit compote on the bottom.  I LOVE this dessert.  Plus, look how prettily they decorated it for my birthday!!   Sorry about the bite being missing, I just had to have a taste immediately.  :)

When I got back from my work travels, I met with my darling GNO angels for a dinner at Pigalle.  We used to go to Pigalle a lot, so when we went this time, we were a little startled to see the prices were significantly higher.  So we probably won't be stopping there as we used to.  Maybe it's our fault the prices went up - their volume went down when we stopped going more regularly...

Anyway, I got the fish special of the evening, pan-seared tilapia, with basil mashed potatoes and sauteed spinach.  It was very yummy, if nothing really special.  In fact, the spinach was VERY underseasoned, so I didn't finish it once the delicious buerre blanc was gone.  But the mashed potatoes were tasty and the fish was well-cooked.  Plus, sorry to be coarse, but it was $10 less than the other fish entrees on the menu!  That's crazy!

Prices did not deter us from getting the chocolate mousse cake for dessert.  We just shared it.  In the interest of fiscal responsibility.  ;)   It was rich and delicious.  We also got a scoop of coffee ice cream, which came with a little container of hot fudge.  Jeepers, that hot fudge was amazing!  I immediately put a mini-spoonful of it in my cappuccino!  Sorry I didn't get a photo...

That's all the food stuff that's fit to print for now.  I'll just end with some photos I got on various planes lately.  Not that they have anything to do with food.  I just like plane photos.  Enjoy!

I guess I can't fill out a certain kind of survey anymore! (TMI alert)

You know the kind of survey I mean - the one that gets e-mailed around your circles of friends and asks questions like: who was your first prom date, do you prefer vanilla or chocolate, what is your favorite color and DO YOU HAVE ANY TATTOOS??  Now that I have to answer 'yes' to that last question, no more surveys for me...

Yes, the saga of my new breasts is (hopefully) complete.  I made a visit to Dr Vera Wang's tasteful office on the East Side yesterday and had my nipples tattooed.  For some reason, I had sort of forgotten about this appointment.  For one thing, I made it in January.  And for another, I guess it's part of my denial/avoidance thing.  I'm just tired of thinking about it.  And I'm not looking forward to another period of breast high-maintenance...

I got to the offices early and was ushered in quickly.  As I was changing into the lovely peach-colored robe, I took a couple of photos - one of yet another syringe, and one of a color wheel and Spirograph-looking wheel guide.  Interesting!  Dr Vera Wang came in and made small talk.  Then she showed me, on the Spirograph thing, which sizes she thought would be appropriate for me (I ended up choosing a circumference a bit smaller than the 'normal' size), then we decided which shades would be good for my skin tone.  I thought it was funny she thought a combination of beige 2, beige 3 and rose would go well with my "red" hair.  I didn't remind her that my red hair is fake.  Just like my breasts, I guess.  :)

The process was pretty painless.  She did numb me, since I'm starting to have some sensation, especially at the top of my breasts (which she said was excellent news - uh, ok).  Then she got out a little machine that looked and sounded like a dental drill.  She drew the circles on, colored them in with the custom-mixed pigment, then drilled/tattooed it on.  I felt a little pressure, but that's it.  It took her a couple of tries to get the colors quite right.  She had me take a look and, yes, I got a little teary.  There they were.  Breasts that almost looked as they did last year.  Not really, but close enough.  The color looks a little dark right now, but she said that's because the tattooing brought blood to the surface and the colors will lighten over the next week or so.  More gauze bandages, antibiotic cream and the return of my stupid surgical bra that makes me look like I have the chest of a pudgy twelve-year-old boy.  Oh well.  I can stand it for one more week.  The whole tattooing process took about a half hour.

I see Dr Vera Wang next month, to make sure the tattoos are right, then I'll only see her once a year after that.  It will feel strange, seeing these doctors occasionally instead of all the time.  But it will help me get back to feeling like myself, I'm sure.  She took one last look before she left and said, "You look beautiful."  Thanks to you, Dr Vera Wang.

One more fun photo.  I admit I was a little anxious walking from the subway over to her office this morning.  Imagine my happiness seeing this billboard on my way.  Imaginary boyfriends always make a day better and put a spring in a girl's step... :)

**Six years ago, I reviewed the hideous stage production of Festen; five years ago, it was the Kevin Spacey Moon for the Misbegotten; four years ago, I saw Candide at New York City Opera; three years ago, I greatly enjoyed the Lincoln Center revival of August Wilson's Joe Turner's Come and Gone.  April is always a big theater month for me...

Review - Judith of Bethulia

Clearly, I don’t even need to do a review of this show.  It’s the new Charles Busch play.  You all KNOW what I’m going to say:

THUMBS UP!!!!

Seriously, Charles Busch deserves an Obie, Drama Desk, Tony, Olivier, Emmy, Oscar, Grammy, Kennedy Center Honor, Sarah Siddons Award, Nobel Peace Prize and whatever hell else we can give him.  To me, the man is a treasure.  A TREASURE, I tell you!!  J

Following The Divine Sister and its witty take on films featuring nuns,  Judith of Bethulia is a ‘celebration’ of biblical epics.  The preshow music even included tunes from The Ten Commandments.  Oh yeah.  I love that movie!  This play is everything you expect from a Charles Busch piece: high brow/low brow comedy, wit, camp, warmth, affection, craft and joy.  It was tons of fun and full of laughs.  If it didn’t have quite the sustained giddiness of The Divine Sister, well, that’s ok.  It’s early and they’re still playing.

Charles is playing Judith, a wealthy Jewish widow who isn’t quite what she appears to be.  How she evolves into the woman we see at the end of the evening is a tons-of-fun journey.  As always, Charles is gorgeously attired and wigged (seriously, I need to have my hair and makeup done by Charles’ peeps – he’s gorgeous!).  His first entrance is frankly worth the price of admission!  I won’t spoil it for you.  Regarding his co-stars, Charles has again surrounded himself with actors who are as fast and funny as he is – Mary Testa, Jen Cody, Jennifer Van Dyck and Christopher Borg were my favorites.  And another reason to love Charles (as if I need one):  after the curtain call, he steps forward and gives such a lovely thank-you to the audience.  It’s genuine and heartfelt and reflects exactly how we all feel watching him.  Love-fests are so few and far between, I say indulge in them when you can.  J

Of course I urge everyone to see this show.  Now, truth be told, the entire run at Theater for the New City is sold out, BUT they have a waiting list and I can tell you with absolute certainty that there were empty seats last night.  Two of them were in front of me.  So don’t give up!  

I guess I’m unable to write a very critical review.  Sorry, but I have next to no objectivity about Charles or his work.  I just love him.  I knew very little about him or his work when I moved to New York (shame on me), then I happened to see him speak on a panel.  He was so charming and so delightful, I immediately decided to read all his plays.  The first play of his I saw was Queen Amarantha at the WPA in 1997.  And...I was hooked.  I’ve seen them all since then.  I just love his very sincere, very real love for the movies, theater and women/actresses.  It all shows in his work.  I don’t enjoy camp for camp’s sake most of the time, but his stuff transcends.  Plus, it's just joyfully fun.  In my humble opinion, of course.  Your mileage may vary.  J

It's almost ballet time!!

I'm so excited - I have my ballet tickets!  Only four-plus weeks to wait!  This season, I'll be seeing Giselle, La Bayadere, Onegin, Thirteen Diversions/Apollo/Firebird, Romeo and Juliet, The Dream, Swan Lake and Le Corsaire.  If casting holds true to the current schedule, I'll be seeing all my favorites - my Julie (Kent), the divine Marcelo Gomes, Natalia Osipova, Polina Semionova, Diana Vishneva, Roberto Bolle, Herman Cornejo, and Ivan Vasiliev.  And my uber-favorite, David Hallberg, three times!!  Whee!  I'm thinking I may need to also pick up a ticket to Ethan Stiefel's final performance with the company in July.  Hmmmm.  Perhaps I should send an e-mail over to ABT asking everyone to please wrap themselves in bubble wrap so they stay happy and healthy the whole season.  :)

[In case you were ever wondering, no, at any given date, I have no savings, no money, no nothing.  Just soul-satisfying artistic happiness.  And debt.  :) ]

Ballet time also means Summer Friday time!  Hooray!  I can hardly wait for summer Fridays, either.  This year, I'm thinking of doing the museum thing again, since there are so many I still haven't seen.  Since my Diners Deck has expired, I'm also thinking of having lunch at restaurants with chefs I've seen on Food Network and/or Top Chef Masters.  There are so many to choose from!  I'm definitely going to be trying Geoffrey Zakarian's Lambs Club, since it's practically across the street from my office, and hello, he IS my boyfriend.  Ha ha.  But I also for sure want to hit Alex Guarnaschelli's Butter, Marcus Samuelsson's Red Rooster, Aaron Sanchez's Centrico, and Marc Forgione's Forgione.  I also want to try the restaurants of Jonathan Waxman, Floyd Cardoz, Susur Lee, and Maneet Chauhan.  I seriously need to get a second (and third?) job, and should probably start working out now...

Bring on the summer!!!