Preview Thoughts on I Was Most Alive With You

As always, I will preface this post with the caveat that I already love and admire Craig Lucas and his work.  It colors everything I see that he writes and I freely admit it.  His work deeply touches something in me and I revel in that connection each time I see one of his plays.  Of course when Playwrights Horizons announced they would be doing Craig's new play, I Was Most Alive With You, I knew I would be seeing it.  Probably more than once.  Since Playwrights Horizons is presenting other writers I admire, I went ahead and bought a cheapie subscription to make sure I could get in.  I attended a preview performance last week - since the show isn't officially open yet and Craig was there taking notes, I'll only offer a few thoughts.  They will probably be scattered and confusing, for which I apologize in advance.

I Was Most Alive With You was presented at Huntington Theatre Company in 2016 - I was very fortunate to get a look at that version of the script and I found it mesmerizing.  It was so disappointing to me that I couldn't get to Boston to see the production.  After seeing it last week, it seems that Craig has done some work on the script - after the play was over, I thought, 'I'm not sure X was in the script I read,' or 'I don't remember Y happening that way before,' which suggested that the play really has resonance for me, even more than I had originally thought.  On the Playwrights Horizons website there is a description of the play: "Ash has a blessed life, thankful every day for the gifts of his family, his addiction, and his son’s Deafness. But on one fateful day, everything’s taken from him. How can he see this unexpected test, that threatens to cast him and his loved ones into darkness, as the ultimate gift? Performed simultaneously in English and ASL by two casts, Craig Lucas’s sublime, stunning new play is a theatrical event not to be missed."

photo credit: Joan Marcus

I agree.  I found I Was Most Alive With You to be incredibly powerful and a devastatingly emotional experience.  There was a talkback after the performance and you all know how I love a talkback.  Well, I didn't stay.  I didn't want to talk about my experience of seeing the play and I didn't want to hear anyone else talk about it, either.  I just wanted it to be in my head, to swirl around and make itself known to me.  As it swirled around, I think I found myself getting a little closer to what it is in Craig's work that is so moving to me, which is a bit scary.  To have such a connection with a writer's work is a complicated emotion - to feel so exposed and seen by someone who doesn't even really know you is very unsettling.  But that's what makes great writing great, I guess.  Even when it has nothing really to do with your life, it has EVERYTHING to do with you as a human.  Craig has once again found that in this piece.

A sort of riff on the Book of Job, I Was Most Alive With You takes place is shifting times, with the past reflecting on the present and vice versa.  A Deaf man, who is also gay and a recovering addict, has found a place of peace and acceptance in his life, but after he falls in love, things start to shift in unsettling ways.  His father had also found a place of peace, but his life is shattered as well.  Nearly every character in the play is dealing with some sort of recovery or hardship that they're looking to see past, but it never feels as if the situations are randomly thrown in.  Each character and each relationship reflects on the other and we see a family that is truly together yet truly separate.  All throughout the play, I was wondering exactly who the Job character would be, which I found interesting.  In looking at reviews of the previous production, different reviewers landed on different characters.  Which means that Craig is presenting something that truly asks the audience to lean in and participate.  At least for me, even though terrible things happen to the characters, their responses shine new lights on acceptance and survival and I found so many things to identify with.

photo credit: Joan Marcus

The acting is simply sublime (hello, Lois Smith! Lisa Emery! Russell Harvard!  OK, everyone!) and the use of 'shadow' actors performing the play simultaneously in ASL is fantastic.  The beauty and agony of the signing was so different from the beauty and agony of the dialogue from the hearing actors - I don't know how to do it justice in my description.  There were so many layers to it, it was gorgeous.  There's a scene in this play that's as beautiful and as devastating as any I've ever been wrecked by, and its incredible impact was magnified by the use of ASL. Director Tyne Rafaeli and Director of Artistic Sign Language Sabrina Dennison are rock stars, in my opinion.  Everyone should definitely go see this play - a new Craig Lucas play is always worth celebrating; a work that is truly inclusive is worth celebrating; and this is a story/production that is unlike any I've seen before.  I'm already planning a return trip to I Was Most Alive With You - maybe I'll see you there!

Preview Thoughts on Collective Rage: A Play in 5 Betties

I don't know why, but Collective Rage: A Play in 5 Betties wasn't on my radar.  Not even a little bit.  It's weird - I'm trying to be very conscious of supporting new plays by women and I do enjoy (for the most part) the work of the producing company, MCC, and can't wait to catch their School Girls; or the African Mean Girls Play later this year.  But I really had no awareness of this piece until a friend invited me to join her last night.  So off I went to a preview performance - the play doesn't open until next week, and I think they're still working (if online reports are to be believed), so I'll only offer a few thoughts.

When you walk into the Lucille Lortel Theatre, you can see a very large screen that displays the words (in all caps) "In essence, a queer and occasionally hazardous exploration; do you remember when you were in middle school and you read about Shackleton and how he explored the Antarctic?; imagine the Antarctic as a pussy and it's sort of like that."  Hm.  Ok.  Certainly sets a scene.  Though from our seats in the back row, it wasn't easy to read all of that; good thing it was also printed in our playbills.  The very large screen was utilized throughout the production, giving us headings before each scene, setting up what we were about to see.  Often, the headings were quite funny and eased us into funny/not funny scenes, which was effective.  On a side note, I wonder about the fad of headings (I mean, it just seems to be all the rage now, but maybe I just didn't notice it before?).  I'm on a few new play reading committees, and I find the use of headings and subtitles for each scene to be interesting.  I wonder what dramaturgical point a writer is trying to make, though, and could it eventually become a crutch?  I don't know.  But I guess I do find it intriguing...

Anyway, back to the play.  According to press notes, Collective Rage is "...Silverman's new comedy, where five women—all named Betty—collide at the intersection of rage, love, and the theatre, provoking each other to take a look in the mirror and be brave enough to face the person they didn’t know they could be."  This is a terrific summation of the play, in my opinion.  Each of the women have different problems and different needs, yet they're all reaching out for the same kind of recognition - of themselves and from other people.  There are beautiful metaphors about what it means to be a woman in this world, how we box ourselves into a corner, and the cleansing power of rage.  The writing really is very clever.

photo credit: Joan Marcus

The scenes begin as sort of vignettes, as we start to get to know each of the Betties.  Then, as the play continues, the scenes get longer and more and more happens inside each scene.  The situations are so clever and funny, yet poignant and recognizable.  And 
the cast is INCREDIBLE.  Dana Delany, Adina Verson, Ana Villafane, Lea Delaria, and Chaunte Wayans are all simply fantastic.  It was great to see a play featuring all kinds of women - truly colorblind and genderblind.  I loved them all.

I got such a kick out of the newfound enthusiasm for 'devised theaTUH' that Betty 3 (Ana Villafane) found, and hearing her talk about 'inventing plays' and how she mixed up the names of Pyramus and Thisbe throughout just cracked me up.  And Adina Verson's (Betty 2) puppet pal was hysterical.  But sad, too.  I just found Collective Rage to be so unexpected and quirky and original, I thought it was terrific.  It also said so much about the times we live in.  I've been doing a little internet research today and I saw that the show has been done a couple of times before, though this version seems to have gone through some rewrites.  It was interesting to read a scathing review of one of the productions from a white dude (because, hello, how could he be expected to understand a play by a woman about women?!  [that was sarcasm.]), the counter comments by some cast members, and a terrific essay by the playwright (you should definitely read it HERE).  I was particularly struck by her statement, "This play is for you, because if you are human, then you know what it's like to have someone see you in a way that limits you."  That sentiment really spoke to me, as did her play.  You should go.

Review - SpongeBob SquarePants, the Musical

wearing a SpongeBob shirt with a SpongeBob cake

I don't know why I waited until almost the end of the run to see SpongeBob SquarePants, the Broadway Musical.  For some reason, even though I know a few people on the creative team, I just didn't make the effort to get there.  Just one of those things, I guess.  But I finally went to see it, about two weeks before it closes.  And, boy, am I glad I did.  I had a blast.

I guess I should say up front that I used to watch SpongeBob with my sweetheart when he was a little guy.  We watched it A LOT.  So I'm familiar with the show and with the characters.  I've listened to the cast album of the Broadway musical several times and while listening to it, I could feel a tone shift caused by all of the songs being written by different people.  But in the theater, I didn't notice that at all.  Tom Kitt has done a masterful job of arranging the score and the show is beautifully directed so that it doesn't seem like a hodgepodge of music at all.  Of course, some songs are better than others, but it's like that in most musicals, yes?

photo credit: Joan Marcus

The production is cast with obscenely talented young performers, who both embody the characters as we experience them on tv and also turn them into distinct individuals.  The boy who plays SpongeBob, Ethan Slater, is really one of the hardest working gents in show business.  He is WORKING it out there and he has got charm to spare.  He was really terrific - I look forward to seeing what he does next.  I greatly enjoyed the entire cast, but give a special shout out to Wesley Taylor, who was having entirely too much fun as the evil Plankton.

I took this one, pre-show

The set, costumes and lights are fantastic - they're both wonderfully futuristic and also charmingly homespun.  The way the two are combined is grand.  The plot is minimal - Bikini Bottom's long-dormant volcano is going to erupt and the world will end the next day.  So...big stakes!  The show moves briskly through the obstacles; every character gets to shine; we see how optimism, friendship and cooperation are the best way to work, and science (via the woman of color; well, ok, her character is actually a squirrel) saves the day.  Not a bad moral to the story.  The book by Kyle Jarrow is laugh-out-loud funny and also really clever.  He does a wonderful job of making things that can seem adult (xenophobia, rotten politicians) understandable for even the smallest audience members.  I had a smile on my face for practically the entire show.  The random pirate sightings were fun - the second act opener was a ode to pirates, which cracked me up.  There was even a Pittsburgh Pirate, ha ha. 

photo credit: Sara Krulwich

Oh, and I should also mention the completely superfluous, but utterly fantastic, tap number performed by Gavin Lee as Squidward, SpongeBob's glass-is-half-empty neighbor.  Funnily enough, the number starts off because Squidward is trying to convince himself he's not a loser.  After Straight White Men showed how painful the word 'loser' can be, it was strange to see it offered up again in a goofy musical.  But watching Squidward give himself confidence had to be inspiring to all the kids in the audience.  And they ate his performance right up.  All of the kids in the theater seemed to love the entire production.  I think I was also sitting near a group of perhaps developmentally disabled adults.  They loved the show, too, especially the interaction with the cast members when they danced up and down the aisles.  There was a lot of 'you can do it, SpongeBob!' being shouted in the theater throughout the afternoon and it was touching.  I admit that tears came to my eyes a couple of times - the show was so sweet and so lovely to look at, the kids were so incredibly talented, and I was also reminded of the fact that my sweetheart is too grown-up to watch SpongeBob with me anymore.  I wish he and I could've seen this show together, though that may have been too much for my sentimental self to handle...

SpongeBob SquarePants, the Broadway Musical closes in a couple of weeks.  Discounts are available.  If you want to smile and enjoy how fanciful and imaginative theater can be, I think you should try to check this show out. 

Review - Straight White Men

I've read a lot about Young Jean Lee over the years; though I haven't seen one of her plays before, I do have a sense of her reputation as a provocateur and experimental writer.  When her play Straight White Men was announced for the new Broadway theater run by Second Stage, I knew I would want to see it.  One, new play.  Two, new play by Asian-American woman (hello, first time this has happened on Broadway, which is stupid beyond belief, but there it is).  All signs pointed towards my getting a ticket, though I did have some obstacles to overcome.  (I guess I should say there are some spoilers to come, but I'm also going to hedge a bit, because the way the play unfolds is something to behold.)

My obstacles were mainly with what I perceived to be the pandering of doing a show about straight white men.  Aren't MOST plays about straight white men??  I'm personally sick of most of them.  (Not really, but you know what I mean.)  Not only straight white men, but tv and movie star straight white men.  Sigh.  And it just seemed so odd to me that this is the play that Young Jean Lee would want to be her debut on Broadway.  I resisted the play for quite a while and then...I don't know.  Then her genius just sort of slapped me in the face.

When you arrive at the theater, there is really loud, explicit rap music being performed.  After my ear adjusted and I started tapping my foot to the beat, I realized the music was being performed by women.  My seat was in the balcony on the aisle and a few minutes before showtime, a pleasant young person came up and introduced themselves to me.  It was Ty Defoe, a performer in the play.  He just wanted to tell me that he was there if I needed him and he hoped I enjoyed the play.  It was a nice touch.  I could see that Ty was making the rounds all through the balcony and I can only assume another actor was doing the same in the orchestra.

photo credit: Joan Marcus

When the show started, Ty and T.L. Thompson came in front of the shimmering mylar curtain to introduce themselves and give us a bit of context about the play.  They apologized if the music made the audience uncomfortable (wink wink) and told us a bit about themselves. Their interlude was terrific, pointing out that they were playing Person in Charge 1 and Person in Charge 2, and that neither of them are, in fact, straight white men.  Ty is Native American and identifies as two-spirit (a term used in Native American nations to indicate gender fluidity).  T.L. identifies as gender binary.  The two of them gently skewered the fact that they would be there to try to understand the straight white man, as they hoped people would try to understand them.  It was a terrific way to start.  We also saw Person in Charge 1 and 2 throughout the evening, actually moving the actors from place to place and being the ones who made things happen.  This felt more amazing as the night progressed.

When the mylar curtain lifted, we could see a plain beige set of a plain ordinary living room, with two guys lounging on the furniture.  One is playing a video game and the other is trying to distract him.  You could tell by their chemistry and interaction that they have known each other for a long time and know how to push each other's buttons.  It turns out they are brothers, both home in their father's house for Christmas.  We then meet the third brother, who is the oldest, and the father, a widower who is happy to have his sons home.

photo credit: Joan Marcus

It's all pretty ordinary, with lots of bro banter and funny, recognizable dialogue that immediately sets the milieu of professional, supposedly 'woke' men.  They reminisce, they tease, they do bad 'white guy dancing.'  It's all fun and yet I was still resisting.  Throughout maybe the first twenty minutes or so, all I could think was that I wanted Ty and T.L to come back and I wanted to see a play about them.  But, I don't know, at some point, something changed.

Maybe it was when I noticed the set.  It was rather like a display case, with a plaque on the floor that said Straight White Men.  So, suddenly, it was like I was looking at a museum diorama or a zoo exhibit.  Then one of the characters, the oldest brother, Matt, suddenly started weeping during dinner.  It was sudden and unexpected, both to the other characters and to the audience.  This is what sets the rest of the play in motion.

Young Jean Lee has said in interviews that she thinks the three-act naturalistic drama is the 'straight white man of theater forms.'  I don't think she's wrong.  Although this production is performed in 90 minutes with no intermission, it is indeed done in three scenes or acts.  The first is the set up, the second is the attempt at problem solving, and the third is the consequence.  It's intriguing.  The younger brothers try to find out why Matt was crying and it's from here their lives unravel.  All their lives, Matt was the brilliant one, the revolutionary, the socialist, the Harvard graduate.  So to see him somehow different than they remember him is troubling.

So, yes, we have a play about straight white men and their privilege, but it's somehow heartbreaking and about more than whiteness.  It's also somehow about gender and roles and ideas of success.  That even people aware of the bullshit are trapped by the bullshit.  These brothers are all supposed to be aware of their privilege and grew up with the idea that everyone deserves a shot, but then suddenly they're not able to do the same for each other.  Matt has been home, working as a temp, and taking care of his father, in essence, taking on the 'feminine' role in the family.  This seems to make him happy, but his brothers can't accept it.  And the fact that the people who love Matt the most are the ones who end up nearly destroying him (but do they? that's a big question) is profoundly sad and recognizable.  Hearing one brother call another brother a 'loser', which is I guess the worst thing one white man can say about another, was devastating.

Watching Ty and T.L. come on and off stage to move the actors around was incredibly moving to me and realizing that our main character was Matt, even though he had very few lines and had trouble expressing himself.  I felt that he was sort of my conduit into the play - the way I could have trouble expressing myself, too. Josh Charles was terrific as the middle brother, Jake, who is a banker going through a divorce, and Armie Hammer was the youngest son, Drew, a teacher and writer.  Both of them were really fantastic and had such a natural rapport, they really seemed like brothers.  All of the acting was first-rate, actually.

I can't really express how full and rich Straight White Men turned out to be for me.  I thought I knew what it was going to be and then I was completely upended.  Just the way everything seemed to be turned upside down - and not just for the effect of turning things upside down, but to show us ourselves, I think - was genius.  I don't know, I guess I just found it to be profoundly funny, profoundly sad, and profoundly unique.  I wish I had seen it sooner so I could go back to try to get inside the play more.  When will I ever learn to not wait until closing week to see something?!  If you have time this week, go check out Straight White Men.  I don't think this will be the last play Young Jean Lee presents on Broadway and I look forward to what she brings us next.

Tennis Week 2018 - surviving the drought (part three)

Wednesday, back we went to the tennis center.  We were excited because the new Louis Armstrong stadium was going to be dedicated.  I was afraid it would be even more packed than usual on the grounds, but it wasn't too bad.  They actually started checking bags and letting people go through the metal detectors a little early, though the gates didn't open until exactly 10am.  I told Mom it was too bad they didn't the gate opening like they do at  Disney, with songs and characters.  I would've appreciated some sort of tennis song and a guy dressed up as a tennis ball.  Oh well.

We went straight to Armstrong to get a good seat near the back and on the aisle.  There's a nice breeze in the stadium when you're in the back and an aisle seat (near the ladies room) is always a good idea for me.  We had about an hour to wait before the ceremonies began, but it was nice to relax there.  They did a little rehearsing of the upcoming ceremony, which was fun.  I'll try to attach a video somewhere.  When they finally started, it was nice to hear from Katrina Adams, John McEnroe, David Dinkins and Wynton Marsalis, along with a gent who actually knew Louis Armstrong!  There was music and dancing kids, then we saw a bit of an exhibition doubles match between John & Patrick McEnroe versus James Blake/Michael Chang.  Mom and I would've enjoyed that match a great deal if we hadn't been sitting in front of one of the most obnoxious men in the world.  He knew everything, about everything, and he had to tell everyone in the loudest voice about his know-everythingness.  We couldn't take it anymore, so we left after the first set and went to watch a match.

I decided I wanted to watch the match featuring Marco Trungelliti from Argentina.  If you follow tennis at all, you may remember Trungelliti's name from the French Open.  He's the player who had to drive all night from Spain because a space opened up in the draw.  If he could make it back to Paris by a certain time, he could be in the tournament.  He drove all night with his brother and grandmother, documenting their trip on social media all the way.  He then happened to win his first round match, and won more money in that one match than he had won all year!  It was a sweet story and he was adorable when all the news outlets interviewed him.  I was happy to watch him play.  His opponent was Daniel Gimeno-Traver from Spain.  He's been ranked in the top 50 before and he's on the comeback trail.  Oh, and I want to mention something else: there has been controversy at the Open this year because a female tennis player was given a code violation for changing her shirt on court.  Which is ridiculous, because men do it all the time.  But at this men's qualifying match, I saw something I had never seen before: Gimeno-Traver changed his SHORTS on court.  He was sitting, and it was casual, but still.  He changed his shorts with no mention of a violation of any kind.  Sexism at its best.  OK.  Moving on.

This match wasn't very good at first - neither guy could hold serve.  But it became a good match, plus it was shady in our seats, so we actually stayed for the whole thing.  I enjoyed watching Trungelliti play - he's got some good shots and a bit of joie de vivre around him, so it was fun.  He finally won the third set and we were happy.  I was starting to feel the first twinges of being a little unwell, though, for some reason.  Unfortunately, it would get worse.  Before that, though, Mom and I went to check out another veteran on the comeback trail - Ivo Karlovic from Croatia.  Ivo is nearly seven feet tall with a huge serve.  If I recall correctly, he may have the most aces ever hit in a career.  Though I may be remembering incorrectly.  Anyway, we watched a few games of his match - boy, is he tall!  And is his serve big!  That's about all I got from the match.  Because his limbs are so long, his game is rather ungainly, but he gets the job done.  We then decided to head to Louis Armstrong one more time before heading home.  We watched former champ Marin Cilic practice.  The practice started oddly - he sort of stood there while a guy was taking photos, then he did some sort of weird running drill.  I don't know, maybe it was for his clothing sponsor?  It was just really odd.  Then once his coach stood in front of him, tossing balls at Cilic to hit (also looked odd), we decided to leave.

My unwellness only increased and overnight it got worse.  All I wanted to do the next day (Thursday) was stay in bed, but since there would be no water in my apartment (and therefore no bathroom, if you're understanding my subtext), I tried to use a new app where you can rent a hotel room just for the daytime.  Unfortunately, all of the hotels in my area denied my request to stay there.  I guess they were all filled with tennis fans.  So my mom and I did the dumbest thing imaginable - we went back to the mall.  There are seats there, air conditioning, and lots of bathrooms.  So, yes, we went to the mall and spent the day of unwellness.  So dumb.  But my mom and I made the best of it.  We even went to the new location of her favorite diner: when we got off the subway and walked past it, this time I looked at the sign on the door, which had the address of the new location.  It was only a few blocks from the old location, so we went there.  My mom got some soup, I got some toast, and it was fine.  What a vacation.

Friday, I sucked it up and we went back to the tennis.  Mom and I have watched American Donald Young many times over the years and he was playing first up on our Court 11, so we went right over there.  He has a nice game, but I don't know, his career has just never come together.  He's got talent, but I guess that's not enough.  He's 29 years old already, which isn't old, but I think he turned pro at 15.  Anyway, we enjoyed watching the first set of the match - even though he lost control of his lead, he came back to win the set.  Mom and I were really hot from sitting in the sun, though, so we went off to the Grandstand, where there's shade, and we watched Americans John Isner and Mackenzie McDonald practice.  They were practicing very energetically and it was pleasant to watch them.  I did run over to see Tommy Roberdo and Nicolas Mahut, though.  I wanted to see their third round match, but it was packed and the sun was so hot.  After a day of unwellness, I was still feeling a little weak, so I only watched a few games.  They were great fun, though.  I wished both of them could win!  When I went back to meet Mom (she had stayed to watch the practice), we stayed a little longer to watch Richard Gasquet again.  Then we decided to just head back to my apartment, hoping the stupid construction could be done for the day.  All in all, it was a grand Tennis Week, though getting up so early every day to beat the water turn-off got really old!  Fingers crossed that will never happen again!  And now I'm already counting the minutes until Tennis Week next year...

Tennis Week 2018 - surviving the drought (part two)

And now for the best part of Tennis Week - the tennis!!  Tuesday, Mom and I headed out to Flushing to check out the US Open qualifying tournament.  Due to the stupid water turn-off, we decided to leave early and go sit in Flushing Meadows park before going into the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.  We stopped at my favorite bagel place on the way to the subway, picked up breakfast to go with all our Trader Joe's snacks, and off we went.

When I looked at the US Open app before leaving, two names just jumped off the page for me and I told Mom we HAD to watch them play: Tommy Robredo (Spain) and Ernests Gulbis (Latvia).  They're both coming back from injury so their rankings are really low at the moment.  They had to go through qualifying to try to get back into the main draw.  I've just been a big fan of both of theirs over the years, even though they've both beaten my Roger at Grand Slams before.  My grudge-holding is very random.  

The lines were pretty long to get in, which surprised me for the first day of qualifying.  They moved the metal detectors pretty far up, which was interesting.  I guess they were trying to make more room between the searches and the actual gates.  Getting in went relatively smoothly for us all week, which was a relief.  I had a moment of terror when I realized I forgot to remove a glass perfume rollerball in my bag - I thought for sure they'd find it and take it away from me, but somehow the gal missed it and I got that contraband onto the grounds.  I made sure to remove it the instant we got home that night.  

On our way to watch matches, we stopped in the new Louis Armstrong stadium to see what it looked like.  We watched Grigor Dimitrov practice for a few minutes before heading out to see Tommy Robredo.  His was the first match we went to, on our old reliable standby Court 11.  He was playing Henri Laaksonen from Switzerland.  I've always liked Tommy and his game - they are both quite handsome.  He struggled a little bit in the first set, but did pull it out with a late break at the end of the set, then he won the second set comfortably.  Mom and I then wandered over to watch Andy Murray practice with Richard Gasquet in the new Grandstand - Murray has been injured for about a year, so it was nice to see him back on the court.  He wasn't too crankypants, which was nice, though he wasn't exactly playing all full out, either.  And Gasquet's hair was shockingly bleached blonde, with tickled my mom and me.

After watching the practice for a bit, we went over to the food court for a little lunch.  Fries were needed.  I was unhappy to again be iced tea-less at the Open.  I think I need to send a strongly worded letter.  I ran over to see Sabine Lisicki play for a few minutes - she was a Wimbledon finalist just a few years ago and is now in qualifying.  There wasn't a place to sit, though, so I only watched for a few.  I went back to get Mom because I wanted to get back over to Court 11 to see Ernests Gulbis play.  I don't know why I like him so much, he's a complete and utter wackadoodle and hasn't lived up to expectations.  But when his game is on, it's quite exciting.  Unfortunately, it's not on very often.  And I think the qualifying match he played against Christian Harrison of the US sort of sums up his career.  He was up, he was down, he was wackadoodle.  He kept getting frustrated by people talking in the crowd (he would turn to people and yell at them to shut up), he was confused about the shot clock and being able to talk to his coach during the match.  He called for an injury timeout and he, at times, played brilliantly.  He's just really a ton of fun to watch.  And, of course, he lost.  In the first round of qualifying.  Sigh.  Harrison really just needed to be steady and withstand the flashes of brilliance and just let Gulbis wackadoodle himself right out of the Open, which he did.  Again, sigh.  I hope he can get his head screwed back on and start over with a clean slate next year.  I do so enjoy watching him play.  The antics...not so much.

After Gulbis lost, and sitting for three sets, we needed some shade.  On our way over to the Grandstand to watch the new Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber practice, we wandered through the practice courts and I got a funny shot of Canadian Denis Shapovalov.  They really need to do something about the chain link fence.  How can I get good photos?!  I got this shot by putting my phone through a rip in the fence and tarp.  But I like it!  We didn't watch Kerber practice for long, though, because we wanted to get over to see Aussies Bernard Tomic and Thanassi Kokkinakis play.  Speaking of wackadoodles.  Just Google their names and enjoy the weirdness.  Mom and I only stayed for the first set because we were approaching end-of-all-day-sun tiredness.  Tomic easily won the first set and it struck me how easy he can make playing tennis look.  It's free and loose and natural, plus he can hit any shot in the book.  He easily won the first set but ended up losing the match.  It's sad that his brain gets in his own way.  After a happy look at Serena Williams' handsome coach (see photo below), Mom and I decided we needed to get back to my apartment and put our feet up, though we did stop into the new Louis Armstrong stadium on our way out to watch Alexander Zverev practice for a few minutes before leaving for ice cream.  It was a good first day - I'll try to cram the other days into the next post.  But thanks for reading!