Avenue Q

I saw Avenue Q Saturday night, and began to debate whether any show on broadway is worth the money paid for it.  Why are tickets oh so very expensive?  Instead of relishing a show, and enjoying it because of the money I spent on a ticket, I instead have a sinking ticket every time my ticket is scanned or collected or torn.  Maybe I feel this way because Broadway has grown to become an upper class luxury.  Broadway is the Chanel of theater, and right now all I can afford is Old Navy.  Or maybe it is because I am really unconsciously egocentric and feel like I could sometimes do a better job then some of the performers on stage.  

Earlier that day, Jordan Schildcrout came to our apartment and discussed with us Top Girls and Gypsy.  He summed up the experience very succinctly with one of his final thoughts:  'This is what theater people do for fun.  We see a show, and we want to talk about it, we want to discuss our feelings and thoughts about what we just saw because we are critical individuals, and artists ourselves.'  He also brought Rugula.  They were delicious.   Rugula is something between a pastry and a cookie.  It is a thin dough that is rolled with various fillings (Ex: nuts, berries, and my favorite, chocolate!)

I got $60.00 seats for Avenue Q from the TKTS booth six rows from the stage.  The performances were quirky and smart.  Standouts were Christmas Eve, Princeton, and Kate Monster.  Two of the performers had been there since the off-broadway performances and you could definitely tell (not in a good way).  I was disappointed in Brian in that I felt that he phoned it in every time he was on stage, and actually wished I had seats further back so I didn't have to see how lazy his performance was.  

I do however think that Avenue Q really tazored the Broadway industry five years ago with its crass and brash yet witty and sometimes poignant writing.  The metatheatricality of the show, in that you always see the puppeteers on stage (they are the ones singing and maneuvering the puppets), really allows you to listen to the songs and how ingenious and biting they are.  I could really see myself doing a show like this in the future.  

Funny story:  Afterwards, Stacey and I waited outside the stage door because I wanted to meet Christmas Eve, and we wait outside for like fifteen minutes, and the doors open, and Morgan Freeman walks out.  That was the first time I have ever been really in awe of a performer who has done so much in his career.  We then continue to wait for the performers from Avenue Q, and then Peter Gallagher walks out.  So long story short, we never saw the cast of Avenue Q, but we saw two famous actors instead.  It was a trade- off we were willing to make that night.

Rain

Pouring Down

Sheets of Water

Forty Days and Nights

In one hour.  Where's Noah's

Boat Ride when you need it?

Three days Later my socks

Are still wet.  Trudging

Through lakes and

Streams for

Home

GYPSY

Patti Lupone changed my life tonight.  I don't think a show stopping performance like the one I saw tonight will ever influence me like the way it did tonight.  Very few performances come to mind when I think of the quintessential moment where the glimmer of something exquisite and truly special happens.  Watching the final moments of the final number was like watching a miracle take place, or touching something other-worldly.  My goosebumps had goosebumps.  I felt a triumph, a heartbreaking gut wrenching war cry triumph, broken but still rebellious with every fiber of her being she sang.  She pleaded, she succeeded and dared, she yearned and took, she gave, and gave, and gave until I found myself on my feet.  the applause was thunderous.  

in the words of stage beauty:

'please, there is still one more scene.'

Ponder

Upright Citizens riding planes

meetings about women's rights complex and contrite

Jokes both funny and not

Is a joke still a joke if no one laughs?

webster's dictionary:  something said or done to provoke laughter or cause amusement

so i guess the answer is no.  

A Poem:

We've started wars

been killing scores 

but in the school systems children snore 

don't give a damn no more, 

just kissin' girls and bein' whores.  

anesthetized 

while we fantasize about celebrities 

living in their dreams.  

Can we create instead of depricate and depreciate 

our brothers and mothers, our sisters, 

solve problems with words not pistols.  

Plant flowers not lies

Sow seeds of sweet dreams

of hard fought rights 

lost and stolen in the night

by those who don't understand

or don't care to understand

blinded by the pinhole of light through which they see the world

Don't wait for an eclipse to stop and stare.

Subway Troubles

Down into the underground

puddles of sludge like muddy green milk

what a cow that must have been

12:01.

Last train Uptown leaves at 12:00.

Must go down to go up.  

three hours in a labyrinth of tunnels

Rats scrutinize me, escaping into holes like puzzle pieces

No service, no concierge

I can hear the minotaur breathing

Disguised as a sheep

but really a man

I crawl through the maze 

caverns of filth and rust stained granite

Breathe.  Experience.  Learn.

Call me Theseus.

Top Girls

Saw Top Girls last night on Broadway (also saw Tina Fey!  Besides us, she was the youngest person in the audience, so no one recognized her except us!)  I thought the show was brilliant.  The actors really showcased what craft goes into creating a role.  The roles of Angie/Pope and Marlene, as well as Kit the young girl were personal stand outs, showcasing how to craft based on utilizing your Voice, Movement, and Acting skills.  The impediment work with Angie was impeccable.  One critique I have is that technique somewhat muddled Joyce's performance. (She also played the Scottish traveler) in that her dialects were so perfect that it was too difficult to understand her.  I hope all other shows we see here are as good as this one.  

A Laundry List of Things that Happened Yesterday:

Two NY Style Pizza Slices, Kirsten Dunst in a 70's movie, heels almost breaking, Starbucks bathroom waits, waits for the tour bus, waits for the tour boat, waits for the tickets in line, waits for the subway, waits waits waits.  Penne and Vodka sauce, Oh no we missed So You Think you Can Dance!

Nose Adventures

I thought i would get used to the smells

of hot garbage and vent steam

of unwashed bodies and tattered clothes

of dirty mouths with teeth resembling a carved pumpkin's

of the thickness in the air, the smell of asphalt and gravel, dirt and grit

I can't wait to smell again

the aromas of the street vendors

skewers of cooked meat, plump greasy hot dogs, sugar coated almonds and pecans

the perfume of cultures

indian curries, korean bibimbop, juicy hamburgers, and fresh baked goods

the cool night air that finally lets me breathe deeply, inhale the dark cool shadows

for every smell that turns my insides, there is a new aroma, an exotic potpourri that my nose craves to discover again.  

And So It Goes

NYC trip has begun.

Cars, trucks, busses,

roaring past, no heed for toes or puddles

where are you going?  

Down into the underbelly of the city

taste the thick air, the hot limestone 

stop breathing my air

bump on the tracks, numbers etched in tile,

14, 23, 34 

is it ok to breathe again?

cheeseburger, steak fries with a side of ranch

you must feed the mind as well as the body

talk to loved ones about time ticking too slowly

but quickly at the same time

lying

in the dark

belly down, face buried in pillows

retainers reconstructing teeth

maybe i'll look better tomorrow

maybe not