Just a short note today... We arrived in the Philly yesterday evening and drove to our hotel in Carteret, New Jersey (the Radisson, a top-notch hotel that is about 1/3 the price of even Quality Inn-type hotel in Manhattan and is just 6 miles from the Staten Island Ferry - way less expensive to stay in and getting in to the city is FREE!) We were hungry so about 11 PM (still thinking it was 8 PM West Coast time) we drove in through the Holland Tunnel. It was really fun driving Barb around through Times Square and past Madison Square Garden at midnight and watch her eyes sparkle at all the people still out and about and all the lights...
There is definitely something about NYC that is different from every other city in the United States. I haven't been back here since 2000 and the energy still fills me up every time I arrive. We walked around Greenwich Village (it was fun pointing out to Barb Christopher Street which they will sing about in WVLO's Wonderful Town this summer!) and had dinner at a cute little place called Oliver's Bar and Grill. Where else can you find countless restaurants open and serving FANTASTIC dinners at midnight? Certainly not anywhere on the Left Coast.
One last thing... I apologize to everyone if you have tried to post a comment. I didn't realize that I had accidently turned off comments for anyone except "members" (which is no one else!) on this blog. It was certainly not my intent! Thanks to Adena DeMonte for pointing this out to me. I have fixed this so anyone can now comment (I hope!) Please try and let me know if it still doesn't work.
And by the way watch out for Adena... she directed Crystal Springs Players' Godspell with Stephen Slatten, her first directorial effort, and I thought she did a marvelous job, especially considering all the limitations she had to deal with (the theater was an "impromptu" space set up in the worship hall of the Crystal Springs United Methodist church and as is not untypical in these kinds of community theaters, her talent base was decidedly mixed). I expect to see her doing great things in the Bay area in the future! (And I look forward to seeing her at our callbacks for HAiR as well!)
We are off for the city this morning to see it in daylight. I can't wait!
Peace, Jon
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Thanks for the plug on my directing.☺ What I was trying to say in my post to your last entry was… last time I was in NY I saw both Company and Avenue Q. To summarize, I said that I didn’t like the actors playing instruments in Company. I thought it was distracting for the most part, once the initial “oh, that’s interesting” wore off. It worked well in a few of the numbers, but mostly it just took away from the actors connecting to each other. It is certainly a piece that is debatable regarding whether or not it worked. The actors all did their parts justice and undoubtedly had talent beyond talent to be their own on-stage orchestra. But it just didn’t do it for me. Meanwhile, I loved Avenue Q. I also wrote that it was really interesting to see both Ave Q and Company in the same week because the two plays are quite similar. They don’t look or sound similar, of course, but Avenue Q is like the anthem for depressed 20 year olds who have to find their purpose (in relationships), and Company is the anthem for depressed 30+ year olds who have to find their purpose (in relationships). I guess a lot of shows are about that, but the connection really hit me seeing them both within a three day time span. Anyway, I wonder if the Sweeny version of the actors with instruments will be better. That show is a bit more absurd, so it might work. I didn’t realize that was still playing.
Also, re: today's entry -- I don't understand why there are no good late night places to eat in the bay area. NY sure has got that going for it.
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