NYC 2019

 

 Manhattan

Though we love Los Angeles, we happily acknowledge that NYC is the center of the known universe and so try to visit whenever we can. Two years ago we took a tour of Manhattan with the South Coast Rep theatrical group and had such a great time that we decided to do it again. We saw three plays—Tootsie, To Kill a Mockingbird, and the Kiss Me Kate revival—danced the night away to the big band sounds of Vince Giordano’s Nighhawks at the Iguana Club, and strolled through Central Park as well as the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx. Other highlights of our week-long trip follow below.

Tootsie—so much fun!

 

Nighthawks—small dance floor, but we made do!

 

Central Park's Turtle Pond

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NYC Vacation

 

Walking the High Line through Chelsea

 

We love New York City, but hadn't visited since 2009 and so jumped at the chance to go on a Broadway tour with the South Coast Rep, a theater group in Orange County. The tour provided tickets to four Tony-nominated plays—War Paint, about the rivalry between cosmetics mavens Helena Rubinstein and Elizabeth Arden, Oslo, about the short-lived Palestinian peace accords negotiated in the early 1990s in Norway, Noel Coward's Present Laughter, and Hello, Dolly! starring Bette Midler—plus we saw A Doll's House, Pt. 2 on our own. We also visited the Rockefeller family estate Kykuit, the 9/11 memorial and museum, mid-town Manhattan, and the NY Transit Museum—all of which you can read about in separate posts below.

We rode the subway, saw friends, ate lots of good food, and walked our feet off. It was a wonderful, and much needed, vacation! 

 

Relatively cheap breakfast at the deli across the street from our hotel

 

New York cheesecake at 11PM—we're on vacation!!

 

Dirty water dog on 43rd & 8Th Ave. I prefered

eating at Chirping Chicken, a great NYC chain.

 

Much finer dining at Mario Batali's Eataly at Four World Trade Center 

 

Trying to decide what to eat at Eataly

 

Pizza!!

 

And, of course, dressing up for the theater 

Frozen at DCA

 

Crowds outside the Hyperion theater, waiting to see Frozen

 

I have a confession to make: I'm not that big a fan of the Disney movie Frozen. Sure, we saw it when it was first released in theaters, but only once. And, as much as I like the main song, "Let It Go," I've never memorized the lyrics and so can't sing along, like everyone else I know.

Still, when I read the review of the new Frozen musical at Disney California Adventure (DCA), I immediately told Tim we had to go before school lets out for the summer. So I emailed my BFF Karen, who loves theater, and the three of us agreed to go today.

We left the house at 9AM, to avoid the bulk of early rush-hour traffic. By 10:30AM, we were standing in front of DCA's Hyperion Theater, trying to figure out where to line-up for the first show of the day, two hours later. We were told to either pick-up a Fastpass ticket, for which we were already too late, or come back at 11AM to get on the stand-by line. I noticed that people were already seriously loitering around the theater in hopes of getting on line; so I sent Tim and Karen off to ride "Soarin Over California" one last time,* while I waited for the official Frozen queue to begin.

Ten minutes later, I was told to wait across the street, which I dutifully did, as more and more people started to crowd in front of the Hyperion. At 11AM a cast member announced that the official line would start forming at 11:30AM. I stood under a tree with two young women, never taking my eyes off the closed entrance to the official waiting area. Fifteen minutes later, the doors opened as I yelled to the gals, "The doors are opening! We've got to go right now!"

Too late. About 50 people, who had been milling around the doors, shoved their way in as we squeezed into the flow. I called Tim and warned that they needed to get back to the theater ASAP. I then advanced to the point-of-no-return where, we were admonished, all members of one's party had to be present or they could not get in. I proceeded and hoped for the best for Tim and Karen. Turns out they were too late to join me. Instead, they decided to wait at the very end of the stand-by line, though their chances of actually seeing the show were slim at best.

 

 Fastpass-holders inside the official waiting area

Stand-by for Frozen is exactly that: seats are guaranteed only for Fastpass-holders. If there are empty seats once everyone else has filed in, then the stand-bys get to go in, one party at a time. We became more and more discouraged as more and more Fastpassers lined-up within the queuing area.

Finally, at 12:20PM—10 minutes before the show was supposed to begin!—the theater doors opened as the ticket-holders rushed in. The rest of us held our collective breath, awaiting our fate. Then, with a loudpeaker announcing overhead that show time was only two minutes away (!!), a Disney employee came over and started letting us in, counting each person so not to overrun the seating. I waved to Tim and Karen as I trudged up three enormous flights of exterior stairs. Once inside the theater, it was everyone for her/his self as we scrounged for open seats. I found one on the end of an aisle—perfect! I then texted Tim. He and Karen had given up and were heading to lunch.

 

The stage: first view of Arendelle

The show was highly entertaining, with lots of dancing, singing, and a special brand of Disney effects. Olaf, the snowman, and the reindeer Sven were life-sized puppets and particularly fun, adding humor to a story that can be a bit sad. But the highlight was Elsa's big number—"Let It Go"—which the audience was obviously awaiting in anxious anticipation. As soon as the first notes of the song began, there was an audible buzz in the theater. Frozen fans were not disappointed. 

 

 Final scene

The Hyperion's last show, Aladdin, played there for 13 years, so you've probably got lots of time to see Frozen. However, if you're chomping at the bit, I advise getting to the park early enough to grab Fastpass tickets, so you won't have to suffer the trauma of standing by. I got in, but am guessing the other 300 people in line behind me did not.

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*On June 17, one of Tim's favorite rides, "Soarin Over California," will be replaced with an international version called  "Soaring Over the World." A sad day, no doubt, in our household . . .

From the Beatles to the Queen

I hope you’ll forgive me if I breakout into a British accent while I’m writing! 

On Saturday, I spent most of the afternoon at UCLA watching a special screening of The Audience, a play about Elizabeth II, starring Helen Mirren as (once again) the queen. Unlike the movie The Queen, for which Mirren won an Oscar for remarkably capturing the essence of the older Elizabeth, The Audience spans the queen’s entire reign, dramatically (and humorously) recreating weekly meetings with her various prime ministers. The plot moves back and forth through time, testing not only Mirren’s acting ability, but also her talent as a quick-change artist as she, via several costumes and wigs, transforms from seasoned old monarch into youthful novice and back again. It was an amazing performance and truly fascinating play. Let’s hope it comes to the U.S.

            

Then, yesterday, Tim and I schlepped up to the Sundance Cinemas on Sunset to see Good Ol’ Freda, a documentary about Freda Kelly, the Beatles’ former secretary. Despite being the envy of every Beatles fan in the world during the 1960s, Kelly has led a rather normal life since leaving “the lads” and, in fact, has never told her story before now. And what a wonderful story it is, too. Only 17 years old and a huge fan herself, Freda was plucked from a local typing pool, by Beatles manager Brian Epstein, to become the band’s fan-club secretary. Over the next 11 years, she became almost like a member of their families and, to this day, is fiercely loyal to their memory. Hers is a sweet and completely fresh perspective on a story I thought I knew these past 50 years. I dare you not to cry when, at the end (spoiler alert!), she looks back on all the Beatles people who are now gone. Every Beatles fan needs to see this film.

            

They should also, of course, see Produced By George Martin, which aired on local station KCET last week. As everyone knows, the now Sir George Martin was just as responsible for creating the Beatles’ sound as the Beatles were themselves. Although less emotional than Freda, the Martin documentary is no less fascinating and filled with stories I had never heard. I bought the DVD immediately.

No Man's Land

One of the biggest surprises at the Star Trek (ST) convention Karen and I attended last February was when Patrick Stewart announced that he and acting buddy, Ian McKellan, were going to perform together in a play “not too far from here.” We were hoping they’d be in L.A. or at the Old Globe in San Diego, but instead the play is being staged—this month only—at the Berkeley Rep in northern California. Despite my well-documented fear of flying, Karen and I hopped on a plane yesterday morning to attend a matinee performance of Harold Pinter’s four-person play No Man’s Land, starring Sirs Patrick and Ian as well as Billy Crudup and Shuler Hensley. 

Perhaps best known for their roles in ST (Patrick), The Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies (Ian), and the X-Men trilogy (both), Stewart and McKellan were, of course, distinguished Shakespearean actors long before their more recent careers in blockbuster films. McKellan, in particular, is considered one of the greatest actors alive and has been nominated twice for an Oscar. Although we’ve seen Patrick perform on stage many times—including his tour-de-force one-person show The Christmas Carol—I had only seen McKellan once, playing a minor role in The Cherry Orchard at UCLA a few years ago. Karen and I were excited to see both of them on the same stage.

We arrived in Oakland by 10:30AM in hopes of strolling through UC Berkeley’s renowned Botanical Garden; but by the time we took the shuttle to the BART station, and then the BART to Berkeley, we barely had time for lunch before the 2PM show. We were in our seats by 1:30PM. Coincidentally, the two women sitting next to us were also from L.A., proving once again that the world is very small.

Waving outside Gather, where we had a lovely lunch

“Are you here to see Patrick?” I asked the women, suspecting that they, too, were Trekkies.

“Yes,” one of them confessed. “What are the odds that we’d be sitting next to the only other Trekkies in the audience!”

“Oh, we’re not the only Trekkies here,” I joked, looking around. “I think we’re all just on our best behavior because it's the Berkeley Rep!”

Indeed, Karen noticed a sign in the lobby admonishing that “should they be available for autographs, [the cast] will only sign material related to No Man’s Land.” In other words, no signing Star Trek photos, copies of The Hobbit or X-Men comicbooks!

Harold Pinter, whose work I haven’t read or even seen since college, can be a hard nut to crack, so it was no wonder we left the theater with more questions than when we went in. Still, the play was highly entertaining and extremely well acted. Patrick was especially good in the second act during a long—and hilarious—monologue about his (real? imagined?) youthful sexual exploits. Crudup and Hensley were also very good, though they played supporting roles to the main actors. The true marvel, however, was Ian McKellan, who completely embodied his character: an old down-on-his-luck poet who is trying to ingratiate himself to his former rival, Patrick. As much as we love Patrick Stewart, Karen and I both agreed that Ian McKellan was absolutely amazing. We are so glad we got to see him perform.

From Berkeley, the play is traveling to NYC, where all four actors will perform it on Broadway, starting October 31. 

One Night with Janis Joplin

I love larger-than-life personalities—especially women who are guided by their keen wits and emotions. Sometimes their lives end tragically; but when they’re at the top of their game, they are truly something amazing to behold.

As a kid, I was never a big fan of Janis Joplin—to my young ear, her songs seemed more filled with screeching than passion. Over the years, however, I’ve come to appreciate her bluesy delivery and raw pain. I became particularly fascinated by her after seeing the movie The Rose, a thinly-veiled fictional account of Joplin’s short life, starring Bette Midler, and Love, Janis, a terrific biographical play we saw in San Diego in 2002. Both cover the final days of her life before she overdosed on heroin at the age of 27.

There’s a new Joplin tribute being staged at the Pasadena Playhouse now until April 21: One Night with Janis Joplin. Less a play than a musical concert, it features an outstanding Mary Bridget Davies channeling Janis’s famous gravelly voice as if we were seeing her perform live in the late 1960s. Between songs, she interacts with the audience, telling stories about growing up in Port Arthur, Texas, where she learned to sing the Broadway show tunes her mother played over and over again. When she reminisces about her other musical influences—Bessie Smith, Etta James and Nina Simone—songstress extraordinaire Sabrina Elayne Carten emerges as the “Blues Singer,” providing more traditional versions of the songs, like “Tell Mama” and “Summertime,” Janis ultimately made her own. Right before the intermission, Davies and Carten (as Aretha Franklin), bring the house down with their rockin’ rendition of “Spirit in the Dark.”

One Night with Janis Joplin is a fabulous show that’s well worth the drive to Pasadena (during rush hour!), even if you live on the westside. As I was walking into the theater last night, I looked around at the other audience members and thought, “Yikes! We baby-boomers are certainly getting old!” But, believe me, we all felt 45 years younger when we came out again two hours later.

Click here and here to read L.A. Times reviews of the play.

The real Janis at Woodstock