Don Giovanni

Don Giovanni is the first opera that I saw and remains my favorite to this day. I've known it was playing at the Met this season and despite previously thwarted attempts to go and see it, I finally made it to the final performance of the season on Friday night.

(*Side Note: How AWESOME is it that I live 10 minutes from The Metrolpolitan Opera!?)

Don Giovanni is the story of the legendary Don Juan, who allegedy seduced over 1,100 women. Over the course of the three hour+ opera he tries to seduce the betrothed Donna Anna, kills the Commendatore, is pursued by Don Ottavio in vengence, dodges the scorned Donna Elvira, tries to seduce the peasant Zerlina while distracting her fiancee Massetto, while bantering with and abusing his servant Leporello and in the end is dragged down to hell after inviting the ghost of the Commendatore to dinner. Whoever said that opera is boring???

Aside from loving opera in general and this opera in particular, this is one of those things that I always imagined doing in New York. You know? Part of how I imagined the life of the young cultured urban professional that I wanted to be.

Every once in awhile I still get a kick out of the fact that I'm HERE, in NEW YORK CITY, living THIS life... and I think, how did this happen? The only answer I've been able to come up with so far is... it just did. Somehow it just happened.

And for the record, it's fabulous.

Urban Art 3, for Emily

Car Show (For Sam)

Since I was about 12, my family has gone to the car show every year. This is because my younger brother Sam, as been enthralled with all things automotive since birth. So when I found out the car show was coming to town, I had to go... for the sake of tradition if nothing else... And maybe also the drool-worthy collection of Aston Martins in front.

If we had seen nothing else, the matte black Lamborghini would have been worth it...

In honor of "Pearl"...

Hee hee. Yes. they had a ginormous "Bumble Bee" there with the Camaro...

Scion strikes again...

This one was so bright it made your eyes water...

Have I mentioned that I miss driving?

Easter

It's hard to be away from Family on holidays. Particularly the ones fraught with tradition, like Easter. Nevertheless, us lonely city dwellers do what we can to make the best of it. By now however, we have it down to a careful science.

Step 1: Gather as many people as possible into the tiny living room...


Step 2: Have everyone bring food (yes, I made dinner rolls from scratch thankyouverymuch)...


Step 3: Bring cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery...


Step 4: Various festive activities, as appropriate to the holiday...

The tools...




I like these, but the others preferred the "Bright and Shiny Accent" eggs...

Like these...

So it's not like home, but we manage. :)

So True

“Much like robots and the British, pigeons do not have the capacity to feel love. They only have the capacity to desire croutons.”

West Side Story

OK, I missed one. Since we're doing this whole Broadway review thing now... I saw the new West Side Story back in March. When the Family was in town, we had tickets to see Stomp, but the venue was bought out for the night for a corporate function. SO, our ticket broker got us 7th row center orchestra seats for the brand new West Side Story. Awesome.

It was quite good. The dancing was impressive, just really remarkable. They also did a rewrite of the script and left most of the Puerto Rican scenes in Spanish. Genius. I feel like the changes that they made took some of the cheesiness out of the story. For some reason "I Feel Pretty" doesn't sound quite as ridiculous in Spanish.

Costumes and sets were simple, but effective. Maria was played by an Argentinian opera singer who was supposed to be phenomenal. I thought she was good, but some of my friends with a more professional perspective were unimpressed. Tony was played by a guy that looked fresh out of BYU. Clean cut and fresh faced. Good voice, great dancer - but clean cut and return-missionary-ish doesn't make a very convincing Romeo.... I'm just saying.

Again with the dancing and the choreography - SO GOOD. If the rest of the show had bombed (and it didn't) this show would have been worth seeing for the dancing alone. That's how good it was.

I give it a thumbs up.

Tossed

Today on my way back to the office after a lovely lunch with my friend Malia, I passed a boy juggling vegetables on the sidewalk.

Juggling vegetables.

His counterpart was handing out fliers for the salad place they were standing in front of, aptly named "Tossed."

How's that for a marketing strategy?

I didn't go into Tossed, nor did I feel compelled to, but I did enjoy the quirky entertainment.

Guys and Dolls

Ok, so I'm on a roll with the Broadway shows right now... Next Up... Guys and Dolls.

I heard mixed reviews. My theatre buff friend Anna said it was awful. My theatre buff friend Alina said it wasn't that bad. Guys and Dolls is actually my favorite musical (Thanks to Marlon Brando's rendition of Sky Masterson in the movie version... Those smooth-talking, swaggering men in suits who aren't afraid to take chances = Kryptonite), so I was going to give it shot, no matter what the critics said.

And...

Ok, I still love the play, but they weren't kidding... this is not the best production I've seen. They did some kind of rewrite on the script and took out all of the cool anachronistic language. What used to be intelligent and witty banter between the characters, now comes across almost on the level of farce. Lauren Graham was a cute Adelaide, and I'm pre-disposed to like her because of her Gilmore Girls days. She played the part well, but didn't bring anything to the character - though she does have a gift for comedic timing. Kate Jennings Grant/Sarah Brown has a great voice, but also didn't bring anything new to the table. Oliver Platt was a cheap Nathan Detroit, and Craig Bierko lacked the edgy center that is necessary to pull off Sky Masterson. Oh, and the staging! The changing computerized background in poor resolution and poor focus looked like someone made budget cuts in the wrong category. Adelaide's costumes were at least imaginative and interesting, while the rest were unimaginative and left something to be desired.

And to boot, they left out my favorite song!

Ugh. Now I need to go watch the movie to redeem my memories of the play and get doughy eyed over Marlon Brando.

Excuse me.

I HATE TAXES

That is all.

Canon in D

Times Square at Night

... still my favorite.

Reflections of Christ

On Wednesday a group from the ward got together to set up a photography exhibit at the Lincoln Center building for Easter. The collection of photographs was done by Mark Mabry, and a more sufficient explanation of the project and the works themselves can be found at: http://www.reflectionsofchrist.org/

For my part, it was a wonderful experience and perfect preparation for Easter to take part in setting up the exhibit.

Trying to figure out the order of the photographs... Apparently the numbers on the back were wrong...


Russell hanging a nativity photo...


Sara putting up lamps...


Russell and Jeff fixing lights...


Richard fixing the footings...


Some of my favorites...

The parable of the ten virgins...


The Resurrected Christ...


Christ walks on the water...


The finished gallery...

Happy Easter.

Ukulele Man

So I was finally able to snap a picture of the Ukulele Man who stands at the corner of 23rd and Broadway in the mornings. I was rushing to work, so it isn't a great picture, but you get the idea.



I love all of the characters in my neighborhood.

Urban S'mores

We are sadly lacking for campfire opportunities here in the City. That did not dissuade Jeff and Russell however, from having s'mores as our treat at FHE a few weeks ago. Hence, urban s'smores were born...

Marshmallow enfuego...


Jeff survey's the damage... Not black enough, back to the burner...


Gabbi, Kathleen and Russell crowd in the narrow hallway and enjoy...


Mmm.

Popcorn Popping

I looked out the window and what did I see?





Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree!


(Finally that song makes sense.)

Building Book Exchange

There is a constant book exchange in my building. I have no idea how this started, but I love it. On any given day there will be books left out in the windowsill of the stairway on the landing between the first and second floor. Anyone going up or downstairs can grab a book, or leave one out. I love the idea that I'm surrounded by readers... or at least a handful of them. I also love the idea that we are taking part in a shared community of ideas by reading the same books. I also love that books are being recycled and shared rather than thrown out or wasted or forgotten.

Avenue Q

The show was billed as "Sesame Street for grown-ups!"

I thought, hey, I loved Sesame Street, this'll be fun.

Then on the way to the theatre, Andrea and I ran into Amy...

"Amy! Hi!"
"Hey, where are you guys off to?"
"We're going to go check out Avenue Q, have you seen it?"
"... Yeah... I did... It's really disturbing."
"Huh? I heard it described as Sesame Street thing, you mean it's disturbing because of the Muppets?"
"... Well, there is that... But I don't want to ruin it for you. You'll have to let me know what you think."
"Ok, I will."

... All of a sudden I'm wondering if this is a big mistake. But hey, we already have the tickets, how bad could it be?

OH ho ho, DISTURBING is the word. The word is disturbing. Ok, it had some funny moments; ok, it had several of them. But there were other moments that I was less than enthused about.

Long and the short of it: It was an adventure. A jaw dropping adventure. I don't particularly recommend it, and DON'T take your kids.

Except for the presence of furry monster puppets, it is nothing like Sesame Street.

Mary Stuart

Last week, my friend Sarah texted me... "I have two free tickets to Mary Stuart? Wanna go?"

Silly question.

After a few text messaging and cell phone kuffufles, I skidded to a halt in front of the theatre just in time for Sarah to hand me my ticket, and for us to run up to the balcony and fall into our seats just as the lights were dimming. Perfect timing.

Mary Stuart is a play about Mary Queen of Scots, the cousin of Elizabeth I whom she had beheaded for treason and attempted assasination. Ever since my Shakespeare class in college, I've had a particular fascination with that period of English history from Henry VIII through the reign of Elizabeth I, and especially with the monarchs in question.

Anyhow, the play was incredible. Intelligent writing, intriguing staging, stunning performances. A heart-breakingly beautiful production. My eyes were glued to the stage and the time flew by.

In other words, I recommend that you see it, should the opportunity present itself.

Car Service

Car service is my favorite way to get to work.

When I have to work anywhere other than my office in downtown Manhattan, my boss hands me a magical little piece of paper called a voucher. I call the phone number on the voucher and give them my address, and in the morning when I walk outside, there is a beautiful shiny black car waiting for me!

I climb in the back, say good morning to the driver, who is always very polite and sometimes even charming. Then I settle into the extremely comfortable seat with a sigh of blissful contentment, click my iphone to the Joshua Radin station on Pandora, and commence my driving tour of Manhattan.

My favorite part is always going over the bridges. I like being surrounded by water, the idea that it's always near by. And I still get a flicker of child-like happiness when I get a good view of the Manhattan skyline.

If the drive is long enough and the sun is shining, sometimes I doze off.

Eventually I arrive at my destination - remote and odd thought that destination may be (TW is not springing for the nice real estate in the outer boroughs) - comfortable, happy and wishing we had off site meetings everyday.

Now compare this experience to the hot or cold, hard-seated, sticky, smelly, crushing, crowded, disease ridden experience that is riding the subway.

Uh huh, that's what I thought.

Palm Sunday

I watched the first session of General Conferece at the Lincoln Center building today and then walked home through Central Park. It was one of those miraculously beautiful days. The park was full of people.

When I turned down my street, there were two men holding handfuls of palm fronds, just hanging out on the street corner, like they tend to do in my neighborhood.

One of them asked if I'd gotten a palm frond today, and gave me one.

This was one beautiful Sunday.