Last night the marvelous John Betts treated Adrienne and I to a performance of “Next to Normal,” the Pulitzer-Prize winning musical in residence at the Booth Theater. I’d heard the music before and knew the plot and worked with the lighting designer so I had full knowledge of the surprises that lurked within.
It might have been a more immersive experience without all of the background knowledge, but gosh am I a sucker for good musical theater! It doesn’t matter if its “My Fair Lady” or “Rent”— I truly believe that some emotions are most exquisitely conveyed through the meeting of song and light and space and the human body. No matter how hard I try to cultivate a proper urban disinterest, musicals act like spells upon my psyche to conjure up my sublime romantic belief in humanity’s virtues. I can’t help it.
Although not life changing, I enjoyed “Next to Normal.” All of the production values were well integrated and the transitions were interesting and served to move the story forward, which I appreciated. The acting was fine. It was interesting knowing that the two lead actors are married in real life— I like to think that it added nuance and a layer of truth to their onstage interactions that would not otherwise have been present.
The play deals with some heavy subject matter and I made use of my solo subway journey home to mentally dive into my conflicting impressions without distraction.
If you get the chance, see this play. But I’m not so sure it deserved the Pulitzer.
Moving!!
The picture above is everything I own (not including the three boxes of books for school and my bike). On Thursday I loaded it all into a cab and moved into an apartment on West 170th St, up in Washington Heights. The entire move/settling-in time was three hours. I found a few things that I am going to get rid of and I would like to install a vertical bike mount in here but for the most part I am pretty pleased with my little zen bedroom.
The U.S. Open
My friend Meredith called Sunday night and asked me if I was into tennis as she had acquired two tickets to the U.S. Open and needed a buddy. I replied in the negative but that I was happy to accompany her.
The next day we met at Queens-borough Plaza and rode the 7 out to the Citi Field/Arthur Ashe complex. Working our way through the mob of visored and polo-clad individuals of all ages we managed to find our seats on the “Loge” level center line just after the first game.
I know very little about tennis. I remember once attending a week-long tennis day camp in junior high and having the dispiriting experience of being the worst in my group. I think most people dislike being bad at something and unfortunately, my initial dislike of being a terrible tennis player was transferred to the sport itself.
However, the next two days of watching five excellent matches and observing the fascinating culture of international tennis quite revived my interest. Meredith (thank you!) was patient enough to explain the rules to me, define the lingo, and keep me from breaching etiquette. I must admit to having been baffled by the scoring system for the first two games.
Although I don’t think I will run out and purchase a racket any time soon, I derive pleasure from having a new found insight into a niche of human entertainment and experience. Indeed, tennis is now the sport I enjoy watching most! Thanks again Mere! You’re the best.
Zach’s Birthday at the Bronx Zoo
August 29th is Zach’s birthday and I accompanied him on his annual pilgrimage to the Bronx Zoo. It was rather hot out but still fun. Animals animal animals!
In the evening we baked (?) a Peach Slump in lieu of birthday cake. YUM.
