"So how could your hair have the nerve to dance around like that, blowing? And how could the air have the nerve to blow your hair around like that?" ~the national

Oh my goodness, I am so excited. Lauren Graham, my favorite actress in the world, is joining the upcoming Broadway cast of Guys & Dolls. I lined up at 3:00am to see her most recent Conan O'Brien taping; I'm a huuuuge fan. It's not one of my absolute favorite musicals, but getting to see Lauren Graham live on stage (on a Broadway stage!) is thrilling beyond words. I'm definitely going to see it multiple times. I can't wait until March. Seriously, you can't imagine how over the moon I am right now.

I've been busy lately; there's too much stuff to write about. I've seen a few plays in the past week. Here are some quick, not very well thought-out reactions (I'm tired):

I saw the Broadway production of All My Sons (link to NYTimes review), starring Katie Holmes, John Lithgow, two-time Oscar winner Dianne Wiest, and Patrick Wilson. I enjoy all of those actors and thought they were wonderful (even Ms. Holmes, despite her lack of stage experience and shaky start at the beginning of the play). It's such a depressing, emotional play (although I guess that's to be expected considering it's by Arthur Miller), but it was well done.

I also saw the off-Broadway production of Farragut North, starring John Gallagher, Jr. (Tony winner for Spring Awakening), Chris Noth (Mr. Big from Sex and the City), and Olivia Thirlby (Ellen Page's best friend in Juno). I can see it transferring to Broadway; I thought it was great. The characters aren't very likable at all, but the actors still make you feel for them and engage you in the action. It's relevant and thought-provoking. And you can't go wrong with a $10 student ticket, especially in a tiny, intimate theatre where all the seats are good ones.

I also saw Sleepwalk with Me. It's a one-man off-Broadway show written by and starring Mike Birbiglia. Mike, if your google alerts happened to alert you to this post, I think you are suave and svelte. Mr. Birbiglia is very funny, and his humor seems to come effortlessly. At times he reminded me of Jimmy Kimmel; I'm not sure why, and I'm probably the only one who's made that observation. Anyway, it was a night of good, clean hilarity.

What else did I want to talk about? I guess that's it for now; this will be a theatre post. I'll save my real-life drama for later. Ooh, one more thing! I went to see the Pulitzer Prize-winning author Frank McCourt speak tonight. He's brilliant. He taught in New York City public schools for 30 years, and after only a little over one year as a NYC public school teacher I know how impressive that is. His book Teacher Man is a must-read for teachers everywhere (and for anyone who's been a student, I suppose; actually, everyone can appreciate it). When I first read it I could not stop laughing aloud hysterically. Tonight he read some of my favorite part of the book (the sandwich incident in the first chapter) and spoke about the experience of being a teenager as well as his journey to becoming a teacher. I greatly admire him and value his thoughts, so I was grateful to hear him speak.

"So you can burn me, cause we'll all be the same, the same way. Dirt in someone's eyes cried down the drain. I believe in a house in the clouds, and God's got his dead friends 'round. He's painted all the walls red, to remind them they're all dead." ~frightened rabbit

You might not have heard of Frightened Rabbit, but there's a good chance you've heard their music. Their song "Good Arms vs. Bad Arms" was on Grey's Anatomy last season and on One Tree Hill last week, and their song "The Twist" was on Chuck a couple of weeks ago. I have a feeling their popularity will increase significantly in the future. They are brilliant. I've been listening to their most recent album, The Midnight Organ Fight, nonstop for weeks. It's been hailed as one of the best albums of the year, and right now it is my favorite album of 2008. I went to see their concert last night at the Williamsburg Hall of Music and it blew me away. They're even better live than they are on their records.

I arrived very early because I wasn't sure when people would start lining up (it was GA), so I was the first person there. When I was finally allowed into the venue I claimed a spot directly in front of the stage, dead center. I was able to lean on the stage. A cool group of Frightened Rabbit fans eventually joined me up front and we chatted a little before the concert started. The Swims were the opening band, and they were pretty good. The concert was co-headlined by Frightened Rabbit and The Spinto Band, and Frightened Rabbit went on after The Swims (The Spinto Band got to close the show). Frightened Rabbit played nine songs. They played most of my favorites (The Twist, Keep Yourself Warm, Head Rolls Off); I wish they had played Backwards Walk and Poke, but overall I was happy with the setlist (when you have less than an hour onstage, something's gotta go). They had so much energy; they were all dripping with sweat by the second song. The group of fans next to me were so involved, so I didn't feel uncomfortable letting loose as well. We screamed along to all of the songs, we danced, we cheered...it wore me out, but it was fulfilling. I think the band drew from and appreciated our energy; they made eye contact and they said that it was "one of the best nights ever." It really was thrilling.

I recorded the show but it's not great because I was so close to the stage; I had to use a low recording level because I was too close to the drums, so the vocals aren't as clear and as loud as I'd like them to be. Here is a link to download the mp3 version of my recording. If you haven't listened to the album I highly recommend getting that first. And please excuse my awful singing. Also, please don't trade or sell this recording. If you want the .wav files let me know.

"I told you to be patient, I told you to be fine. I told you to be balanced, I told you to be kind." ~bon iver

I love that song. How fabulous is that line, "I told you to be fine"? I just think it's brilliant. I told you to be fine. Of course telling someone to be fine is just about as useful as telling someone to win the lottery.

I'm already thinking about my list of the best albums of the year and it's only October. Right now I'm focused on 6 that should at least make the top ten. They are:

Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight
Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
Ray LaMontagne - Gossip in the Grain
R.E.M. - Accelerate
Death Cab for Cutie - Narrow Stairs
Counting Crows - Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings

Go check them out if you haven't heard them already.

I have a lot going through my mind right now, but I can't write about it. I started to write this entry because I felt like I had so much to say, and now I realize I don't want to say it. Maybe later. I'll just leave this as a music post. I just wonder, does it ever get easier? Life, I mean. I keep reminding myself that I am incredibly lucky and fortunate, because I am, and I realize that I'm selfish for wanting more. And yet. I'm telling myself to be fine. We'll see how that goes.

"Well this is how we do things now, yeah this is how the modern stay scared. So I cut out all the good stuff, yeah I cut off my foot to spite my leg..." ~frightened rabbit

I went to the taping of Daniel Radcliffe's Inside the Actor's Studio interview on Monday. It was about three-and-a-half hours long. After listening to him talk for three-and-a-half hours (and after seeing him onstage naked for a prolonged period of time in Equus), I feel like I know Mr. Radcliffe. And he seems like a great guy. He's very humble, and he's also very funny. His Harry Potter fame hasn't gone to his head. He's very appreciative of that role and yet is already moving beyond it; he can do so much more than Harry Potter. I enjoyed listening to him and learning more about him. The interview will obviously be drastically edited for TV, so I'm glad I was able to be there for the taping and got to see the entire thing (even though I was fidgety and starving and exhausted by the end of it).

My favorite moment (what Daniel described as the stupidest thing he's ever said): At the end there was a Q&A session with the audience. After one audience member asked what roles he might like to play in the future, another audience member suggested that his diminutive stature makes him perfect for playing Napoleon. Daniel then told a funny Napoleon story. During a late night shoot, around 1:00am, Daniel wrapped something around himself to stay warm. He was cold and tired and apparently out of it. His dresser told him that he looked like Napoleon. Daniel asked, "Do you know what Napoleon's first name was?" His dresser paused and gave him a strange look before replying, "Napoleon." Daniel's (completely serious) response was, "So his name was Napoleon Napoleon? That's odd." I guess it doesn't seem so funny in print, but the way he told it was great. He's a very charismatic guy.

Tonight I'm going to see Speed the Plow on Broadway (Nicole got comps). I'm so excited. I like Jeremy Piven (although I'm not sure he deserves the multiple Emmy and Golden Globe awards that have been heaped upon him from Entourage; it's getting a bit ridiculous that he wins every year). I've heard good things about the play. I'll report back.

Teaching is going well (of course now that I've said that I'm sure it will blow up in my face). Of course I have to deal with behavior problems every day, but I guess I'm more used to it. For the first time, I feel like I might actually be a good teacher someday. Not yet, because I know I have so much left to learn, but someday I think I could be good at this. I think I'm off to a much better start than I was last year; it's wonderful to have some experience under my belt, and I know the kids can sense it. Some of them are so sweet. And they're all great when you're working with them 1:1. I've grown accustomed to the fact that they are nice kids, they just don't understand how to behave in school and it is impossible to change some of their behavior. I have to work with what I've got. My students' math teacher is not doing so great, though. The kids are tearing her apart. It's not good, and it'll be really bad if that behavior spills over into my classroom. We'll see what happens.

"Wiseblood knows how to walk the way the wind blows. Wiseblood hears grace whisper right behind." ~kurt stevenson & chris boesel

I don't know what's wrong with me. I've just been in a sort of rut lately. I'm not sure why. I'm not depressed or sad, just moody. I'm reading Nicole Krauss' The History of Love and something in every chapter brings tears to my eyes. I'm not sure if it's because the book is so heartbreaking or the book's sadness is enhanced by my own mood. Anyway, it's a beautiful novel. It's one of those that I don't want to finish reading because I want it to go on forever.

I've been going through the entire series of Six Feet Under. The season 3 finale made me cry. It made me think about Heaven. I thought Claire's vision of the afterlife was interesting; it was a huge carnival filling the cemetery. She asked her (dead) dad if it was a special occasion, and he told her that it's like that every day. Seeing Claire see (or imagine, I guess, because her dad told her it was her own vision) Lisa taking care of her (Claire's) unborn baby was what brought on the waterworks. It must have been comforting for her to know that he's being taken care of, although I'm sure it was devastating at the same time to know that she won't get to see him grow up. And then Lisa asked Claire to take care of her own baby, Mya, who is still alive. The entire episode got to me, but that moment was the most touching. The worlds of the living and the dead collided for a minute or so, and the characters remain connected to each other through their children (Lisa with Claire's son in the afterlife, Claire with Lisa's daughter in the world of the living). It's probably not enough for either of them, but it's something. It made me think about death and it made me think about the fact that I will never understand death, because I can't imagine death as a better place if you're separated from the people you love the most. It's beyond my understanding, but I guess that's the way it's supposed to be.

I guess that's all, now that I've thoroughly confused my imaginary readers.