"So we wait in the dark until someone sets us free, and we're brought into the light, and we're back at the start. And I know things now, many valuable things, that I hadn't known before: Do not put your faith in a cape and a hood, they will not protect you the way that they should. And take extra care with strangers, even flowers have their dangers. And though scary is exciting, nice is different than good. Now I know: Don't be scared. Granny is right, just be prepared. Isn't it nice to know a lot! And a little bit not." ~stephen sondheim (into the woods)

Some recent stuff:

Shakespeare in the Park: As You Like It
I love this play, and this is a lovely, well-staged production. Lily Rabe is magnificent as always. Seriously, this girl is fantastic. There's also a great supporting cast (including Oliver Platt). Steve Martin wrote the music and he did a fabulous job. Being at the Delacorte watching Shakespeare on a summer evening is one of my favorite things in the world.
I cannot wait for this summer's next SitP show, Into the Woods. It's one of my favorite musicals, and to see Amy Adams, Denis O'Hare, Donna Murphy, and Gideon Glick as part of the cast will make waiting in line overnight totally worth it.

Concert/Album release party: Spirit Family Reunion
Spirit Family Reunion is an Americana/folk/bluegrass band that puts on a great show. The word that first comes to mind is "raucous" (in a good way). The didn't go onstage until after midnight, but they certainly woke everyone up and got the crowd moving and clapping along.

Funny random incident after the concert: I went to the show with my friends Nicole and Maribeth, and while we were waiting on the subway platform for the F train to take us home (around 2:30am), this guy came up to us and asked if we were sisters. We said no, so he asked if we were cousins. We said no again. Nic was carrying the band's record (which has Spirit Family Reunion in huge letters on the cover), and this guy thought it was a sign or something from the family reunion we were coming from. He assumed we were related and our last name was Spirit. It was funny at the time. We ended up talking about bath salt-eating zombies, which was also funny.

That's all for now. I'll leave you with a new picture of my boys.

"This is how it works, you're young until you're not, you love until you don't, you try until you can't. You laugh until you cry, you cry until you laugh, and everyone must breathe until their dying breath.
No, this is how it works. You peer inside yourself, you take the things you like, and try to love the things you took. And then you take that love you made, and stick it into some, someone else's heart, pumping someone else's blood. And walking arm in arm, you hope it don't get harmed. But even if it does, you'll just do it all again." ~regina spektor

My jury duty was cut short, so I didn't have as much time on free wifi as I had hoped. But I'm at the library now, ready to post! I'll write about the recent Regina Spektor concert I went to, and I'll post my predictions for the Tony Awards.

Last week I went to a Regina Spektor concert that aired live on NPR's website (video) and on various public radio stations (audio). I went with my friend Bill, and we got a fabulous spot in the front row. I seriously could have reached out and touched Regina's piano. It was a small, intimate show (even though there were cameras all around because the concert was being broadcast). I enjoyed it very much. The show was to promote Regina's new album, What We Saw From the Cheap Seats. I didn't have the album yet (it had only been released two days before), so I was eager to hear some of the new songs and to see Regina perform some of my favorites. I love her album Begin to Hope, and I was thrilled to hear her perform the hits from that record. She sang all my favorites ("Samson," "On the Radio," "Fidelity," "Better"). Here are some videos from the live broadcast (they're my favorites, especially "On the Radio" and "Samson"):

"On the Radio" (Of course she had to play this):

"Fidelity":

"Better":

"Samson" (This is such a beautiful, beautiful song, and it's perfect as a closer):

"Ain't No Cover" (this was the first song she did, and she cursed a bunch at the beginning to get it out of her system before going on the air because she couldn't curse on the radio, but she didn't realize she was already live. NPR immediately issued a parental advisory warning.):


There are videos of the whole show on this very, very kind person's youtube feed. I'm really happy they took the time to record and upload the show, because NPR still hasn't posted the archived version on their site. The concert is definitely worth watching/listening. Regina has some funny dialogue talking to people listening to the radio (usually she doesn't talk much while performing).



And now I'll switch to a completely unrelated topic (actually, I suppose it's not completely unrelated, because Regina Spektor is currently writing a Broadway musical). The Tony Awards are on Sunday! Tony night is one of my favorite nights of the year. I'll share my predictions here now (and you can see how I do on Sunday). I'm really rooting for Once, Nina Arianda, and Other Desert Cities. There are a lot of close races this year, so it'll be exciting.

Best Play: Other Desert Cities (Clybourne Park could very well take it, but I much prefer Other Desert Cities.)
Best Musical: Once (This is an incredibly tight race between Once and Newsies, but I really want Once to win.)
Best Revival of a Play: Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman
Best Revival of a Musical: Follies
Best Book of a Musical: Once - Enda Walsh
Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics): Newsies - Music: Alan Menken Lyrics: Jack Feldman
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play: Philip Seymour Hoffman - Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman (James Corden has a shot, though.)
Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play: Nina Arianda - Venus in Fur
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical: Danny Burstein - Follies (although I keep going between him and Steve Kazee from Once)
Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical: Audra McDonald - The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess
Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play: Christian Borle - Peter and the Starcatcher (although I will not be at all surprised if Andrew Garfield wins)
Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play: Judith Light - Other Desert Cities
Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical: Phillip Boykin - The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess
Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical: Judy Kaye - Nice Work If You Can Get It
Best Direction of a Play: Mike Nichols - Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman
Best Direction of a Musical: John Tiffany - Once
Best Choreography: Christopher Gattelli - Newsies
Best Orchestrations: Martin Lowe - Once
Best Scenic Design of a Play: John Lee Beatty - Other Desert Cities
Best Scenic Design of a Musical: Rob Howell and Jon Driscoll - Ghost the Musical
Best Costume Design of a Play: Paloma Young - Peter and the Starcatcher
Best Costume Design of a Musical: Gregg Barnes - Follies
Best Lighting Design of a Play: Jeff Croiter - Peter and the Starcatcher
Best Lighting Design of a Musical: Hugh Vanstone - Ghost the Musical
Best Sound Design of a Play: Darron L West - Peter and the Starcatcher
Best Sound Design of a Musical: Clive Goodwin - Once

 So much to write about and still no internet!

I guess I should talk about Kim's wedding. It was absolutely lovely. The ceremony was filled with love and joy and laughter, and I was so glad to be there. The reception was amazing. It was at an incredible venue with beautiful gardens outside and gorgeous, fancy rooms inside. I think there was enough food to feed a small country for a year. During cocktail hour there were a bunch of stations set up with all the appetizers you could imagine (as well as a martini bar), so I was stuffed by the time dinner rolled around. There was also a crazy assortment of desserts after dinner. There was a fun band and lots of dancing, and I had a great time. I knew a lot of people there, and I got to see my parents and brother (my parents also stuck around the next day so I got to spend more time with them in the city, which I was really happy about). Here are some photos:

It really was a fabulous, joyful, celebration, and I'm so happy for Kim and Jeff.


Other fun events will be discussed in another post coming very, very soon. I have jury duty now, and I think I'm the only person who's thrilled to be here. There's wifi, so I get to sit around all day using the internet and reading. It's wonderful! So I'll post again soon while I'm able to take advantage of this free time and internet access.

I'm still waiting to get internet in my apartment, but hopefully it should happen soon and I'll be able to start posting again on a semi-regular basis.

I haven't written in forever, and I have a ton to write about, but I'm crunched for time so I'll stick with the stuff that's freshest in my mind. Last night I went to a Yankees game. I don't care about the Yankees (I'm a die-hard Braves fan), but I love baseball games, so I had a good time. A friend gave me his season tickets for the night, which was nice.

On Tuesday I went to a fun Dirty Dancing screening hosted by SkinnyCow in honor of the movie's 25th anniversary. It was so much fun! The movie is one of my all-time favorites (I've seen it many, many times), and it's one that I can watch over and over and enjoy every time. I've never seen it on the big screen before, so that was cool. Jennifer Grey introduced the film (she looks amazing, by the way). During the movie, people cheered and clapped and sang along with all the songs, so it was a fun environment. After the movie there was a cocktail party and lots of dancing. I went with a few friends whom I hadn't seen in awhile, and it was really nice to catch up with them. I had a good time. There was good food, good drinks, and cool gift bags (with t-shirts and copies of the movie, which I already own, along with some SkinnyCow treats). Here are some fun photos:

I felt that Jennifer Grey needed some ice cream (SkinnyCow, of course):

 And we got to dress up and be silly:

Here's another recent photo (taken with my phone) that I like:

I've seen a few other blogs share their favorite things, so I thought I'd post a few of mine.

This weekend I'm in my childhood best friend's wedding, which I've been looking forward to for a long time. I'll post photos (hopefully soon)!

"I can't begin to explain how we disassemble the parts and frame." ~the naked & famous



I really need internet at my apartment, because right now it's just too much trouble to come to the library or Starbucks to blog. I have a lot to write about; I've been able to have a lot of fun lately (I went skydiving, for example!). I saw six Broadway shows last week (and there are a few more I saw awhile ago but haven't written about yet) and I want to write about them. I don't have much time, though, so I'm just going to write very short reflections.

Death of a Salesman
I love Philip Seymour Hoffman, I truly think he's one of the greatest actors alive, so seeing him as Willy Loman was such a treat for me. He transformed himself into a broken man and it broke my heart. I also loved seeing Andrew Garfield onstage; I'm a big fan of his as well, and he definitely captured Biff's torment. Linda Emond and Finn Wittrock were also strong as the other two members of the Loman family. Mike Nichols directed the play, and he meticulously crafted the production elements to create a real sense of the time and place. This was the first production I've seen of this classic play, and I enjoyed it very much.

Peter and the Starcatcher
This is a lovely, creative new play that's basically a prequel to Peter Pan. The set is very minimal; the actors use minimal props (like a rope) and their own bodies to create the scenery. The cast is wonderful. Christian Borle will probably win a Tony for his performance, and I particularly loved Adam Chanler-Berat and Celia Keenan-Bolger in their roles. Ben Brantley gave the play a rave in his New York Times review, and I agree with his assessment of the production. It's magical.

Nice Work If You Can Get It
This is Matthew Broderick's first musical since The Producers, and it's a great vehicle for him. Kelli O'Hara is his stage partner, and she is as lovely as always. Seeing two incredibly talented musical theatre actors performing in a well-written comedy and singing classic Gershwin tunes proved to be a great evening of fun. I was surprised at how funny the show was.

Evita
This show has gotten mixed reviews. People tend to either love or hate Elena Roger, the Argentinian actress playing the title role. I love, love, love the score, and I think Roger sings it well (which is not an easy feat). Her dancing is also very strong, and she captures Eva's scrappy nature. I actually think I'm one of the few people who feels ambivalent about her overall performance, but I guess I lean toward a positive reaction. Michael Cerveris always gives a solid performance, and his Juan Peron is no exception. Ricky Martin isn't as charismatic as I hoped he would be as Che. (Fun fact: I saw Ricky Martin a really, really long time ago (like over 15 years ago) as Marius in Les Miz.) Anyway, I've always loved the score of this show, so hearing it sung live by talented singers was enough to make me happy.

One Man, Two Guvnors
This show transferred from London where it received rave reviews and was a huge hit, and I'm interested to see how it does on this side of the pond. It's definitely very English, but I don't think that's a bad thing at all. It's a very, very funny farce. James Corden is absolutely hilarious, and the supporting cast is very strong as well. I basically laughed for two-and-a-half hours straight, and there's nothing better than that. Fun fact: I met James Corden's parents (and auntie) the morning of the show while I was waiting in line for a rush ticket; they were very friendly, and it was cute to see how proud they were of their son.

Leap of Faith
This show is an absolute disaster, but Raul Esparza is wonderful. I have no idea how such a talented actor became involved in such a mess onstage. That's really all that needs to be said.

Don't Dress for Dinner
This is another farce currently on Broadway. The play was written by Mark Camoletti, the man who wrote Boeing-Boeing, and I suppose it's a sequel to Boeing-Boeing (it features the same two main characters). It's very funny; I really do like farce. I like laughing, and this play made me laugh. I guess I'm easy to please. Spencer Kayden steals the show; she's definitely the best thing about it.

That's all for now. I've wanted to write about new mid-season tv shows that I'm watching (GCB, Girls, Scandal, Don't Trust the B in Apartment 23), but that will have to wait.