"A falling star fell from your heart and landed in my eyes. I screamed aloud as it tore through them, and now it's left me blind. The stars, the moon, they have all been blown out. You left me in the dark. No dawn, no day, I'm always in this twilight. In the shadow of your heart. And in the dark, I can hear your heartbeat, I tried to find the sound. But then it stopped and I was in the darkness. So darkness I became." ~florence + the machine

Look at the first few words again. "A falling star...." Last night at Florence + the Machine's concert at Jones Beach, during this song ("Cosmic Love"), there was a shooting star. I'm completely serious. How crazy is that?! An actual falling star during "Cosmic Love!" My audio recording is posted below, and you can hear when it happens. I still can't believe it. The version posted above is obviously the album version of the song.

Jones Beach is an awesome venue; it's literally on the water, and when you look out beyond the stage you see the ocean. Last night was a perfect night for an outdoor concert. It was beautiful. The music was beautiful as well. Flo is one of my favorite artists (she's definitely my favorite female artist). Jones Beach is such a big venue, but Flo filled it with her energy. She has such a commanding presence, even when you're watching her from the cheap seats in the balcony. She's dramatic and theatrical and she manages to get the whole audience involved and excited. She was barefoot and wore a long, flowing black dress that billowed behind her as she ran around the stage.

The setlist was okay. She played some of my faves ("Cosmic Love," "No Light, No Light," "Shake It Out," "Dog Days Are Over," "Only If For A Night") but also skipped a bunch of my faves ("Seven Devils," "Never Let Me Go," "Bedroom Hymns," "All This And Heaven Too"). I wish she had played a longer set. I enjoyed every minute of the concert, though; it really was captivating.

Here's my audio. It's a great listen, I promise. Flo is very entertaining between songs. Listen to "Cosmic Love" to hear chatter about the falling star.

Videos - "Dog Days Are Over"

"Shake It Out"

 "Regrets collect like old friends, here to relive your darkest moments. I can see no way, I can see no way. And all of the ghouls come out to play, and every demon wants his pound of flesh. But I like to keep some things to myself, I like to keep my issues drawn. It's always darkest before the dawn." ~florence + the machine

I have tons of updates to write about, and I will get back into blogging regularly in the next couple of weeks. I've been thrown off by my prolonged lack of internet and then summer vacation, but now that I'm on my normal school schedule and have internet, I'll start writing more. I have concerts to write about (Train, Mat Kearney & Train, Florence + the Machine on Saturday!), along with other fun stuff (Jessica Chastain! Ben Schwartz!), and that'll come soon. For now, I'll just share these photos:

I made Chris Gorham laugh. You can guess how awesome that makes me feel. 

 Isn't he dreamy? Oh my goodness, I adore him. He was super nice, too.

If you don't know who he is, start watching Covert Affairs. Now. It's an awesome show (even though the last episode, which aired on my birthday, had me completely bawling).

That's all for now. More to come. Listen to some Flo. I'm very excited to see her at Jones Beach this weekend! (By the way, the Flo song posted above aired at the very end of the season 2 Covert Affairs finale, and it was such a beautiful use of music in a TV show. That show has consistently good music. In the last episode it was a heartbreaking cover of "The Blower's Daughter" that got to me.)

Photo Book

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"Let the moment go...don't forget it for a moment, though. Just remembering you've had an "and" when you're back to "or" makes the "or" mean more than it did before. Now I understand - and it's time to leave the woods." ~stephen sondheim (into the woods)

I'll write about my trip to Italy and Greece soon. I have a lot to say, but it will take me awhile to put it all into words. I'll say that I had a fabulous time. It was the best vacation ever. More to come on that.  "Moments in the Woods" (posted above, from the show I'm about to discuss) strangely describes my feelings about the vacation, so it's a good intro to the post and a segue into theater.


The Delacorte Theater might just be my favorite place in the world. It's the home of Shakespeare in the Park, and I've spent many summer nights there enjoying fabulous Shakespeare productions. Last week I was able to enjoy a night of Sondheim in the Park at the Delacorte. Into the Woods is one of my all-time favorite musicals (it's in my top three), and seeing it in Central Park (literally in the woods) was indescribable. I loved it. Sondheim is an absolute genius.

The performances in this production were particularly strong. My favorites were Amy Adams, Donna Murphy, and Sarah Stiles. Amy Adams is lovely as the Baker's Wife. Her "Moments in the Woods" is beautiful, and she's very funny. Donna Murphy is a freakin' superstar (Ben Brantley called her a superstar and I completely agree). She really is a living legend and I am so, so glad I was able to see her perform this role. She kills it. I think I like her performance as the witch even better than Bernadette Peters', although I know that's a pretty crazy statement for a musical theatre fan to make. Sarah Stiles plays Little Red, my favorite character in the show, and she's amazing. She offers a new take on the role, and I love it. She's precocious and strong and her comedic timing is perfect; she's hilarious. "I Know Things Now" is my favorite song in the show, and Sarah Stiles' version did not disappoint me at all. Gideon Glick is also very good as Jack. I love Denis O'Hare (sidenote: I'm so glad he's back on True Blood this season), but I think he's miscast as the Baker. Both Cinderella's Prince and Rapunzel's Prince are forgettable. The women really seem to stand out in this production.

The creative elements were a bit off in my mind. Poor Amy Adams is sporting the most awful, awful wig. I think Denis O'Hare is sweating buckets every night because of his cap and tweed jacket. Donna Murphy's appearance after the witch's transformation is perfect, but before the transformation, the dreadlocks and claws really don't work for me. All the costumes don't really work together; everyone looks like they're from a completely different story/time period, and I don't understand the point of that. I did like the way they did the Giant.

People are talking about a transfer to Broadway, and although it wouldn't be the same as in Central Park, I'd love to see it transfer. I definitely foresee some Tony noms if that happens.

Here's a nice interview with Amy Adams and Donna Murphy in the New York Times (you can see Ms. Adams' awful wig and Ms. Murphy's awful hair/costume in the photos).

ETA: Video preview

"And knowing ahead, there comes a fork in the road. Pants have got to go, we're on an island on the Fourth of July, it looks like the tide is going home. In time, I'd find a little way to your heart, down to the general store for nothing specific, gonna wash my bones in the Atlantic shore, only for you and me." ~band of horses

I was so thrilled they played that song when I saw them at MSG in December; it's one of my favorites. I think it's a great summer song.

The school year is over! Here are a couple of highlights since school let out.

I'm not a Maroon 5 fan, but I got to spend about six hours in the same room as the lead singer yesterday (am I allowed to say his name? I'm not sure, so I won't, but I'm sure you all know it), and I have to say I was really impressed with him. He was incredibly fun, good-natured, and friendly. I signed nondisclosure forms so there's not much I can say about the experience right now, but once a certain movie comes out I'll say more. During downtime (of which there was a lot), he impersonated Johnny Cash, the Beatles, Kings of Leon, Creed, Al Green, Elvis, Sting, Prince, Cee Lo Green, and more (he took requests). He was entertaining and made the experience (that I can't discuss now) very enjoyable.

Every year I love attending Random House's Author Event for Educators, and this year's event was wonderful as always. They had a great collection of authors. Susan Cain was a highlight for me; her bestselling book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking has been on my radar for awhile, and I loved hearing her speak about introverts, focusing on how teachers can support introverts in the classroom. Julie Otsuka has won many writing awards for her novel When the Emperor Was Divine, and her long awaited follow-up, The Buddha in the Attic. I can't wait to read both books after hearing about them. Darin Strauss is another writer whom I was excited to hear from; his memoir Half a Life has been on my must-read list since it was released and critically lauded. Matt De La Pena (an author my students enjoy), Said Sayrafiezadeh, and Sam Bracken also spoke very well about their books and their experiences. It was a great day.

I've been to the movies a LOT since school ended. I enjoyed Savages, The Amazing Spider-Man, People Like Us, Magic Mike (so much eye candy it was overwhelming), and Ted, although I still think my favorite movie of the summer is Moonrise Kingdom.

I'm super excited to see my friend Denise, who's visiting this weekend along with her friend Alicia, whom I really liked meeting last year. Then on Tuesday I leave for Italy and Greece! My grandmother and I are flying to Rome and spending a couple of days there, then we head to Venice for a couple of days, and from Venice we'll embark on a cruise of the Greek islands. I cannot wait. Hopefully internet will be available when I get back. I'm sure I'll have lots of pictures and stories to share.

I'm sad that I can't be at Comic-Con and NerdHQ this week because I had a blast last year; it was one of the best weeks ever. I hope everyone going has fun. I will be looking at pictures and videos and will be jealous.

Some of my newly signed books: