"Closing time, time for you to go out to the places you will be from. Closing time, this room won't be open 'til your brothers or you sisters come. So gather up your jackets, and move it to the exits, I hope you have found a friend. Closing time, every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end." ~semisonic

Tomorrow is the last day of school. I'm a mixed bag of emotions. This has been a really tough week, so I'll be relieved when it's over. I've screamed a lot. They are crazier than ever (which I didn't think was possible). In the past three days they've turned my classroom into a baseball field, a basketball court, and a wrestling ring. There's just no incentive to behave well now. They know their grades are in and that they'll all be moving on to the next grade. They don't mind detention because it means they get to spend more time with their friends. Even phone calls home don't phase them. They're absolutely wild. They know how awful they're being and they don't care at all. One kid told me they're having fun because this is the last chance they'll have to spend time together. I guess they're worried they won't see each other over the summer, which is a valid concern. Their parents' schedules will complicate things and a bunch of them are going to D.R. with their families. Anyway, they're absolute terrors and it's wearing me out.

At the same time, I know I'll miss them. They're my life right now. Seriously. My world revolves around them. I spend more time with them than with anyone else (by a longshot). They spend more time with me than they spend with their own parents. I am with them all day. Even when I'm not the one teaching them, I'm with them. I even spend my preps in the classroom with them. Basically we only spend 30 minutes apart (lunch) during the entire school day. I know them so well. They're my first class ever, which makes our bond even more intense. Their science teacher warned me about what I'll go through over the summer, and I'm sure it's true because I already experienced it to a degree over our week-long breaks during the school year. When I'm not with them, I dream about them. I wake up thinking about them. They're constantly on my mind. They'll be impossible to shake. When something that takes up your whole life is suddenly taken away from you, you're going to have to adjust. And even though they've made me miserable at times, I love them. They're my babies. So it'll be tough.

Mark Rylance Tony Awards acceptance speech

"Eating snow flakes with plastic forks, and a paper plate of course, you think of everything." ~modest mouse

They played that song on Saturday and I'm so glad. I haven't stopped listening to it since.

My love for Mark Rylance just grows and grows. He is so deliciously quirky and hilarious. His Tony acceptance speech had me in stitches, and his backstage interview was almost as funny. About the experience of being onstage in Boeing-Boeing: "Bradley (Whitford) says it's a bit like a Japanese tea ceremony with tits...he has a good way with words." Bradley Whitford is equally hilarious.

For the person who requested the Bradford Whitley red carpet interview: Go here and click on Red Carpet: The Cast of Boeing-Boeing.
That interviewer is an idiot. First he gets Brad Whitford's name wrong, then later they have this exchange:
Interviewer: Now, this is your Broadway debut, right?
Bradley: Um, no. I was in A Few Good Men. Many years ago.

What follows is interesting, though.

Christine: I was in A Few Good Women.
Bradley: So was I, baby.

Oh, Bradley. :D

"Broadway is dark tonight." ~the goo goo dolls

Tonight is the only night of the year that Broadway is actually dark.

I'm going to make notes here as I watch the Tonys. Probably will update the post every once in a while.

~The red carpet interviews just provided me with what I know will be the funniest moment of the evening. Apparently BRADFORD WHITLEY is currently starring in Boeing-Boeing. He must have kidnapped Bradley Whitford and taken his place. Seriously. Hilarious.

~Boeing-Boeing wins best revival of a play! HOORAY!

~They're giving out some really important awards before the telecast has even started. I'm watching it online, but I can't imagine many other people are. I guess it's because they have 13 freakin' performances to get through this year. I'm not a fan of that idea. The nominees should perform, and that's it.

~I LOVE Julie White. "Ring, ring, ring, went the bell!"

~Rondi Reed (August: Osage County) beat Mary McCormack (Boeing-Boeing) for best supporting actress in a play. I'm bummed. Mary McCormack steals that show. I think she deserved the award.

~Adam Duritz just introduced the number from Passing Strange. He looked great; he was rocking a fabulous bow tie and seemed really happy.

~YES! Lin Manuel Miranda just won best score for In the Heights, and rapped his acceptance speech. SO happy for him.

~OH.MY.GOSH. Never mind, new funniest moment of the night (still related to Boeing-Boeing, though). Mark Rylance won best actor for Boeing-Boeing and just have the most HILARIOUS ACCEPTANCE SPEECH EVER. Mary McCormack's face during the speech was priceless. I have no words. Luckily I'm sure it'll be on youtube soon.

~Great performances from In the Heights and Xanadu.

~Patti LuPone won for Gypsy; not at all surprising, but deserved. Good quote from her speech as the orchestra began to cut her off: "Shut up, it's been 29 years!"

~Winner of best musical: In the Heights. Hooray! I think it's very deserving. Overall, a great evening.

"It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine." ~r.e.m.

So last night's R.E.M./The National/Modest Mouse concert at Jones Beach was quite an experience. See article here. Yeah, I was there. It sucked. When lightning struck during Modest Mouse's set, it was pretty scary; it was insanely loud and lit up the entire sky. I have the audio of it on my recording and it blows out my ears every time I listen to it. So then they evacuated the theater and made us all wait for two hours, huddled under overhangs. That was a long two hours. Finally they let us back in and R.E.M. went on. Of course it poured during their entire set. I have never been so soaking wet for such a long period of time in my life (not counting being in a pool). It was miserable; everyone got completely soaked. An umbrella and raincoat were of basically no use. I was wringing out my clothes on the bus ride back. I tried to shield my recording equipment and managed to keep it dry, but I was drenched. I was sitting in a pool of water. It was ridiculous. But it allowed for some good songs. R.E.M. opened with Have You Ever Seen the Rain, which I love. They also played It's the End of the World, which they never, ever do. Before launching into it, Michael went on about how he said he would never do this song. I guess he felt really bad for us, so he decided to give us that perk. It was fabulous. Definitely the highlight of the night. So overall it was certainly eventful. I didn't make it home until after 3:00am. Now I have to prepare myself for the Tonys tonight.