The thirsty earth soaks up the rain,
And drinks and gapes for drink again;
The plants suck in the earth, and are
With constant drinking fresh and fair;
The sea itself [which one would think
Should have little need of drink]
Drink twice ten thousand rivers up,
So fill'd that they o'er fill the cup.
The busy sun [and one would guess
By's drunken fiery face no less]
Drinks up the sea, and when he's done,
The Moon and Stars drink up the Sun:
They drink and dance by their own light
They drink and revel all the night.
Nothing in Nature's sober found,
But an eternal health goes round.
Fill up the bowl, then, fill it high
Fill all the glasses there - for why
Should every creature drink but I?
Why, man of morals, tell me why?
Abraham Cowley[1618-1667]
He was a royalist during England's civil war. Obviously not a fan of Cromwell and the Puritans.
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Friday, April 8, 2011
Two great shows
Saw "The Motherf**ker with the Hat" and "Catch Me If You Can". I wanted to see MF because of Bobby Cannavale, and Chris Rock; it's Chris Rock's Broadway debut. I was totally surprised by how much fun and solid drama were in this play by Stephen Adly Guirgis. It's not surprising that Chris Rock and Annabella Sciorra decided to make their Broadway debut with this. Mr. Guirgis is with the LAByrinth Theater Company and has had about a dozen plays done there directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman. I haven't seen any of them but I am familiar with the title, "Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train". He has written for "N.Y.P.D. Blue", and the "Sopranos" and this is also his Broadway debut.
The play as the poster says involves two hearts, 12 steps and 1 hat. The hat is presumed to have been left by someone sharing Veronica [Elizabeth Rodriguez] and Jackie's [Bobby Cannavale] bed. They've known each other and loved each other since the 8th grade. Veronica opens the play snorting cocaine and talking to her mother on the phone about getting rehab. That is, her mother getting rehab; Veronica says she's fine. Bobby is just out of prison for selling drugs and is trying hard to work the 12 steps. His sponsor, Ralph [Chris Rock] is a charmer with women, which has his wife Victoria , Annabella Sciorra, packed and ready to leave. Lastly, is Bobby's cousin Julio, the wonderful Yul Vazquez, who grew up nicknamed mariconito, little faggot. The play takes place in three NYC apartments. The show runs 100 minutes with no intermission. Not what I like but at this show I didn't mind. The scenery changes in dim lighting; walls drop, slide and rotate. Couches move so quickly, over and down to the basement, I thought the actors were still sitting on them. This is very much in tune with the play. It is raucous, fast, screwball, fun.
I still want to write about "Catch Me If You Can". A musical I wanted to see because it has a book by Terrance McNally, based on the movie of the same name with music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman, directed by Jack O'Brien and starring Norbert Leo Butz, Aaron Tveit and Tom Wopat. Their credits are two great to list. These are among the living masters of the great American Art Form called Musical Comedy. Right now I want to tell you that I had my own Catch me if you can experience. I assumed an identity, I think.
I do theater on my small budget through discounted tickets. These 2 shows would have cost me about 3x each then what I actually paid for them. That's a great deal, BUT, sometimes you end up in the last row, "nose bleed territory" & in the middle seat that might be a comfortable fit for a 12 year old. Let's just say I'm not 12. Last night's ticket for "Catch" was the last row, far right, in the middle. I asked before they opened if I could stand in the back, which I did for the 'MFer' and that was fine. My knees are not 12 years old, either. They said: "OK, if it's not crowded." I waited until the audience was almost completely seated and asked the usherette if I could stand in the back. She said "The stairs?". I said "and the knees". She asked me to wait; then talked to "the boss". He looked at me. She looked at me. They talked some more. She came back to me and said: " Orchestra, third row." Wow, people are so nice. There I was face to face with the performers. I was smiling; they were smiling. I think Norbert Leo Butz winked at me.
There were 2 empty seats by me during the first act. At intermission, 2 young men asked me if anyone was sitting there, and if they could have them. The guy behind me interjected: " those seats are reserved for the press." oh. OH. My "The New Yorker" bag had been hanging from my shoulder. Would they think I was John Lahr? Nah. But they may be expecting a Talk of the Town piece.
The play as the poster says involves two hearts, 12 steps and 1 hat. The hat is presumed to have been left by someone sharing Veronica [Elizabeth Rodriguez] and Jackie's [Bobby Cannavale] bed. They've known each other and loved each other since the 8th grade. Veronica opens the play snorting cocaine and talking to her mother on the phone about getting rehab. That is, her mother getting rehab; Veronica says she's fine. Bobby is just out of prison for selling drugs and is trying hard to work the 12 steps. His sponsor, Ralph [Chris Rock] is a charmer with women, which has his wife Victoria , Annabella Sciorra, packed and ready to leave. Lastly, is Bobby's cousin Julio, the wonderful Yul Vazquez, who grew up nicknamed mariconito, little faggot. The play takes place in three NYC apartments. The show runs 100 minutes with no intermission. Not what I like but at this show I didn't mind. The scenery changes in dim lighting; walls drop, slide and rotate. Couches move so quickly, over and down to the basement, I thought the actors were still sitting on them. This is very much in tune with the play. It is raucous, fast, screwball, fun.
I still want to write about "Catch Me If You Can". A musical I wanted to see because it has a book by Terrance McNally, based on the movie of the same name with music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman, directed by Jack O'Brien and starring Norbert Leo Butz, Aaron Tveit and Tom Wopat. Their credits are two great to list. These are among the living masters of the great American Art Form called Musical Comedy. Right now I want to tell you that I had my own Catch me if you can experience. I assumed an identity, I think.
I do theater on my small budget through discounted tickets. These 2 shows would have cost me about 3x each then what I actually paid for them. That's a great deal, BUT, sometimes you end up in the last row, "nose bleed territory" & in the middle seat that might be a comfortable fit for a 12 year old. Let's just say I'm not 12. Last night's ticket for "Catch" was the last row, far right, in the middle. I asked before they opened if I could stand in the back, which I did for the 'MFer' and that was fine. My knees are not 12 years old, either. They said: "OK, if it's not crowded." I waited until the audience was almost completely seated and asked the usherette if I could stand in the back. She said "The stairs?". I said "and the knees". She asked me to wait; then talked to "the boss". He looked at me. She looked at me. They talked some more. She came back to me and said: " Orchestra, third row." Wow, people are so nice. There I was face to face with the performers. I was smiling; they were smiling. I think Norbert Leo Butz winked at me.
There were 2 empty seats by me during the first act. At intermission, 2 young men asked me if anyone was sitting there, and if they could have them. The guy behind me interjected: " those seats are reserved for the press." oh. OH. My "The New Yorker" bag had been hanging from my shoulder. Would they think I was John Lahr? Nah. But they may be expecting a Talk of the Town piece.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Mediterranean diet and Hazlitt
Catching up on my reading and podcasts.
The New York Times had a fun piece on the Mediterranean Diet in the Magazine section. The diet was "discovered" by a Scandinavian couple who were looking for heart healthy foods. They found, and this was right after the second world war, that Mediterraneans had a very low incidence of heart disease. So they credited the diet: olive oil, wine, fish, etc. In fact, most people could not afford those foods after the war; they were lucky if they had some lentils. Poverty prevented any heart disease. Today, the fattest population on the Mediterranean is in Beirut, Lebanon. Their favorite restaurant is a chain of American style diners. Their favorite dish is cheese fries with a malted. I'm thinking, maybe the terrorists are hungry. Let's give them cheese fries and malteds with an after dinner smoke. They'd never climb back up those mountains. More McDonald's and Marlboro's for export.
The podcasts I've been listening to are from the BBC: Classic poetry aloud, Curiosity aroused and In Our Time with Melvin Bragg. I particularly liked Melvin Bragg's pieces. They are each about 50 minutes long.
I especially liked the conversation dated "08.04.2010". It's about William Hazlitt, 1778-1830. Bragg and three academics discuss Hazlitt's life, philosophy and criticism. It is an extraordinary life comprising painting, theology, philosophy and literary criticism. When Hazlitt was working on a local paper, the theater critic took sick and Hazlitt was sent to review 'The Merchant of Venice" starring Edmund Kean. They were both now about 20 years old. Shakespeare at this time, 1798 was not well respected because his plays had been abridged and plagiarized and the real work was generally unknown. Hazlitt was blown away by what he called the "gusto" of the work and the acting. "Gusto" is his phase for a protean genius that is ego free. Shakespeare and Kean have gusto because they can inhabit multiple characters, sympathetically. He also reviewed Kean in Coriolanus. Hazlitt believed Wordsworth was simply genius because there is ego in his work. Hazlitt wrote so wonderfully of the show that interest in Shakespeare was revived. Jane Austen wrote a friend that she was heartsick because she could not get a ticket.
Naturally, I went looking for a book, perhaps a collection of Hazlitt's essays. They say he wrote on everything and his piece on boxing is the best piece on boxing ever written. Nothing at the Strand, Shakespeare and Co. nor the N.Y.U. bookstore. Amazon? a $10 book with $7 in shipping fees and $5 in handling fees and probably $10 in billing fees. You have to pay for them to post and add the fees.
The New York Times had a fun piece on the Mediterranean Diet in the Magazine section. The diet was "discovered" by a Scandinavian couple who were looking for heart healthy foods. They found, and this was right after the second world war, that Mediterraneans had a very low incidence of heart disease. So they credited the diet: olive oil, wine, fish, etc. In fact, most people could not afford those foods after the war; they were lucky if they had some lentils. Poverty prevented any heart disease. Today, the fattest population on the Mediterranean is in Beirut, Lebanon. Their favorite restaurant is a chain of American style diners. Their favorite dish is cheese fries with a malted. I'm thinking, maybe the terrorists are hungry. Let's give them cheese fries and malteds with an after dinner smoke. They'd never climb back up those mountains. More McDonald's and Marlboro's for export.
The podcasts I've been listening to are from the BBC: Classic poetry aloud, Curiosity aroused and In Our Time with Melvin Bragg. I particularly liked Melvin Bragg's pieces. They are each about 50 minutes long.
I especially liked the conversation dated "08.04.2010". It's about William Hazlitt, 1778-1830. Bragg and three academics discuss Hazlitt's life, philosophy and criticism. It is an extraordinary life comprising painting, theology, philosophy and literary criticism. When Hazlitt was working on a local paper, the theater critic took sick and Hazlitt was sent to review 'The Merchant of Venice" starring Edmund Kean. They were both now about 20 years old. Shakespeare at this time, 1798 was not well respected because his plays had been abridged and plagiarized and the real work was generally unknown. Hazlitt was blown away by what he called the "gusto" of the work and the acting. "Gusto" is his phase for a protean genius that is ego free. Shakespeare and Kean have gusto because they can inhabit multiple characters, sympathetically. He also reviewed Kean in Coriolanus. Hazlitt believed Wordsworth was simply genius because there is ego in his work. Hazlitt wrote so wonderfully of the show that interest in Shakespeare was revived. Jane Austen wrote a friend that she was heartsick because she could not get a ticket.
Naturally, I went looking for a book, perhaps a collection of Hazlitt's essays. They say he wrote on everything and his piece on boxing is the best piece on boxing ever written. Nothing at the Strand, Shakespeare and Co. nor the N.Y.U. bookstore. Amazon? a $10 book with $7 in shipping fees and $5 in handling fees and probably $10 in billing fees. You have to pay for them to post and add the fees.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Special Features
Many DVDs now include commentary about the movie. Last night I saw the movie "The House on Telegraph Hill". A 1950's film noir directed by Robert Wise, produced by Zanuck with cinematography by Lucien Ballard. It won an academy award for Best Art Direction by Lyle Wheeler, John De Cuir, Thomas Little, and Paul S. Fox, probably because of the great outdoor shots of 1950's San Francisco. The movie is OK. But I enjoyed the commentary most. It was done by a film noir historian who talked about the three leads, Richard Basehart,William Lundigan and Valentina Cortese, and the art direction. Ms. Cortese's story is the most interesting. She was brought from Italy by Zanuck to become an "international" star. However she had the same reaction to Hollywood that Jean Gabin had; too much "mickey mouse" business, he famously said. She made two films and went back to Europe where she had a long, successful career. She was a great beauty and when she left America, Richard Basehart went with her. They were married for about 10 years and then divorced. She is now 86 and still making movies and was nominated for a supporting Oscar for Truffaut's "Day for Night".
According to Wikipedia there are 179 films made in San Francisco. New York City has 856. What would be a favorite San Francisco movie, Maltese Falcon, Vertigo, San Francisco? A favorite NYC movie, "On the Town", maybe but "Naked City" has a special place in my heart. I remember when they made it. We were living in the Bronx and they filmed some it in our neighborhood. The Bronx of the 1950s is lost except in that movie and my memory.
According to Wikipedia there are 179 films made in San Francisco. New York City has 856. What would be a favorite San Francisco movie, Maltese Falcon, Vertigo, San Francisco? A favorite NYC movie, "On the Town", maybe but "Naked City" has a special place in my heart. I remember when they made it. We were living in the Bronx and they filmed some it in our neighborhood. The Bronx of the 1950s is lost except in that movie and my memory.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Music
Saw Michel Legrand at the Blue Note and a "meet-up" to the pillow fight at Union Square. Took some photos of the pillow fight and will try to get them on the blog. Still learning how to do this. I took the camera to the Blue Note but they don't want you to take pictures with a flash. Another thing to add to my "to learn" list. Michel was terrific. He started with some jazz improv and ended by trying to "kill off" the theme from "Umbrellas of Cherbourg", because, he said, "it is so old, from 1832". The killing was a 20 minute piano instrumental that was something really special. His second piece was the first he ever wrote, "What are you doing the rest of your life", which he sang. He did a classical fugue and also sang in french "The windmills of your mind". He has worked with all the Jazz greats. One of them, Miles Davis, had "disappeared" for years. Then one day he called him up and said: "froggy", Miles called him froggy, get your f'''ing A'hole over here. He went, of course.
Michel's father was a composer and conductor and is most famous for composing the musical Irma La Douce. Michel studied with Nadia Boulanger who also taught Aaron Copland and Philip Glass. He has won three Academy Awards and a Tony for "Amour".
"I'll awaken what's asleep in your life" he sang and he did.
Michel's father was a composer and conductor and is most famous for composing the musical Irma La Douce. Michel studied with Nadia Boulanger who also taught Aaron Copland and Philip Glass. He has won three Academy Awards and a Tony for "Amour".
"I'll awaken what's asleep in your life" he sang and he did.
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