NYC Then and Now

Manahatta - Inside the Post Office - June 2013

I have always been a fan of site specific performances in non-theatre places or in this case, live theatre in  non-theatre space. Thanks to an email from Myra of Noshwalks on Friday, I bought a ticket and attended the second preview of Manna-Hata at the James A Farley Post Office. The entrance for the performance is on the 31st Street side. (On the left in this vintage postcard).

The show is an extraordinarily interesting attempt to place the audience into a live theatrical history of New York City. It is a reminder that a live creative theater experience, in this case great, not great and all points in between, will always be special in ways that are different from film and video.

Manna-Hata also provided an opportunity so see many of the very utilitarian (euphemism here) spaces that were used by the workers of this grand post office - once the largest in the country. Now I know why some workers go "postal".

No time was spent in the grand public space during the performance. The history of New York provides a great pool of material. I loved some of the choices, wondered about others and of course had my share of...why didn't they include X or connect all the bits about tobacco to Bloomberg's New York. They did a nice job of connecting the "tuition free" Cooper Union to now.

There was no connection to the site in the show. To me this post office will always be connected to my favorite NYC movie Miracle on 34th Street and to standing in line to request an application to run the NYC Marathon in the early days.

It is only running for the next two weekends - Thurs - Sunday. See it if you love interesting theatre, NYC history and want to explore the back spaces of a great New York City building. The middle is much better than either the beginning or the end but I think there is a reason for this. The earlier you go back in NYC history, the murkier the documentation for the stories. And, how does one end a story like this when the future is still unfolding.

You will be divided into groups in order to travel during the production. I thought my group leader Jane Jacobs was great! Enjoy if you go!

Beware, you will stand a lot and climb stairs during the performance and the dust upstairs may be uncomfortable for those who are very allergic. And, to my FB friends at Forgotten Musicals, some of the weakest links are the attempts at music and dance so see it now! There won't be a DVD.

Line Standing re visited June 2013

I first discussed crowds, lines, and wait times over three years ago. It is time to revisit this subject this month.

Shakespeare in the Park, New York's favorite line standing event started earlier than usual this year and has some minor changes to the rules that you should be aware of. I joined the line for the second preview at 10 to 12 and had no problem getting tickets and a minimal wait. I was in the Park early the following Saturday and by 9AM the line was long and well established. 

Also, each production is being condensed into 90 minutes without intermission. I'm not sure what they cut from Comedy of Errors but they managed to have plenty of time for the great swing dancers that flowed in and out of the action. Maybe it was a subtle reminder that Midsummernight Swing at Lincoln Center starts before the end of the month and the craft fairs will be at Lincoln Center for the next 2 weekends.

As I recently noted, the 40 minutes  spent for the Book of Mormon lottery was lots of fun and I won. If you don't win, make sure you have a plan B for the rest of the evening.

You all know that I am a fan of membership at MOMA and I did a fair amount of line standing for The Clock but membership doesn't give you much of an edge for this month's Rain Room exhibit. I've been there, done that so you don't have to unless you really love lines.

I arrived at 10:15 so I was in a members only line for over an hour (in a bit of rain I might add) and then a good half hour inside watching others in the rain before being allowed to walk in the rain room where it doesn't rain on you (except in the area that doesn't work). It is probably a good photographer's dream. For the rest of us, it reminded my of the scene in Field of Dreams where James Earl Jones pokes the corn field before following the ball players in. Everyone is tentative on the way in and then they really enjoy it. Here are some not so great pictures.

Museum Mile Festival June 11, 2013 - and Upper Central Park - and

the church of Saint John the Divine! 

The Museum Mile Festival is fun but crowded. Most people start at the crowded southern end. The fun museums are at the Top of the Park: Museo del Barrio and The Museum of the City of New York. The festival doesn't include Saint John the Divine or Upper Central Park but you can visit both on the way to the festival by coming along on this special Any Roads Tour at 3:45 from Columbus Circle. Hope to see you for the tour on Tuesday.

If you are an early riser, you can take a closer look at the lower portion of Central Park and arrive at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (or the American Museum of Natural History) at opening time (and visit the Apple Store when it is quiet) with this weekly Saturday morning tour. This is the best time to explore Central Park!

See you soon! Here is a prior Museum Mile Festival post.

Jazz Harlem Lincoln Center

Last February, As part of Black History Month, I planned a trip to the Jazz Museum in Harlem and to one of their programs that I cancelled due to really lousy weather.

Last week, I organized an outing to a Jazz Museum program and dinner at Miss Maude's Spoonbread Too for two friends from elementary school days. On my way to meet my friends, I visited the Jazz Museum and I took a (not great) photo of the nearby building where the famous A Great Day in Harlem photo was taken. 

One friend, who was in from Alaska managed to find a Groupon for Miss Maude's so we had 3 delightful meals and were able to give away the fourth one to the staff at the concert later. Miss Maude's is a great low key place for soul food near the Schomburg Library. They had a chance to stop in to see the latest exhibits. I will return soon.

 

The concert we saw in a back room of a nearby church is not written up on the Jazz Museum website but it was quite interesting. One friend said (on FB) "A conversation through jazz between kora and tap dance at National Jazz Museum in Harlem. Life is good." And I agree. My friend Charlene, who runs these blogs always says, "if you announce it, they will come". The audience was small but really into the performance experience we all shared with the performers.

Our Alaska friend and husband got tickets for a NY Philharmonic rehearsal - a Jazz Symphony written by Wynton Marsalis. Many friends have encouraged me to go to these but it took a visitor from Alaska to make it happen. This might have been my first time but it won't be my last. On this day, we added a Junior High School friend to our group.

After the rehearsal, we took a brief look at the permanent Al Hirschfeld exhibit at the Library for the Performing Arts and then we ate lunch at the Lincoln Center Film  Cafe - Indie Food and Wine. The food was fine and we were able to sit and talk until the Alaskans had a plane to catch.

As far as Jazz goes, I am a curious listener - an explorer. I love the programs at Jazz at Lincoln Center and I managed to see the only New York performance of Louis the Movie a modern silent movie with live accompaniment written by Wynton Marsalis and performed by a 10 piece band.

If you want a great introduction to Jazz in New York I would recommend any tour with Gordon P.

 

The Jets and the Sharks Our Story (and Central Park Film Festival)

In March, I finished a last minute group tour in time to attend a book signing of The Jets and the Sharks: Our Story at one of the great remaining independent NYC Book stores: The Drama Book Shop . I love book signings and I couldn't resist buying the book because well I love the film of West Side Story. In another post I wrote about Leonard Bernstein, the composer of West Side Story, and one of my all time New York City heros. 

The Jets and the Sharks Our story focuses on the dancers - how they got cast, the experience of making the film and how the film affected their later lives and careers. Each writer also talks about their relationship to  the great choreographer Jerome Robbins. They thought the world of him. There is no mention of his testimony during the McCarthy hearings but perhaps that is because  at that time these dancers were really young kids who were busy taking dance lessons and not home watching that relatively new invention TV.In fact, they had probably never heard of Robbins then.

The book probably needs an editor but each person's story does give a different point of view about many of the same events. I need to see the film again with this new knowledge of the dancers' experiences.

While the Central Park Film festival is not until late in August, now (June) is the time to vote for the films you want to see. Please vote for West Side Story! Many of the opening NYC shots were filmed near the Park where Lincoln Center is now.

Hello My Name Is....

Hello My Name Is...

 I recently had a work assignment in midtown that finished at 5 and a friend who would be able to join me after 6.

This was the perfect time to try the Book of Mormon Lottery for the very first time. (Plan B was to see Citizen Kane at MOMA for free).

I arrived at 5:25 and placed my name in the drawing bin by 5:35. Then I headed across the street for a wine spritzer and to check email at E&E's Grillhouse across the street (Great restaurant by the way but it deserves more time than we would be able to give it before the show).

At 5:55, I headed back across the street and was shocked and amazed when my name was the 2nd one called. By 6:10 I purchased my tickets and headed down 8th Avenue to meet my friend at Kodama Sushi, a good local Japanese place nearby.

By 7:50 we were settled in our front row center. This my chance to finally discover why it won all those Tony Awards. After the Tonys, I downloaded the album and shuffled the songs along with everything else on my IPod. The melodies were hummable and the lyrics were funny but since I never listened to the songs in order, I was pretty clueless about how they all fit together. Not for long...

Cast, costumes, dancing, music, scenery and yes plot were a joy to watch so up close and personal. And, while Book of Mormon is not my favorite musical of all times I am sure it will be the favorite of the generation that watches South Park ( I WILL watch South Park for the first time in the very near future). I did love that the  authors did a fabulous job of paying homage to so many great musicals of the past. My favorite was the riff on The Small House of Uncle Thomas in King and I.

The Book of Mormon deserves a large section in the sequel to Our Musicals Our Selves if that sequel is ever written.

Sorry, I have no advice on how to win the lottery. I was just really really lucky.

The Pianos Are Coming Back 6/1-6/16-2013

Thanks to Sing for Hope. Keep your eyes and ears open or check out the Map and the details here .

Happy 130th Birthday Brooklyn Bridge!

Some shots from "then" and one shot from now.

 

       

   

Weight Watchers Expect Amazing "Race" 5/18

As a paying lifer, I am currently above goal weight (which I did maintain for over a year) but I know I can lose the weight again. I still do believe in Weight Watchers so I decided to join in Saturday's fun walk. 

As a tour guide, I found that the route was quite a lot of fun. What I didn't realize until I put these posts together is what a great route this is for a walking tour. I also did not realize how many posts I have written about the area surrounding the route in the last 3.5 years. Take a tour with me sometime and see what you missed.

 We started near Madison Square, the home of the first two Madison Square Gardens.

I have written several posts about the neighborhood that are illustrated with vintage post cards and modern pictures.

The first one was about Madison Square Park when the Jumpers were here.  The second post looks at the Flatiron building and the Museum of Sex. In Spiritual Paths, we see some of the churches in the area.

In Kids and Theater 3, I talk about some un Weight Watcher like restaurants and the (I believe) first edition of Madison Square Eats which is still happening today. Tada Theater is a great alternative to Broadway for kids.

I picked up a Weight Watcher friendly snack at Madison Eats during the walk - kale, sesame and garlic salad.

One last newcomer to the area is the Museum of Mathematics or MOMATH for short.

Now, on to Herald Square.

Expect Amazing Herald Square

Herald Square in time to hear the statue bells. Macy's, the host of the Thanksgiving Day Parade,is also the inspiration for my favorite Thanksgiving to Christmas movie Miracle on 34th Street.  Not far away, you will find the Third Madison Square Garden and the Post Office.

Then onto the Fashion District, which is formerly known as the garment district.

Statues to the workers....

 

and plaques in the sidewalks in honor of the designers. Remember to look down as well as up while exploring New York City.

While Betsey Johnson voluntarily filed for bankruptcy protection last year, you can still buy her clothing through her website.

 

 

 

 

And there's a special exhibit about Stephen Burrows on at the Museum of the City of New York until the end of July. See it! And see the exhibit about teeny tiny apartments and the newest exhibit about Greenwood Cemetery. Actually, Greenwood could be another destination for a Weight Watchers walkabout!

On to Times Square and the Theater District.