Another hot day, and of course New York is all abuzz over the attempted bombing. Like almost everyone else, we didn’t let it ruin our plans for the day. In fact, I always assume that after something like this happens, Times Square is probably the safest place on earth to be! With all those police, I don’t expect there will be another attempt.
I sort of buy the explanation that the target was Viacom headquarters, for showing the South Park episode with Mohammad dressed as a bear, but if they really wanted those guys, wouldn’t they bomb during the weekdays when the building was more occupied? Nope, I think they wanted to kill lots of little kids seeing Lion King. Bastards!
So that is twice now, for us. The last time was 7/7/2005, my dear daughter’s birthday, when our west end theater plans were destroyed by the terrorist bombings in London. We got a late start that day, and by the time (10am) we reached the tube station (subway), they were just closing it down. The next day we attended the theater just as we would have otherwise, in solidarity with
the British people, and in support of the theater. When we alter our behavior and are afraid, the terrorists win.
We’ve been using the subway almost exclusively for our transportation, although Margie did talk me into cabbing it the other night for the opera. I love how convenient the subway is, and how easy and fast it is to go from place to place. It is also very cheap when you buy a pass. I haven’t bothered to say everywhere we have gone on this blog, because it is not of general interest -- most want to read the dining/theater reviews, and not my ramblings on New York life. For example, we went to Washington Square the other day, as in the picture.
Some things do bother me about the subway, like the sign I have photographed to the right. Now what is going on here? Someone who is, I guess, trying to help clumsy people has put these signs all around the various subway stations of the city so that they won’t slip and fall into the 4” gap between the subway car and the curb, and they have posted it in 5 languages! No French, so I assume they know better? Or are not so skinny? Stuff like this really bothers me, as it seems to me a much greater statistical threat would be the extremely heavy cars coming into the station at 40 mph, and the slight possibility someone may fall in front of one of them! But you see no warning signs. Nor signs suggesting that banging your head on the tile floor is a bad idea. Or falling down the stairs could cause harm. Or not giving your seat to an angry elderly type might get you shived!
Our first show today, the matinee, was “Hair”. I didn’t know anyone in the cast, but Margie knew someone named Ace Young from American Idol, who played Berger, one of the leads. He was good, as was the rest of the energetic ensemble. The music was dated, of course, but the cast did such a great job of delivering the goods, that you didn’t really care. The harmonies were lovely, and of course “Hair” and “Aquarius” remain show stoppers.
My advice to anyone who wants to go is to get aisle seats. My brother-in-law Jeff had recommended that, but I didn’t manage to get them. Telecharge filled the theater weirdly, with the center orchestra packed, and the left and right empty. So at intermission we moved much closer to aisle seats in the left orchestra, and the sound was waaayyy better. Plus you interact with the cast who spend a lot of time in the aisles.
The audience was *very* badly behaved. Texting, and talking were the worst sins. But what I couldn’t understand were the people who brought their pre-teens, like the woman on my right, before we switched seats! Did she not realize that hippies cussed a lot in the 60s? Or how about the constant simulated sex onstage? Or the famous nude scene at the end of the first act? What is so hard to understand about “For Mature Audiences”? Look, I am hardly a prude, and my indignation is somewhat tongue-in-cheek, and I know some kids are more mature than others, but what, you can’t afford to spring for Lion King tickets so you take your two little girls to see “Hair“ and tell them to close their eyes at the end of the first act?
At any rate, the show was fun, and they let the audience dance on stage after the curtain call. So if you go to this link at look carefully (because she is short) at about 1:19 for 2 or 3 seconds, you can see Margie make her Broadway debut…
After the show, we dined at Virgil’s BBQ on 44th St., another old favorite. They have quick service, and we only had about an hour an a half to eat between shows. I had the BBQed lamb, with mashed potatoes and gravy, greens, and cornbread, and it was all very tasty. I also had Margie’s cornbread. And I had pecan pie too! Margie had a grilled chicken salad with avocado, smoked pork belly pieces, and a honey mustard dressing which she liked very much. I forgot to take pictures. Sorry!
Our evening show was “Billy Elliot”. They now have 5 Billy’s (“you know how kids get sick, and it is better than cancelling a performance”, said the usher). None of the 5 were among the 3 who won the Tony last year. But that is OK, our Billy was first rate in both voice and dance. The show was sold out, as it always is, and it was really brilliant from beginning to end, a dynamite adaptation of the movie. The seats were uncomfortable, again, as my knees touched the seats in front of me once more. Greedy bastards! Are there no other 6’2” men who attend theater? At this point I can probably look forward to our flight home on AA for the most leg-room! Anyway, Billy Elliot was a really good show, and we were really blown away by it...
I sort of buy the explanation that the target was Viacom headquarters, for showing the South Park episode with Mohammad dressed as a bear, but if they really wanted those guys, wouldn’t they bomb during the weekdays when the building was more occupied? Nope, I think they wanted to kill lots of little kids seeing Lion King. Bastards!
So that is twice now, for us. The last time was 7/7/2005, my dear daughter’s birthday, when our west end theater plans were destroyed by the terrorist bombings in London. We got a late start that day, and by the time (10am) we reached the tube station (subway), they were just closing it down. The next day we attended the theater just as we would have otherwise, in solidarity with
the British people, and in support of the theater. When we alter our behavior and are afraid, the terrorists win.We’ve been using the subway almost exclusively for our transportation, although Margie did talk me into cabbing it the other night for the opera. I love how convenient the subway is, and how easy and fast it is to go from place to place. It is also very cheap when you buy a pass. I haven’t bothered to say everywhere we have gone on this blog, because it is not of general interest -- most want to read the dining/theater reviews, and not my ramblings on New York life. For example, we went to Washington Square the other day, as in the picture.
Some things do bother me about the subway, like the sign I have photographed to the right. Now what is going on here? Someone who is, I guess, trying to help clumsy people has put these signs all around the various subway stations of the city so that they won’t slip and fall into the 4” gap between the subway car and the curb, and they have posted it in 5 languages! No French, so I assume they know better? Or are not so skinny? Stuff like this really bothers me, as it seems to me a much greater statistical threat would be the extremely heavy cars coming into the station at 40 mph, and the slight possibility someone may fall in front of one of them! But you see no warning signs. Nor signs suggesting that banging your head on the tile floor is a bad idea. Or falling down the stairs could cause harm. Or not giving your seat to an angry elderly type might get you shived!
Our first show today, the matinee, was “Hair”. I didn’t know anyone in the cast, but Margie knew someone named Ace Young from American Idol, who played Berger, one of the leads. He was good, as was the rest of the energetic ensemble. The music was dated, of course, but the cast did such a great job of delivering the goods, that you didn’t really care. The harmonies were lovely, and of course “Hair” and “Aquarius” remain show stoppers.
My advice to anyone who wants to go is to get aisle seats. My brother-in-law Jeff had recommended that, but I didn’t manage to get them. Telecharge filled the theater weirdly, with the center orchestra packed, and the left and right empty. So at intermission we moved much closer to aisle seats in the left orchestra, and the sound was waaayyy better. Plus you interact with the cast who spend a lot of time in the aisles.
The audience was *very* badly behaved. Texting, and talking were the worst sins. But what I couldn’t understand were the people who brought their pre-teens, like the woman on my right, before we switched seats! Did she not realize that hippies cussed a lot in the 60s? Or how about the constant simulated sex onstage? Or the famous nude scene at the end of the first act? What is so hard to understand about “For Mature Audiences”? Look, I am hardly a prude, and my indignation is somewhat tongue-in-cheek, and I know some kids are more mature than others, but what, you can’t afford to spring for Lion King tickets so you take your two little girls to see “Hair“ and tell them to close their eyes at the end of the first act?
At any rate, the show was fun, and they let the audience dance on stage after the curtain call. So if you go to this link at look carefully (because she is short) at about 1:19 for 2 or 3 seconds, you can see Margie make her Broadway debut…
After the show, we dined at Virgil’s BBQ on 44th St., another old favorite. They have quick service, and we only had about an hour an a half to eat between shows. I had the BBQed lamb, with mashed potatoes and gravy, greens, and cornbread, and it was all very tasty. I also had Margie’s cornbread. And I had pecan pie too! Margie had a grilled chicken salad with avocado, smoked pork belly pieces, and a honey mustard dressing which she liked very much. I forgot to take pictures. Sorry!
Our evening show was “Billy Elliot”. They now have 5 Billy’s (“you know how kids get sick, and it is better than cancelling a performance”, said the usher). None of the 5 were among the 3 who won the Tony last year. But that is OK, our Billy was first rate in both voice and dance. The show was sold out, as it always is, and it was really brilliant from beginning to end, a dynamite adaptation of the movie. The seats were uncomfortable, again, as my knees touched the seats in front of me once more. Greedy bastards! Are there no other 6’2” men who attend theater? At this point I can probably look forward to our flight home on AA for the most leg-room! Anyway, Billy Elliot was a really good show, and we were really blown away by it...
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