NYC/Nashua/Boston
Highlights of NYC:
A Little Night Music was much better than I expected. I'm on a mail list of Cast Album enthusiasts and I should have figured that they may be a hypercritcal bunch. I had heard: too dark, too sexual, Zeta-Jones sucks. None of those were true.
I've always found it gauche when audiences applaud at the first entrance of a star, so I refrained from giving Ms Z-J a hand at her first line. I wasn't loving how she started (playing it sort of cutesie/goofy), but she really grew on me and I could see how the male lead would carry a torch for her. She did a fine job with her one song, and both acted it and sang it. Angela Lansbury was out, which I knew going in. U/S was fine, and I never cared for that character much anyway (only character note seems to be 'arch').
Avenue Q has moved sort of off-broadway, but that's just based on the size of the house - It's as close to Broadway as the Broadway theaters. It was great to finally see it...the cast album makes more sense now. It's pretty slight stuff, but that's part of what makes it fun. Very good use of video, and the actress playing Christmas Eve was great. Couldn't take my eyes off the puppeteer who y helped with Nicky and took over other characters. She was moving the mouths of puppets she wasn't singing for....I could not do that without moving my own lips. Pro that she was, her lips never moved. She was also one of the Bad Idea Bears.
The primary reason for NYC was to Sondheim on Sondheim and especially Barbara Cook. I went gauche and definitely clapped at her entrance. She sang well (not as perfectly as before...but not bad for an eighty year old!) and did comedy very well. Wopat surprised me with his charm and voice and Vanessa Williams sang great...and is still hot. Also great use of a video wall that could assemble and disassemble to become part of the set.
Also got to Staten Island (a free boat ride) and the Frick Museum (amazing house).
Nashua
Kate and beau ran a great tourney. Nice seeing easterners that I don't see enough of. Another one of my great DAY1, bleh DAY2 performances. Got to hang around Downtown Nashua a bit and had a good meal at an outdoor cafe.
NARCOMAS
NATURALS (played w/ a blank)
OUTPAINT
EPIDOTIC (CH)
ETAMINS
CRENELED
ARCHAIST
DIAMINE
REGULINE
OVATION
OUTWEAR
LUNARIAN
UPDATES
MOTHERLY
PEATIER
YOUNGERS
AUREOLAS
ANCONES
BINARISMS (THROUGH in)
PREBOIL
YEARLING
OUTSPAN
AIRFIELD
Boston
The train ride to Boston was fun and relaxing. I need to study geography more. Connecticut is somehow bigger than I thought. RI, not so big (but I knew that). Only a few hours here but got to walk up and down Newbury and visit the Trident Bookstore (a fave haunt of g/f when she lived in Boston. Saw Cheers building. Logan has free wifi. All airports should!
A Little Night Music was much better than I expected. I'm on a mail list of Cast Album enthusiasts and I should have figured that they may be a hypercritcal bunch. I had heard: too dark, too sexual, Zeta-Jones sucks. None of those were true.
I've always found it gauche when audiences applaud at the first entrance of a star, so I refrained from giving Ms Z-J a hand at her first line. I wasn't loving how she started (playing it sort of cutesie/goofy), but she really grew on me and I could see how the male lead would carry a torch for her. She did a fine job with her one song, and both acted it and sang it. Angela Lansbury was out, which I knew going in. U/S was fine, and I never cared for that character much anyway (only character note seems to be 'arch').
Avenue Q has moved sort of off-broadway, but that's just based on the size of the house - It's as close to Broadway as the Broadway theaters. It was great to finally see it...the cast album makes more sense now. It's pretty slight stuff, but that's part of what makes it fun. Very good use of video, and the actress playing Christmas Eve was great. Couldn't take my eyes off the puppeteer who y helped with Nicky and took over other characters. She was moving the mouths of puppets she wasn't singing for....I could not do that without moving my own lips. Pro that she was, her lips never moved. She was also one of the Bad Idea Bears.
The primary reason for NYC was to Sondheim on Sondheim and especially Barbara Cook. I went gauche and definitely clapped at her entrance. She sang well (not as perfectly as before...but not bad for an eighty year old!) and did comedy very well. Wopat surprised me with his charm and voice and Vanessa Williams sang great...and is still hot. Also great use of a video wall that could assemble and disassemble to become part of the set.
Also got to Staten Island (a free boat ride) and the Frick Museum (amazing house).
Nashua
Kate and beau ran a great tourney. Nice seeing easterners that I don't see enough of. Another one of my great DAY1, bleh DAY2 performances. Got to hang around Downtown Nashua a bit and had a good meal at an outdoor cafe.
NARCOMAS
NATURALS (played w/ a blank)
OUTPAINT
EPIDOTIC (CH)
ETAMINS
CRENELED
ARCHAIST
DIAMINE
REGULINE
OVATION
OUTWEAR
LUNARIAN
UPDATES
MOTHERLY
PEATIER
YOUNGERS
AUREOLAS
ANCONES
BINARISMS (THROUGH in)
PREBOIL
YEARLING
OUTSPAN
AIRFIELD
Boston
The train ride to Boston was fun and relaxing. I need to study geography more. Connecticut is somehow bigger than I thought. RI, not so big (but I knew that). Only a few hours here but got to walk up and down Newbury and visit the Trident Bookstore (a fave haunt of g/f when she lived in Boston. Saw Cheers building. Logan has free wifi. All airports should!