Saturday, September 15, 2012

Someone Came to Claim Her


Despite the recent spate of books extolling the rise of singlehood, the tragic story of Joyce Carol Vincent, which Carol Morley explores in her documentary Dreams of a Life, remains not far from my thoughts. I am still incredulous that a beautiful once vibrant woman can lay dead decomposing in her North London apartment - no one noticing...looking... finding...her for THREE whole years. Years back, I may have laughed uneasily when Miranda voiced her fear of dying alone in her apartment and her cat gnawing on her undiscovered dead body in the comedy Sex and the City. But today as a single woman, the true story of Joyce Vincent stings and hits a nerve or more accurately a fear in me. Toss in the studies and articles about how living alone is associated with health problems and an earlier death, and admittedly, part of me is reeling. But today, while I want to share my fears for context, I do not want to focus on them necessarily. I want to focus on the concept of claiming the unknown.   

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

20at20 Is Back!! (September 4th through 23rd)

From September 4th through September 23rd, theater lovers can roll up to the box office for any of the 32 Off Broadway shows participating in the 20at20 campaign 20 minutes before the curtain time and if tickets are available, the price is only $20. Just remember to ask for the 20at20 tickets. 

From my Roll, I personally recommend the following:

Silence! The Musical
Closer Than Ever
Mary Broome

On my 20at20 Wish List are the following:

Forbidden Broadway
Rain Prior's Fried Chicken Latkes
New Girl in Town

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Tonya Pinkins Says Don't Give Up

On August 6th, Playbill posted an article that Tonya Pinkins would be starring in Larry Parr's Ethel Waters: His Eye Is On the Sparrow at the Luna Stage in NJ. Excited, I geared up to purchase tickets to hear the Tony Award winning actress sing once again on stage only to learn a few days later on August 11th that the production was cancelled; an abrupt message posted on the Luna Stage website stated "The reasons for the cancellation have nothing to do with Luna, but apparently with some internal contractual concerns among the producing parties." Wow, within one week, the show was announced and cancelled.  

Luckily, "Sweet Anita" lovers like me would still have an opportunity to hear Ms. Pinkins sing at New York's newest Broadway cabaret club. The 54 Below website touted that Ms. Pinkins' first concert since 2005 would "feature Tonya singing signature anthems: Broadway showstoppers and Billboard chart toppers from Sondheim to Schwartz, Alanis to Adele, Cold Play to Carrie Underwood. 

This however was not the show that cabaret lovers eventually saw on August 27th. Instead the glowing 50 year old Ms. Pinkins treated her audience to a one woman show she co-wrote looking back at the life of legend Ethel Waters. She regaled us with classics such as Heatwave, Stormy Weather, This Joint is Jumping, and the unforgettable Suppertime, which brought tears to her eyes. Overall, the show was quite nice and perhaps theaterlovers will have a chance to see a more developed Ethel Waters musical in the near future.

For an encore, Ms. Pinkins sang a song about not giving up. The elated Ms. Pinkins recently won a slander legal battle (Pinkins v Stempinski et al) which has been going on for a few years at a significant cost to her. Hearing this talented woman who once lost custody of her kids in a bitter battle, had her wages garnished, and ended up on public assistance after winning a Tony Award, I felt her joy and strength. I felt like I was truly in presence of a woman who does not give up.

Saturday, September 1, 2012

Random Happenings - August 2012

Americans say goodbye to the hottest month in US history. Patrick Page leaves Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. Memphis ends. Curiosity rover descends on Mars. A Chorus Line composer Marvin Hamlisch dies; 2,000 mourners attend his funeral to say goodbye. Twitter user tweets that he is going to shoot up the Longacre Theatre. NYPD takes down knife wielding man with 12 bullets near Times Square. Not long after, officers take down disgruntled laid off apparel designer near Empire State building with 16 rounds of bullets wounding others in the process. Team America takes home 46 Olympic Gold medals. CDC data finds that no American state had a prevalence of obesity less than 20%. Once recoups in under 21 weeks. End of the Rainbow and Sister Act leave Broadway. Isaac pounds the Gulf Coast.