That Long Ago Day...Unlikely Friendships...And a Nine-Piece Band...

On a hot summer day, they assembled in our nation's capital, under the shadow of the great emancipator, to offer testimony of injustice, to petition their government for redress and to awaken America's long-slumbering conscience...President Barack Obama

This week, the nation commemorated the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington and Dr. King's famous August 28 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech. Naturally, as an African-American and a person who believes that everyone should be treated fairly and equally, I reflected on the past and thought hard about the future. I also continued to partake in one my favorite pastimes - the Arts. I didn't intentionally seek out pieces about our nation's history, but I was reminded about it over and over in the ones I experienced. 

Quote From Mandy Patinkin

From NYT Magazine article - Mandy Patinkin: 'I Behaved Abominably'

The way I like to work is to attach personal experiences to what I'm doing, so it helps tremendously if I can write my own play under what the writer has written.

Entertainment Weekly's All-Time 10 Greatest Stage Musicals

Now for the musicals....Entertainment Weekly's All-Time Greatest Stage Musicals by Thom Geier. I don't quite agree with the list but here it goes... 

Entertainment Weekly's 50 Greatest Plays of the Past 100 Years

 Last week over brunch, my good friend mentioned that she was trying to watch the films on Entertainment Weekly's All-Time Greatest list. But I am a bit more interested in the All-Time Greatest plays. So here they are...Entertainment Weekly's 50 Greatest Plays of the Past 100 Years by the EW Staff. How many do you agree with? 

Playwrights Arthur Miller, Tennessee Williams, Eugene O'Neil and August Wilson show up on the list multiple times. 

Freestyling Transmogrification

I am still not quite sure what transmogrification means, but I sure had a blast hearing the hip hop improv crew - freestyle love supreme - freestyle the heck out of the term recently at Joe's Pub. Using cues from the audience, freestyle love supreme comes up with instantaneous hip hop inspired rhymes and beats. 

I Missed the Monday Night Broadway Party at Splash

Splash is part of a dying breed of Manhattan night life mainstays that have appeared in tourist guidebooks and been name-checked on television. The Roxy and the Limelight, both big spaces popular around Splash's heyday, have closed up shop. From Making a Splash on the Way Out by Mike Vilensky

I was so disappointed to read about the closing of Splash in Mike Vilensky's article in the Wall Street Journal. Way back in November 2011, I wrote about wanting the check out Musical Mondays. However, due to my procrastination and Monday evening lethargy, I never made it to the famed Chelsea nightclub. And now, it is closed and c'est la vie... Full disclosure, I never made it to Jim Caruso's Cast party either.

Kristen Chenoweth Sings Parody about Anthony Weiner to the Tune of "Popular" From "Wicked"

My favorite line...

Voters want leadership not some sexting drip...

Random Happenings - July 2013

Lady Liberty reopens. Met Museum retires metal admission buttons. Actress from The Trip to Bountiful staves off attack in Central Park. Disgraced politicians Weiner and Spitzer return to NY politics. Inaugural season of Encores! Off-Center kicks off. Longer shelf life Twinkie makes a comeback. Rolling Stone magazine puts Boston marathon bomber on its cover. Zimmerman verdict polarizes the nation. Detroit city files for bankruptcy. Royal baby arrives. Let It Be, another Beatles tribute, comes to Broadway.