Cirque Éloize Cirkopolis - From Monotony to Liberation

Cirque Éloize Cirkopolis, another circus, hits the NYC stage at NYU Skiball. Twelve wonderful performers - all from a circus school in Montreal - dazzle audiences while twirling in the Cyr wheel, hanging from straps, juggling and just plain clowning around. Set to a grey industrial backdrop, they will simply take you from "...monotony to liberation."

The Holiday Shows I Saw This Season

This season, I had the wonderful opportunity to see several holiday shows.

George Balanchine's The Nutcracker
For years, my friends and I have dreamed about seeing NYCB'sThe Nutcracker. We would then get caught up in life and our responsibilities, the season would pass, and the following year we would dream once again. This year though, we placed a stake in the ground. We firmly agreed on a date. I placed a tickler on my calendar and when tickets went on sale, I was ready. Needless to say, we had a wonderful time at this pristine classic performed by the New York City Ballet and would go every year (if only our budgets allowed).

The Absolute Best NYC Plays and Shows of 2013 (According to Theater Critics)

After crunching selections on 12 best of lists by theater critics, the top shows of 2013 are:

Twelfth Night
The Glass Menagerie
Here Lies Love
Pippin
Matilda
Buyer & Cellar

And special mention goes to the following:
Fun Home
A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder
After Midnight 

Top Theater in 2013 - Theater Critics' Detail Lists

New York Post Elisabeth Vincentelli's list

After Midnight
Buyer & Cellar
The Good Person of Szechwan
Here Lies Love
Julius Caesar
Matilda - The Musical
A Midsummer Night's Dream (Theater for a New Audience)
Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play
Pippin
Twelfth Night

From Tonight's The Little Orchestra Society's "Music Under the Big Top"

Damn everything but the circus! The average "painter" "sculptor" "poet" "composer" "playwright" is a person who cannot leap through a hoop from the back of a galloping horse, make people laugh with a clown's mouth, orchestrate twenty lions ~ Edward Estlin Cummings

Barbra and I Have Been to the Inspiring Winterthur

Looking for a great weekend getaway from NYC? Then jump into a car right now and drive roughly two hours to Brandywine Valley. Do what I did several years ago. Sleep at the beautiful Inn at Monchanin. Stroll at Longwood Gardens. Taste at Chaddsford Winery. Stare at Brandywine River Museum. And most of all, tour at Winterthur - the du Pont residence now museum housing 90,000 Americana objects. A trip to Brandywine and Winterthur will inspire anyone... even Barbra Streisand, who writes in her book My Passion for Design:

I spent two days at Winterthur...it was eye opening.

It's Here -- New Year's Eve at The McKittrick Hotel!!

The McKittrick Hotel presents Supper and SLEEP NO MORE
followed by The King's Winter Masquerade
at The McKittrick Hotel
530 West 27th Street
New York, NY 10001
You are cordially invited to a grand New Year’s Eve celebration at The McKittrick Hotel. Your evening will begin with a sumptuous feast followed by Sleep No More. Upon the conclusion of Sleep No More, you will be treated to The King's Winter Masquerade in celebration of the New Year. Complimentary spirits will be served throughout the entire evening.

 For more details, check out link here.

Broadway Tweets - NBC's "The Sound of Music Live!" (The First Hour)

The Sound of Music ‏@SoundofMusic

#SoundofMusic is the only Rodgers&Hammerstein @rnh_org musical with no overture - instead it starts with this Preludium.

Barbara ‏@ChicLuxuries

Giving the cast of #SoundofMusic a lot of credit for doing a live performance on national tv.

 
Jamie Kraus ‏@jkjk88

WOW Carrie Underwood is a terrible actor. #soundofmusic

Robbie Joey ‏@ElderPoptart

I would love to see some of you snarky bitches take on Maria in Sound of Music if you all think it's so damn easy. #SoundOfMusicLive

  

Random Happenings - November 2013

Madman out to get the TSA shoots up LAX. The NYC marathon returns. Toronto mayor admits to smoking crack. NYC picks a new mayor after 12 years. FDA bans trans fats and NYC passes "Tobacco 21" legislation. Patrick Stewart helps ring opening bell for Twitter IPO. Supertyphoon slams Phillipines. New WTC recognized as largest building in US. Bloomberg News shuts down Muse Arts & Culture and lays off theater critic. San Francisco comes out for Bat Kid. Press agent sues Rebecca producers. Author Doris Lessing fades. Broadway extraordinaire Hugh Jackman says he removed cancer from his nose. Press says Spider-Man to close with historic losses up to $60M. JFK is remembered. Alabama parole board grants posthumous pardons to "Scottsboro Boys." Performance of Lincoln Center's Macbeth ends after the lights go out. Black Friday outshines Thanksgiving Day. Harvey Fierstein says he is proud of Kinky Boots after Macy's parade backlash.

The New York Times 2013 NYC Gift Guide - Broadway and Off Broadway