Archive for March, 2007

In the dog-eat-dog streets of New York, we eat our low-carb bagels on the go as we dodge taxis, strollers, suits, and madmen. We live the lyrics, “If you can make it here, you’ll make it anywhere,” and discard the sentimental idea that “life’s about the journey, not the destination.” We’re on the clock. Of course, it’s about the destination. We’ve got places to be, people to see, and if we’re not there, someone else will elbow our opportunity. John D. Rockefeller, Jr., once said, “I believe in the dignity of labor, whether with head or hand; that the world owes no man a living but that it owes every man an opportunity to make a living.” And so, at 6:20 in the morning, I woke up to the opportunity to make a living in the very place Rockefeller’s words are displayed: Rockefeller Plaza.

At 6:21 my head was back on the pillow. Battling a cold and an onslaught of assignments that have kept me out late, my body waged a war against my will. I walk the streets of New York every day. Did I really need to see New York from the Top of the Rock? More out of duty than desire, I grudgingly brushed my teeth (but not my hair) and got on the bus.

As a bridge-and-tunnel kid, I get a spectacular view of the Manhattan skyline twice a day. Ever since 9/11, I’ve instinctually turned by head toward the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building each time I round the bend from Jersey. I’m not sure if I do it out of paranoia that I’ll see a plane flying towards one of them, or if it’s out of appreciation of their beauty.

It therefore beguiles me that after twenty years of being closed, the Top of the Rock is once again open to the general public, particularly since you still can’t enter the Statue of Liberty’s crown. Needless to say, I freaked out when the elevator started shaking and rattling on its way up to the 67th floor. I was the only person on the elevator and was by no means expecting a Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure-esque ride that hurdled to the top of the skyscraper. I grabbed the side of the elevator as a frenetic display of “Saturday Night Live” scenes whipped through the portal.

I came out of the elevator as if in other world. All was serene. It was a sleepy 8:30 by then, and I was the only person on the tour. The whole city opened up to my eyes, as I stepped out onto the terrace. The sun glinted off of buildings, waking up the world. But for a little while, it seemed as if I had New York all to myself.

Top of the Rock is open from 8 AM till 11 PM, and while I’m sure it’s heartbreakingly beautiful at sunset or in the pitch black night, there is something special about being one of the first people to the top. The view, admittedly, isn’t all that grand during the day if you’ve ever done anything remotely similar. The Empire State Building commands sole attention, but no other building stands out. You can barely see the Chrysler Building and St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

Even 30 Rockefeller Plaza itself doesn’t seem to stand up to its legacy. The website boasts of architect Michael Gabellini’s reimagined observation desk. In reality, the observation deck’s modern look serves its purpose–unobstructed views of Manhattan–butcomes across as rather bland, particularly when you’ve heard about its 1933 look:

The Observation Deck’s original design was inspired by the decks of the great ocean liners of the era - complete with deck chairs, gooseneck fixtures and vents inspired by a ship’s stacks. A trip to the Observation Deck was like setting sail in the heart of the world’s most dynamic city.

Rockefeller Center has such a rich history, definitely worth researching and exploring. Spending the exhorbinant $17.50 to see the Top of the Rock isn’t really going to give you any more of a New York experience than you get from watching NBC’s sitcom “30 Rock.” Both place New York at an intangible distance. You need to get out and walk in the shadows of the skyscrapers to truly understand New York.

I love trivia and I’ve always wanted to go to Capone’s because of the free pizza deal. You get a WHOLE free cheese pizza with every drink you buy. Free pizza + trivia? What could be funner than that?

We arrived early because I had never been there before and wanted to make sure I got a seat. Luckily, Capone’s is a rather large dive-y bar and it was quite empty at 8:00 on a Tuesday. We had our pizza, which was really good for free pizza and waited for trivia to start. More people arrived and Gideon, our charming old-timey host, walked around trying to get teams together to compete. There were 3 teams competing for one prize: a glorious pitcher of beer. We were team uncoolkids competing against team just a second and team batcave.

The first round was fan-boy trivia and this time it was all about video games, which I know nothing about. At the end of the round, he passed out some white lined paper and gave us the names of a bunch of video games and we had to write down who the hero was. I got 2 points just for having a pen! I think we only got a couple right, but my random wrong answer of Marmaduke as one of the heroes got us an additional 3 points.

The next round was pop culture and we got all of these right. He had us finish the first line of a tv show theme song and name the show. I was BORN to play this game, having watched way too much television as a child and also possessing an idiot-savant like ability for remembering song lyrics. During the second part of this round, Gideon would describe a scene from a movie and you had to give him the name of the song and the artist that was playing during said scene. This was my favorite round. It was a lot of fun. Also, I knew all the answers so I felt all smart and stuff.

The next round was not as fun. It was all about booze and this time specifically about rum, which none of the teams really knew anything about. I guess the $500 my Dad spent so I could go to bartending school really was a waste. Sorry Dad. This was when team just a second bowed out. I asked if we could have their points but was denied.

Then it was time for Brooklyn trivia, which lucky for me, my teammates seemed to know a lot about. For the bonus round, you had to name 4 movies that featured The Brooklyn Bridge. We put Lonely Guy, Manhattan, The Baxter, and If Lucy Fell. They were all right, but our host hadn’t seen Lonely Guy or If Lucy Fell so he looked them up online because he didn’t believe us. We ended up being right, so we got extra points. Told you so Gideon.

The lightning round about Nations was really the deciding factor for this game. We kicked some team batcave butt. Gideon would give us a phrase, for example ’splitting the bill’ and we would respond with ‘going dutch’. Get it?

In the end, the winner was……..team uncoolkids!!! yay!! We won a lovely pitcher of Newcastle. It was a super fun cheap casual no frills kinda night. Perfect for a Tuesday night especially if you’re a little low on funds, like I was. I will definitely be back.

The Triviacrats happens every Tuesday night at 9pm at Capone’s Bar, N 9th St between Driggs and Roebling and it’s FREE.

“Blindness” at 59E59 Theatre is a stage adaptation of Jose Saramago’s award winning novel by the same name. My hopes were extremely high for this production, as the novel is a fantastic and brilliant look at human nature– “Lord of the Flies” with a terrifying, much darker edge. One man is struck by a sudden blindness, and little by little the blindness spreads through the entire city. Those infected by the blindness are locked into a former mental institute and the government officials abandon them, harass them, shoot them and above all abuse their power in ways that are both apalling and realistic.

The play’s technical aspects were truly inspired. The show was staged impeccably behind two sheets of white scrim, the lighting was beautiful and the movement in the narrow space was choreographed with professional precision. These aspects lent themselves well to the eerie atmosphere of the play, and reall echoed Saramago’s writing and ideas.

Where the production fell short, unfortunately, was with the sub-par acting. Despite the beautiful vision, the story was told by actors forcing emotions instead of letting them occur naturally. The material is intense, and the actors were awkwardly melodramatic, where they should have been understated and terrorized. The story is already painful and dark, therefore it was unnecessary to have constant screaming and tantrums on stage. Some of these unfortuante mistakes could have easily been in the directing, and perhaps the director and I simply have different ideas about Saramago’s original story and the emotions behind it.

The adaptation itself was ery true to Saramago’s text which was an interesting choice given the unusual writing style. It was refreshing to see a novel being used with gentle accuracy rather than absurd “interpretations”, and I applaud director/adaptor Joe Tantalo for honoring the beautiful novel and making strong choices with the text.

Perhaps it is simply hard to compete with such a gorgeous novel, and those who haven’t read the book may find themselves enthralled by the full world that Tantalo and his cast have created. It is a fully realized project with bold choices and a unique point of view, so even with its faults, it is a work that deserves recogition.

The performance schedule is Tuesday - Saturday at 8:30 PM and Sunday at 3:30 PM and 7:30 PM. Closes April 8. Single tickets are $25 ($17.50 for 59E59 members) and are available by calling Ticket Central at 212-279-4200 or online

I’m an actor and I have actor friends. This means that I have seen, and quite frankly been a part of, A LOT of bad theater. Bad acting, bad directing, bad sets, bad writing. Bad, bad, bad. That being said, I’m obviously not easily impressed. So I went to see the first production of MTB Studio’s THEATRE UNPLUGGED with less than great expectations. The play is being presented at the MTB Acting Studio. It’s a small space with 3 rows of chairs, the equivalent of a black box theater but nicer. It’s simple with hard wood floors and black curtains surrounding it. There was no set, few props, and no lighting or sound effects. In fact, the house lights were up the entire time. We were up close and looking right into the actor’s eyes and they were looking back at us. There was nowhere to hide.

Thankfully, I didn’t feel the need to. It was brilliant and the actors held my rapt attention for the whole time I was there. (Keep in mind, that I am a person that can fall asleep anywhere and on this particular Sunday, I was a bit hungover.) The play, a satire about greedy politicians and little people coming together to save the day, is entirely relevant and I really enjoyed it. If you are a fan of acting, you should see this show because the acting was flawless. I looked hard for the weak link in the cast but I just couldn’t find it. I especially enjoyed the performance of Noelle McGrath who played the title character. She was simply delightful. I look forward to the next production from THEATRE UNPLUGGED.

This is the kind of theater that should be supported and celebrated. Seating is limited, so make your reservations in advance!

If the name of the place doesn’t give it away, maybe the interior will clue you in. A Soviet flag hangs over the bar. If I was able to get a closer look at the black and white photos and yellowed articles nailed to the blood-red walls, I’m sure I would’ve seen Lenin or Stalin.

But aside from being a Commie bar, KGB is a writer’s hang, which is why Soft Skull Press was holding a reading there. I kind of dug it. It was warm, but not soupy. Candles flickered behind stained glass cabinets. The hum of conversation was low enough for the writers to write. You could single them out with a sickle and hammer, because they either scrawled in their notebooks or leafed what looked like manuscripts. A group of guys sat in the middle of the bar having deep discussions, wearing torn sweaters because they hadn’t graduated to tweed and elbow patches yet.

The bar is cash-only. So as I walked down the steps of the second floor establishment, searching for an ATM, wondering whether there might be a bar somewhere in Russia named “CIA”, I nearly tripped over a pint-sized red headed girl talking to people on the sidewalk.

This I later learned was Jillian Weise, the featured author of the evening. But first two other poets were invited to read their works. The themes of Brenda Shaughnessy’s poems were seasons, relationships (”like having a bad boyfriend in a good band” was a notable line, and “But I refuse to say poor me, poor me/because I am not poor, and I am not me”), and of all things, sugar. Except for when she dropped a C-bomb, her lyrical poems flowed nicely. Priscilla Becker read a group of poems she’d resurrected after tossing them in the trash, and she referred to them as her “Death by” series (”Death by appleseed…Death by clarinet…”). They would have been a little more enjoyable to hear if she did not stop mid-verse to muse aloud that this particular group of poems was terrible.

Then Richard Eoin Nash, the publisher of Soft Skull Press, introduced Weise, the author of “The Amputee’s Guide to Sex.” The first poem was instructional, a list of steps to take if you ever find yourself in a fore-play situation without clothes and without a limb: how to divert your partner’s attention so you can remove your prosthetic, how to stash your prosthetic, how to stay mobile. Really, things that two legged people don’t ever have to think about, but what probably seems like a natural thought process for Weise (”I met a guy/he has two legs”). One of the poems, about a relationship (”We have affairs/we are in love”) makes you consider not only sexual activity for an amputee but also the dating scene, which I like to complain about with all my arms, legs, and appendages intact. The next two poems were also from the “Amputee’s Guide” and Weise concluded the reading with a few newer works.

If Weise’s tinny voice was an octave higher, or her tone ebullient, as if to suggest that despite her prosthetic and any possible rejection or dejection she’s just so cheeky about the whole darn thing, she would’ve fallen into the rabbit hole of self-deprecation that many authors feel pushed into with chick lit. But she read clearly and dispassionately, while showing a sense of humor, and was likeable.

You can learn more about Weise’s book on Soft Skull Press’s website, and if you’re a writer, or want to be, KGB is worth checking out. One last note about the bar: they charge $7-$8 dollars for a drink, which is to be expected, but it seems more capitalistic than socialist if you ask me.

Sketch Block Sunday is a weekly show featuring a few different sketch comedy groups each week. I went by tonight to check out Chocolate Cake City in particular– a sketch group that was established in Boston and has recently moved to New York City.

The night as a whole was inconsistent. All the components for a great evening were in place: cheap beer and wine sold outside the theatre, a really unique, fun space for the performance, and a full, rowdy audience. However, the night began on a sour note, with the lackluster performance of “The Comediettes”, whose sketches were stale and dumbed-down. The MC tried hard to get the crowd laughing, but ended up telling meandering stories with little or no pay-off. It seemed certain it would be a long, uncomfortable night.
Things picked up with the second group, “Better Than the Machine”. Their sketches were smarter and more confident, though still teetering on the edge of the overused cliche.

The stand out act of the evening was “The Greatest Show On Earth”, a two man sketch group whose sketches were witty, concise and fresh. They strayed from the conventional sketch comedy structure and pulled it off beautifully. Watching “The Greatest Show on Earth” was not only funny but startling in its originality. It served as a reminder that you don’t have to follow a recipe to make great comedy. Hopefully other sketch groups will learn from these guys, and begin to take advantage of the artistic freedom that this medium provides.

Chocolate Cake City closed the night, returning to more traditional sketch comedy. Their show benefitted greatly from a clear theme (”The Sevent Deadly Sins”), something not seen in the previous sketches. Also on their side was the talented group of actors, who worked together well and seemed 100% behind the material. Their show was tight and easy to watch.

Sketch Block Sundays does not offer the most original sketch comedy, but it is a solid night with some true comedic gems. That, combined with a few bottles of beer, make it a worthwhile way to end your weekend.

There is no single artist I admire more than Mr. John Patrick Shanley, the prolific playwright who has won the Tony award two years ago for his play, “Doubt”. I have read much of Mr. Shanley’s cannon of exception work, and have always felt particuarly inspired by the way he speaks about art and his life. Therefore, when I saw that Symphony Space had asked him to be a guest host of their ongoing “Selected Shorts” project, I jumped at the chance too see him speak in person.

“Selected Shorts: A Celebration of the Short Story” is a literary goldmine. Symphony Space invited different actors to read eclectic selections of short stories aloud to an excited audience. Sometimes, a guest host comes in and picks their own favorite short stories to have performed by actors. In this case, Mr. Shanley picked three short stories, two of them by Hemmingway, that all explored his basic thoughts on the meaning of life, which boil down to “Life is a boat and life is a dream”.

Mr. Shanley gave speeches in between the readings of these three stories. His speeches were beyond inspiring. His thick New York accent brings an “everyman” quality to this gifted artist, and as Mr. Shanley speaks on the meaning of life he is wise and witty. He throws each page of his speeches onto the stage after he has read them, his eyes twinkle with irony and knowledge. The stories were succinct and beautiful, read expertly by Ron Cephas Jones, Dana Ivey, and John Tuturro. Hearing these haunting stories read was a gift in and of itself. Mr. Shanley’s presence, guiding the audience’s understanding of these great works was almost too wonderful to handle.

“Selected Shorts” is a necessary event for anyone with a passionate love of literature. And John Patrick Shanley’s work is a must read for anyone at all.

Wow, I’m not really sure what to say about Fearsome’s Gungrease, except to say that it was good clean fun- the kind of fun that you can take your mom and grandma to. WAIT! STOP! UNH UH! That’s not right at all. This show was a filthy, guilty pleasure. Sometimes I found myself laughing and then suddenly I would feel all dirty inside. Then, I looked around at the other audience members and realized we were all feeling the same way- everybody was wearing a very guilty grin.

Did they really just say that? Did they really just do that? The last song of the evening was so raunchy that you might actually be a little ashamed of yourself for laughing- sadly (or not so sadly) the song is still running through my head- over and over again.

The Fearsome team worked well as a unit- dynamic in their staging choices, collaborative in their performance. A few note worthy moments were the initial show opening (aka the whole first act). Then, in the 2nd act Chris’s ‘Yeah’ skit was clever and fun. The teams take on Dateline NBC’s Chris Hanson’s Child Sex Offender show was quite comical and fun, but lasted just a tad bit too long.

Fearsome covered the whole gamut- from accidental death, necrophilia, pedophilia, the joys of fathers and sons sharing time together, grown men in diapers, drinking games and even e coli outbreak.

Seriously though, Fearsome you needed an Act 3. Your hour long show was great ride, but I was just getting warmed up. Next time finish me off.

Overall: It’s fun. Go see it with a dirty-minded loved one. It’ll be at the People’s Improv Theatre (the PIT) through April 20th.

“There once was a boy called… Edward.”

Well, I’ll be honest when I sat down in my seat at BAM to watch a dance show of Edward Scissorhands I was thinking there was no way I would ever like this thing- I am such a cult fan of the movie- frankly I was a little pissed they made it into a dance show. HOWEVER, about 1 song into it I had a huge change of heart. I was completely sold and dancing in my seat along with the cast- it WASN’T trying to compete with the movie, just taking the story to a new medium. It was over the top in the most spectacular way!

Devised, directed and choreographed by Matthew Bourne (my new hero), Scissorhands is one of the great love stories of all times, I’m talking right up there with “The Princess Bride, An Affair to Remember” and Rocky (don’t laugh at me- I swear it’s romantic!!).

The dancing was a melange of ballet, modern dance, jazz and isolated dance moves. One of my favorite moments was the unique dance of the topiaries which was hysterically happy- it made me wish the shrubbery in my yard could dance like that!

The orchestral arrangements were whimsical and playful. Often the use of individual instruments would set the mood, such as the sultry use of the saxophone for Edward’s seduction scene or the use of chimes and bells.

Lez Brotherston’s bursts of colorful costumes of bubblegum pinks, oranges, purples and turquoises were eye-catching and each was a perfect compliment to the characters. His use of different textures from satins to velvets to organzas and beyond combined with the subtle use of patterns like plaids, polka dots and stripes created an overwhelming and fun style. Brotherston’s sets were simple, colorful and aesthetically pleasing and the lights shown in brilliant kelley greens, shades of warmth and sky blues, capturing the heart of the show.

Oh and the characters were great stylized stereotypes. Let’s start with Edward- okay, so look- if it couldn’t be Johnny Depp, then they definitely got the right crew (sharing the role are outstanding performers Sam Archer and Richard Winsor). I wanted to go hug sweet Edward. Slut neighbor was my 2nd favorite- she was slutty and sensuous and fabulous.

The neighborhood scenes were priceless (& only a few times dragged on a tad too long). Favorite moments were the cuckold neighbor, Edward’s seduction scene- which MY GOD totally reminds me of what fun you can have with a washing machine… ohhh, ohhhh, oh, sorrry, where was I?

Overall: Let’s just say that Tim Burton rocks my world and Matthew Bourne is a jewel that I will definitely keep my eyes on! Go see it.

PS For Johnny Depp’s Eyes Only: Dear Johnny… were you there on opening night? I was skimming the audience for you, hoping you would attend. If you don’t like this review, then feel free to spank me… did I actually type that out loud? Haha… email me, just kidding, no really email me….

MTV2 and the American Museum of Natural History join hands for SonicVision. A step beyond your average laser-light show, it fuses iPod-worthy music with mind-bending graphics. Minus a few oddities, it should be more popular than it is.

Mainly rock-tinged electronic music from the early “aughts” (as we’re taught from Gideon to call the 00s), SonicVision features a great mix by Moby. Radiohead, U2, David Bowie, Coldplay, Queens of the Stone Age, Prodigy, The Flaming Lips, Fischerspooner (who provide the music to The Wooster Group’s “Hamlet”), Spiritualized, Audioslave, Stereolab, Boards of Canada, David Byrne and Brian Eno, Goldfrapp, Zwan (The reunited Smashing Pumpkins’ new album is due out July 7, but does anyone know who the official members are yet?), and White Zombie are the soundtrack.

The psychedilic graphics will have your eyes (and heart!) racing through the universe as if you’re on an amusement-park thrill ride. Grasping for the armrest even though you’re not moving and flinching as if the graphics seemingly falling from the dome could actually hurt you, you walk out of the show laughing at yourself. In the context of a science museum, SonicVision perhaps is a subconsious reminder of how complex our bodies are. Our intellect and our eyes and ears can at times tell us two different things.

While most of the show feels like you’re trapped inside a video game or traveling through space, there are three dreamscapes that don’t work well: two verge on demonic and the other seems hoaky in its feel-good, uplifting message. The computer-generated art works much better when it stays within the realm of the abstract.

The movie “Night at the Museum” presupposed that after the American Museum of Natural History closes for the evening, all the animals come to life. Ravenous dinasour skeletons may not be the cause, but something’s to be said for the fact that the museum closes at 5:45 PM every day. The early closing time means the museum is losing out on a whole slew of money-earning nine-to-fivers. Behold SonicVision. Held on Friday and Saturday evenings at 7:30 and 8:30, it is geared toward teens and twenty-somethings, who are more into music than science. Cha-ching! The museum has found a way to target a fresh audience.

Maybe it was just the snowy night Uncool Kids went, but the museum apparently needs to do a bit more marketing. Seven-year-olds came tearing down the hall after the first showing, but come time for the second showing the planetarium was half-empty. The 8:30 show produced an odd mixture of older kids with their cool parents alongside early twenties hipsters and daters. The two-for-one coupon, great music, and breathtaking graphic art make SonicVision a great alternative to going to the movies. Check out the trailer here.