Friday, April 29, 2011
and now, the end is near...
and as I face the final curtain... on my holiday in NYC, its time to fill you in on the last couple of days.
I've pretty much done what I set out to do - with a few exceptions. Didn't make it to Dia Beacon, PS1 or the Whitney Museum of American Art. But I have done 9 tap classes, see 11 Broadway musicals and been to sooo many art galleries including 8 trips to The Metropolitan Museum of Art and 3 to MOMA.
On Wednesday tapped, I went to the New Museum (of contemporary art) on the Bowery - didn't really like the stuff on show though, and then out to Ellis Island - which was fascinating. Its easy to imagine how scary & intimidating it would have been for all the new arrivals being processed there. On Wed night I got a ticket to see Catch Me If You Can - which was a lot of fun. Its based on the movie based on the book based on the life of Frank Abagnale Jnr who managed to scam his way into jobs as a pilot and as a doctor without any qualifications or training. "Look them in the eye, use misdirection and keep talking" and apparently you can get away with anything - although a uniform helps! It was all 1950s/early 6os style and the music was very Frank Sinatra-ish.
Yesterday included a final visit to both The Met & MOMA; a visit to the Gagosian to see the Malevich and the American Legacy exhibition, a final tap class and another trip to the theatre - this time to see Chicago! Another great show and amazing performances. But... Its the same revival of the show that has been running since 1996 - which is pretty amazing but... what felt cutting edge back in 1996 seemed a bit dated to me. Maybe that's because I saw a version of this production at The Capitol in 1998(?) and I was expecting something different. Still an amazing show with a couple of fabulous voices and stunning dancing.
And now the bag is mostly packed and everything is more or less tidied away. The royal couple have said their vows - would you believe that they were installing big tv screens at Times Square for people to get up in the middle of the night to watch the ceremony?
Now all I have to do is get to the airport on time!
See you soon x
I've pretty much done what I set out to do - with a few exceptions. Didn't make it to Dia Beacon, PS1 or the Whitney Museum of American Art. But I have done 9 tap classes, see 11 Broadway musicals and been to sooo many art galleries including 8 trips to The Metropolitan Museum of Art and 3 to MOMA.
On Wednesday tapped, I went to the New Museum (of contemporary art) on the Bowery - didn't really like the stuff on show though, and then out to Ellis Island - which was fascinating. Its easy to imagine how scary & intimidating it would have been for all the new arrivals being processed there. On Wed night I got a ticket to see Catch Me If You Can - which was a lot of fun. Its based on the movie based on the book based on the life of Frank Abagnale Jnr who managed to scam his way into jobs as a pilot and as a doctor without any qualifications or training. "Look them in the eye, use misdirection and keep talking" and apparently you can get away with anything - although a uniform helps! It was all 1950s/early 6os style and the music was very Frank Sinatra-ish.
Yesterday included a final visit to both The Met & MOMA; a visit to the Gagosian to see the Malevich and the American Legacy exhibition, a final tap class and another trip to the theatre - this time to see Chicago! Another great show and amazing performances. But... Its the same revival of the show that has been running since 1996 - which is pretty amazing but... what felt cutting edge back in 1996 seemed a bit dated to me. Maybe that's because I saw a version of this production at The Capitol in 1998(?) and I was expecting something different. Still an amazing show with a couple of fabulous voices and stunning dancing.
And now the bag is mostly packed and everything is more or less tidied away. The royal couple have said their vows - would you believe that they were installing big tv screens at Times Square for people to get up in the middle of the night to watch the ceremony?
Now all I have to do is get to the airport on time!
See you soon x
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
And the best thing about New York City is ...
well just about all of it really - but for the last couple of days it really has been the sunshine and the warmth. Hit 80F/27C yesterday and felt the same today. I may have even got a little bit sunburnt...
So I've just been hanging out doing the tap dancing / art gallery -ing and Broadway musical-ing thing for the last couple of days. Did another tap class yesterday and want to fit in two more before I leave on Friday (FRIDAY!!! How on earth did that come about so soon!?). Spent yesterday arvo at The Met in Ancient Egypt and then in Medieval Europe. I even saw one of Henry VIII's suits of armour. And my, wasn't he a sturdy fellow! Spent some time sitting in Central Park listening to a jazz band and reading Jane Goes Batty the second in the Jane Bites Back series. And got tix to Mary Poppins yesterday.
Today included a trip on the Statten Island Ferry - past Lady Liberty & Ellis Island and back again; a visit to 1906's Pierpont Morgan Library and art collection (including an exhibition entitled Mannerism & Modernism - which included quite an amazing range of art - drawings/ photos / paintings - in the most unlikely yet totally credible hang). They also had a gorgeous John Singer Sargent portrait of Mrs Morgan. The day continued with a wander through Macy's (the world's larget department store) and a ride on the old wooden escalator, a stroll around Union Square Park and then to -- are you reading this Jeanie Baxter ? Todd Fuller ? -- and then to the Harry Potter exhibition at the Times Square Discovery Centre for a trip into Hogwarts complete with genuine props and costumes from the movies!!!!! I got to throw a quaffle!!! I was sorted by The Hat into Gryffindor!!! I got to pull out a screaming mandrake root from a pot in herbology!!!! They had all sorts of amazing things on display - the full size model of Buckbeak, one the centaurs, Dobby, Kreacher, Fawkes, costumes for the Hogwarts students and the wizards & witches, the beds from the student dorms, Hagrid's cottage, everybody's wands, harry's glasses, lollies from Fred & George's shop - puking pastilles anyone? various brooms including the Nimbus 2000, Hermoine's ball gown that she wore to the Xmas ball after the TriWizard tournament... the detail was amazing, expecially in the wands - which were all really different to each other.
And no theatre tonight - I fear I am getting musical fatigue! Good thing there aren't many shows left to see! Tonight I sat out on my deck and finished reading Jane Goes Batty, had a glass or two of a red wine that was labelled 'merlot' but isn;t like any merlot I've ever had. [In fact it tastes more like raspberry cordial than anything else. So much so, that I have had to supress my inner Diana Barry...] I sat out there until it got too dark to read. I didn't quite see the sun set (too many buildings in the way) but that was the feel of the evening. The wisteria is just starting to bloom - should be magnificent by the time I am back in Sydney!
Things to see & do before I leave - another trip to both The Met & MOMA just because I can, visit the New Museum of Contemporary Art on the Bowery, visit Ellis Island, visit the Gagosian gallery, tap classes, see Catch Me If You Can and Chicago... and possibly send postcards - although I have yet to buy any and I dont actually know where to buy stamps here as I haven't seen a post office. Oh well. You'll just have to make do with either a hand delivered card, or one posted when I get home to Oz - or more realistically consider this blog to be one long postcard. But I promise to show you all my photos when I get back!
Having a wonderful time. Miss you madly. Wish you were here!
love Elizabeth xx
So I've just been hanging out doing the tap dancing / art gallery -ing and Broadway musical-ing thing for the last couple of days. Did another tap class yesterday and want to fit in two more before I leave on Friday (FRIDAY!!! How on earth did that come about so soon!?). Spent yesterday arvo at The Met in Ancient Egypt and then in Medieval Europe. I even saw one of Henry VIII's suits of armour. And my, wasn't he a sturdy fellow! Spent some time sitting in Central Park listening to a jazz band and reading Jane Goes Batty the second in the Jane Bites Back series. And got tix to Mary Poppins yesterday.
Today included a trip on the Statten Island Ferry - past Lady Liberty & Ellis Island and back again; a visit to 1906's Pierpont Morgan Library and art collection (including an exhibition entitled Mannerism & Modernism - which included quite an amazing range of art - drawings/ photos / paintings - in the most unlikely yet totally credible hang). They also had a gorgeous John Singer Sargent portrait of Mrs Morgan. The day continued with a wander through Macy's (the world's larget department store) and a ride on the old wooden escalator, a stroll around Union Square Park and then to -- are you reading this Jeanie Baxter ? Todd Fuller ? -- and then to the Harry Potter exhibition at the Times Square Discovery Centre for a trip into Hogwarts complete with genuine props and costumes from the movies!!!!! I got to throw a quaffle!!! I was sorted by The Hat into Gryffindor!!! I got to pull out a screaming mandrake root from a pot in herbology!!!! They had all sorts of amazing things on display - the full size model of Buckbeak, one the centaurs, Dobby, Kreacher, Fawkes, costumes for the Hogwarts students and the wizards & witches, the beds from the student dorms, Hagrid's cottage, everybody's wands, harry's glasses, lollies from Fred & George's shop - puking pastilles anyone? various brooms including the Nimbus 2000, Hermoine's ball gown that she wore to the Xmas ball after the TriWizard tournament... the detail was amazing, expecially in the wands - which were all really different to each other.
And no theatre tonight - I fear I am getting musical fatigue! Good thing there aren't many shows left to see! Tonight I sat out on my deck and finished reading Jane Goes Batty, had a glass or two of a red wine that was labelled 'merlot' but isn;t like any merlot I've ever had. [In fact it tastes more like raspberry cordial than anything else. So much so, that I have had to supress my inner Diana Barry...] I sat out there until it got too dark to read. I didn't quite see the sun set (too many buildings in the way) but that was the feel of the evening. The wisteria is just starting to bloom - should be magnificent by the time I am back in Sydney!
Things to see & do before I leave - another trip to both The Met & MOMA just because I can, visit the New Museum of Contemporary Art on the Bowery, visit Ellis Island, visit the Gagosian gallery, tap classes, see Catch Me If You Can and Chicago... and possibly send postcards - although I have yet to buy any and I dont actually know where to buy stamps here as I haven't seen a post office. Oh well. You'll just have to make do with either a hand delivered card, or one posted when I get home to Oz - or more realistically consider this blog to be one long postcard. But I promise to show you all my photos when I get back!
Having a wonderful time. Miss you madly. Wish you were here!
love Elizabeth xx
Oh its a jolly holiday with Mary...
Mary makes the world seem right
When the day is grey and ordinary
Mary makes the sun shine bright
Oh happiness is blooming all around her
the daffodils are smiling at the doves
When Mary holds your hand
you feel so grand. Your heart starts beating
like a big brass band
Oh its a jolly holiday with Mary
No wonder that its Mary that we love!
That's right folks - I scored a ticket to Mary Poppins last night and wasn't that just the most magical evening ever - from the dolls house style set to the gorgeous Edwardian costumes to the parrot headed umbrella and carpet bag that held almost everything you could think of, MP was the most fantatical of shows. And how can you go past a flying nanny and tap dancing chimney sweeps?
So that throws MP into equal first place with Anything Goes. Equal but different because one is based on previously published material and the other is all original. I'm splitting hairs here aren't I?
When the day is grey and ordinary
Mary makes the sun shine bright
Oh happiness is blooming all around her
the daffodils are smiling at the doves
When Mary holds your hand
you feel so grand. Your heart starts beating
like a big brass band
Oh its a jolly holiday with Mary
No wonder that its Mary that we love!
That's right folks - I scored a ticket to Mary Poppins last night and wasn't that just the most magical evening ever - from the dolls house style set to the gorgeous Edwardian costumes to the parrot headed umbrella and carpet bag that held almost everything you could think of, MP was the most fantatical of shows. And how can you go past a flying nanny and tap dancing chimney sweeps?
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Musical madness...
1) Anything Goes - because its a classic and how can you go past those amazing Cole Porter songs
2) How to Succeed ... because it was such a suprise that Daniel 'Harry Potter' Radcliffe has such great comic timing and real stage presence
3) The Addams Family - which was just fab; great characterisation, amazing puppetry; great set & costumes and a delightful song in which Uncle Fester declared his love for the Moon.
4) Baby Its You! - because I knew nothing about it and it was a real surprise - based on the real life story of Florence Greenberg who established Scepter Records and discovered and promoted The Shirelles - the original girl group. A 'jukebox' musical with lots of songs that I recognised.
Equal 4) Million Dollar Quartet - again another surprise because I wasn't sure what to expect and had a totally fun evening.
5) Madagascar Live! (for the penguins and the very easy on the eye lion!)
6) La Cage Aux Folles - which I was a bit disappointed in, I didn't really enjoy Harvey Feinstien's portrayal of Albin - or if not his characterisation I really didn't like his singing, which was really raspy and didn't do those lovely tunes any justice at all.
7) Wonderland: A New Alice - its the lame storyline, bad puns and formulaic songs that dropped this one to the bottom of the list. The real critics have the same problems with the show - so its not just me being picky!
Friday, April 22, 2011
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