A Couple of Anniversaries

Last weekend we went down to Sarasota to celebrate our anniversary.

29 years.

I used Amex points to get a free hotel room at the Hyatt which was recently renovated and really nice. Here's the best part. I chose to try out their self check in system that was available in the lobby, which was very simple, and they were so pleased that I did that they upgraded us to a room with a view, and a balcony. That's the pool from our very nice room.

We had a nice afternoon walking around the town, did some shopping, spent as much as I could at Sarasota News and Books, but I couldn't save it, it's closing August 31st. I also got a fantastic new pan at Sur La Table, nice store and I love my pan which is "green" and non stick without any toxicity, a serious problem with non stick pans, especially for those of us who have birds in the house. Very happy with my purchase which I have been cooking with all week!

After enjoying the pool for a while, which has great strong waterfalls you can float under on your stomach while they give you a nice back massage, and a really good hot tub with a hot waterfall too, we went back into town. Sarasota is looking run down lately, lots of closed stores but still lots of nice art in the streets.

Jesse's friend Jen Berges recommended Mozaic for dinner and it was fantastic. Really nice decor and all, great flights of wine, and we got extra nice treatment when Mark mentioned it was our anniversary, including free fancy dessert.

Then on to the theater where we saw Neil LaBute's Fat Pig. Good play and Banyan Tree did a great job.

The next morning we enjoyed the pool again, then went to brunch on the balcony at Cafe Galante before doing a bit more shopping and then heading home.

The weekend before that was the 40th anniversary of Woodstock. WMNF did a Woodstock recreation at Skippers. It ran about 10 hours but we only went for about three. It was crowded and there were no seats available so we danced the whole time.

Local bands covered each band that played at Woodstock and they were amazingly great. In fact, I think I heard more of the music than I did at the original Woodstock. I actually have very little memory of Woodstock, though I know I was there. I remember walking a long way when the bus got stuck in the ridiculous traffic. And I remember the mud, and being hungry, and someone giving out hardboiled eggs. The music? Not so much. I enjoyed it this time around.

Big Wiggler did a good job as Jefferson Airplane with a great surprise, Marty Balin was actually there, singing lead, channeling Grace Slick!

Sly and the Family Stone as portrayed by Four Star Riot, rocked, above.

And below, Scott Elliott as Joe Cocker was truly amazing.

The Lieutenant of Inishmore

Blood, gore, and dead cats.  Not my things at all.   

Darkest of black comedy.  Now you're talking.  

Awesome acting, Irish accents so authentic I couldn't understand some of it but I sure got the gist, and damn good very violent special effects.  

Gotta admit I had an issue with the dead cats but they were not quite real enough to truly offend and the brilliant Jobsite crew balanced it out with a photo exhibit of their own beloved cats.  

Do Not Miss This One if you are in Tampa.  Jobsite gets better every single time. 

Picasso at the Lapin Agile

Mark and I saw this play, by Steve Martin, years ago in New York and loved it then.  It's a clever and provocative fantasy about Picasso and Einstein, both in their twenties and clearly brilliant but not famous yet, meeting at a cafe in Paris.  The Jobsite production is wonderful, set and costumes completely convincing and the acting is really excellent (though I would have liked a better Elvis impersonator but that's just a minor quibble).  We saw it later in the run than we see most Jobsite plays, so all that's left is one last week.  Don't miss this one, Jobsite is getting better and better.

And I love the Ferdie Pacheco portraits on exhibit at the theater.  But why no price tags?  I guess they would be out of reach anyway, but sure did love the Picasso, and the Einstein especially.

An Oak Tree

We saw a fascinating play at Gorilla Theatre today, An Oak Tree by Tim Crouch.  I won't say much about the play except that there are two actors, one plays a hypnotist and the other has never seen the script before he or she walks out on stage.  So there's a different actor for every performance and it was not only a good play but an amazing performance.  Afterwards there's a talk back in which the guest actor is debriefed.

It was a very unusual experience and we'd love to see it again with a different actor.  We got coupons to go back to another performance for free if we bring paying guests so if anyone here in Tampa would like to go please take us along!

Three Hot Tickets

Tuesday evening, July 29th, Central Park, Crosby, Stills & Nash. Peace, love & harmony, can't ask for more than this.

Wednesday we went to the new TKTS window in downtown Bklyn and got great seats to see the Pulitzer and Tony winning August: Osage County. Very powerful, emotional theater.

And then, Thursday, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Giants Stadium in New Jersey. Traffic, tolls, crowds, and a two hour wait for the concert to get started due to a major accident that kept people from getting there on time. Not us, we were early, so waited about three hours, actually. I think Mark and I were the only ones who brought books to read while waiting in the stadium.  But finally...it was loud and wild and we loved him, loved them, loved it all.

Picnic in the Park

Last weekend we had another great annual picnic in the park. This has been a long tradition for our family, starting when Jesse was pretty little. When she got a bit older we would bring her friends along for a dose of Shakespeare. Then she went to college and Mark and I went alone for a while, romantic, but we missed the fun of a group, and so we started inviting our friends. And even though American Stage has stopped doing Shakespeare, much to our chagrin, and this year presented a very silly, less than funny, Pirates of Penzance, the people and the picnic still make for one of the memorable nights of the year.

Abby chats with Alan & Annmarie.
Lorie brought a new guy, Chris, and his four year old twin boys.

Lorie's four year old son, Kaiser, studies the playbill to get ready.
Greg relaxes, Anne reads.

Elizabeth, Keith, Mark.

Abby relaxing behind Doug.

Walt & Sonia.

Wedding, eating, drinking, and more....

We had a busy weekend in New York. Mark and I flew up on Friday, dropped off our stuff at Val & Tony's and hit the streets of the Slope, eating pizza, of course, shopping, relaxing in Ozzie's, a third place for many in Park Slope. Then we got dressed up, took the train into the city, and wandered Tribeca a bit in the rain until we found the right building. While a wet crowd gathered in the lobby, waiters circulated with champagne, people began to chat, and a good time began. We went up to the top floor, alas, no view in the pouring rain and heavy fog, but it was pretty none the less. After a brief and sweet ceremony, our niece Beth and her Rondell were married. Great food, drink, plenty of dancing and so much fun followed.
Saturday Jesse & Thom picked us up -- lots more rain. We headed into Chinatown for a post wedding lunch, and then spent some shopping time getting drenched on the streets of the Lower East Side. Soon we gave it up, headed back to Brooklyn to Jesse & Thom's house, to get dry and to play with their new Wii. After recovering from a hard game of tennis we were dry and ready to go out for the evening -- first stop, a new and wonderful place in the Slope -- Beer Table. Owners Justin and Tricia welcomed Jesse and Thom back and were happy to meet Mark and me. They settled us at a table where two young men were sitting and we ordered our first beers. And began talking to the guys, Shane and Ian. When we found out that they had actually crafted the beer I was drinking, Righteous Rye, and that they are the guys behind Sixpoint, a great beer (and dog) conversation followed, and before we knew it, Shane was heading out to their brewery and bringing back some beers they are working on for a fabulous private tasting. By the time Shane got back we had more people at our table, every one friendly and interesting. It made us wish we could move to the city now.
Soon Thom's friend John showed up too, and in a while our little party was ready to move on to food so we headed right across the street for Italian home cooking, more good pizza. It was a magical evening, the kind that makes you say "only in New York."
Sunday Mark and I headed back into the city with my mother, Helen, for a great organic brunch at Josie's on the upper West Side. Then we met Jesse and Thom and saw a matinee of a new musical based on an old play, Spring Awakening.
In spite of a way too long journey home due to repeated flight delays, it was a wonderful weekend in the city.
See for yourself.

Wonderfully Wordy Playwrights

Fascinating article in today's New York Times about two of my favorite playwrights, Tom Stoppard and Edward Albee. Unfortunately I have yet to see productions of so many of their plays, since I have been living here in Tampa for the last couple of decades. I'm thankful that Jobsite Theater has been doing some provocative stuff in the last few years and this spring they are even doing Stoppard!

Happily Ever After

We went up to NY for a long and fun weekend, to witness the marriage of our Jesse Sage to her Thom.

The trip on Friday was wet. We decided to save some money and took the train from the plane. Not a hardship though it is time consuming. But it was pouring when we got out of the subway. We stopped for a slice (must always do that first thing when we get to the city). The rain had let up a bit by the time we left the pizza place, but by the time we sloshed through puddles to Val & Tony's Park Slope apartment (our home away from home, thanks V&T) we were soaked. What we didn't realize was that we had dragged our luggage through a few too many puddles and every single thing in our bags was wet, or at least damp. Tired and wet, we decided to forget all the plans for the afternoon and we spread our clothes out on every surface and relaxed while they dried.

Later we got back on the train and met Jesse & Thom at Blossom, a vegan restaurant in Chelsea, for the first of many very good very veggie meals.

Back in Brooklyn, at Jesse & Thom's house, we belately opened holiday gifts.

The next day, in better weather, Mark and I had brunch at a new place right on the other end of the block from Val & Tony's house.

Then we headed back into the city, with Helen, to check out the William Steig show at the Jewish Museum. It was wonderful and enlightening. What made it even better was that the people who work at the museum cannot handle money on Saturdays so it is free to get in! On the down side, the gift shop isn't open.

We met Jesse and Thom downtown for another wonderful veggie meal, this time at Ghenet, a great Ethiopian restaurant. The great news is that they are about to open in Brooklyn as well, right there in the Slope!

Later Mark and I finally got to see Tom Stoppard's new play, Rock 'N' Roll, which we didn't get to see in November due to the stagehands strike. Very good, but no Coast of Utopia.

There was great entertainment in the subway on the way home too.

When we got back to Brooklyn around midnight we were able to pick up the Sunday Times and stop in for some late night pizza. Just two of the many things we love about the city -- the Sunday paper on the way home Saturday night and good food available practically round the clock.

Sunday morning we got up and out early and met Jesse and Thom at a local spa. The men had massages, the women mani/pedis, and then we picked up Helen and headed for Queens, where Haverly met us for yet another great veggie meal -- dim sum brunch.

Sunday night found us back in the city (yes, all we do is eat, well, eat and walk, so it evens out) for an amazing dinner with Mark's brother Jerry and his wife Marjorie, who kindly picked a vegan restaurant, Candle 79.

Monday, January 14th. Downtown Brooklyn. The municipal building. Big, cold, drab. And yet very romantic.

For more photos take a look at Jesse's blog entry, No Little White Chapel.

After the very brief, sweet, ceremony, we all walked the streets of downtown Brooklyn to a nice little restaurant for a nice little celebration.

You can see more photos on Jesse's blog.

So now they are married, and she is Jesse Armstrong! The big hoopla, however, will be in April in Mexico and that will be quite a party, I mean parties....

After that it was time to get ready to head back to Tampa. No, we did not take the train to the plane. But we did, as always, make the trip better with yummy rapini/fresh mutz heros from our favorite Italian deli.

Heading up to NYC!

We'll be off to NYC at the break of dawn tomorrow to start our celebration of Mark's 60th! We'll also be celebrating Helen's 81st! And meeting Thom's parents, seeing many good friends, hearing music (Lucy Kaplansky), political comedy (Bill Maher), going to museums, theater, and so so much more. Stay tuned here for the story later on, but for now, here's the NY Times review of the play we will be seeing Sunday afternoon -- Tom Stoppard's Rock 'N' Roll! And listen to this interview with Tom Stoppard on NPR.