Monday February 18, 2019
In
spite of or maybe because of surviving only 16 performances on Broadway
in 1981, "Merrily We Roll Along” is my favorite Stephen Sondheim
musical. As we left the latest revival yesterday, I counted a total of 6
productions of it that I have seen over the years, having missed the
original. This production was very good, but, as with other human
experiences, my first remains special. It was at the Arena Stage in
Washington, D.C. in 1989 and the story of youthful aspirations and idealism laid
low by time and tide knocked me out.
I didn’t see myself in any of the three main characters, a composer, a lyricist and a novelist; none of those roles ever loomed as a goal of mine. Nor did I (or do I) feel that that special somewhere or something has eluded me. I just really felt sad for the characters back then in 1989 and again yesterday, because their dreams eluded them.
I didn’t see myself in any of the three main characters, a composer, a lyricist and a novelist; none of those roles ever loomed as a goal of mine. Nor did I (or do I) feel that that special somewhere or something has eluded me. I just really felt sad for the characters back then in 1989 and again yesterday, because their dreams eluded them.
Far
from leading a disappointment-free existence myself, I am only saying that
most of the mountains that I fell off before reaching the top
weren't so high to begin with. I never had my sights on Oscars, Nobels,
Pulitzers, Senate seats or billions. (I confess that I regret never
going to be an answer in the New York Times crossword puzzle.)
. . .
. . .
To
continue to celebrate Michael Jordan's birthday after the show, we went to The Palm -
West Side, 250 West 50th Street, one of the two dozen outposts of this
long-established, outstanding steakhouse chain. My young bride, not a
beef eater, thoroughly enjoyed the truffled potato purée, garlic leaf spinach and Barolo reduction, while I successfully wrestled with a
. . .
An article this weekend challenged some conventional wisdom about the geographic basis of economic inequality. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/
Geographic
mobility may be less critical than we thought to economic
achievement, unless it involves moving away from the television set to
seek better opportunities.
. . .
. . .
An errand took me to Ludlow Street, between Grand Street and Hester Street, once at the center of one-step-removed-from-the-
Tuesday, February 19, 2019
The
British got one thing right. You may remember that I kvetched to
Arthur Miller backstage at a revival of his play "The Price" in 1992
because of the color of the NYPD uniform shirt worn onstage (January
25, 2016). Here is a (tilted) photograph of a photograph of the current London
revival of the play and the NYPD sergeant is wearing the proper
dark-blue shirt.
Wednesday, February 20, 2019
There are a variety of apps for navigating the Holy Land, but I am enthusing about https://citymapper.com/nyc Typically,
it gives a choice of modes of transportation, estimated travel time and
the like. In addition, however, it tells you where on a subway train
to ride, front, middle or rear car, to optimize your exit, which is
something that I have been studying since childhood.
. . .
. . .
While
I might have some facility in choosing the best staircase to use to
exit the subway, Stony Brook Steve is a marvel at identifying
celebrities in ordinary settings. I don't share this talent, but I
recall turning a corner on the Left Bank of Paris several years ago and
walking right into Karl Lagerfeld, whose death received two full pages
of coverage in the New York Times today. Described as "the
most prolific [fashion] designer of the 20th and 21st centuries," it
was impossible not to notice him, wearing his characteristic black suit
and black shirt with stiff white collar. If he were just wearing chinos
and a Hard Rock Café
T-shirt, I'm sure that I would have passed him by without a glance.
Thursday, February 21, 2019
If Burt
Grossman keeps his shirt on, you would never know that he had heart bypass surgery a few weeks ago. He appeared hale and hearty today when we had lunch together at Fortune House, 82 Henry Street, Brooklyn Heights. We shared cold noodles with sesame sauce ($5), scallion pancake ($4.25) and then each had a lunch special, me Jumbo Shrimp w. Lobster Sauce ($8.25), including soup and white rice. Only the shrimp dish was below par, 3 medium-sized shrimp in a thin, bland sauce. By contrast, Burt's chicken chow fun ($7.80) was heaped high with chicken and noodles.
. . .
I spent more time with friends this evening, attending a talk with David Goldfarb and Michael Ratner at the New-York Historical Society on Richard Nixon, by John A. Farrell, the author of Richard Nixon: The Life. Farrell made clear his personal dislike of Nixon, while admiring his political skills, sometimes misapplied. The contrast with the present incumbent arose several times, explicitly and implicitly. I concluded that Nixon produced two major unforgivable harms -- to the institutional image of the White House and to the lives of countless Americans, Vietnamese and Cambodians who perished when he cynically prolonged the Vietnam War. Yet, his opening to China, his generally deft handling of foreign affairs, and his approach to the legacy of the New Deal, alternating between benign neglect and modest encouragement, strengthened this country overall. To the contrary, the Menace on Pennsylvania Avenue has weakened us in every area of public policy, at home and abroad.
Friday, February 22, 2019
I stopped into Shakespeare & Co., 2020 Broadway, bookstore and café, for a fancy cup of coffee this afternoon. What I found was possibly the start of the Counterrevolution, these signs pasted to the surface of several tables lining one wall of the café:
. . .
I returned upstairs to meet Tommy P., who gave me an informal appraisal of my nearly 1,000 LP collection, which needs a new home. To my delight, he told me that there's value in my 9½ boxes of vinyl and that he will return to make a detailed assessment. This might allow me to buy many more fancy cups of coffee in the future.
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