Whirlwind Weekend

I had a great, and very busy, weekend -- I thought I'd share a little of it here. I fear this post will get very, very long and so I will give some subdivisions rather than post 3 or 4 separate posts.

New York
I am one of those people that just isn't particularly fond of New York. And, honestly, that's a little weird because I've never had a particular dislike for any other big city. Philly, San Francisco, Toronto, London, Paris, Chicago... yup... like 'em all. Just not so crazy about New York. I think I just feel overstimulated there. I'm not sure. Regardless, my 24 hours in New York this weekend was just exactly enough. As soon as I heard that Sunday in the Park with George was being revived on Broadway, I knew I absolutely had to go. However, shortly after I found out about it, I decided to quit my job so I put it on hold for a while in the name of fiscal responsibility. Recently, though, I found out that the show is closing at the end of the month so I had to go this weekend or miss my chance for who-knows-how-many years. And so, my 24 hours in New York complete with cheap bus ride, air mattress in a friend's apartment and yummy Thai food for mere dollars. Ah - New York on the cheap! Thanks to Tara for putting up with my poverty-stricken mode of travel.

My obsession with Sunday in the Park with George
If you know me well, you know I'm not actually a huge fan of the musical genre in general. In fact, I'm quite the classical music snob and have been known to crack jokes on many-a-broadway-show. Sequins, chorus lines, unnecessary belting and jazz hands... just ain't my thing. But, I have been obsessed with Sunday for years. When I was still in high school, my friend Tara gave me a recording of Sunday in the Park with George. I'm not entirely sure why. My recollection is that I was first obsessed with Georges Seurat and his painting on which this musical is based. I fear, however, that it could have been the musical that inspired my obsession with the painting (how embarassing!). Either way, I listened to that CD over and over in my room at home, in my many college dorms and each of my apartments for the last 13 years or so. I had every word of the soundtrack memorized by the time I left for college. Today, it remains my #1 go-to CD for housecleaning.
In college, I visited the Seurat painting several times in Chicago and declared it my favorite painting. In fact, it was probably this painting that inspired my love of impressionist art in general (that has more recently faded, but I'm still fascinated by the techniques). I loved standing close to the huge canvas and staring and staring until my eyes lost focus and all the colors started to blur together. It really is a fascinating technique. If I ever decide to be a painter, I want to try to paint this way.
But, I digress. So, I love this musical. But! I had never seen the show. I wanted to see it live, but it's not performed all that often and I missed the few chances I had here and there. I never let myself watch the DVD because I wanted to see it live. And, so, this weekend, I got to do just that!

Sunday in the Park at Studio 54
This weekend, Tara and I schlepped up to NY to finally see this show. I loved it. I can't lie. I really did. I'm not saying that it was perfect. No show ever is, but it was really good. The male lead was really quite strong. I could take or leave the female lead, but she was pretty strong, too. I'm not the kind of girl that goes to NY and sees Phantom and says it was the most amazing thing I've ever seen. I'm just not like that. I err on the side of critical. However, this show held a little childlike fantasy for me. I had been looking forward to seeing this show for so long that there was no way that anything was going to ruin this for me.
Oh goodness, this post is getting really long and I have so much more to say. Perhaps, I will add another post later. For now, though, I will say this. I laughed... truly laughed... at scenes like the dog dialogue done by the lead and the scene with the "fake" soldier. I couldn't help but think of Jan when the line, "I don't want the other. I don't want the other either" came up. And, I cried. I cried exactly where I expected to... during We Should Have Belonged Together (I may have messed up that title). This has long been a tear-jerker for me. I feel so deeply the emotions written in this song. You really just have to listen to it, but basically she tells him he could tell her not to go, that he could tell her anything, any reason and she would stay because they belong together. But, he doesn't and she leaves. "We should have belonged together. But, we never belonged together." Aggg.... the agony. It kills me every time. I also cried somewhere I definitely did not expect to cry. I cried during Children and Art. An elderly grandmother of a character says, "There are really only two things worth leaving behind when you die. Children. and Art." For some reason, this totally killed me. Not entirely sure what that was all about. And, honestly, not something I want to think about. It's just too crushing.
So, yes... good stuff! Can't wait to debrief with Heather and watch the original!

Well, I also wanted to gush about my amazing friend Jeni, but I think that will have to wait because this is just entirely too long!