"You've lost me in your sea of pronouns."
I'm not afraid to admit this comes from my all time favorite t.v. show: Dawson's Creek.
Jul 7, 2011
Jul 1, 2011
I Think I Wanna Marry You
Proving, proving; and for no other reason than that he was married to a woman who had somehow managed to put him forever on the defensive, who loved him when he was nice, who lived according to what she happened to feel like doing and who might at any time- this was the hell of it- who might at any time of day or night just happen to feel like leaving him. It was ludicrous and as simple as that.
Revolutionary Road
Richard Yates
Revolutionary Road
Richard Yates
Keep me up till five because all your stars are out, and for no other reason...Oh dare to do it Buddy! Trust your heart. You're a deserving craftsman. It would never betray you. Good night. I'm feeling very much over-excited now, and a little dramatic, but I think I'd give almost anything on earth to see you writing a something, an anything, a poem, a tree, that was really and truly after your own heart.
Seymour An Introduction
J.D. Salinger
Seymour An Introduction
J.D. Salinger
May 28, 2011
They were careless people, Tom and Daisy.
“[Gatsby] stretched out his hand desperately as if to snatch only a wisp of air, to save a fragment of the spot that she had made lovely for him. But it was all going by too fast...and he knew that he had lost that part of it, the freshest and the best, forever.”
The Great Gatsby
F. Scott Fitzgerald
I try to figure out why it is that I am so in love with this novel. I think about Gatsby and the detestable Daisy and I try to figure out why it is that I care about a novel with less than likable main characters. And then I realize that it isn't the love story between Daisy and Gatsby that gets me every time, and it isn't even the beautiful relationship that Nick has with Gatsby. I think the real reason that I love this story so much is because every word is so powerful. Fitzgerald did an amazing thing by creating such a beautiful piece of art about such (mostly) selfish people. It makes me see those people as a little less selfish, it makes me almost give them allowances for being so cruel. And that's kind of scary.
The Great Gatsby
F. Scott Fitzgerald
I try to figure out why it is that I am so in love with this novel. I think about Gatsby and the detestable Daisy and I try to figure out why it is that I care about a novel with less than likable main characters. And then I realize that it isn't the love story between Daisy and Gatsby that gets me every time, and it isn't even the beautiful relationship that Nick has with Gatsby. I think the real reason that I love this story so much is because every word is so powerful. Fitzgerald did an amazing thing by creating such a beautiful piece of art about such (mostly) selfish people. It makes me see those people as a little less selfish, it makes me almost give them allowances for being so cruel. And that's kind of scary.
May 24, 2011
The Only Exception
Forgive the total emo mushy-ness of this. I'm not a huge Paramore fan but the lyrics to this song are dazzling.
May 23, 2011
So Many Opportunities to Not Be Alone
And, still more salient, why had I jumped into the car in the first place?...There seem to me at least a dozen answers to these questions, and all of them, however dimly, valid enough. I think, though, that I can dispense with them, and just reiterate that the year was 1942, that I was twenty-three, newly drafted, newly advised in the efficacy of keeping close to the herd-and, above all, I felt lonely. One simply jumped into loaded cars, as I see it, and stayed seated in them.
Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters
J.D. Salinger
It's interesting that in a city as full as New York that people are in a constant state of loneliness. People are yearning for some type of interaction, any type of interaction. A smile on the train, a wave at the station attendant, a regular trip to a local coffee shop, anything to feel a connection. I usually end up in conversations with those around me. And for those few minutes we share something that no one else will. We complain about the MTA or remark on the weather and it isn't the conversation, but rather knowing that you aren't alone. And even in something as simple as that we find that we've jumped into a loaded car to fight off the loneliness.
And I hope they don't feel so lonely anymore.
Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters
J.D. Salinger
It's interesting that in a city as full as New York that people are in a constant state of loneliness. People are yearning for some type of interaction, any type of interaction. A smile on the train, a wave at the station attendant, a regular trip to a local coffee shop, anything to feel a connection. I usually end up in conversations with those around me. And for those few minutes we share something that no one else will. We complain about the MTA or remark on the weather and it isn't the conversation, but rather knowing that you aren't alone. And even in something as simple as that we find that we've jumped into a loaded car to fight off the loneliness.
And I hope they don't feel so lonely anymore.
May 20, 2011
Rain, Rain, So Much Rain
He stopped to look ahead. Then the rain started again and this time it wasn't a passing shower, the sky was full of dark gray clouds, he turned up the collar of his suite jacket, it was going to get worse, nothing surer. And he would get bloody soaked.
By the Burn
James Kelman
It has been quite the week here in Lizzy Land. Finals are quickly approaching and it's a good thing because I literally couldn't take another day of classes. By far this has been the most challenging year of my life. But I'm still here. And things can only get better. At least they have to. So, do me a favor, Mother Nature, cheer up. I don't know how much more rain I can take.
By the Burn
James Kelman
It has been quite the week here in Lizzy Land. Finals are quickly approaching and it's a good thing because I literally couldn't take another day of classes. By far this has been the most challenging year of my life. But I'm still here. And things can only get better. At least they have to. So, do me a favor, Mother Nature, cheer up. I don't know how much more rain I can take.
May 13, 2011
But I had lost something, too. I had lost something which could never be restored to me while I lived.
No, the romance and beauty were all gone from the river. All the value any feature of it had for me now was the amount of usefulness it could furnish toward compassing the safe piloting of a steamboat. Since those days, I have pitied doctors from my heart. What does the lovely flush in a beauty's cheek mean to a doctor but a "break" that ripples above some deadly disease? Are not all her visible charms sown think with what are to him the signs and symbols of hidden decay? Does he ever see her beauty at all, or doesn't he simply view her professionally, and comment upon her unwholesome condition all to himself? And doesn't he sometimes wonder whether he has gained most or lost most by learning his trade?
Mark Twain
Sometimes I feel this way about The City.
Mark Twain
Sometimes I feel this way about The City.
May 7, 2011
More Than What it Means
How terrible it is when you say I love you and the person on the other end shouts back 'What?'
Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters
J.D. Salinger
Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters
J.D. Salinger
Apr 27, 2011
Not with the fire in me now.
TAPE: --gooseberries, she said. I said again I thought it was hopeless and no good going on and she agreed, without opening her eyes. [Pause.] I asked her to look at me and after a few moments--[Pause.]--after a few moments she did, but the eyes just list, because of the glare. I bent over to get them in the shadow and they opened. [Pause. Low.] Let me in. [Pause] We drifted in among the flags and stuck. The way they went down, sighing, before the stem! [Pause.] I lay down across her with my face in her breasts and my hand on her. We lay there without moving. But under us all moved, and moved us, gently, up and down, and from side to side.
[Pause. Krapp's lips move. No sound.]
Past midnight. Never knew such silence. The earth might be uninhabited.
[Pause.]
Here I end this reel. Box--[Pause.]--three, spool--[Pause.]--five. [Pause.] Perhaps my best years are gone. When there was a chance of happiness. But I wouldn't want them back. Not with the fire in me now. No, I wouldn't want them back.
[Krapp motionless staring before him. The tape runs on in silence.]
CURTAIN
Krapp's Last Tape
By Samuel Beckett
I think this kind of speaks for itself.
[Pause. Krapp's lips move. No sound.]
Past midnight. Never knew such silence. The earth might be uninhabited.
[Pause.]
Here I end this reel. Box--[Pause.]--three, spool--[Pause.]--five. [Pause.] Perhaps my best years are gone. When there was a chance of happiness. But I wouldn't want them back. Not with the fire in me now. No, I wouldn't want them back.
[Krapp motionless staring before him. The tape runs on in silence.]
CURTAIN
Krapp's Last Tape
By Samuel Beckett
I think this kind of speaks for itself.
Apr 13, 2011
The most important things work out rather beautifully.
"For the faithful, the patient, the hermetically pure, all the important things in this world — not life and death, perhaps, which are merely words, but the important things — work out rather beautifully."
- J.D. Salinger
I'm trying really hard not to be to much of a downer. A friend of mine had a stroke on Sunday night, at 28, and was declared brain dead yesterday. He wrote me a letter and I never responded, due to my selfishness of focusing on my extremely busy life. Sometimes in life we lose contact with people we care about and become insular. It's so easy to do living in The City where every second can be spent doing something with someone. We cancel plans here and there, forget to call, talk of meeting up but never do. It's so easy. So I figured now was as good a time as ever to finally get back to him.
Sorry it took so long, R. Hope this helps:
From R:
February 2, 2011
Hey Liz,
thanks for taking a moment to read and digest. It's much appreciated.
i wrote a friend:
I'm in the place that's been my home for 27 years... and i'm lost.
so she responded with:
I am beginning to think being lost is just part of it, who ever thinks they are found is naive. What would being found look like? Definitely not like me.
i responded:
life is a journey, and in every journey we're always looking for something. At each stage we find what we're looking for, we appreciate it for what it is, then we begin the next trek. If within this journey we find that we're lost, then we either continue seeking for what we've been looking for, or we fool ourselves into believing that what we've found is the answer or that we'll never find what we were looking for in the first place. I believe if we accept the last two options, the all we've found is complacency. At this point in my life, there are certain things I want to find, and find myself in. Once I'm found within those things, I can appreciate them and find myself in something else at the next step. But if I'm perpetually lost and I've accepted being lost as my way of being, what motivates me to continue searching?
Dear R,
Never stop searching for your way. It's interesting that at different points in life we are so sure of how things will progress and how they will turn out. When we're little we have this sense that we know exactly how life will turn out. "I'm going to be a doctor!" "A pilot!" "I'll be President!!" No one ever tells us we can't accomplish everything we want. It's only when we grow up and exist in this imperfect and damaged world that we trick ourselves into thinking that we can't accomplish absolutely everything that we want to. The road gets thick with prickly bushes sometimes and it can be hard to find our way back to our road, but it's still there. It just means we have to cut some bushes down. Walk on, R. Never stop searching for your way in life. Time is precious and life is way to short.
I'll see you soon,
Elizabeth
- J.D. Salinger
I'm trying really hard not to be to much of a downer. A friend of mine had a stroke on Sunday night, at 28, and was declared brain dead yesterday. He wrote me a letter and I never responded, due to my selfishness of focusing on my extremely busy life. Sometimes in life we lose contact with people we care about and become insular. It's so easy to do living in The City where every second can be spent doing something with someone. We cancel plans here and there, forget to call, talk of meeting up but never do. It's so easy. So I figured now was as good a time as ever to finally get back to him.
Sorry it took so long, R. Hope this helps:
From R:
February 2, 2011
Hey Liz,
thanks for taking a moment to read and digest. It's much appreciated.
i wrote a friend:
I'm in the place that's been my home for 27 years... and i'm lost.
so she responded with:
I am beginning to think being lost is just part of it, who ever thinks they are found is naive. What would being found look like? Definitely not like me.
i responded:
life is a journey, and in every journey we're always looking for something. At each stage we find what we're looking for, we appreciate it for what it is, then we begin the next trek. If within this journey we find that we're lost, then we either continue seeking for what we've been looking for, or we fool ourselves into believing that what we've found is the answer or that we'll never find what we were looking for in the first place. I believe if we accept the last two options, the all we've found is complacency. At this point in my life, there are certain things I want to find, and find myself in. Once I'm found within those things, I can appreciate them and find myself in something else at the next step. But if I'm perpetually lost and I've accepted being lost as my way of being, what motivates me to continue searching?
Dear R,
Never stop searching for your way. It's interesting that at different points in life we are so sure of how things will progress and how they will turn out. When we're little we have this sense that we know exactly how life will turn out. "I'm going to be a doctor!" "A pilot!" "I'll be President!!" No one ever tells us we can't accomplish everything we want. It's only when we grow up and exist in this imperfect and damaged world that we trick ourselves into thinking that we can't accomplish absolutely everything that we want to. The road gets thick with prickly bushes sometimes and it can be hard to find our way back to our road, but it's still there. It just means we have to cut some bushes down. Walk on, R. Never stop searching for your way in life. Time is precious and life is way to short.
I'll see you soon,
Elizabeth
Apr 1, 2011
Mar 31, 2011
Do you see me?
"Quite so," he answered, lighting a cigarette, and throwing himself down into an armchair. "You see, but you do not observe. The distinction is clear. For example, you have frequently seen the steps which lead up from the hall to this room."
"Frequently."
"How often?"
"Well, some hundreds of times."
"Then how many are there?"
"How many? I don't know."
"Quite so! You have not observed. And yet you have seen. That is just my point. Now, I know there are seventeen steps, because I have both seen and observed..."
Recently after reading A.C. Doyle's "Scandal in Bohemia" I realized that I'm extremely unaware of what's going on around me. Living in The City that never sleeps is stimulating to all the senses, but can also leave you dull.
It's nice to have little reminders telling you to keep your eyes, and interestingly enough, your heart, open and aware.
So, world, keep your head up, your eyes open, and your heart ready. You don't want to miss something amazing.
"Frequently."
"How often?"
"Well, some hundreds of times."
"Then how many are there?"
"How many? I don't know."
"Quite so! You have not observed. And yet you have seen. That is just my point. Now, I know there are seventeen steps, because I have both seen and observed..."
Recently after reading A.C. Doyle's "Scandal in Bohemia" I realized that I'm extremely unaware of what's going on around me. Living in The City that never sleeps is stimulating to all the senses, but can also leave you dull.
It's nice to have little reminders telling you to keep your eyes, and interestingly enough, your heart, open and aware.
So, world, keep your head up, your eyes open, and your heart ready. You don't want to miss something amazing.
Mar 23, 2011
I loved thee with a love I seemed to lose
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with a passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, --- I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! --- and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.
-Elizabeth Barrett Browning
I'm not a mushy person. In fact I don't see myself as someone who is traditionally romantic. But something has happened to me recently. I guess you could say that I've become more in-tuned with my sensitive side. We read the above poem in my British Literature class today and something absolutely out of the ordinary happened: I cried.
I don't cry in public very often, if ever. And I'm known for staying away from relationships and commitment. And at every turn I debate against this idealized, romantic, unfounded notion of "love". I don't believe in "love" as associated with the fairy tales and prince charming's most of us have grown up with. But what I realized in class, while reading Browning's words to the man who would become her husband, I understood a little better what this idea of "love" was.
Browning speaks of love as something that is limitless. It is the deepest, widest, highest love that anyone can fathom. And that got me to thinking about what a limitless love means. And I think I'm slightly closer to understanding what the capacity of actual love means and what that does to the heart.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with a passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, --- I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! --- and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.
-Elizabeth Barrett Browning
I'm not a mushy person. In fact I don't see myself as someone who is traditionally romantic. But something has happened to me recently. I guess you could say that I've become more in-tuned with my sensitive side. We read the above poem in my British Literature class today and something absolutely out of the ordinary happened: I cried.
I don't cry in public very often, if ever. And I'm known for staying away from relationships and commitment. And at every turn I debate against this idealized, romantic, unfounded notion of "love". I don't believe in "love" as associated with the fairy tales and prince charming's most of us have grown up with. But what I realized in class, while reading Browning's words to the man who would become her husband, I understood a little better what this idea of "love" was.
Browning speaks of love as something that is limitless. It is the deepest, widest, highest love that anyone can fathom. And that got me to thinking about what a limitless love means. And I think I'm slightly closer to understanding what the capacity of actual love means and what that does to the heart.
The Facade of an Existential Crisis?
“Among other things, you'll find that you're not the first person who was ever confused and frightened and even sickened by human behaviour. You're by no means alone on that score, you'll be excited and stimulated to know. Many, many men have been just as troubled morally and spiritually as you are right now. Happily, some of them kept records of their troubles. You'll learn from them—if you want to. Just as some day, if you have something to offer, someone will learn something from you. It's a beautiful reciprocal arrangement. And it isn't education. It's history. It's poetry." J.D. Salinger
I titled this post with a question mark because the entire basis of my personal existential crisis is shaky. At this point in life I'm not really sure if there is such a thing as an existential crisis.
Sometimes I think that growing up in love with an author, and subsequently his work, may have hindered me from experiencing life genuinely. I have been in love with Salinger for most of my life. Sometimes I wonder that if by living in The City, and reading his work over and over again, I'm not somehow forced into a false sense of existentialism and the constant questioning of "what is life?". Were I not saturated in Seymour Glass' life and family, and had I not felt myself going through a nervous breakdown like Holden, would I still step back from my life and question the "why" of the Universe? I suppose it will have to be one of those chicken and egg dilemmas.
As for now, I will sit here looking out on The City, on 23rd Street and Lexington, 13 floors above the rainy streets, and think about Salinger and The City and Life. And I'll wait for spring to come and bring a little color to my gray scale world.
I titled this post with a question mark because the entire basis of my personal existential crisis is shaky. At this point in life I'm not really sure if there is such a thing as an existential crisis.
Sometimes I think that growing up in love with an author, and subsequently his work, may have hindered me from experiencing life genuinely. I have been in love with Salinger for most of my life. Sometimes I wonder that if by living in The City, and reading his work over and over again, I'm not somehow forced into a false sense of existentialism and the constant questioning of "what is life?". Were I not saturated in Seymour Glass' life and family, and had I not felt myself going through a nervous breakdown like Holden, would I still step back from my life and question the "why" of the Universe? I suppose it will have to be one of those chicken and egg dilemmas.
As for now, I will sit here looking out on The City, on 23rd Street and Lexington, 13 floors above the rainy streets, and think about Salinger and The City and Life. And I'll wait for spring to come and bring a little color to my gray scale world.
I love it when we're cruising together.
"Baby let's cruise, away from here
Don't be confused, the way is clear
& if you want it you got it forever
This is not a one night stand, baby, yeah"
I took a trip to (what my city mind calls) the country this past weekend and I learned something very important, I belong in the city. I had been operating under the impression that I belonged in the city for awhile but last weekend proved it. To me, the city signifies a mindset that we live in a united world, not a state, or a town.
In The City, I am bombarded with pictures of the distraction in Japan and the political unrest in Libya. I hear discussions about the economic state of our world and the devastation in war torn countries. But while I was in the suburbs I could feel the disconnection from the world. Soccer mom cars, chain restaurants, big houses.
I'm not saying that living outside of a large city is a bad thing, I'm saying that for me to feel connected to the world, I need to be near the city. I can see myself being easily lost in the comfort and familiarity of people and things around me. I'm more afraid of being complacent than almost anything in my life. Living in a place where I see people from all over the world on a daily basis reminds me that I'm not the only culture living in the world. It clarifies the idea of one race, the human race.
So while I will probably take many weekends away to "get away from it all", I'll always find myself coming back to The City I love. The City that reminds me how precious life is, how fleeting and temporary it all can be. A City that challenges me and that pisses me off, that makes me angry and that also enlightens me, and romances me, and reminds me of how lucky I am to be alive.
Wow. Thanks suburbia for the epiphany.
Don't be confused, the way is clear
& if you want it you got it forever
This is not a one night stand, baby, yeah"
I took a trip to (what my city mind calls) the country this past weekend and I learned something very important, I belong in the city. I had been operating under the impression that I belonged in the city for awhile but last weekend proved it. To me, the city signifies a mindset that we live in a united world, not a state, or a town.
In The City, I am bombarded with pictures of the distraction in Japan and the political unrest in Libya. I hear discussions about the economic state of our world and the devastation in war torn countries. But while I was in the suburbs I could feel the disconnection from the world. Soccer mom cars, chain restaurants, big houses.
I'm not saying that living outside of a large city is a bad thing, I'm saying that for me to feel connected to the world, I need to be near the city. I can see myself being easily lost in the comfort and familiarity of people and things around me. I'm more afraid of being complacent than almost anything in my life. Living in a place where I see people from all over the world on a daily basis reminds me that I'm not the only culture living in the world. It clarifies the idea of one race, the human race.
So while I will probably take many weekends away to "get away from it all", I'll always find myself coming back to The City I love. The City that reminds me how precious life is, how fleeting and temporary it all can be. A City that challenges me and that pisses me off, that makes me angry and that also enlightens me, and romances me, and reminds me of how lucky I am to be alive.
Wow. Thanks suburbia for the epiphany.
Jan 4, 2011
Another Year's Over, A New One's Just Begun
It's New Years Eve and Im feeling pretty wonderful. I've been chosen to work a private party at my job. In case you aren't familiar, I work at a restaurant in the heart of times square- and we happen to have the perfect view of the ball drop.
So, here I am, looking down at thousands of people, cozy and comfortable, and rockin out. The night goes by in waves, there are so many happy people, lots of dancing, and nothing but laughing and smiling. We are all ecstatic.
The time has come, the last few minutes of 2010 (good riddance), most of our guests have gone outside to our private pen to watch the ball drop first hand, so its mostly me and my coworkers upstairs. And then one of the most magical New York moments happens, the dj is playing my song. I grab my dear friend and we begin dancing. He twirls me around and we sing the familiar lyrics to each other, our other coworkers doing the same. And I get a little teary eyed and I think about this past year and all the good and bad and everything I've ben through and the insane amount of awful things I've put off thinking about and the beautiful moments of love I've experienced, and its almost a new year, a new decade. And then we all join in and sing, "If you can make it here, you'll make it anywhere, New York, New York."
And then the countdown to a new year begins.
So, here I am, looking down at thousands of people, cozy and comfortable, and rockin out. The night goes by in waves, there are so many happy people, lots of dancing, and nothing but laughing and smiling. We are all ecstatic.
The time has come, the last few minutes of 2010 (good riddance), most of our guests have gone outside to our private pen to watch the ball drop first hand, so its mostly me and my coworkers upstairs. And then one of the most magical New York moments happens, the dj is playing my song. I grab my dear friend and we begin dancing. He twirls me around and we sing the familiar lyrics to each other, our other coworkers doing the same. And I get a little teary eyed and I think about this past year and all the good and bad and everything I've ben through and the insane amount of awful things I've put off thinking about and the beautiful moments of love I've experienced, and its almost a new year, a new decade. And then we all join in and sing, "If you can make it here, you'll make it anywhere, New York, New York."
And then the countdown to a new year begins.
Dec 13, 2010
The End Is Near
Lately I've had this feeling that the world is going to end, or could end, at any moment. And I guess in some way that's always possible. Life is so temporary. And we are such fragile creatures.
It's almost 2011. I can hardly believe it. I knew last year that 2010 was going to be intense. I had made the decision to go back to school. And here I am, one semester down. I'm exhausted, my brain is numb, I've hardly seen my friends. But somehow that's ok. Because I made it. I got through. I'm not who I was last year at all, but I know thats a good thing. It means I'm not stagnant. Ive taken risks and grown up and learned about myself through the eyes of people I never would have known otherwise. This year has simultaneously been the worst and best year of my life.
I'm kind of terrified of next year, but hopeful. Is that even possible?
It's almost 2011. I can hardly believe it. I knew last year that 2010 was going to be intense. I had made the decision to go back to school. And here I am, one semester down. I'm exhausted, my brain is numb, I've hardly seen my friends. But somehow that's ok. Because I made it. I got through. I'm not who I was last year at all, but I know thats a good thing. It means I'm not stagnant. Ive taken risks and grown up and learned about myself through the eyes of people I never would have known otherwise. This year has simultaneously been the worst and best year of my life.
I'm kind of terrified of next year, but hopeful. Is that even possible?
Oct 16, 2009
Broadway Review: Next to Normal
I wanted to wait to see the full original cast before I did my review but my absurdly busy past few weeks have kept me from being able to partake in this again. But rest assured, I will see this show again.
My musical buddy from California has now become my roommate (YAY!!) so I'm hoping my excursions onto Broadway will be more frequent.
I can't believe my luck. I feel like Broadway just can't disappoint me (or perhaps it's my roommate and her good taste in theater). I was so astonishingly moved by this show. I knew it was going to be good, it racked up quite a reputation. I had no idea that I would not only enjoy the show but that I'd feel emotionally connected to every actor on stage. Shamelessly I cried through the entire production but it wasn't until Alice Ripley looked me square in the eyes that I erupted like a snotting volcano. No wonder she has major cred, she lives up to the hype. Ripley was Diana. I'm in love with this woman's performance!
Sadly for me the actors who play the father (Robert Spencer as Dan) and brother (Aaron Tveit as Gabe, my new lover) were not at the show. But luckily for me their understudies Michael Berry and Timothy Young (respectively) were brilliant. Young especially controlled the stage, almost effortlessly as if he were not an understudy. But it wasn't until I heard Young and Berry's father / son duet that I really fell in love. Berry was stiff at times but he still did an amazing job.
(One of my favorite parts!!)
The entire cast (Jennifer Damiano as Natalie, Adam Chanler-Berat as Henry, and the luscious Louis Hobson as Dr. Maddan / Dr. Fine) portrayed their characters extremely well. I really can't say enough how much I enjoyed this show. The music was haunting, the lyrics deep and so meaningful (I sobbed through "Superboy and the Invisible Girl). The on stage band didn't miss a beat. I mean really, what more could you want out of a show?
To see or not to see?
Missing this would be a travesty.
Aug 20, 2009
Play Review: Departure Lounge
As I was leaving Twelfth Night I was chatting with some friends about the next play on my list, Departure Lounge with Jonathan B. Wright, of Spring Awakening fame. A man looked up from his blackberry at me as I gushed about my love of Johnny B Wright and all the Spring Awakening kids. He agrees, they are great. So I, thinking he wants to chat and is lonely, say, "I just love that show. My favorite." And he says, "Thank you." It dons on me. I've seen this guy before. It's Steven Sater!! The writer of Spring Awakening!!! Ok I just had to share that with you before I actually get on to my review.
Here's a nice little photo of him.
I was pretty excited to see Jonathan B Wright in another musical. It looked like it was going to be a good time either way. I'm a huge admirer of the entire cast of Spring Awakening and try to support them when I can.
The opening to this play I thought, oh well here's a silly musical about a bunch of guys. Oh well. But what I ended up getting was so much more. The entire cast was amazing! Nick Blaemire, Doug Kreeger, Kathleen Monteleone and Alex Tonetta were each talented actors and singers. The music was a blast, the story line engaging (thank you Christopher Gattelli), and the script was full of emotion and friendship, and beauty (thank you Dougal Irvine). Really, this was an amazing play.
There is one scene between Alex Tonetta and Jonathan B. Wright where they are singing a duet about the other. Jonathan is singing about how much he loves Alex, and Alex is singing about how much he hates Jonathan. It's so beautiful! I was tearing up a bit. The emotional depth of that song was by far the best part of the show.
I'm so lucky that I was able to attend this nice little world of four boys on their way to becoming men. Well done everyone, well done!
Here's a nice little photo of him.
I was pretty excited to see Jonathan B Wright in another musical. It looked like it was going to be a good time either way. I'm a huge admirer of the entire cast of Spring Awakening and try to support them when I can.
The opening to this play I thought, oh well here's a silly musical about a bunch of guys. Oh well. But what I ended up getting was so much more. The entire cast was amazing! Nick Blaemire, Doug Kreeger, Kathleen Monteleone and Alex Tonetta were each talented actors and singers. The music was a blast, the story line engaging (thank you Christopher Gattelli), and the script was full of emotion and friendship, and beauty (thank you Dougal Irvine). Really, this was an amazing play.
There is one scene between Alex Tonetta and Jonathan B. Wright where they are singing a duet about the other. Jonathan is singing about how much he loves Alex, and Alex is singing about how much he hates Jonathan. It's so beautiful! I was tearing up a bit. The emotional depth of that song was by far the best part of the show.
I'm so lucky that I was able to attend this nice little world of four boys on their way to becoming men. Well done everyone, well done!
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