theater — Page 29

Out My Car Window

June 8, 2011 at 3:29 pm by Claudia

Yes, I know. Better to stop the car and take pictures. The problem lies with the narrow shoulder on the side of the road. Impossible to stop. This is what I see as I drive back and forth from my condo to the theater.

Lots of dairy farms and dairy cows. There are actually more picturesque views of the cows scattered on the hillsides. I’ll try to get one in the next week.

Pretty Wisconsin farmland.

My friend, Jim, just opened a bookstore in town. We’ve known each other since my Boston University days and he directs a production here each season. Based in Chicago, he grew to like it so much here that he bought a house nearby. It has been a dream of his to own a bookstore and it finally came true about a month ago.

He’s completely renovated the building and the bookstore is simply wonderful. He has impeccable taste and is very well read and it really shows in the books he has chosen for the store. There are old wooden tables and a sofa and the incredibly well-equipped kitchen in the back is run by a stage manager at the theater who also has a catering business. I could spend hours in this place.

This little town is so lucky to have this bookstore. And by the amount of people I see there on any given visit, they know it.

Can I say how nice it is to see an independently owned bookstore?

What’s happening at the theater? Well, last night, in 90 degree weather, I watched a tech/dress rehearsal where I was eaten alive by mosquitos despite having put on bug spray, had several thousand gnats hovering around my face, saw a cloud of pollen float across the stage (and I wonder why my allergies are so bad) and tried to hear the actors, which is my job, when there was a gale-force wind blowing. This is the second run-through where there has been a major wind blowing and I have ended up having no idea as to the audibility of the actors. I only have one more before we start to preview. Tonight. It’s still in the nineties, it’s still humid and we are supposed to have storms.

Not good.

Adventures in NYC Continued

March 7, 2011 at 1:00 am by Claudia

:: I’m back at Mockingbird Hill Cottage after 8 days in Manhattan. Still sick with a cold – and no, I didn’t get it from walking across the Brooklyn Bridge. The cast has been passing around a cold and I guess it was my turn. Opening Night was wonderful; a happy night for one and all with a fun party afterward at Gallagher’s Steakhouse in Midtown. You know I didn’t have any steak. Just veggies. I spent much of the time during the performance trying not to cough, and when I knew I couldn’t hold back, trying to cough at just the right moment in a scene. Exhausting.

We got a great review, make that a rave review, in the New York Times. Truly, I’ve never read such a glowing review! I’m so happy for everyone, especially my friend and colleague who is the Director. It is his vision that has made this production come to life.

I will be traveling to Chicago for 3 days next week – a very quick trip – to check on the cast and their voices in the much, much bigger space in which they will be performing.

:: On Saturday, I pretty much hung around the hotel as I was feeling rotten and wanted to save up my energy for the evening. On Friday, however, I ran around looking for boots (and found them.) Here are some photos from that day:

It was a bit gloomy that day – this is the original entrance to Macy’s. If you look closely above the arch, you can see R.H. Macy and Co. Macy’s was having a sale and it was a madhouse. I quickly realized that I had to leave the premises before I started screaming. I later found my boots at a shoe store near Grand Central Station.

:: When we lived in our rental cottage, we traveled in and out of Grand Central all the time. Now that we take the bus which arrives at the Port Authority Bus Station, I miss seeing this gorgeous place. Since I wanted to catch the #6 subway train and use the ladies room, Grand Central was just the ticket.

Such a beautiful building! The blue ceiling has the constellations painted on it.

Always busy, always fascinating. A great place to do some people watching. Downstairs there are lots of places to grab a bite to eat. Uh oh….look what I found:

Since I was battling a cold, searching for boots, tired and cranky….well you know what comes next. A little box with the above logo accompanied me back to the hotel.

:: I took the number 6 to the Upper East Side to check out this little shop:

Tender Buttons – a small, narrow charming shop FULL of buttons. Every type you could imagine, including antique buttons worth several hundred dollars. I didn’t even attempt to take photos inside. There was not enough room. Besides, I was intrigued by a couple who arrived in a cab and entered the store right before me. They were obviously wealthy, dressed in expensive clothes. The man had a booming voice and was on a search for buttons – perhaps for a suit? I would imagine it to be a custom-made suit. He spoke loudly – like a man used to giving orders and being listened to. After his wife showed him how to use her iPhone, he made a call to his tailor – asking the tailor the precise measurements needed for said buttons. I was fascinated by them. When I left, the search for just the right buttons was still going on.

:: I went into Borders (one that is not closing) to do a quick check in the magazine aisle.

Well done, Borders.

By the way, the story about Borders and bankruptcy makes me sad for two reasons. Any bookstore struggling and perhaps going under is alarming. Yes, I have a Nook – but to tell the truth – I still much prefer an actual book in my hands.. I always will. The more bookstores that thrive, the better for all of us. Nothing can top browsing in a bookstore; picking up a book, looking at the typeface, seeing it in 3 dimensional form.

The second reason is that I used to go to the very first Borders bookstore ever – in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I went to college in the neighboring town of Ypsilanti and spent hours and hours in Borders. In those days, it was a single independent bookstore. I still remember it vividly. Chains are fine, but I feel that Borders lost a lot when it morphed into a chain of stores. I suppose this is a cautionary tale about the risk of losing the heart and soul of a business in the eagerness to expand.

I’m off to cough and blow my nose.