Category: Theater

Tidy Tidbits: Pastimes

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Happy 2016!  I’ve now been blogging regularly for a year and hope that my readers have enjoyed the journey.  This week is a grab bag of a new diversion, a play, a new restaurant and a book.

COLORING CRAZE

When the Wall St. Journal publishes an article about adults coloring, you know this fad has traction.  Public libraries are offering coloring activities for adults, and coaches and therapists offer coloring workshops as stress relievers.  If you search Amazon for “adult coloring books,” the result is a whopping 11,000+ titles.  Narrowing the search to just “best sellers” in that category nets 673 books. Topics for coloring range from mandalas, butterflies and flowers to cities, undersea creatures, and all sorts of abstract designs.  We’ll see how long this fad lasts; one forecaster said connect-the-dots would be next, but that sounds dull in comparison.

Time for a confession:  I succumbed to this craze.  I like playing with color, yet lack the artistic talent possessed by my sisters—one paints watercolors, the other has taken up sketching from nature—so coloring intricate abstract patterns or flower designs with markers and pens is my thing.  For Christmas, I received three coloring books, all different, along with micro-line pens and fine point colored markers.  The books include Johanna Basford’s Secret Garden (one of the biggest sellers in the U.S. by the artist who was an early proponent of coloring for adults), Color Me Stress-Free (not that I consider myself stressed in retirement!), and Four Seasons:  A Coloring Book.  I’ve only just started adding color to these pages but so far I find it relaxing, addictive and just plain fun!

THEATER

View from the Bridge.  This Arthur Miller play now on in New York was new to me.  I probably should have read it before attending the performance, but since seeing it I have.  The staging is spare, only an enclosed arena-like space with clear benches on three sides and a doorway into the house on the other side, with no scene changes and virtually no props.  The space functions seemingly as both indoor and outdoor space and all the action from the opening scene of two longshoremen showering and getting dressed after work to the final one of everyone piled together takes place here. A lawyer acts as Greek chorus and roams around mostly outside the arena, except when he is actively engaging with longshoreman Eddie inside the square.

The play focuses primarily on Eddie’s all-consuming relationship with his niece Katie, but there are also issues surrounding immigration and the threats presented by “the other” with the arrival of his wife’s cousins from Italy and their aspirations to have a better life as American citizens.  Powerful and moving.  I found that the stripped down set forced me to concentrate on the dialogue.

NYC RESTAURANT FIND

This new place was so good I almost hate to share it. Prompted by Pete Wells’ (NY Times restaurant critic) inclusion of Santina on his list of best new restaurants of the year, I booked for lunch.  Around the corner from the Whitney Museum, it’s an attractive, but packed that day, window-walled space.   I would call the cuisine neo-Italian and the standout dish for us was squash carpaccio.  Layers of thin slices of caramelized delicata and butternut squash were topped with agrodolce and honey, a sprinkle of herbs, and tiny dabs of mascarpone cheese.  Beautiful to look at and a wonderful assemblage of flavors.  Second place goes to the paper thin chickpea pancakes that can be rolled up around your choice of funghi, avocado mash or other options.

BOOK OF THE WEEK

Sous Chef:  24 Hours on the Line by Michael Gibney.  If you’re a foodie and you want to better understand what goes on in the kitchen behind the swinging door, then you’ll be caught up in Gibney’s fast-paced narrative.  Covering an entire day from early morning through the after-closing wind down,  Gibney delivers an energetic account of kitchen procedures, politics, and personalities from Chef (the top dog) down the line to the dishwasher.  Who does what when, how dishes are timed, and how a group of folks with disparate styles must work together as a team to feed you, the diner.  Fascinating!

Header photo: Page from Secret Garden colored by yours truly

West Village Rambles: Food for Body & Mind

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Since our arrival in Manhattan a week ago, we have spent considerable time with our delightful granddaughter, but we’ve also been walking and exploring, making a bit of the West Village our own. And walk we do—one day we did two long walks for a grand total of 25,000 steps. A new record!

For us, much of life revolves around food and, consequently, we are sampling cheese and deli items from Murray’s Cheese and Gourmet Garage, braving the bustle that is Eataly, and dining at restaurants new to us.

Some recent standouts of cuisine are the following:

Via Carota. This casual Italian place draws from all regions of Italy, has a comfortable vibe and at night is very lively. We had lunch here our first day—a yummy lemon risotto and a  plate of gnocchi with a piquant gorgonzola sauce—and liked it so much we returned that night for dinner. This meal, we shared some grilled artichokes (slightly and appropriately charred) and also grilled chicken with a lemon vinaigrette. All with some good white wine by the glass. Just perfect!

www.thenewpotato.com
Via Carota (www.thenewpotato.com)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gloo. This is a new French bistro, only  open a month or so, on Carmine Street and hasn’t really been discovered. We were its first Open Table reservation. The owner is from France and has several restaurants there, but this is his first U.S. venture. The space is small with a quiet ambiance.  I loved the upside down tomato tart to start (very pretty, looking somewhat like stacked red grapefruit sections) followed by a very satisfying boneless chicken breast in a cream sauce with small mushrooms served alongside mashed potatoes. Hard not to savor this comfort food!

Casa. A Brazilian eatery on Bedford Street, Casa has a small bar, about a dozen tables, and a mullioned window wall. Our entrees were excellent—fish fillet with lemon caper sauce and a slightly spicy, herby tomato stew of chicken and shrimp —both served with rice. My only advice, if you’re over fifty, go early! There are only hard surfaces and the noise level after 7:30 made conversation hopeless.

Casa (www.pinterest.com)
Casa (www.pinterest.com)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Culture Notes

On Thursday, we were at one of the first performances of Therese Raquin, a play based on Emile Zola’s novel of the same name ,and starring Keira Knightley. (The preview the night before had been cancelled due to Knightley having suffered a minor injury.) The set was minimal and the staging stark, but very effective given the themes of passion and guilt. Knightley as Therese was excellent as the seemingly meek and docile wife who later exhibits extreme passion and emotion. The supporting cast was also very good, especially Matt Ryan as her lover, Laurent, and Judith Light as her mother-in-law.

I really enjoyed Lily Tomlin in “Grace and Frankie” and today seeing her in Grandma, I thought she was fabulous. Playing Elle, a grieving, unemployed academic who is angry at most everyone and everything and demonstrates it, Tomlin takes on the challenge of helping her pregnant granddaughter Sage (played by the radiant Julia Garner) when she unexpectedly shows up. The film is an odyssey of visits to Elle’s past lives—old friends and acquaintances and old loves—that culminates in some touchingly funny and poignant scenes between grandmother, daughter, and granddaughter. (I loved seeing the career-driven daughter on her treadmill desk.) Each of these women is strong in her own way. Not a perfect film, but one with sharpness, wit, and heart. Rated R, partly for the strong language.

 

Cover image: www.everettpotter.com

 

Tidy Tidbits: Bands & Birds

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We’re home.  I’ve spent the week sorting mail, stocking the larder, poring over all the cooking magazines and New Yorkers that accumulated, getting back on the treadmill (need to undue the effects of lobster and potato chips!) and soaking in the pool.  Florida is hot and humid, but I’m reveling in being in our own space!

Old-time Music

We just attended our first performance at the Florida Studio Theatre, a multi-venue outfit with a range of offerings from drama to improv to music.  This was The Swingaroos performing in their cabaret space.  A full menu was available, but not realizing this we dined at the Bijou Café around the corner, one of our current favorites.  I had never heard the term, “territory band,” before but they were small dance bands that toured in the U.S., primarily in the Midwest and west, playing in small towns and night clubs during the 1920’s and 30’s.  The Swingaroos are a group of six:  one female vocalist accompanied by musicians on piano, drums, clarinet, trombone, and string bass.  They gave an energetic performance, but we would have enjoyed it more had more of the music and songs been familiar ones.

Nature Note—Missed Photo Op

A robust thunder and lightning storm the other day lasted several hours.  It left puddles galore and, I noted that all the birds that are either in the trees, the sky, or elsewhere during the day had congregated near our pond and on the grass.  The white ibises always do this when the weather is threatening, but this time I observed many great white egrets, brown ducks. and also several of the smaller herons.  Quite striking to see the bright white birds all poking in the grass or stalking around the pond’s perimeter.  I always think there are more birds around when the people population here is down, but that may not be so.

White ibis in June
White ibis in June
Bird on the beach
Bird on the beach

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All Star Romp

For some light diversion, we rented “The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.”  While not quite as good as its predecessor, “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,” it delivers megawatt star power in the form of Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Bill Nighy and a distinguished gray, but still very handsome, Richard Gere.  Sunny (Dev Patel), proprietor of this unusual Indian hotel where roll is called each morning to see who survived the night, is as exuberant as ever.  He is soon to be married and wants to expand his business.  And he is sure he knows the identity of the unannounced hotel inspector.  Pure fun with a tinge of the poignancy of the last stage of life.

 

Tidy Tidbits: Guthrie, Wilson & Itani

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It is high summer in Florida and that means temperatures of 90 to 92 every day with overnight lows never below 75.  For some of us, like me, that means more time inside; for the lizards among us, it’s great for basking, or baking, in the sun.  So I strive to take advantage of the smaller crowds with movies and museum visits, trips to the theater, and sampling new restaurants.  This past week we did nearly all of these.

FOLKSY AMERICANA

 

On Tuesday, we saw the traveling musical, Woody Sez:  The Life and Music of Woody Guthrie.”  The play opened in Edinburgh in 2007 and actually has been performed more often in Europe than in the U.S.  It is more like a concert with lots of narrative of Woody’s life using Guthrie’s own words.  Four actors comprise the cast with a whole host of musical instruments from guitar to banjo to mandolin to harmonica and more.  I found it a bit slow initially, but then I was captured by the music and the story of Woody’s rambling and roving life, full of social protest and a desire to record the hardship and determination of the farmers and workers of the Dust Bowl era.  The key to its success is its sparkling, loose-limbed star, creator and director, David Lutken.  It is clear he is convinced of the importance of Guthrie’s legacy.  For an interview with Mr. Lutken, see:  http://onmilwaukee.com/ent/articles/woodysez.html

 

AT THE MOVIES

Woody Guthrie shone a spotlight on hard times and harsh conditions with his music.  Brian Wilson’s musical creativity set him apart, but personal demons, seeming madness, and unappreciative relatives and friends kept him from being fully recognized for that talent.  Love and Mercy, based on Wilson’s life, uses two actors to portray him, Paul Dano as the young musician and songwriter, and John Cusack as the middle-aged Brian under guard and coping with illness and bad choices.  Paul Giamatti plays a very convincing manipulative doctor and Elizabeth Banks is Melinda, a beautiful savior.  There are a few slow points, but overall it’s an absorbing, albeit not happy, film.  And for fans of the 60’s and the Beach Boys, packed with their songs.

INTERNMENT:  WHAT I’M READING

I was not aware that the Canadian government had also put individuals of Japanese descent into camps during WWII. But they did, some 21,000 of them.  Frances Itani has written a meditative novel Requiem, about an artist’s experience as a young boy in one of these camps.  It is 1997 and artist Bin is driving across Canada from Toronto to visit family on the west coast.  His wife died recently and he spends the drive reflecting on their life together, his boyhood and his son Greg’s upbringing.  It is a novel of relationships—fathers and sons and husbands and wives—looking back in time.  Itani has said that she enjoys researching her books and she spent six years reading source material and interviewing people before writing this. I also learned that her husband spent part of his childhood in a camp which answered my question about whether she had any personal connection with these events.