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Rain, Rain, Freaking Rain Greg and I spent this past weekend in NYC, celebrating his birthday. It rained. Did I mention it rained? It rained and rained and rained. We got there on Friday night and it was already raining. Mercifully it stopped raining eventually - on Sunday. Sigh. A friend of Greg's generously allowed us to stay in his Village apartment for free (he was out of town), so we had a great base location. (From which to depart to walk around in the rain.) We went out wandering and Greg bought CDs and I bought a new Demeter fragrance (Gingerbread, which is just the yummiest but unfortunately makes me hungrey when I wear it). The friend's live-in girlfriend missed her flight out on Friday night, so the three of us got to have dinner together. That was fun - we had a good Ethiopian meal (although the tej wasn't very good - not sweet enough) and then renting Titus and taking it back to the apartment to watch. (Titus Andronicus is Shakespeare's first play, and one of his weakest. The movie is visually very striking and imaginative, but also did a lot to exaggerate what's wrong with the play. In the first couple of pages, Titus kills Tamora's eldest son, refuses the throne of Rome and throws his support to Saturninus. Saturninus demands to marry Titus' daughter even though she is betrothed to another; the daughter and her betrothed run away with the help of Titus' other sons; Titus kills one of his sons; Saturninus decides to marry Tamora instead. Bam, bam, bam. Dragging all of this out did not make it seem less ridiculous. The movie does better as Titus spirals downward into stupidity, although I could have done without the extended role of Lucius' son. We went to bed before Titus served Tamora a Son Pie. The movie is very very long.) Saturday Greg and I woke up at 7:30 so we could go down to Circle In the Square and get tickets for Metamorphoses. We tried to take the subway but due to a power outage the N and the R weren't running. There was a fire and police memorial in the city that day, and a lot of the streets were closed, so it took us awhile to cab uptown to 50th. We got there at 9:20 - and we were the first people in line. I guess the rain and traffic kept all kinds of people away. At 10 AM we got tickets for the evening show and headed in search of breakfast. We had the worst service ever at Ellen's Stardust Diner, a place in the Theatre District that's known for its singing waitstaff. Thankfully it was too early for singing. I'd been there long ago in the RENT days, and the service has plummeted. Oh man, was it slow. We ate and skedaddled. On our way to the Times Square subway station we stopped at the big Toys R Us and the very disappointing MTV Store and the very not disappoining Sanrio store, and then caught the 9 down to the West Village. The Usual Suspects suggested several places for us to try for lunch, but the ones we attempted were packed. We headed over to Peanut Butter & Co. where there was no seating. Greg went next door to a Jamaican place and after I got my Peanut Butter Cup sandwich (peanut butter and Nutella...mmm) and my handmade vanilla Coke I joined him. Mmmm. Peanut butter and Nutella. After lunch we walked, and walked, and walked, and did I mention it was raining, and we walked? We bought birthday cupcakes from the Magnolia Bakery and walked some more. I bought James Naughton's CD at Footlight Records (although that was later). We went to the Strand and left after about 40 minutes, which is the longest I can stand that store without getting a migraine. Back at the apartment, we crashed pretty hard. I slept and Greg read, and later we got back up and went out for Japanese (hibachi for him, sashimi for me) and then uptown again for Metamorphoses. You remember. The most amazing piece of theatre I've ever seen? If you live in or near NYC and you haven't seen it, you're missing out - and if it closes and you miss it, you will have missed an extraordinary experience. Musicals can often be reproduced successfully - I don't know if this can. (Kymm, Chris Kipiniak wasn't in. I was very sad. There's a new understudy, and it was his first performance, and he was good - but still. And Louise Lamson, who was so brilliant as Alcyon when we saw it together, is no longer in the cast! Tara Falk, who played the Lisa Tejaro roles when we saw it, is the new Alcyon - and I think she's too harsh. She was fine in the other roles, but I missed Louise sorely.) Anyway, Greg really liked it, and I loved it again, and just wept during Alcyon and Ceyx and again at the end, just like before. It is just so exquisite and funny and sexy and beautiful and perfect. Back at the apartment, we had yummy birthday cupcakes. Mmmm. Cupcakes. When we woke on Sunday, there was no more rain. We had Pomme Frites and then split up, me wandering uptown to Fish's Eddy and he wandering down to St. Mark's Place. We met back up in mid-afternoon and trained home, very tired. And I got a sore throat last night, which only got worse this morning, and now I have a fever. But I think Greg had a good birthday, and that's what's important. Why not hop on over to the forum and wish him a happy 35th?
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