getting through the day....

yes, today is kind of rough. Already took a long walk down a mostly deserted Riverside Drive. Good for the body. Took a free 104 bus back. As I said to a friend in an e mail post yesterday, no one, on these walks makes eye contact--there is a sullen, withdrawn feeling when one passes someone. A friend who is living in Chicago now, writes that in her neighborhood (upper middle class, I presume) the weather is warm, everyone is out and people are greeting each other. Not here, not by a long shot. Glad that I could take the walk, however, my lower body and legs really needed it. Now it is raining, so who can say the next time I will be out.
  Received an e mail from an opera company that I follow. It had members of their company singing "Make Our Garden Grow", that amazing song from Candide, Music by Bernstein, lyrics by Richard Wilbur (the poet, the only musical that he ever participated in). Very moving, it is a beautiful song. Do you remember the first time you heard that music city boy? Try January 1, 1957. Yes, my dad and I went down to the Martin Beck theater and got last minute side orchestra tickets to Candide. What a mess of a musical it was---I remember Barbara Cook singing Glitter and be Gay, the audience cracking up, and me laughing heartily, yet I had no idea what was so funny. The musical was staged by Tyrone Guthrie and the staging was a bit outlandish--at two intervals a man in a shark dress appeared to drag Dr. Pangloss down to the bottom of the ocean and replace him with his "other side" Martin. Then the same shark appeared a few scenes later to replace Martin with the still alive Dr. Pangloss. There were some great things in it, but the book was a mess, and you could say it really had no center. I have seen other versions since---Hal Prince's one in 74, may have been the most successful---staging the musical  like a hippy pageant---although this meant that the serious ending could only be suggested.  Since then, so many directors have tried to enforce their vision on it.
It's tough, but hay, the music is truly beautiful.
  So, the day continues. The rain seems to be letting up. So many interesting things to check out on you tube, etc. but what do i really want to see? Will continue, tomorrow.