today is the day.....

that cannot be avoided. New Year's Eve---everything stops until it is over. I always feel terribly locked in on this day. Nothing to do but wait it out---I plan to be at La Flaca when the New Year begins. Bob and his girl friend Kelly are always welcoming---and hopefully there will be some other "regulars" there as well. Will arrive, I think around 9:30 and wait it out. Hoping for some good conversation as the time moves.
  Before that, I might see a movie---I am so behind on them---I will try to see Parasite this afternoon. Tomorrow when things return to normal, my plan is to try to get tickets to Slave Play for the evening. the next day Wozzeck at the Met, the only chance I have this year to see it.
  Yesterday, a horrid day, weather wise, finally left the apartment around 5 and met my friend Kim and Clint at Formerly Crows, the bar in the village owned by Marshall, the former owner of the South fourth building. A nice time, talking about theater---mostly dissecting the production of Oklahoma that I just saw. Kim had some different ideas then I did, and mentioned them very strongly, but I think I got my points across as well. Formerly Crows is a nice laid back place, the staff is very nice; I don't really go there that often---the bar is long, not so conducive to discussions with new people.
  I thought I might see a movie after that, but tiredness set in--instead went to my neighborhood Greek Diner, for a blt which cost (with tax, no coffee or anything) $10.40. Outrageous! The prices at these once "affordable" Greek diners are comparable to any bar in the city. And that was before the tip, which has to be around $1.50. So around $12.00 for a simple blt, with a pickle and some cole slaw on the side. Where will it end?
  Not much more to report on---the Stritch bio looks like it will be a lot of fun, while The Topeka School, the "serious" novel I have been reading remains interesting.
Will report soon.

unstructured Monday...

at least until 5:30 when I am meeting my friend Clint and Kim at Formerly Crows, the bar in the village that is owned by Marshall, the former owner of South Fourth.  Yes South fourth, that is no longer---as I write about it I realize how much I miss it---I might even be there now, if it was opened. Always a nice time, someone to talk to--speaking of that, yesterday I spent most of the late morning and afternoon at Cobra Club, in Bushwick,which is about the closest thing to South Fourth. Olivia, my friend and the bartender had returned from her Christmas holiday, spent with her family, and she was there with the usual characters---some pleasant, some a little bit abrasive, but I left there after about 4 hours feeling that I had had a good time. I had a very interesting talk with Mike, a former jazz player, whose age seems to be somewhere between 55 and 80. Really hard to tell. He was raised in Baltimore (the afro-American section) but we were able to identify some streets we had in common, then he moved to NY as a teen-ager and lived where he lives now---right near the Bushwick-Bedford Stuyvesant border. His parents actually bought their house in the 50's---of course land in Bushwick was pretty inexpensive then, and he and his brother have lived there (I guess) ever since. Of course, now the value of his land has increased---God knows how much. So we talked, I watched the Packer-Lion football game (sad loss at the last minute for the Lions) and then I hung out with Matt, the next bartender. That place is really becoming home base for me---might visit there some other mornings this week, in addition to Sunday. Finally the football playoffs are beginning! Looking forward to the next three Sundays.
  Saturday after my session, wanted to see a movie, but everything was timed wrong. Finally after visiting three movie theaters and seeing that for all I would have to wait an hour, I retreated to La Flaca where I stayed for the next three, mostly watching basketball games. Bartender Benjy is always friendly---no other "regulars" or friends were there, but the time moved nicely.
  I just got the Elaine Stritch biography out of the library, should be fun (and relaxing) reading, and be a good complement to Benjamin Lerner's novel about Topeka---kind of intense with a lot of time changes---reading about Stritch and the environment she functioned in which I already know well. should be a nice change of pace. Anyway, will report soon.

not sure how much time I have for this post

as computer time may be running out. So in brief: yesterday saw This Is A Room, a play using only the words from an FBI investigation of a government employee who may have committed a security leak. Very intensely and deliberately staged--my friend Frank played a major role, and he was at his best. In the beginning the woman being questioned seems like a victim, actually she was responsible for the leak, So the actress who is so good, is actually not a victim in the beginning (the play is set up to make us think that) but is lying to the agents. But does that justify her imprisonment for espionage, which is what happened. Still, a strong dramatic experience---after that, walked with my friend Frank to where he is staying in the east village, then had a pizza slice nearby then headed to a quiet bar (believe it or not, on Friday there are quiet bars) on 20rh and 2nd---had a beer, watched some sports, the bartender was friendly but not talkative--mostly there by myself, but at least the place gave me some room to "be", most other bars south of 14th on 2nd or 3rd were pretty crowded. After that went home.
  I have one session coming up, late for Saturday, so I got some rest this morning---after that I am free, I definitely do not want to see a play today, after two in a row--possibly I will go to Brooklyn or see a movie and then head to La Flaca---I have not been there in a while, and like the place. Will report soon.

what a difference a day makes.....

yesterday morning, somewhat raw, this morning great happiness! Why, one word: Oklahoma. Saw it last night---and had a great time. Songs, that I have known since my childhood are ringing in my ears. This production, in the round, has been talked about as a deconstruction of the piece, but for me, only the last 15 minutes and the Dream Ballet really stretched the vision of the musical. For the most part, I found it incredibly faithful to the original version---yes, the cast is smaller (there is no chorus) and the full orchestra has been replaced by an incredibly talented 6 or 7 piece on stage band, but not a word of dialogue, as far as I know has been changed; all the songs, even the reprises are exactly where they were as written. What was great about the production was its immediacy in the Circle in the Square theater, and the remarkable cast---I was fortunate enough to see all of its original members from when it was first performed last fall at Saint Ann's. And they were incredibly fresh and spirited, totally spontaneous. The text and the music, I feel are nothing short of remarkable. The first time I saw Oklahoma was in September of 1953 at the City Center theater, this was the last ride for the last touring company of the show---and they played at City Center for a couple of weeks. That day was also the first time my brother, then six, attended a musical. That production, at full proscenium had Ridge Bond as Curley, Florence Henderson as Laurie and Barbara Cook as Ado Annie. So absorbing the show yesterday seemed like a kind of completion of that time.Anyway, really glad I decided to spend the money (a lot for me) and see it.
  This evening I will see a very different kind of play, It is called Is This A Room, and it is basically the text of an interrogation by the FBI of a young woman who is thought to give secrets to the Russians about the 2016 election. My friend Frank is in it. May go out with him afterwards and "hang" It should be very austere, compared to Oklahoma.
  About six more theater evenings are interesting to me in the next 9 days, of course, how many of them I will go to..? Not sure. Money is definitely a factor.
 So this is it---am returning to the apartment now to rest up for the evening, will report soon.

the long Christmas Day is over....

a tough day for me--woke up feeling very tired and with not a lot of energy. That meant I would probably have to stay on the upper west side for the day---not really what I wanted to do. But I obeyed my body, and rested most of the day---I did walk over to Lincoln Center to see the documentary about the choreographer Merce Cunningham---very much like his ballets---kind of cold and beautiful at the same time---a decent way of spending some time, then in the evening, walked over to the George Keenley bar on Amsterdam and 84th--had a beer and watched some basketball, pretty much alone most of the time--I like the place---though it is very "yuppie like" kind of the new self congratulatory upper west side---mostly twenty and thirty somethings, though a smattering of older guys--I guess they were watching the Clipper-Laker game, as I was. Not a bad way of spending some time, though.
  This morning the energy is back---I have two sessions and I am seeing (finally) Oklahoma tonight.
 On Tuesday I went to Carnegie Hall to see a Youth Orchestra conducted by Jaime Laredo in an all Mozart program. I love his music---in my twenties I listened constantly to everything by him---piano concertos, operas, chamber music, that I could experience. One late spring and summer (1967) when my life was "in transition"  and I was trying to find a new meaning for it,  listening to his music gave me a strong sense of identity. Two pieces: the first his fifth violin concerto---very beautifully played, it uses the same style and structure that Mozart was to use in his later piano concertos. The dialogue between violin and orchestra---brilliantly conceived. Last was the Jupiter Symphony, no 41, the last Mozart wrote---very different from his other works---it has a sense of strength and volume that moves away from the later piano concertos and symphonies 35-39. Listening to it I thought that if Mozart had lived and continued to write symphonies, they might have been stronger than Beethoven's early works. Also, the Eroica, Beethoven's 3rd Symphony, seemed to me an extension of the Jupiter---its brutalizing of normal symphonic forms seems to take up where the Jupiter left off. I really lost myself in the music---very glad that I went.
  Once again, tonight Oklahoma, will report soon

finding a sports bar open..

on Christmas day---a hard thing to do in this city, but I just checked and several are open. Why? Four basketball games that I would find interesting are on during the day. Of course I can't find a bar and just "hang" and watch all of them, but I want to know where, in Manhattan and Brooklyn, there will be some open. Tomorrow is a free day, so I could be anywhere, at any time.
Today is "free" also; my plan (open to change) when this session is over, would be to go to Carnegie Hall and get a ticket for a Christmas Even concert, that is all Mozart. A violin concerto that I have not heard in a long time--I would really like to hear it---it is the last of 5 that Mozart wrote early in his career. Also the Marriage of Figaro overture (have heard it enough times) and Symphony No. 41, The Jupiter, a piece that i have heard many times but might be interesting to reconsider. The orchestra is a terrific student orchestra---I heard them a few years ago when my friend Richard played with them---very well conducted by Jaime Laredo. It is either that or a movie---but there should be plenty of movies to check out in the coming days.
  Some reports: Saturday evening, went to the 50th wedding anniversary of friends Ron and Liz. A nice time, very mellow, the atmosphere was friendly, not overpraised or self congratulatory---Ron and Liz just sat around and "schmoozed" with the guests in a very laid back manner. The couple who threw the party---the daughter and son and law of the anniversary couple, live on a street in south slope. On the fourth avenue corner is an old tenement---it appeared to me like a relic from the time the neighborhood was all working class Irish. I later found it it is (was) a Swedish cooperative. A really interesting look. I stayed until about 10, then took the subway home.
  Sunday---a nice day, went to Cobra in Bushwick--Olivia my "go to" baratender was on vacation, the substitute bartender, Talia, is a cross word puzzle freak, and I joined her in working on this week's NY Times puzzle. Believe it or not, we got most of it. Later, Matt, a bartender whom I have known for a while came in and we had a good talk. I left feeling very upbeat, then took the bus into downtown Brooklyn to hang out at the Gotham Market and the Fiction Center. I decided against going to a movie at BAM---had a nice meal at the bar-restaurant adjacent to the center, and then realized that I was tired and should go home. This meant I could not achieve my overall objective for the day:to visit Clem's, a bar in Williamsburg that a friend of mine bar tends at, but he starts at 9 o.clock. I would love to hang out and take in the scene there (I think it is very casual) but the way my metabolism is, I am always tired on Sundays around 7. Maybe for next Sunday, I can figure something out. I really want to visit this place.
  Yesterday was a "work" day---about three and a half hours of "sessions". I thought I might do something in the evening, but was far too tired---spent most of the evening in the apartment.
 Will report soon on the rest of today and my day of Christmas.

not much time for cityboy...

to post today---I have a session coming up in a matter of minutes, but anyway, last night was my "book" night, stayed home reading three books, first The City Game, a non fiction work that I find very riveting about the point shaving scandal that destroyed the great City College basketball team of 1949-50. The author writes very well, articulates everything, I am with it the whole way. Second, the Sidney Lumet biography, I am just at the point where he has become a very important live television director, and is probably about to go into movies. The biographer moves nicely from point to point in Lumet's life. Finally, City of Girls, a novel that is more a piece of fluff then a serious novel (I don't know if the author would agree with this) but fun fluff and fluff that doesn't insult one's intelligence. Actually a fun read. All three books have long stretches that take place in the late forties---early fifties, the time of my childhood, and I think I really enjoy getting into that.
  Tonight an anniversary party for a retired teacher from Friends and his artist wife. It is in Brooklyn, tomorrow not sure---hope to just relax and watch some football, will report soon.