My review of My Name is Asher Lev (The Arden)
Loved it. Really loved it.I was engaged from the first line. That’s rare. Usually, it’s takes me a good 20 minutes to get into a play, but they hooked me from the first line, and I don’t know why. I just found the story really compelling. I’d say it’s because it meant alot to me personally, but the two main themes were Judaism and artistic suffering. I’m not either, but just the same, really enjoyed the journey.
I did start to drift during Asher’s first trip to Europe, about half way through the play. But surprisingly, they hooked me again during the 2nd half, and held me raptured right through the end.
The cast was great. Karl Miller played Asher, and spoke quite directly to me. I was impressed. Adam Heller played all the other male parts, including Asher’s Father. What I found remarkable was his ability to shift between characters, sometimes without even leaving the stage. Wow.
Oh yeah, really liked the lighting too. Subtle, but super-effective. Way to go lighting guy.
Go see it. You have until March 15th.
Subscribe via RSS
Did you know that you can subscribe to my blog via RSS !What is RSS, you say ? Let me tell you. It’s kind of like the high-tech equivalent of a magazine subscription. Rather than coming back to my blog over and over, you subscribe via RSS, and every time I post something new, it just shows up in your RSS reader.
What is an RSS reader ? Why, it’s the tool you use to read all your RSS feeds. Lots of websites of use RSS feeds. One of my favorites is the New York Times. In fact, they have different feeds for the different sections of the paper. Meg’s favorite is the Arts section of the paper, so she only subscribes to that feed. Neat huh ?
There are many RSS readers out there, but my favorite is the Google Reader
So here’s the steps :
- Sign up for an account on Google Reader
- Come back to my page
- Scroll down, and on the right, click on “subscribe to the rss feed”
- On the next page, just click on the “Google” icon to select your reader
Easy and Fun !
Meg got cast in Doubt !
We just found out that Meg got cast in Doubt ! As usual, she always gets cast in something that interferes with the shore house, but heck, it’s worth it !It’s out in Pittsburgh, which is thankfully, a bit closer than Kansas ! (her summer show last year was in Kansas).
Thinking about putting together a little road trip to see the show…
Check out the details at http://www.meghanheimbecker.com
Making way for the Barnes…
The Barnes Musuem is one of the best collections of art around, and in one of the most unique settings. It’s located out in Montgomery county in what used to be a private residence. As part of his will, Albert Barnes decreed that the collection could never be moved. Well, he died, and you guessed it, they’re moving it. While the movement itself is rather polarizing, the location they picked is impressive. Right on the Ben Franklin Parkway. Honestly, I’m not sure if I support the move, but am hoping for a good end result. You see, when the Parkway was originally constructed, it was meant to mimic the Champs-Élysées in Paris. It doesn’t. Yet. Maybe this will change things…It’s going next to the Whole Foods, where the detention center used to be. As you can see, they are making steady progress…
Blog Upgrade
I just upgraded the software that runs my blog (that’s the thing that you are reading !)Let me know if you have any trouble with the site (use the “Contact” link in the upper-right corner)
Parking Garage at Art Musuem
You know about the new parking garage at the Philadelphia Art Museum, right ? It’s mighty hard to miss. I’ve been watching them build it over the last few months, sometimes getting excited, sometimes getting depressed. It’s actually starting to take shape, and I think it might actually be OK. Here’s a picture of the new glass enclosure used to house the elevators at the top. Looks pretty nice.
My review of “August : Osage County”
Yup, we’re still in New York City, and still seeing plays. We saw August : Osage County yesterday afternoon. This was Meg’s top pick for the weekend. Great pick !!For August, Meg was able to get a student ticket, but unfortunately, I had to pay full price. No super-cheap rush tickets like we got for Boeing Boeing.
August : Osage County has a neat story. It was actually first produced in Chicago at the Steppenwolf theatre. It was so successful there, that they picked up the whole production, actors and all, and moved it to Broadway ! And it’s doing fantastic. In fact, it’s up for a Tony nomination for Best Play.
I was a little leery, since it’s a three act play, complete with two intermissions, that runs for a full three and half hours ! But you know what, it was fantastic ! The acting was brilliant across the board, which is saying something since there’s about 12 people in the cast.
In short, it’s the story of a dysfunctional family from Oklahoma, wrestling with the untimely disappearance of the patriarch of the clan. From there, I’m going to let you discover the story yourself ! But if this thing actually wins the Tony for Best Play, tickets are going to be impossible to get.
My review of “Boeing Boeing” in NYC
We are up in New York city this weekend, and thoroughly enjoying the fantastic weather ! It’s absolutely beautiful. In fact, I’m sitting outside as I write this review, enjoying 75 degree weather in Bryant Park. BTW, Bryant Park has free Wi-Fi, and nice tables. A terrific place to work.We saw Boeing Boeing on Saturday night. Meg is teaching me great things about seeing shows for cheap in New York city. Some theaters sell “rush” tickets a few hours before each show. Boeing Boeing was my top pick for the weekend, and believe it or not, we were able to get $20 tickets ! They were in a small box, very close to the stage. In fact, we were so close that we couldn’t see the extreme edge of stage left, but still for $20, they were great !
Boeing Boeing was my top pick because it stars Bradley Whitford, of West Wing fame. He played Josh Lyman in West Wing. Imagine my surprise when Whitford was the weakest element of the show. I mean, he was OK, but was far from brilliant.
In contrast, Robert, played by Mark Rylance, was absolutely fantastic. He was so comfortable in his role, and his comedic timing was brilliant ! He easily carried the show.
If you’re in New York, and you’re looking for something easy and fun to watch, more like a sitcom than a play, then Boeing Boeing is just what you’re looking for. No heavy dialogue, no musical numbers, just plain laugh-out-loud fun.
Oh yeah, it’s nominated for a Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play.
My review of “Les Mis” at the Walnut Street Theatre
I saw the opening performance of Les Mis at the Walnut Street Theatre this past Wednesday night ! Wow, what a show ! I’ m sure that big shows with expensive sets can be pretty intimidating for a regional theatre to produce; however, I think the Walnut really stepped up to the challenge, and hit a home run.Thought, I must admit, that during the 1st act, I wasn’t so sure. I’d seen Les Mis once before, and during the intermission, Meg asked me what I thought of the show so far…. “Well,” I said, “I thought it was a bigger show.. I just remember it being… bigger”. Boy, in the 2nd act, they really delivered, and it was indeed bigger ! The set construction dudes must have REALLY had their hands full for this one !
Anyway, should you go see it ? Absolutely ! It’s a classic, and pretty easy to follow, though, you might want to read a short summary of the play before you go. There are a few things that are a tad tough to figure out. Like just who are they trying to barricade out of the city, anyway ? I still haven’t figured that one out.
This is a LONG production run (4 months, into August), but from what I hear, tickets are going really, really fast. If you’re thinking about seeing it, buy tickets now. Go to the Walnut’s website to buy tickets.
Rowing in the Dad Vail Regatta
I raced in the Dad Vail Regatta this past weekend !! Unfortunately, we didn’t do quite as well as we’d hoped, but still had a great time ! Check out the video. We’re in the 3rd race, in Lane 5 (farthest from the shore).Click Here to see the Dad Vail Video
Oh, and a big thanks to Meg for filming the race for us !!