As anyone who knows me at all can tell you,= (although why they would bother, I can’t imagine) =I’m a predictable guy. Conventional if you will. For instance if I can possibly help it, an average day for me always includes, but is not limited to: Grape Nuts on my breakfast table, blue jeans and a polo shirt on me, and last night’s Colbert on my Tivo. In short, I like routines, and, for better or worse, they seem to like me right back.
It is, however, just that sort of behavior that makes me guilty of perpetuating the stereotype that suburban New Yorkers are the worst offenders when it comes to not taking advantage of all that the city has to offer. And what’s more, it’s true. Ask anybody who lives within half an hour of Manhattan when they last went to any one of the ten gazillion museums there. Or saw a show, or walked through St. Patrick’s, or started a Sunday with dim sum on Mott Street and ended up in Peter Luger’s for dinner. =We’re just lazy that way.
That being said, my Lovely Bride and I do occasionally break that lazy routine though, so this last Sunday she and I ventured in for some brunch at Marseille and then saw Kevin Kline in the new Cyrano de Bergerac at the Richard Rodgers Theatre. I had actually gone in with fairly low expectations because I made the mistake of reading some of the rather snobby 'reader comments' on the NY Times website, but despite that we both thought the show was, in short, a great lot of fun. Well, except for all the pathos and dying at the end.= But you knew about that anyway. =And if not, sorry for the spoiler.
Anyway, despite the huge cast* and correspondingly immense stage and sets that could have very easily overwhelmed the whole thing, (not to mention that it’s also as much a Kline vehicle as anything else) Rostand’s timeless, witty prose and poignant story still shined through.
So, even though it’s on a short run, do yourself a favor and get into the city and see some great theater.= Or failing that, at least pick up some tickets for the Rockettes at Christmas... ‘cause you still haven’t done that either, have you?
*Oh, and as it turns out, the part of Lise is played by the marvelous Nance Williamson, a favorite of ours from the HVSC. Go Nance!
** and the image is copyright of the estate of the late, great Al Hirschfeld, of course.
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