Movin' Out...
Poster for Movin' Out
at the Richard Rogers Theatre
See my hat in the reflection?
Okay, okay, so it's been awhile. A time of thought, of rest, of reassessment, and now it's time to move on. I'll be blogging pretty much as I did before the break, so here we go.
New York
A huge thanks to my good friend Jeff Grady for putting up with Daniel and I. His place is in the heart of Manhattan, provided easy subway access, and as always, Jeff was the best of tour guides. Daniel and I arrived on Wednesday afternoon, and that night headed off with Jeff to see the New York Ballet (wonderful, but a little difficult due to the long travel day we'd had--combine that with quiet music, beautiful dancers, and an aesthetic somewhat removed from Daniel's experience, and you get heavy, heavy eyelids.) Next night was Movin' Out, the Billy Joel songfest choreographed by Twyla Tharp. Here is where Daniel and I connected--the dance was fabulous, the music stirring as always, and beautiful images everywhere. Friday night was Little Women, with Sutton Foster, who was wonderful, but as the critics have said, the show itself was underwhelming. Saturday afternoon was Brooklyn, also wonderful, a beautiful modern parable of a girl's search for her father in the streets of New York. Saturday night we saw Sondheim's Pacific Overtures, which took us both by surprise--stunning visually and musically.
The reading of Arthur: The Begetting was the real treat of the trip. It was wonderful to hear the play again, especially in the hands of such able artists. Rachel Macklin, the literary manager of the Jean Cocteau Repertory, did a superb job of directing the play, and the actors were all I could have hoped for. I continue to learn about this play, and found yet more things to work on and trim. We'll see where this thing lands next.
It was treat to see Dawne Swearingen and her parents at the reading. Dawne is a former student of mine, now acting, singing, and dancing in New York along with her younger brother Ryan, also a former ACU student. (Shades of Amy and Daniel?) I also made eye contact with Maurice Doggan, got a great big hug from him, and then he vanished into the night. I wished we'd had a chance to talk.
Now it's on to the new work. I'll be blogging over the next few days about the process and difficulty of trying to rest, hoping to gain some perspective on the work to come. We'll see what comes.
Thanks for checking in...
1:04:49 PM
