Statues and Stories

This weekend was chock-full of of good times. Friday was actually strangely eventful. I finally got trained for the patron lounge shift at the Friedman Theatre. (If you'll recall before, my earlier attempt at training was cut short when actor got sick during The Royal Family and the performance was cancelled). Well, this time, everything went as planned...actually, even better than planned. There were a couple celebrities in the house, and to my delight, they stopped by the patron lounge. The first to stop by was Judith Light - I had never heard of her, but she is apparently in "Ugly Betty" and was incredibly nice. During the first intermission, we got a visit from Jenna Fischer of "The Office". Her presence set the patron lounge abustlin' with excitement. She took a few chocolate-covered almonds and some coffee. When she returned for the second intermission, a few people mustered up the courage to talk to her. She was very amicable, but I prefer to keep my distance. This is wondrous job indeed.

With Saturday came a trip to the (in?)famous Metropolitan Museum of Art. The place is HUGE - I think I was in denial about just how much time it would take one to navigate through. We probably saw roughly 15% in just over 3 hours. The Greek and Roman collection was lovely and exquisite, the Africa/Oceania/Americas section had its moments, the Modern Art collection was crizazy (of course) and at times interesting, and the photography showcase was intriguing. Much to our chagrin, the musical instrument collection was temporarily closed. My favorite part, though, was the European Art. There were paintings by Van Gogh, Monet, Seurat, Degas, Picasso, and all of their friends...Although I was disappointed by the distinct lack of the Mona Lisa and Seurat's A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. But we still got to see some amazing stuff, so I'm not complaining. Don't tell the MET, but I may or may not have come very close to destroying a classic Monet painting - I went to point to it and somehow found my finger dragging across. I scurried out of there as fast as I could...hopefully, they'll let me back in some time in the future so I can explore the rest.

And finally, today I had my midterm review with the savvy Dana Tarantino. She thinks I'm doing just swell, but is of the opinion that I need to see fewer shows and get out and see the city a little more. I think I may agree with her. So what did Kelly and I do tonight to change this trend?...We saw Mary Poppins! We got quite possibly the best student rush ever - front row of the mezzanine, close to the center. The show was actually much better than anticipated. The set, particularly the house (complete with an attic and roof that fly in), was awe-inspiring. Our cast was so legit - we had Laura Michelle Kelly, the original Mary Poppins in London, and Broadway star Christian Borle. The musical had some questionable moments (particularly the terrifying life-size stuffed animal nightmare sequence), but the choreography and performances were wondrous. And it doesn't hurt that Mary Poppins flew at the end - not just on the stage, but out into the audience. She came literally within 5 feet of our seats. I felt like a child again.