Drowsy in the City

I spent a lot of time in the Big Apple last week. There's nothing so exciting as a trip to the big city ... picture it: a cool breeze off the river, the smell of garbage emerging from the subway grates, the sound of taxicabs avoiding collision, the marquee lights reflecting off the wet streets ... it's magic, there's nothing like it, not a damn thing. Even those vendors on the corner hawking overpriced pretzels and pungent hot dogs can make me feel like a little boy.

It's exciting to me, knowing I've spent a good deal of time on the island of Manhattan in the past twelve months. I was there exactlyone year ago from this trip, again last fall and a third time last winter before this trip. That's pretty good I think. And I've seen probably close to twenty shows or more on those four trips. This time, it was The Threepenny Opera, The Drowsy Chaperone, Awake and Sing!, Tarzan, The Lieutenant of Inishmore, and Defiance.

It's an exciting time to be in the City because of the Tony noms and all that jazz. The streets were buzzing with celebrities... my second encounter with the insane Harvey Fiersetein (excuse the spelling error), and downtown a bit, McDreamy himself, Patrick Dempsey.

Most of my excitement came in the form of a brand new musical from Toronto. There was nothing else able to hold a candle to the delightful Drowsy Chaperone. The show is grand, but the chaperone herself, Beth Leavel, is DYNAMITE. Her character is perfection personified--brilliantly crafted from thin air, she shows EVERYONE how it should be done. Not to be left out was the delightful if daffy Georgia Engle. SEE THIS SHOW. They deserve all the praise in the world.