Chilly Four Day Weekend in NYC

It was very cold and windy in New York City this weekend but the CultureBuddies bundled up and trekked all around exploring new neighborhoods and new theater venues. We even got to explore two more boroughs--Brooklyn and Queens! We spent Thursday and Friday nights with Casey, Ben, Melissa and Kara in the Astoria section of Queens. They were wonderfully gracious to us, and we enjoyed every moment we spent with these great kids. The CB’s send a big, hug-filled SHOUT OUT to our Astoria pals!

Two of the plays we saw are Off-Broadway plays in small theaters. Friday night we saw Farragut North at the Atlantic Theater Company in Chelsea. We were initially interested in this play because it stars John Gallagher Jr. (who won a Tony for his fabulous performance in Spring Awakening) and the TV star Chris Noth. In this new play by 31-year-old playwright, Beau Willimon, Gallagher plays a tough minded, very ambitious press secretary to a presidential candidate during the Iowa Primary. Noth plays the part of the campaign manager for the same candidate. As veterans of many NH Primary campaigns, we found this drama to be compelling and true to life. Gallagher proves himself to be a wonderful actor in this well chosen dramatic role (he is on stage for virtually the entire play). Little did we know that Chris Noth, who is well known for his TV roles, also has a long history in theater and is a graduate of Yale’s School of Drama.

Sunday afternoon we saw another alumnus of Spring Awakening, Jonathan Groff, starring in a new play, Prayer for My Enemy, at the Playwrights Horizon. Written by Craig Lucas (Prelude to a Kiss), this play is the story of a family with a depressed, angry alcoholic father who has wrecked havoc on the lives of his son (well played by Jonathan) and his sister (equally well acted by Cassie Beck). The play starts with a chance meeting between two old friends from high school, one of whom is leaving for Iraq. When Groff's character invites his old friend to his family's going away party, his friend becomes entwined in the family permanently. Along with the story of this family, there is a seemingly unconnected story of an angry middle aged woman (played by Tony winner Victoria Clark) caring for her elderly mother. The two stories end up intersecting in a surprising and thought-provoking way. One interesting device the author uses is giving voice to his character’s inner thoughts. It was a little confusing at first, but soon you realize that the characters are speaking what they are thinking inside as well as their dialogue with other characters.

The playwright, the director, and the theater manager held a talk-back after the play, and (of course) the CultureBuddies were active participants (and asked the most intelligent questions). The conversation had some very tense moments when two people began yelling at the director about his view on the war, and he got equally fired up and began shouting back at them that his job is to get people fired up. It was cool to be part of this "members only" event (which didn't stop Ann from charming her way into two tickets!). The CBs found that the play provoked lots of interesting conversation for the bus ride home, and we agreed that we might like to see again if the run is extended.

We are always impressed when a young actors like John Gallagher and Jonathan Groff choose to hone their craft in a less mainstream plays after they have made a big splash on Broadway. We were proud of both our boys! More to follow about the other three shows we saw…