and In the Heights at night. Cat... was amazing. In case you haven't read about it, it is a version of the play using all Black actors directed by Debbie Allen, Maggie: Anika Noni Rose (from Dreamgirls), Brick: Terrence Howard, Big Momma: Phylicia Rashad, and as Big Daddy: James Earl Jones. To say it was an EVENT is an understatement. The performances were really wonderful with Anika Noni Rose the real standout as Maggie. She was sexy, sad and funny all at the same time. Terrence Howard (who in our humble opinion is about as handsome as any man alive, sorry Phil and Matt) was very good in the role of Brick. And of course, James Earl Jones and Phylicia Rashad were amazing as Big Daddy and Big Momma. Talk about Theater Royalty!The audience helped make it a real event in another way. The play usually comes across as rather tragic story with the audience feeling great empathy for Maggie whose husband (Brick) has become an alcoholic and refuses to have sex with her because of the death of his friend (homosexual attraction is inferred). When poor Maggie is going on and on in the first act, she played it up as rather comic and the audience responded with hearty laughter. At many other times when the wives are zinging the husbands the audience laughed like it was a comedy. It made the times when the audience went silent even more meaningful. Very interesting interpretation of the play and a great theatrical experience. Our biggest objection was when the play was over and the actors were making curtain calls- Anika came out first, followed by Phylicia and James holding hands, and then Terrence. WRONG. Maggie has the biggest role and should have come out with her husband Brick. They should have come out as a couple. I know Terrence is a big star but they should have come out together. ( NYT Review )
After the show we stood in line tried to get Casey and Ben lottery tickets to In the Heights with no luck. The Culture Buddies saw In the Heights when it was off-Broadway so we were very excited to see how it made the transition to the big time. It's still wonderful, amazingly spirited and energetic. The music is great and the dancing is wonderful. In the audience were 300 charming college and high school students from the Jackie Robinson Foundation who made the top practically come off the theater during the musical numbers. Jack Welsh was two rows away from us during the show and we were tempted to ask him to help fund the CultureBuddies! ( NYT Review )
Casey Reacts to Receiving His Award
After the show, we took Casey and Ben out for dessert atSardi's where we presented Casey with his Academy Award statuette for his mind-blowing 17 correct predictions in the "Satellite Culture Buddies" Oscar pool (vying against Matthew VW; Sarah's boyfriend, Josh; and Matt's twin brother, Tom). We love these boys. They are funny, smart and just plain amazing. They presented us with very cool gift certificates for 'blow outs' at the salon where Ben works. Cool. We didn't fall asleep until nearly 3:00. Bad CultureBuddies!
Sunday was our last hurrah. We ate breakfast at our favorite breakfast spot and then hung out with Abraham and Joseph who work the front desk at the Mayfair Hotel where we like to stay. Our 9th show in 6 days (yes, we were starting to 'hit the wall') was Passing Strange, and we caught the Sunday matinee of what must be the coolest show in all of Manhattan. It's a mix of a rock concert, storytelling, and a play all overseen by a well-know NY musician, Stew, who is famous for performing at Joe's Pub and telling his stories while playing great music. Passing Strange is a loosely based autobiographical "coming of age" story that fit into the emerging theme of the week of creative people trying to find their way in conventional society. We loved it. The music was great, the six talented cast members who sang and danced were wonderful, and the whole thing was very clever, very cool and just a blast. ( NYT Review )
We took the 6:00pm bus back to reality and work and home and laundry, etc. But what a great week. On a scale of 1 to 10, this week was definitely a 10!
Thanks for sharing in our fun and thanks for all your positive comments.
Love from the CultureBuddies (a.k.a. Ann and Leslie)
