The end of a great week . . .

(Leslie) Our busy Sunday ended with American Idiot, a new rock musical based on the Green Day album starring Jon Gallagher, Jr.--a talented young actor/singer we've been following since he was in Spring Awakening four years ago. Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day caused quite a buzz in the audience as did Paula Abdul (man is she tiny, and prettier than I thought . . .). The production was 90 minutes of non-stop music, interesting choreography, and incredible multi-media effects. We loved it! Jon Gallagher, Jr. was terrific, as were the other leads, especially Rebecca Naomi Jones in a star-making performance.

Monday we laid low and caught a performance of The Screwtape Letters, a provocative and funny adaptation of the C.S. Lewis novel about spiritual warfare from a demon’s point of view. The play follows the scheming a high level demon uses to entice a human toward damnation. Set in an office in hell, Screwtape (a wonderful performance by Max McLean) dictates letters to his reptilian servant, Toadpipe, that are sent to a young tempter-in-training. Together, they plot to capture the soul of an unwitting human through daily temptations. It was a really interesting night of theatre that capped off a great week in New York City.