Day and Night in Times Square

The one place in all of New York City that never seems to not be empty but is always full of people no matter what time of day.

My meal after Shuffle Along

Having Lunch at the Amazing Tony's Di Napoli

Tony's Di Napoli has to be one of the best places to ear in New York City. The food is amazing. The lunch we had on that Saturday proved that to be true. If you are ever in New York City make sure you stop by and have a meal there. I highly recommend that you make a reservation.

Just a few of the items on the menu

Here we are just about to start in on lunch.

Shuffle Along — The Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed

What an absolutely amazing and incredible musical. From the moment the curtain goes up. Well actually even before the curtain does up you hear the cast practicing their tap skills.

Here's a review of the show:

There are a lot of impressive moments from this star-studded cast. Warren gives a delightfully unhinged performance of "I'm Simply Full of Jazz" that leaves us suspecting that "Jazz" is code for "cocaine." Porter stops the show with his soaring and expressive vocals on "Low Down Blues." As Miller, Mitchell is Obama-like in his inspirational oratory, making a case for his character as the general who marshaled this show into existence. Playing the composers with eerie authenticity, Henry and Dixon feel like they were ripped from the talkies. Buzzing around the periphery, Brooks Ashmanskas gives a comic tour de force as every white person in the play. 

Delivering the evening's most touching performance, McDonald sensitively portrays a talented woman who fears her moment may be passing her by. This is especially clear in a scene in which Lottie coaches Florence Mills (also Warren), only to see the younger performer leapfrog her into international stardom. McDonald's palpable chemistry with Dixon makes her storyline all the more heartbreaking: We see Lottie give up professional opportunities just to be with this married man.

 The story is presented this way:

Rather than presenting a revival of the 1921 musical comedy, Wolfe (who wrote the new book) pulls the camera back to tell the story of the creative team: composer Eubie Blake (Brandon Victor Dixon), lyricist Noble Sissle (Joshua Henry), and comedians Aubrey Lyles (Tony winner Billy Porter) and F.E. Miller (Tony winner Brian Stokes Mitchell). The show they're writing stars Chitlin' Circuit headliner Lottie Gee (six-time Tony winner Audra McDonald) and the zany Gertrude Saunders (Adrienne Warren) leading a cast of talented black performers from around the country. Using music from the original, Wolfe charts the production's unlikely journey from out-of-town tryouts in Baltimore and D.C. to wandering the wilderness of Pennsylvania and finally landing at the 63rd Street Music Hall in New York, where it became an instant hit.

The sad part is that the four never (Blake, Sissle, Lyles and Miller) wrote another musical. The success of the first drove them apart.

Here's a copy of the original program. I had to splice it together because it was too big to fit on my scanner.

The Cast from Shuffle Along at the Stage Door

Here are some members of the cast coming out to sign autographs and have some pictures taken.

Billy Porter who played Aubrey Lyles

Adrienne Warren who played Gertrude Saunders and Florence Mills

Brandon Victor Dixon who played Eubie Blake

Dixon signing for Christian

Brian Stokes Mitchell who played F.E. Miller

Star Wars™ And The Power Of Costume The Exhibition

Here's a good description of what we saw:

Star Wars has shaped public imagination like no other movie franchise. Here you see more than 70 costumes that made the film great, and gain an insight into their design process. A fascinating show for geek and generalist alike.

This exhibition shows the actual costumes worn in the Star Wars films and the curators have more than done their homework to make this fun for everybody. Storm troopers jostle with droids, Naboo delegations parade beside officers from the original Evil Empire. There is a moving simplicity to seeing costumes stripped of people and the exhibition shows how our impressions of the film have been shaped by costume as much as actor.

The exhibition designers have made it refreshingly simple to enjoy. Movie quotes swirl around the display cases, and touch screens show early sketches. So you can see how Elizabethan gowns fused with African headdresses create the ceremonial costumes of the Naboo. You also see how the Rebel Alliance were dressed in orange to mimic 1950s astronauts, and Imperial officers - of course - were dressed like Nazis.

In fact, every aspect of the Star Wars universe has been thoroughly thought through and designed. With epic storytelling, iconic characters and cool flourishes it has captivated the popular imagination. This exhibition will prove that costumes have had an important role in that.

The Jedi

Droids!

Storm Troopers

Rebels and Imperials

Blasters, Light Sabers and Carbonite

Changing into the Evil Emperor