Juilliard and Jihad

My Trip to Al-Qaeda
Friday nite, despite extreme fatigue, I high-tailed it to Soho to The Cultural Project's production of My Trip to Al-Qaeda, New Yorker journalist Lawrence Wright's one-man-band-retelling of his bestseller The Looming Tower. In the spirit of Al Gore's eye-opening global warming rant, this is more lecture than theater-- but what a fascinating tale. Lawrence Wright is such a gentle, endearing yet brilliant storyteller, relating his experiences in Saudi Arabia and beyond. Added bonus - he's a thinking gal's hummena-hummena in his sweater vest and professor-esque delivery. A must see for current events junkies.

Violin & Piano Recital at Juilliard!
A wondrous treat - a free recital at Juilliard featuring students Noah Geller on violin and Michael Bukhman on piano. Confession - I'm no classical music listener - but this, well, this performance was true magic. Such breathtaking beauty. The joy on Noah's face as he performed and his incredible talent were inspiring and moving. Keep your eyes out for him as he is really, really something. Surprisingly, I actually enjoyed the Prokofiev piece (more modern and hardcore technical), but of course rejoiced at the Gershwin, Beethoven and Waxman's Carmen. Here is the full roster of recitals, many of which are FREE.