Well, big milestone. I got published for the first time in NYC. Wrote an essay on the play Exit Cuckoo, which I've covered on this blog but not in quite this delicious a length. I am beyond thrilled.
Mon deux, how did this fabulous joint remain a mystery to me for so long? Marie's Crisis Cafe is a piano bar extraordinaire, buried deep in a West Village basement at 59 Grove St. This historical showcase of a late night hangout is home to show tune buffs of varying talents and persuasions. The wooden beamed, low hanging ceiling and tight quarters lend an air of intimacy to this good-time-had-by-all establishment, and you can feel the talents of singers gone by even when the ivories aren't being tickled.
Everyone sings at Marie's Crisis, good bad and ugly, but the chorus created is consistently lively and occasionally longing. Stick around long enough, you'll be treated to a solo or two by some of the city's finest chanteuses. In the meantime, practice your do-ri-me's and get ready to belt one.
Get ready. Some of the most thought-provoking theatre you've ever experienced is about to hit Off Broadway. Lisa Ramirez's Exit Cuckoo is playing April 17-May 17 at the Clurman Theater on Theatre Row (410 W 42nd Street). Exit Cuckoo fearlessly explores the often complicated world of nannies, mothers and children with humor and spot-on accuracy.
This production is directed by fellow actor/writer/director Colman Domingo (Passing Strange, Single Black Female) and presented by The Working Theater. I've seen the work in many incarnations, and with each production the poignant, important message of actor/playwright Ramirez's work is even more of a revelation. The writing is sharp and exquisite, and the acting prowess of Ramirez allows for the characters to genuinely enter your heart, and speak with full-on truth.
Read this Theatre Development Fund article if you want info on the play's development. Tix are available here. Please, without fail, go see.
Yes, the economic crashfest has had an impact on even the most enduring complaint in all of Manhattan - gutwrenchingly high rents. That is right, that stuff I wrote about all the moo-lah you need to prove you have before anyone will even show you an apartment? Ob-so-lete. Well, sort of.
Went to the NYC premiere of Must Read After My Death the other night. Its been a long time since I've been so provoked by a film, so challenged and destroyed by the content, so transfixed by the subject. This documentary peek into the private world of suburban angst is also a riveting commentary on American society in the early 60's.
Filmmaker Morgan Dews found recordings in a shed from his grandmother Allis - evidence of her philandering, overseas traveling husband; her psychiatric sessions; her family's decline. They chronicle an age when independent, spirited women like Allis were told their desires for success and independence were perverse. Artfully made, with home movie images of the happy family juxtaposed with their harrowing, heart wrenching recordings, this real-life psychological thriller has you spellbound and wondering, just what will become of this family?
The film is being released in cinemas in NYC and LA. Simultaneously, it is being made available through Gigantic Releasing for $2.99 online, an effective new model of independent film distribution. Look for more films to reach a wider audience in this fashion, and hats off to Gigantic for the innovation.
Today is perhaps one of the only days I miss Washington, DC just a smidge. I was fortunate to have been part of it all when I lived there - the political process, the international intrigue, seeing the guts of the governmental cogs and wheels. Oh, sure, my old apartment on U St. would be right along some parade route, down the street from an inaugural ball... Drat.
A restaurant that only serves desserts. That is all I have to say.
Well, no, I'll go on a bit more, given this joint dishes up the things I love best, cakes and pastries and ice cream and stuff. At ChikaLicious, A prix fixe menu allows for an amuse, choice of dessert, and petit fours. Located on the lower east side at 203 E. 10th, I'll be heading there as soon as my blood sugar drops after holiday candy overload. Be sure to check out their Dessert Club, too!
Perhaps the best film I've seen on the obsession and sometimes madness required to follow one's dream, Man on Wire artfully explores Philippe Petit's quarter-mile high walk between the World Trade Center's Twin Towers in 1974. It is also a love letter to New York City.
Petit began dreaming of stringing a wire between the world's tallest buildings upon reading an article on their construction in a dentist's waiting room. He built some notoriety in the time it took for the Towers to be built by performing high-above balancing acts in notorious locations like Notre Dame Cathedral and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. But upon completion, the Towers were a quarter of a mile high, hundreds of feet apart, built to sway in the wind. It was impossible, ludicrous to think of such a feat. Certain death.
Still, Petit and his cohorts schemed and planned the perfect caper. The film amusingly captures the process of how, amid strict security and impossible odds, a wire could be strung from one tower to another. Petit's love of mischief and sheer chutzpah has him disguised as construction worker, tourist, and even journalist in order to gather the necessary information for the stunt. Even knowing the outcome, the personal accounts and sublime editing leave you on the edge of your seat. When Petit finally steps out on that fateful wire, there is awe. Not only from the great physical achievement, but in witnessing the realization of a persistent and agonizing dream.
Less overtly, Man on Wire lovingly explores New York City and just how this city can get under your skin. The shear lust for the place can drive anyone to madness, as the Towers arguably did to Petit. And while left unsaid, the knowledge that the site of Petit's masterpiece no longer stands adds a gentle poignancy.
For anyone whose life-long dream of this city sweetly haunts and torments them, Man on Wire dares us to believe that following such fancy is as magically possible as walking on thin air.
I don't know about you, but all this talk of the economy has me feeling not at all in the holiday spirit. So I've turned off my tv and am making an effort to celebrate all I do have, and how even in tough times I can give a little. I am so blessed to live in the amazing New York City. Unfortunately, some out there are struggling. Here are some favorite places that help:
The Bowery Mission: probably one of the best known missions in town, they provide a ton of help to those in need. Programs range from shelter to food to educating men and women on how to get back on their feet.
Central Park Conservancy: to raise the spirit, sometimes there is nothing better than nature. This group keeps Central Park the gorgeous masterpiece it is.
City Harvest: rescues food to feed the hungry, and they'll arrange to pick up leftovers to distribute to New Yorkers who really need it.
God's Love We Deliver: improves the lives of children, women and men living with HIV/AIDS and other life-threatening illnesses by delivering delicious and nutritious meals.
Fresh Air Fund: this 130+ year old charity gives inner-city children the joy of a summer vacation. Be a host family or donate to help provide great memories for NYC children in need.
New York Times Neediest Cases: arguably the best paper in the world, the New York Times pays all administrative costs of this charity so that donations can go directly to troubled children, adults and the elderly, many of whom are profiled on its pages.
New York Cares: mobilizes New Yorkers into volunteerism. They also run a very successful coat drive to help keep New Yorkers in need warm.
New York Foundation for the Arts: provides NYC artists with financial assistance and publicity, and serves the artistic community with comprehensive info on employment opps, grants, and more.
North Shore Animal League: a great no-kill shelter and helps thousands of pets find new homes.
Robin Hood Foundation: targets and funds the best programs that alleviate poverty in the city to maximize their effectiveness.
And here are a few of my fav global groups that are worth supporting as well:
The Hunger Project: helps those in extreme poverty meet their basic needs and build a better life for their communities. Especially good at empowering women, this is an amazing, high-impact group.
Habitat for Humanity: builds homes for those who need them and a classic example of how to empower those less fortunate by providing permanent shelter.
Susan G. Komen for the Cure: the nation's premier organization leading the fight against breast cancer, and the group behind the amazing Komen Race for the Cure. Go pink!
The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research: my grandmother had this debilitating disease, and this great group is making real strides in finding a cure.
There are many, many others that I am sure to have missed, but you can always find more at NYCharities.org. Feel free to add more in the comments section, and Happy Holidays all!
