March 08, 2009

Vodkas

Apologies for the terrible photo shot from the iPhone. Without the Nikon these days (too cumbersome for my schedule, this is just temporary) I'm left with meager snapshots of my City captured by a little gadget. The week has been tiring, and I'm barely awake this morning as I sent Craig off to work again with a bagel, coffee and hugs. But yesterday afternoon was amazing. Apologies in advance of the probability that I will use the word "amazing" numerous, annoyingly numerous times in this post.*We worked in the morning. I got things done, actually accomplished tasks, without the distraction of people stopping by to ask for stuff. It was refreshing, if work can ever be deemed as such. Then Craig and I departed the office before noon. We traveled to Union Square, where we ducked into the Blind Pig for lunch. I ate the spinach salad that I so love, with roasted red peppers, portobello mushrooms, gorgonzola, hardboiled eggs, tomatoes and warm bacon dressing. Craig ate brunch. Then we walked to the Classic Stage Company theater on East 13th. First off, what a great idea to offer a small artsy theater in the middle of this neighborhood (and I'm sure it isn't the only one of its kind). (The photo above is of the building adjacent to the theater.) Second, how brilliant that we would get to see, intimately, very closely from the second row, with almost the scent of these people!, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard perform in Anton Chekhov's Uncle Vanya. This was far and away the best play I've ever seen (and I consider myself lucky to have seen quite a few, beginning in college and carrying on through my adult life). The theater itself was miniature, intimate, amazing (sorry) and the set blew my mind - a long swing near the entrance (which an usher held back while patrons entered in the beginning and streamed in and out during intermission), and a loft overtop a room divided by wood beams so that the audience could see everywhere at once. The cast members shone. Most of my enthusiasm from the onset of planning to see this revolved around Maggie, because I've loved her from Secretary forward, and have always admired everything she's done. Throw in the fact that her partner Peter is someone I've also found to be striking even prior to their relationship and now family (little girl Ramona). And they are New Yorkers, which obviously adds an element of endearment for me. But as we became enthralled in Act I., the actor playing Vanya also stood out, despite the brilliance of Maggie and Peter. And the blonde playing Sonja emanated true talent. And the play itself? Dark, raw, emotional, absorbing and filled with current themes, despite that it was first published in 1899. I loved it. We were mere feet away from the actors. Maggie is stunning, just magnificent, amazing (sorry!) and stunning. If I were not so exhausted from everything, I'd try to offer a more intelligent review, but nevertheless, we absolutely loved this performance. Craig echoed all of my gushing sentiments, which made me particularly pleased because I worried a bit about how he'd receive it. The basics (spoilers ahead) of the plot are this: a very old professor and his shockingly young wife (Maggie, Yelena) travel to a small district in Russia to stay with the professor's previous wife's brother (Uncle Vanya) and the professor's daughter from the previous wife: Sonja. The professor is sickly and seeks treatment from a local doctor (Peter, Astrov). We find out that Uncle Vanya is in longtime love with Yelena and Sonja is in love with Astrov, however in the play, Yelena and Astrov are drawn to one another (and hey, is it hot to see Maggie and Peter act out attraction on stage knowing that they are linked in real life, which I cannot explain but felt anyway!) Yelena references Astrov as "an unusual man" but when she says this, her eyes sparkle in a way that suggests unusual is in a good way. Appropriately enough, the play ends with the professor and his young wife leaving the district, the doctor Astrov leaving the estate as well, and the drab dull lives of Sonja, Uncle Vanya and company resuming normalcy, despite the fact that it is repeatedly pointed out through the play how "idle" the prof and Yelena are as humans (Yelena is told, "You have nothing to do on this earth" by Astrov). My summary of this play really does not do it justice, and sadly, today marks the close of this show! But we were fascinated. I say "we" and for once, I think I can confidently remark that Craig, too, was as fascinated as I.*Following the matinee, we headed to Bua on St. Mark's for an Old Speckled Hen. Then we found a few more bars prior to our intended dinner at Momofuku. There are several Momofukus in the City, but none are alike one another other than they are hosted by the same Executive Chef David Chang. First we wandered by Momofuku Noodle but it looked slammed, so we traveled a ways to Momofuku Ssam, and waited about 15 minutes for a table. Packed, loud, perfectly New York is this place...and the food? Indescribable. Absolutely impeccable, plated beautifully, everything about this establishment can sincerely boast brilliance. After dinner, we traveled through Ssam into the Momofuku Milk Bar, where they serve desserts. Craig ordered a slice of pistachio cake and a side of Fruit Loops Milk flavored soft serve ice cream (after the first bite, he leaned to tell me how much he liked it and his breath reeked of Fruit Loops!! He cutely kept saying it was Fruity Pebbles-flavored) and it's plain to see that Executive Chef David Chang knows how to tickle New Yorkers, because both Ssam and Milk Bar were filled with eager crowds. We were pleased.*So tired were we that we ducked into Grape & Grain for one last drink around 8, then headed home in a cab. We admitted to one another how tired we were, and granted, we had had our first adult beverage at 1 prior to the play, so it was nice to suck it up and come home early. Now, after sleeping until too late on the couch and finally going to bed in the early a.m., then waking to see Craig off, I'm just worn out. I've got plenty of apartment to clean, which is part of the plan. But I think that naps this afternoon are also in order. I'm just so relieved that yesterday afternoon offered us so much. We need that at a time like this, with stress levels at their alltime high.

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