Time to get back to blogging. For my birthday I’m not flogging myself. I’m going to just leave the missing days in the dark and tell you about yesterday.
For my birthday Carey not, Carey asked what Broadway show I wanted to see. Without hesitation I said, Come From Away He was able to get tickets for the day before my birthday. I’m disappointed that tickets were available. It should be sold-out for months in advance.
The musical was written, conceived, composed, and everything else by my friends David Hein and Irene Sankoff. LORi and I traveled up to Toronto for the premier of their previous play, My Mother’s Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding. We had our own lesbian wedding while we are there. Don’t be a bigot and object to the idea of me having a Lesbian wedding.
Carey got tickets for the Matinee, I met him, his girlfriend Barbara, and their co-worker Christine on the line to get in. It’s easy for me to get to the theater, one train and not that long a walk. Or it would be easy if it weren’t for the most hated animal pest of New York City. Out of towners might think I mean rats, pigeons, or cockroaches. Some even more naïve might think alligators in the sewers. True New Yorkers know that worse than all of these, even the mythical alligators are tourists. Broadway theaters are in the theater district. I had to walk through Times Square. How do people from Away not know they take up space? In the rest of the world can people walk through each other? Tourists seem to think so.
I took all that into account and got to the theater exactly on time, 1:30, doors were at 2:00. Since when do people line up for doors at Broadway shows? I got there early because I was meeting Carey et al. We get the same seats no matter when we arrive. I don’t remember it being like this in the past. Maybe it’s because I don’t usually get to theaters before doors open.
I was familiar with the show from before it was produced in Toronto. I listened to the Broadway Cast Album as soon as it was released and loved it. The rest of my party knew nothing about it. They are very different than the majority of my friends who are divided between those who want to see it, those that have seen it, and those that have seen it multiple times.
Could the show live up to my expectations? It exceeded them. It is performed in one breathless act, that’s important as that’s the characters’ experience. For the two of you that aren’t aware, Come From Away is the story of the passengers on the planes that were diverted to Gander Newfoundland when American Air Space was closed on 9/11/01. They were sent to Gander because it has a huge airport, a relic of when it was the refueling station for planes going to and from Europe and not many people live there so not as many people were threatened by the planes which were each considered a bomb threat. 7,000 passengers from around the world, suddenly arrived in a town of 9,000 people, at a time of fear. Many of the passengers had no idea what was going on. At first, they were not allowed off the planes; this was before everyone had a cell phone.
But this is not the story of people turning on each other in a crisis, It was the story of people, with a few exceptions, coming together. It was Newfoundland, do you know why Newfoundlanders are terrible at knock-knock jokes?
Airplane Person: Knock Knock
Newfoundlander: Come on in! The door is open!
The natives refer to Newfoundland as “The Rock” and everyplace else as “Away.” Thus Come From Away.
The cast all play multiple roles, both Newfoundlanders and Airplane People. It never gets confusing despite the very quick changes. The direction and choreography were brilliant. The songs and book were well served. As for the songs and book they were genius. In the lead up to the Tony Awards one of the reviewers called the show light. It wasn’t. Much of the music is inspired by the music of Newfoundland, so it goes straight to your pleasure centers and makes you feel good. If you’ve ever heard Great Big Sea you know what I mean. But that doesn’t make the material lightweight. This was no feel-good fluff. There are few musicals that are more intellectually stimulating. It’s a musical version of the great American drama form, strangers brought together and revealing their souls both to the other people and themselves. Think of anything by O’Neill. As I watched the play my feet and body were moving to the music, I was laughing and crying, but my mind was racing. There was so much to process. How would I deal with the situation? Not just the larger picture, but each of the individuals. Everyone handled it differently. There was so much their there.
Carey thought that the best part was after the end of the show when the band came on stage and performed Screech Out as a Newfoundlanders would. It was a highlight. I complain that in modern musicals I don’t walk out humming the songs. This one I did. I’m still doing it a day later.
After the show we went out to dinner. I suggested the Westway Diner. Actually, I suggested “The diner that’s on Ninth Ave just south of here. I went there after one of the protest marches with my friends. That was my only time there. We ended up at the same table. I had the Blue Sandwich. That’s fried chicken, ham, and swiss cheese. There is nothing blue in it. It was excellent. I didn’t have room for dessert. I did when I got home, I made my first ice creamed coffee in years. I could do that as I made my first cold brew since I moved to the Bronx. It is a great summer treat.
I finally got the package I had been fighting to get for two weeks. I had given up, FedEx didn’t come when they promised, and I walked to the subway. On the way I saw the FedEx truck and raced home. I got the package straight off the truck but even that took time. They couldn’t find it. They were told that it was a priority, to rush right over and deliver the package to me. They didn’t bother to find it first. I had to open the package and empty the contents into my bag and carry it around all day as I didn’t have time to head back into the apartment building. Not happy about that but I’m happy I finally got it.
I have a lot of anxiety and even some depression this morning. I’ll feel better when I go out later. I’m going out with Genevieve to see Tomoko Omura and out to dinner first. But till then I’m going to feel pressure. Lots of demands on my attention. I’ll make breakfast now. That will help.
Wise Madness 