Flaming Cheese and Flying Cows
Mar. 14th, 2005 07:55 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
neadodsWHAT a wonderful weekend!
On Saturday morning,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
maureen_the_mad, shawan_7, two of my lj-less friends and I headed up to NYC, where we met up with suricattus and our hostess for the weekend, shayheyred. Among the general shopping, schmoozing, and eating (not necessarily in that order) was a trip to Mood Fabrics, which was two floors of surprisingly reasonably priced crackfabric. Used to the more sedate sprawl of G-St Fabrics, it was hard to get used to the chaos of all the tumbled, stacked, unmarked rolls, but that didn't stop me from coming away with 4ish yards (they gave me extra because it was a bit chewed at the edge) of scarlet linen with black roses embroidered along the bottom. It's a very wide fabric, and is destined to become an Irish dress I think, preferably my Team-Wench specific outfit. (Still thinking ahead to the Go Red walk, y'see.)
We regrouped and headed off to Uncle Nick's on 9th between 50 & 51, a Greek restaurant that I can't recommend highly enough. We started off with the speciality of the house, flaming cheese, which they light with a *woof* right next to the table. We mostly split our dinners between lamb and seafood, although Smap got a lovely chicken.shawan_7 and I split a huge red snapper that was absolutely divine.
Then it was off to the other flaming cheese of the evening, the event that pulled us Marylanders north of the Mason-Dixon line - Spamalot!
As someone once put it, hi-freakin'-larious. I hurt from laughing so hard, and now that I've seen it once I'm greedy to see it again and catch all the things I missed when I was looking at other things on the stage.
We got there early enough to look at the souvenier shops before things got too crowded. Among the tchotkies are - a stuffed cow (suitable for flinging), a stuffed black knight with removable limbs, assorted sizes of toothy rabbit, three T-shirt designs (I bought "Not dead yet..." for wearing on the last day of cons), and cans of spam. "How much of that are you selling?" Meerkat asked. "A lot!" was the reply. Since the play hasn't officially opened, they didn't have the big souvenier playbill (it wasn't even mentioned anywhere) and they were taking preorders for the cast CD.
And then the play began.
Half of it came straight from the movie, more or less, and I'm not going to cut-tag this part of the discussion because, c'mon, that movie's been out for 30 years! They had a nod in both the playbill and the play to the Finnish subtitles (which is really only going to make sense to those who saw the movie) and the skits that made the final cut are: "I'm not dead yet," "We're the Knights of the Round Table," the taunting at the French castle, the black knight, the Knights who say Ni, and Prince Hubert (although disappointingly missing the "burnt down, fell over, and sank into the swamp" speech), and, of course, the killer rabbit.
The cast is PERFECT! They were all working their buns off too, as only Tim Curry (who was underplaying a bit, probably to not disappear into the insanity going on around him) didn't play multiple roles. Christian Borle - the singing clerk from the Ebay ads - was the historian, "Not Dead Fred," assorted bit parts, and Prince Hubert. David Hyde Pierce was Sir Robin, Guard 1 (he blew a line in that scene, but not badly... that archtypical stage "oops" of a half-delivered line and a nervous half-smile, waiting for the reaction of the other actors), and Brother Maynard. Hank Azaria was run right off his feet with Sir Lancelot, The French taunter, the main Knight saying Ni, and and Tim the Enchanter. Christopher Sieber, who was fantastic and whom I should have paid a lot more attention to except that he was sandwiched between Pierce and Azaria, was Galahad, the black Knight, and Herbert's father. One of the women's roles was played by Steve Rosen, but in a switch from the movie in addition to the chorus boys and girls they cast a Real Live Girl with Sara Ramirez playing the Lady of the Lake.
And despite all that scene-chewing talent on the stage, Ms. Ramirez OWNED that role and shone brilliantly. There is no justice if she doesn't get the Tony that she flat-out asks for in one song.
Her first song is This is the Song That Goes Like This" ("Once in every play, there's that song, that sentimental ballad. This is the song that goes like this.") But her best song is the Diva Lament in Act II ("I've been offstage for FAR TOO LONG!")
Azaria's Lancelot has a coming-out scene with Prince Hubert that out-gays "Keep It Gay" from the Producers.
But the, The, THE show-stopping, audience-cheering, worth-the-price-of-admission-alone song is Pierce's "You Won't Succeed on Broadway (if you don't have a Jew in the cast)." This isn't Python so much as classic Mel Brooks full-bore political incorrectness ("you only will annoy 'em/if all you've got are dancing goyim") and David Hyde Pierce milks it for every last over-the-top drop. Admittedly, much of our party kept glancing over to see how the two Members of the Tribe in the group were taking it; they were in total hysterics.
Fortunately, the act following that was Sara, and she was more than up to the task of taking back the stage.
And when you get home, read the playbill from cover to cover. It's loaded with insanity.
Sunday we became the Ladies Who Brunch, served by a studly young blonde with a stunning smile (and doubtless headshots all over town) and then headed up the street to Flea Green, a combination flea market, craft fair, antique emporium, and farmer's market. This is pretty much everything I like to browse in one, and I blew my remaining time and budget there even after the others left to go to TKTS or the Met.
For once in my life, I didn't try to switch my train. Which means for once in my life, I didn't spend inordinate amounts of time killing time in Penn Station. An uneventful trip home (including a car that starts, YAY!) and here I am again, jiggity-jig.
On Saturday morning,
maureen_the_mad, shawan_7, two of my lj-less friends and I headed up to NYC, where we met up with suricattus and our hostess for the weekend, shayheyred. Among the general shopping, schmoozing, and eating (not necessarily in that order) was a trip to Mood Fabrics, which was two floors of surprisingly reasonably priced We regrouped and headed off to Uncle Nick's on 9th between 50 & 51, a Greek restaurant that I can't recommend highly enough. We started off with the speciality of the house, flaming cheese, which they light with a *woof* right next to the table. We mostly split our dinners between lamb and seafood, although Smap got a lovely chicken.
shawan_7 and I split a huge red snapper that was absolutely divine.Then it was off to the other flaming cheese of the evening, the event that pulled us Marylanders north of the Mason-Dixon line - Spamalot!
As someone once put it, hi-freakin'-larious. I hurt from laughing so hard, and now that I've seen it once I'm greedy to see it again and catch all the things I missed when I was looking at other things on the stage.
We got there early enough to look at the souvenier shops before things got too crowded. Among the tchotkies are - a stuffed cow (suitable for flinging), a stuffed black knight with removable limbs, assorted sizes of toothy rabbit, three T-shirt designs (I bought "Not dead yet..." for wearing on the last day of cons), and cans of spam. "How much of that are you selling?" Meerkat asked. "A lot!" was the reply. Since the play hasn't officially opened, they didn't have the big souvenier playbill (it wasn't even mentioned anywhere) and they were taking preorders for the cast CD.
And then the play began.
Half of it came straight from the movie, more or less, and I'm not going to cut-tag this part of the discussion because, c'mon, that movie's been out for 30 years! They had a nod in both the playbill and the play to the Finnish subtitles (which is really only going to make sense to those who saw the movie) and the skits that made the final cut are: "I'm not dead yet," "We're the Knights of the Round Table," the taunting at the French castle, the black knight, the Knights who say Ni, and Prince Hubert (although disappointingly missing the "burnt down, fell over, and sank into the swamp" speech), and, of course, the killer rabbit.
The cast is PERFECT! They were all working their buns off too, as only Tim Curry (who was underplaying a bit, probably to not disappear into the insanity going on around him) didn't play multiple roles. Christian Borle - the singing clerk from the Ebay ads - was the historian, "Not Dead Fred," assorted bit parts, and Prince Hubert. David Hyde Pierce was Sir Robin, Guard 1 (he blew a line in that scene, but not badly... that archtypical stage "oops" of a half-delivered line and a nervous half-smile, waiting for the reaction of the other actors), and Brother Maynard. Hank Azaria was run right off his feet with Sir Lancelot, The French taunter, the main Knight saying Ni, and and Tim the Enchanter. Christopher Sieber, who was fantastic and whom I should have paid a lot more attention to except that he was sandwiched between Pierce and Azaria, was Galahad, the black Knight, and Herbert's father. One of the women's roles was played by Steve Rosen, but in a switch from the movie in addition to the chorus boys and girls they cast a Real Live Girl with Sara Ramirez playing the Lady of the Lake.
And despite all that scene-chewing talent on the stage, Ms. Ramirez OWNED that role and shone brilliantly. There is no justice if she doesn't get the Tony that she flat-out asks for in one song.
Her first song is This is the Song That Goes Like This" ("Once in every play, there's that song, that sentimental ballad. This is the song that goes like this.") But her best song is the Diva Lament in Act II ("I've been offstage for FAR TOO LONG!")
Azaria's Lancelot has a coming-out scene with Prince Hubert that out-gays "Keep It Gay" from the Producers.
But the, The, THE show-stopping, audience-cheering, worth-the-price-of-admission-alone song is Pierce's "You Won't Succeed on Broadway (if you don't have a Jew in the cast)." This isn't Python so much as classic Mel Brooks full-bore political incorrectness ("you only will annoy 'em/if all you've got are dancing goyim") and David Hyde Pierce milks it for every last over-the-top drop. Admittedly, much of our party kept glancing over to see how the two Members of the Tribe in the group were taking it; they were in total hysterics.
Fortunately, the act following that was Sara, and she was more than up to the task of taking back the stage.
And when you get home, read the playbill from cover to cover. It's loaded with insanity.
Sunday we became the Ladies Who Brunch, served by a studly young blonde with a stunning smile (and doubtless headshots all over town) and then headed up the street to Flea Green, a combination flea market, craft fair, antique emporium, and farmer's market. This is pretty much everything I like to browse in one, and I blew my remaining time and budget there even after the others left to go to TKTS or the Met.
For once in my life, I didn't try to switch my train. Which means for once in my life, I didn't spend inordinate amounts of time killing time in Penn Station. An uneventful trip home (including a car that starts, YAY!) and here I am again, jiggity-jig.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2005-03-14 02:11 pm (UTC)Fun time. Highly recommneded.
no subject
Date: 2005-03-14 02:39 pm (UTC)Although I am just dying to know Mel Brooks' reaction to the Pierce song, I really am. That was such a Brooks moment more than any Python routine.
no subject
Date: 2005-03-14 04:30 pm (UTC)(We've got tickets in June.)
no subject
Date: 2005-03-14 06:13 pm (UTC)I'm so jealous!
Date: 2005-03-14 02:48 pm (UTC)G,D&R
Re: I'm so jealous!
Date: 2005-03-14 03:41 pm (UTC)Really, they were good. Most of us found something to shlep home, and the prices were really reasonable.
no subject
Date: 2005-03-14 03:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-03-14 03:42 pm (UTC)I'm sure Spamalot will have a good, healthy run, although the actors only signed a 6-month contract. You're due when again? :>
no subject
Date: 2005-03-14 05:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-03-14 04:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-03-14 08:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-03-14 07:00 pm (UTC)And I came out of there an ENORMOUS Sara Ramirez fan. The rest of the night was fun, but she really stayed with me. She deserves to be a gigantic star in the speediest possible manner.
no subject
Date: 2005-03-14 08:19 pm (UTC)And may I also say how great it was to see a woman of size be the star?
no subject
Date: 2005-03-14 08:25 pm (UTC)She was previously the leading lady in The Capeman, which, as a Latino show, pretty much required a body type different from the mainstream "ideal". She was also the Marquise in The Game, a musical version of Les Liaisons Dangereuses which got middling reviews off-Broadway.
no subject
Date: 2005-03-14 08:10 pm (UTC)Very cute young man with artistically streaked blond hair and very regular features who studied acting at Northwestern.
He got a good tip. Good service, you know.
no subject
Date: 2005-03-14 08:17 pm (UTC)