Thursday, May 21st

Up early again.

My legs are pretty much back to normal. I go to the corner bagel shop for some OJ. Then back to the room, pick up my notebook and another book on playwriting and over to Riverside Park to watch the people go by.

The temperature in the morning is just delightful but warmer than it was on Tuesday and Wednesday. There are a lot of people in the park – not many sitting there but mostly joggers and people walking their dogs. All with pooper bags in hand, thank you very much.

Not counting the joggers, almost half the women are smoking but very few men are. Makes you think doesn’t it?

I made some pretty major changes to the script. I’m about done with that one and thinking of my next project. Maybe something about Hank and I not recognizing each other. I’m having trouble making that into the most important day in one of our lives. Just let it sit for a couple of days and see what happens.

The are no matinees today so nothing to do till tonight.

I called and left messages for two people who live here. In just a few minutes I get a call back from Rob O’Neill. Those of you who have taken the SOAR or AIRE acting programs know who he is. Anyway, he is directing a play (Dinner With Friends by Donald Margulies) that features Lisa Benner (a SOAR/AIRE Alum). I get tickets on line for the show.

Then I head off the The Museum of Modern Art. Back on the subway to 50th street then a real hike to fifth avenue. Glad my legs are up to it. I a couple of hours wandering around. I liked a lot of it – Architecture, packaging, advertising even type faces. But when it got to the “art” it didn’t do so much for me. I know that I don’t know enough about art to appreciate it. Like Picasso, for example. I know who he was and the kind of stuff he painted. I could probably recognize one if I saw it. But I went through two rooms of his paintings and they all looked like the people were put into a blender. Then I come upon a painting he did that actually looks like a person – no blender at all. Why did he do that? What made him get out of bed that day and say”I think I’ll paint a picture of a person that looks like a person”? I know most people know the answer to that but I don’t. Oh well. We can’t know everything.

When I get out of MoMA (that’s New York for Museum of Modern Art) it is HOT and MUGGY (both with capital letters). When it gets hot on Orcas the humidity is at a reasonable level. Not so in NYC. Hoof it back over to Broadway get the subway north go back to my room and shower and put on a new shirt. Then to dinner (very nice Italian restaurant), spill olive oil on my new shirt then to the theater to see the show looking like a slob with olive oil on my shirt.

It was a GREAT play: Dinner with Friends by Donald Margulies.

It was really compelling theater. The best part was that it was directed by Rob O’Neill and starred Lisa Benner. I have the play and have read it several times but it never clicked for me (of course it won a Pulitzer so what do I know?) It all came together for me tonight. I have to specially mention Lisa. There were several long periods when the audience was holding their breaths, hanging on every word that she said.

Talk about powerful theater, this was it.

Grab the subway and back to the room getting there at 11 pm again.

Love New York City.