Several months ago my glam BF asked me about going to the theatre, he really wanted to see La Bete because Joanna Lumley of Ab Fab was in it. I didn't really know anything about it but we like so many of the same things that I thought why not and we worked out getting tickets.
Tonight, before the show we were just going to Starbucks but I realized I was starving so we went to a Mexican divey place and had burritos. We then walked over to the Music Box Theatre for the show and LOVED it!! It got wonderful reviews and we loved because it was so clever. It's the story of a 17th century theatre troupe who is sponsored by the local Princess, she insists that a specific actor be included in the troupe in order for it to keep her patronage. The trouble is the actor is a pig. It is one of the smartest plays I’ve seen, the script is in rhyming couplets but it isn't sing songy at all. It brings up questions of pop culture-is it worthy? A question clearly discussed for over 500 years.
Joanna Lumley, David Hyde Pierce and Mark Rylance were superb (!) In their roles, I loved the costumes. The first time we see the Princess she is preceded in the doorway by flying golden stars-one of the most spectacular scenes I have seen in a long while.
After the show we waited outside for Joanne Lumley, as my glam BF is a little obsessed – I was able to take their picture which was kind of fun, I had never waited outside for a performer before. I was a bit nervous about the picture, I had promised him I would not let him down, but they were standing under the marquis of the theatre next door and there blue lines of light shooting down through them but the pictures came out beautifully, I'm happy to report.
We walked to the Andaz Hotel as I really wanted him to experience the cocktails there. It wasn't as filled and buzzy as I thought it would be but my Manhattan was positively divine. They only serve cocktails in the pre-Prohibition style and they are marvelous. Going out after the theatre has been a dream of mine for a long time. My husband is never willing. But my glam BF is a club kid so going to a fancy cocktail bar at 10 pm is "the night is young" for him. We had a marvelous time talking about the show, the cocktails, our husbands, Thanksgiving... All sorts of things and we had a joy filled evening.
Until I had to deal with public transportation-since those damn budget cuts in June the trains are simply dreadful. They have made my regular commute a nightmare since there are fewer trains running everything runs 10-15 minutes slower. After rush hour it's even worse, we left the Andaz Hotel at about 11:45 and at 12:45 I was still at the Brooklyn Bridge station waiting for the express to take me the rest of way and all because, at 42nd St, I let a local go, thinking the express would come soon after. It didn't. 15 minutes later I just got on the local and took a taxi from Brooklyn Bridge to the ferry- I certainly wasn't going to miss the 1am ferry-I would have been stranded in the terminal until 2. The whole trip should have taken about an hour and 20 minutes but it took 2 hours. Thank you MTA. I get up at 5 to go to work. But in a few days I'll remember only the glorious show and cocktails and forget all about the trains.
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