All Rise

 Live theater, how I missed you!

Broadway is back.  You have to wear a mask, and they won’t let you in the theater unless you’ve been vaccinated, but oh my … when the house lights go down and the curtain goes up …

We saw To Kill A Mockingbird  Saturday night.

To quote from the website:

Inspired by Lee’s own childhood in Alabama, To Kill a Mockingbird features one of literature’s towering symbols of integrity and righteousness in the character of Atticus Finch, based on Lee’s own father. The character of Scout, based on Lee herself, has come to define youthful innocence—and its inevitable loss—for generation after generation of readers around the world.

In a Library of Congress survey on books that have most affected people’s lives, To Kill a Mockingbird was second only to the Bible. In 1999, American librarians named it the “Best Novel of the Twentieth Century.” Now, for the first time ever, Harper Lee’s open-hearted dissection of justice and tolerance in the American South will be brought vividly to life on the Broadway stage.

I read the novel twice, first when I was in high school, and later when Jen had to read it for high school.  Such a wonderful book.  So much of who I am is because of that book.

To see it come to life in the stage!  Aaron Sorkin wrote a masterpiece.  

There were moments when I knew it was Sorkin, not Lee, who was addressing the audience, 21st Century viewpoints superimposed on a 20th Century story.  

By the end of the play I was in tears.  

It was a great day.  We took the railroad into Penn Station and then walked up to the Theater District.  It was interesting to see all the changes on 7th Avenue, all the stores that have closed and the new businesses that have opened.  Weed World was quite busy; I would never have imagined a store like that just a few years ago.  The street vendors were out, of course, selling hats and scarves, costume jewelry, designer knock off purses and tote bags, all the usual.  

Someone offered us discount tickets to a comedy show, another person tried to recruit us for the hop-on-hop-off tour bus.  The costumed characters are back in Times Square — we saw Minnie Mouse and Mickey Mouse working the crowd.  When we passed the Naked Cowgirl we knew the Naked Cowboy had to be around, and sure enough, we spotted him near Schubert Alley.

Sorry to see Sardi’s isn’t open …they closed during the pandemic and now they’re remodeling…

We had dinner after the show.  I thought about trying the restaurant at the new Margaritaville Resort, but we opted for an old favorite, John’s of Times Square.  They make the most incredible garlic rolls — pizza dough stuffed with mozzarella, drenched in garlic butter, baked in a brick oven, and served with marinara sauce.  I had eggplant parmigiana and Drew had shrimp parmigiana.  

It was raining when we finished eating, so we took the subway back to Penn.  I have to admit I was a little nervous, there’s been a considerable increase in crime in NYC, especially in the subway.  But we were ok.

It feels so normal.  It feels so good.