Unwinding from BookExpo
You know that slight mental adjustment you make when your surroundings change suddenly?
I'm still in the middle of that today. The first (and best) adjustment was being back with my beloved. I slept alone for 18 years before I married Ann, and I'll take having her beside me at night over any other pleasure.
BookExpo America is scheduled for May 19-21 next year in Washington, D.C., so there won't be quite the same alternatives available for our evenings, but one thing is sure - I won't be leaving Ann behind when I go.
My brother Larry, who, among other things, is a publisher, joined me this year in New York. BookExpo did not start well for us. Refused entry to the first official event, a Billy Crystal performance tied to an upcoming book, Larry and I headed for Times Square to seek out cheap tickets to a Broadway play. We succeeded in grabbing up tickets for Glengarry Glen Ross, the revival of the David Mamet play. Alan Alda reprises the role played by Jack Lemmon in the movie version, and does a great job with the part, although in the opening moments he seemed to be channelling Jack instead of interpreting the role. It was a great experience watching Liev Schreiber, Jeffrey Tambor, Tom Wopat, Frederick Weller, and Gordon Clapp tread the boards.
Frankly, however, I would have thought the cast would have, by now, managed to integrate the dense Mamet dialogue. Maybe it was just a bad night for the play that won last night's Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play. My vote for best performance? Tom Wopat, as the weak-willed stranger in the Chinese restaurant who falls victim to Schreiber's aggressive, never-take-no sales pitch. While each performance was on point, the whole thing didn't hold together. Weller, in particular, chose an interpretation that was more passive than passive-aggressive, and did not live up to my expectations in a role Alec Baldwin owned.
All this week I'll be giving you snippets like this from my New York trip, so come back for more later.
I'm still in the middle of that today. The first (and best) adjustment was being back with my beloved. I slept alone for 18 years before I married Ann, and I'll take having her beside me at night over any other pleasure.
BookExpo America is scheduled for May 19-21 next year in Washington, D.C., so there won't be quite the same alternatives available for our evenings, but one thing is sure - I won't be leaving Ann behind when I go.
My brother Larry, who, among other things, is a publisher, joined me this year in New York. BookExpo did not start well for us. Refused entry to the first official event, a Billy Crystal performance tied to an upcoming book, Larry and I headed for Times Square to seek out cheap tickets to a Broadway play. We succeeded in grabbing up tickets for Glengarry Glen Ross, the revival of the David Mamet play. Alan Alda reprises the role played by Jack Lemmon in the movie version, and does a great job with the part, although in the opening moments he seemed to be channelling Jack instead of interpreting the role. It was a great experience watching Liev Schreiber, Jeffrey Tambor, Tom Wopat, Frederick Weller, and Gordon Clapp tread the boards.
Frankly, however, I would have thought the cast would have, by now, managed to integrate the dense Mamet dialogue. Maybe it was just a bad night for the play that won last night's Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play. My vote for best performance? Tom Wopat, as the weak-willed stranger in the Chinese restaurant who falls victim to Schreiber's aggressive, never-take-no sales pitch. While each performance was on point, the whole thing didn't hold together. Weller, in particular, chose an interpretation that was more passive than passive-aggressive, and did not live up to my expectations in a role Alec Baldwin owned.
All this week I'll be giving you snippets like this from my New York trip, so come back for more later.
posted by All4Word at 12:40 PM
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