Day 275…
One of the things that has been noticeably missing from the city this month are the little Holiday Villages that spring up every year in places like Columbus Circle and Union Square Park.
Made up of lines of covered stalls, with holiday music piped in, they showcase craftspeople from all over the country.
Invariably, I can find something in one of the shops that makes a perfect gift. At the very least, walking through one can jog my mind into coming up with other ideas. Some of the stalls sell hot cider and homemade baked goods, which is yet another incentive to visit.
Walking through Columbus Circle on my daily walks around the city, my heart always sinks a bit when I realize yet again, that it isn’t there this year. Yesterday, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the main village in Bryant Park behind the New York Public Library is actually there.
I had walked into Times Square for the millionth time and I decided to take a left to see if the Library had been decorated. Lo and behold, as I got to 6th Avenue, there were the familiar brightly lit white vinyl roofs scattered in between the Park’s trees.
There are fewer booths than usual and they are set somewhat further apart, but, like always, they encircle a seasonal skating rink. Rather than one big Christmas tree, there is a grouping of smaller ones towards the east end.
Everyone was wearing a mask, even the people out on the ice. Only one or two people at a time are allowed inside the little stores and everybody seemed to be well spread out and moving. Tourists are still largely absent from the city, so the usual crowds are much thinner. If an area seemed too packed, I simply went to another one and waited for it to clear out.
And yes, I did get some shopping done.
Last night when I got home, NBC was broadcasting a kind of tribute to Broadway called One Night Only.
I hadn’t planned on watching. I hadn’t been called upon to work on it at all and I just kind of thought why bother? Well, as it began, people started texting, so I turned it on.
It was beautifully done.
Just like the Tony Awards presentations, there was the usual smattering of TV celebrities talking about their experiences rather than mainstay Broadway performers, but ultimately it didn’t matter.
The numbers themselves were in large part performed by members of the theatrical community. They were mostly from shows that were still running when the shutdown occurred, but in among them were performances of older songs by artists from other walks of the entertainment industry.
As I started watching, a country singer whom I had never heard of sang Oh What a Beautiful Morning, and I started crying.
So many friends and colleagues popped up as the show went on. Even a good friend who was one of the aforementioned celebs. While she is known for her work on TV, she certainly has bona fide theatre experience. I let go of all (well, most) of my critical thinking and just enjoyed it.
The whole thing was like drinking a glass of water when you don’t really realize just how parched you actually are.
All of the performances had been pre-taped out on the streets of the Theatre District. Giant letters spelled out Broadway behind the singers and behind those were the buildings and lights of Times Square. Some of the performances from musicals such as Mean Girls, Chicago and Ain’t Too Proud happened right in front of the darkened theatres where they had actually played.
Jersey Boys has been playing in an Off-Broadway theatre that is housed in a building that is completely non-descript from the outside, so they performed on another part of the street.
One of the members of our Off-Broadway cast is in the middle of hiking the entire Appalachian Trail so he wasn’t available. He’s been out there for months had has managed to grow a truly impressive beard. I think he is actually due to finally get to the end of it today. To fill the gap, his predecessor came back and joined the other three guys from the last company and they did a spectacular job.
I missed the opening section, so I am going to have to try and find it online. I am so glad, though, that I got to see the rest of it. I think that I didn’t want to watch because I thought that it was going to be depressing. While it was certainly bittersweet, it was such a love letter to our industry that it couldn’t help but be uplifting.
Some choices were a bit questionable such as the decision to show a clip of Barbara Streisand singing People from a 2006 concert of hers. In the end, though, it didn’t matter. Clip aside, Streisand then talked about Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS, our community’s home-grown charity.
That the whole evening of network television turned out to be in support of BC/EFA, was remarkable. The tears kept flowing.
Since 1988, Broadway Cares has raised and distributed over $300 million for essential services and in support of health initiatives in regard to AIDS as well as for everything else from breast cancer to COVID-19. Many of the organizations that get supported often have difficulty getting funding for other places.
I have often participated in Grant Distribution rounds with other actors and stage managers to decide which groups get what. We get requests from places like food banks that might only serve four or five people over a vast rural area. Sometimes we are almost their only funding.
Twice a year, on Broadway and out on the road, there is a red bucket campaign to raise the money for BC/EFA. Those periods last for six weeks each time. After a performance, someone in the cast makes an audience appeal from the stage. Cast members and others then stand outside in the lobby as the audience is leaving and collect money. There is a competition between shows to see who can raise the most.
Clearly, that hasn’t been able to happen this year. Hopefully, last night will go a long way towards guaranteeing that the same grants can be made this year, when they are needed more than ever.
Today is likely to be the day that the FDA approves the Pfizer vaccine.
Today is also likely to be the day that the Supreme Court decides whether or not to take up the inane lawsuit from Texas challenging the election results in other states.
It appears unlikely, however, that there is going to be any agreement at all on a possible stimulus deal out of Washington today.
Michael has left for the weekend to visit his aunt in the Berkshires in western Massachusetts. Among other things, he is going to set up an iPad for her so that we can all Zoom in together for the holidays.
The cat and I now have the entire apartment to ourselves.
This has been the longest time in our entire relationship that Michael and I have been in the same place at the same time. The last actual break that we had from each other was when I visited my family down south over the summer.
I won’t say that it was time for another one, but… Suffice to say, I am looking forward to missing him.
In a day or so.
In the meantime, I am going to wrap the things I bought yesterday and try and get them into the mail today.
It’s sunny and not freezing outside so I will probably take a walk. On the other hand, with the apartment to myself, I may just loaf around inside with the cat all day. I am looking forward to seeing how long it takes the cat to realize Michael’s not here and try to jump up on the dining room table.
The holiday season shifted into high gear. Yesterday was the first day of Hanukkah, the Festival of Light.
To each and all Chag Urim Sameach!
Have to let you know that your father-in-law and I were also crying during that song. Each for different reasons. But isn't it wonderful how music and performance affects our being?
❤️my mother used to sing “ Oh What A Beautiful Morning”..... on Sunday mornings....usually around 8:00 am....after I had just crawled into my bed at 6:00 am after being out dancing all night....The Festival of Lights... the miracle we need this year....good luck to you & Ziggy....5:00 is a snack time if I recall xoxo 🎄❄️⭐️