Month: January 2019

Thursday morning, January 10….Friday afternoon January 11

Dear Friends and Family,

Arrived within my two hour window at the LOFT after a great train trip from Greensboro, NC. Settled in and took a 30 minute nap which totaled a grand total of 1.3 hours of sleep. First order of the evening was purchasing subway pass for 7 days and then going to meet Theater Seniors and faculty at West 45th Street to see “American Son.” This drama with only 4 cast members takes place in a police station in Florida with the parents determined to discover the status of their 18 year old biracial son at 4:00 AM on a stormy morning. The rain and lightening were so realistic. The students met with a veteran actor from the play and the assistant Director

Wednesday was a busy day with two plays. I tried to fit in a trip to the MET and ended up in a three avenue run to get there before the doors closed. We saw Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird”. The play was excellent and several of my favorites had leading roles.

Now we come to plays Wednesday night and Thursday night. “Dear Evan Hansen” is a musical which won best play in 2017, While “Lifespan of a Fact” is a thought provoking play with tons of laughs, but it is hard to call it a comedy because of this question, “Is it ok to stretch the truth (or even lie) to make a good story?” Daniel Radcliffe is an young intern assigned to a famous writer to Fact Check his essay.

The question of what is true was the basis for both of these plays. Evan Hansen dealt with a misunderstanding following the death of the high school bully. The question of truth and how lies can grow and the damage one in the end.

After this play, the students from ASU and Carnegie Mellon (Pittsburg) had a talk session with the three actors and the director.

Tomorrow is my last play…”Network” with Brian Cranston. His movie, “Upside” filmed here in Manhattan in early 2017 is being released today. I went one night to Madison Square Park and watched the crew and cast film one of the chase scenes. ( see the YouTube preview!) I may have to go to see a movie tomorrow.

My next installment will be about the Museums of NYC!

Thanks for reading…

Ellen

PS I am realizing that I will have to make time to write this. Remember after I leave the states, my day will be 7 hours ahead.