Getting Lost and Liking It

Well, I have failed in one regard: a huge event happened today I didn't get a single photo of! I had a rendezvous with my friend Alyson, whom I met on my plane ride to my L.A. audition for Circle in the Square. She works for an architect firm here in New York, and is brilliant in so many ways. She is single, incredibly successful, and full of energy and life. I found it very uplifting to be around her. I took the subway to her office and met up with her there. We went to a nearby place for sushi (delicious) and caught up. She is a delightful human being. We're going to get together again soon.

Then, I did something I haven't really done yet in New York... I got lost. Kind of on purpose. I took the subway up to what I thought was 81st, and it ended up being EAST 81st, (I live on West 81st) which means I was several blocks and the whole width of Central Park away from my apartment. Good one, AL. I finally found 5th Avenue, which was familiar, and - souprize! The Metropolitan Museum of Art! (The "Mmmm...ah" as Julia called it, versus the "Mohmah" - MOMA) Ta duh la! (See below!)

I spent over two hours inside this exhibit called "The Pictures Generation." It was such a pleasant stumble-upon type experience. I was so bummed, we weren't allowed to take any photography in the exhibit, so you won't get to see the entirety of what I did this afternoon. But I took this one illegal photo - Barbara Kruger's art really stood out to me... She did prints like this one - big bold lettering with pretty aggressive statements concerning war, feminism, and other heavy issues...

Then, I met this freaky disaster:

***please click on this photo and notice the gentlemen squatting over my right shoulder. bwahh!

It was MASSIVE - it took up the entire roof of the museum. What is it? I have no idea. The security guard had no idea. In his Russian accent he said to me, "This I do not know. I not understanding it - was surprise for me too." HA! Apparently he showed up to work one day and was told to guard this. As if someone will be walking away with it on a leash at any moment... It was incredibly cool, don't get me wrong, and MASSIVE, but just bizarre...

I liked this one.

OKAY, and then I came back down to the ground level and looked at some Greek art for about a half hour. I love Greek statues. Maybe because they're all naked. I walked up to this particular statue from behind to admire the intricacy of how her braids were sculpted...

Then I walked around to the front of her and found out that she was killing herself for having just been raped. The Greeks had some sad situations, I think.

They also, despite the persistent nature of their nude men, seem to always attempt to cover up... though they really suck at it, to be honest. Like, really, what kind of effort is this? ("Oh! I'm naked? Silly me! I'll just put my hand above my chest so that people think I'm not doing it on purpose!") LIES! (But, like I said, I don't mind it one bit. If I was a Greek sculpture I would prefer to be naked for eternity, too.)

Then, I got lost. Again. I walked down this path and under this epically beautiful tunnel, though my picture doesn't do it justice, and ended up...

HERE:

How GORGEOUS is that? I sat here for sooo long, and wrote for a bit. I was in Central Park somewhere.

After what must have been another mile of walking, I found a street. Hooray. A street. Then I found a Nail Salon. Hooray, a Nail Salon! Then I got a pedicure. My feet were sooo happy.

Around 5:15pm I met up with Stephanie Sundine - the most fabulous inspiration of a woman who directed our Opera in the Spring at the U. We went to Cafe Lalo - a very well-known and very DELICIOUS cafe. I got some kind of spinach/feta/potato/delight torte of magical wonder. It was so good. We had a great chat.

BACK TO TIME'S SQUARE! To see my next show...

After three acts, and over three hours of intensely emotional laughter and tears, I was truly moved by this piece of theatre. It tells the story of a freakishly messed up family whose patriarch commits suicide and leaves his already-dysfunctional family in a state of madness and confusion. The dialogue is like nothing I've ever seen live - I just loved it. I left the theatre feeling a mixture of grief and desperation to never be a part of an experience like that in real life. It's amazing how Art can move us. I'm loving every moment of this adventure.