Jordan Summer 2009: Day Nineteen: Wednesday, June 24, 2009: Class Bonding. Patsy'

Day Nineteen: Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Workshop: Day 4 Maestro Groups Debrief. Spread 2
Patsy's. Blithe Spirit with Angela Lansbury

Woke up at 5:30 again. Got up by six and worked a bit and then went out for a run with Pete. I didn't get to far before I had to turn back. But it still felt good to crank it up. I walked back to Camille's to hang out with Helen. Just had coffee and juice. The CSPA crowd keeps coming in later and later.

I just felt better after running. Got to talk with Zoe before she headed off on her adventure. She is excited and a little frightened.
I got to class early to get set up and was ready when they all arrived. We were missing three Bronx Science kids who were taking the Physics Regents exam. It was the best class so far. We debriefed the mission statements, had numerous prize giveaways, started the yearbook olympics, and then began work on the ladder. We really began to bond as a class which was fabulous. Most importantly the kids were having a good time. The time really flew by.

For lunch we decided to go to East Harlem to Pete's favorite pizza place, Patsy's 2287 First
Avenue, New York (between 117 and 118). He went there often when he was out her visiting Mary Kate. We caught a cab at Columbia and he worked a deal with the cabbie for him to wait for us while we got the pizza. He told him that he would give him a couple of slices and "make it worth his while."

We bought two pies for $11 each and the cabbie waited.

We ate some of the pizza in the cab and the rest outside of Carman. I the wasy back we saw Bobby Hawthorne on at street corner and I stuck my head out of the cab and started yelling at him, "Go back to Texas. We don't like yor kind here." It was pretty funny.

We started back at one ant the kids were working past and furiously on Spread #2. They had to have it done by no later that 2:45 so we would have time to get them to my computer and processed for a group critique. They really did a fabulous job building on and improving what they had done the first time. Here was the winner of our class contest:

After class Crystal and I headed down to Times Square and it was pouring rain. Luckily I did bring my umbrella this time. We planned to see what we could get for a show. We wanted Billy Elliot but when we went by the box office we realized there was no way so we went back to TKTS and bought two tickets to Angela Lansbury in Blithe Spirit. We took refuge at Cafe Europa but rejected the urge to time how long it took to get in and out of the restroom. By the time we ate it was barely 6 p.m.
From there we went on a hunt to find the Triton Gallery that has all the window cards. It was not at its old location on 45th but we found in in a cool art Deco Building on 9th ave. 630 9th Ave # 808, New York. Crystal bought a Charlie Brown poster for Brittany. We looked around Times Square some more and were in the Shubert Theatre by about 7:30.

There is no choreographer listed among the credits for the genial but bumpy new revival of Noël Coward’s “Blithe Spirit.” Yet for pure originality and expressiveness, it’s hard to imagine any Broadway chorus line topping the solo dances performed here by Angela Lansbury as Madame Arcati, a very self-serious medium on the prowl for vibrations from the spirit world. As for those little neo-Nijinsky dances, they are Madame Arcati’s method for making herself receptive for the arrival of errant ectoplasms. Those of you who are still among the living have the chance to witness this uncanny apparition simply by buying a ticket. And you shouldn’t feel shortchanged by Michael Blakemore’s production — which also stars Christine Ebersole, Jayne Atkinson and, in a solid Broadway debut, Rupert Everett — even if it still has a way to go before it finds its fleet feet. — Ben Brantley

The show not only had Angela, but also Christine Ebersole, Rupert Everett, and Jayne Atkinson, from 24. It really was fun and Angela was terrific. Apparently we even got to here Christine Ebersole sing the songs between scenes.

After the show, we decided to wait at the stage door. Right when we got there we saw Lynne Redgrave go out but the only ones who came out from the cast were the maid, and Jayne Atkinson. After a nother 20 minutes, out of nowhere Cloris Leachman appeared. Apparently she was trying to see Angela but she came out and said she was gone. One of the theatre people came out and handed out programs that Angela had signed and Crystal got one.