Entries from May 2004 ↓

I’ve been neglecting my sideblogs lately. Most notably News and Sports. If you only knew how odd that seems, coming from an avowed news and sports junkie.

But I’ve lost my stomach for national news these days. It is so dominated by this unjust and unnecessary bullshit war Bush created that every day it’s just more lies coming out of the White House that I can’t take it any more. I just want the election to happen tomorrow so I can vote his ass out of office and this fucking nightmare will be over. Hopefully. I don’t want to pay attention. I don’t need to pay attention. Until I hear that Bush is gone, it’s all noise.

So, I have little to comment on. Maybe I’ll start writing about other news items, or look at local New York City stuff or business or fluff news like the mainstream media does. But I won’t be covering world and national because it just pisses me the fuck off.

Sports is another story.

We’re in that strange period. Baseball is too early in the season to be of any importance. The overblown, drawn out NBA playoffs are NEVER important enough to care about until the last game of the championship series. Until then it’s too many best 4 out of 7 early rounds with too many mediocre teams. (College basketball with its single game elimination tournament style is so much more exciting, I think.) And the NHL, which often does give us exciting playoff games, devoid of the unnecessary roughness seen in regular season games, isn’t holding my interest either. Four teams are left that I just don’t care about.

The reality is, I really only live for football. Training camps open in late July and I can’t wait.

There’s a summer of political party conventions ahead, including the sure-to-be-protested GOP convention here in NYC just blocks away from my office. Baseball will be fun after the All-Star break. Maybe I’ll think of something to write about by then.

The American Theatre Wing’s 58th Annual Tony Awards

The Tony Nominations were announced this morning at the Hudson Theatre in Midtown Manhattan. The Tony Awards will be telecast on CBS, Sunday June 6 at 8:00 ET/PT, hosted by Hugh Jackman.

Best Play

Anna in the Tropics
Author: Nilo Cruz
Producer: Roger Berlind, Daryl Roth, Ray Larsen, Robert G. Bartner, The McCarter Theatre Center

Frozen
Author: Bryony Lavery
Producer: MCC Theater, Robert Lupone, Bernard Telsey, William Cantler, John G. Schultz, Hal Newman, Zollo/Paleologos & Jeffrey Sine, Roy Gabay, Lorie Cowen Levy & Beth Smith, Peggy Hill, Thompson H. Rogers, Swinsky/Filerman/Hendel, Sirkin/Mills/Baldassare, Darren Bagert

I Am My Own Wife
Author: Doug Wright
Producer: Delphi Productions, Playwrights Horizons

The Retreat from Moscow
Author: William Nicholson
Producer: Susan Quint Gallin, Stuart Thompson, Ron Kastner, True Love Productions,
Mary Lu Roffe, Jam Theatricals

Best Musical

Avenue Q
Producer: Kevin McCollum, Robyn Goodman, Jeffrey Seller, Vineyard Theatre, The New Group

Caroline, or Change
Producer: Carole Shorenstein Hays, HBO Films, Jujamcyn Theaters, Freddy DeMann,
Scott Rudin, Hendel/Morten/Wiesenfeld, Bergére/Fox Theatricals/Manocherian, Roger Berlind, Clear Channel Entertainment, Joan Cullman, Greg Holland/Scott Nederlander,
Margo Lion, Daryl Roth, Zollo/Sine, The Public Theater

The Boy from Oz
Producer: Ben Gannon, Robert Fox

Wicked
Producer: Marc Platt, Universal Pictures, The Araca Group, Jon B. Platt, David Stone

Best Book of a Musical

Avenue Q
Book: Jeff Whitty

Caroline, or Change
Book: Tony Kushner

The Boy from Oz
Book: Martin Sherman; Original Book: Nick Enright

Wicked
Book: Winnie Holzman

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre

Avenue Q
Music & Lyrics: Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx

Caroline, or Change
Music: Jeanine Tesori
Lyrics: Tony Kushner

Taboo
Music & Lyrics: Boy George

Wicked
Music & Lyrics: Stephen Schwartz

Best Revival of a Play

Henry IV
Producer: Lincoln Center Theater, André Bishop, Bernard Gersten

Jumpers
Producer: Boyett Ostar Productions, Nederlander Presentations Inc., Freddy DeMann,
Jean Doumanian, Stephanie McClelland, Arielle Tepper, The National Theatre of Great Britain

King Lear
Producer: Lincoln Center Theater, André Bishop, Bernard Gersten, Stratford Festival of Canada

A Raisin in the Sun
Producer: David Binder, Vivek J. Tiwary, Susan Batson, Carl Rumbaugh, Ruth Hendel, Jayne Baron Sherman, Dede Harris, Arielle Tepper, Cynthia Stroum, Barbara Whitman

Best Revival of a Musical

Assassins
Producer: Roundabout Theatre Company, Todd Haimes, Ellen Richard, Julia C. Levy

Big River
Producer: Roundabout Theatre Company, Todd Haimes, Ellen Richard, Julia C. Levy,
Deaf West Theatre, Ed Waterstreet, Bill O’Brien, Center Theatre Group/Mark Taper Forum

Fiddler on the Roof
Producer: James L. Nederlander, Stewart F. Lane/Bonnie Comley, Harbor Entertainment, Terry Allen Kramer, Bob Boyett/Lawrence Horowitz, Clear Channel Entertainment

Wonderful Town
Producer: Roger Berlind, Barry and Fran Weissler, Edwin W. Schloss, Allen Spivak,
Clear Channel Entertainment, Harvey Weinstein

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play

Simon Russell Beale, Jumpers
Kevin Kline, Henry IV
Frank Langella, Match
Jefferson Mays, I Am My Own Wife
Christopher Plummer, King Lear

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play

Eileen Atkins, The Retreat from Moscow
Tovah Feldshuh, Golda’s Balcony
Anne Heche, Twentieth Century
Swoosie Kurtz, Frozen
Phylicia Rashad, A Raisin in the Sun

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical

Hunter Foster, Little Shop of Horrors
Hugh Jackman, The Boy from Oz
Alfred Molina, Fiddler on the Roof
Euan Morton, Taboo
John Tartaglia, Avenue Q

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical

Kristin Chenoweth, Wicked
Stephanie D’Abruzzo, Avenue Q
Idina Menzel, Wicked
Donna Murphy, Wonderful Town
Tonya Pinkins, Caroline, or Change

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play

Tom Aldredge, Twentieth Century
Ben Chaplin, The Retreat from Moscow
Aidan Gillen, The Caretaker
Omar Metwally, Sixteen Wounded
Brían F. O’Byrne, Frozen

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play

Essie Davis, Jumpers
Sanaa Lathan, A Raisin in the Sun
Margo Martindale, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Audra McDonald, A Raisin in the Sun
Daphne Rubin-Vega, Anna in the Tropics

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical

John Cariani, Fiddler on the Roof
Michael Cerveris, Assassins
Raúl Esparza, Taboo
Michael McElroy, Big River
Denis O’Hare, Assassins

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical

Beth Fowler, The Boy from Oz
Isabel Keating, The Boy from Oz
Anika Noni Rose, Caroline, or Change
Jennifer Westfeldt, Wonderful Town
Karen Ziemba, Never Gonna Dance

Best Scenic Design

Robert Brill, Assassins
Ralph Funicello, Henry IV
Eugene Lee, Wicked
Tom Pye, Fiddler on the Roof

Best Costume Design

Jess Goldstein, Henry IV
Susan Hilferty, Wicked
Mike Nicholls and Bobby Pearce, Taboo
Mark Thompson, Bombay Dreams

Best Lighting Design

Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer, Assassins
Brian MacDevitt, Fiddler on the Roof
Brian MacDevitt, Henry IV
Kenneth Posner, Wicked

Best Direction of a Play

Doug Hughes, Frozen
Moises Kaufman, I Am My Own Wife
David Leveaux, Jumpers
Jack O’Brien, Henry IV

Best Direction of a Musical

Joe Mantello, Assassins
Kathleen Marshall, Wonderful Town
Jason Moore, Avenue Q
George C. Wolfe, Caroline, or Change

Best Choreography

Wayne Cilento, Wicked
Kathleen Marshall, Wonderful Town
Jerry Mitchell, Never Gonna Dance
Anthony Van Laast and Farah Khan, Bombay Dreams

Best Orchestrations

Paul Bogaev, Bombay Dreams
William David Brohn, Wicked
Larry Hochman, Fiddler on the Roof
Michael Starobin, Assassins

Regional Theatre Tony Award
Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park

Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement
James M. Nederlander

Building on a tradition that began in November 2003, The 2004 Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre will be decided, announced and presented this fall in order to give the honorees their own moment to shine in the Tony spotlight.

The Tony Awards are presented by Tony Award Productions, a joint venture of the League of American Theatres and Producers and the American Theatre Wing.

I would have posted something sooner, but I was visiting my mother for Mother’s Day weekend.

I tried to do my part to make it a pleasant and relaxing one by cooking dinner Saturday and Sunday, and relieving her of some of the daily responsibilities of taking care of dad. Between that monumental task, managing family finances, playing a role in the care of her own mother from all the way across country, serving on boards and doing other community work, she is busier at 78 than many people half her age.

Mom is now, and always has been, the CEO of the family. The meticulous organizer who taught us to be organized. The teacher who taught us the importance of thinking for ourselves. And she’s still the first person I turn to when I need advice.

They say daughters are closer to their fathers and sons closer to their mothers. I love both of my parents, but couldn’t imagine what my life would be like without the love and guidance I’ve always received from my mother.

There is an endless variety of dining options in New York with cuisines from every corner of the globe, as well as new creations through the fusion of different styles by some of the greatest chefs in the world. Eating out can be as much a cultural and educational experience as a nourishing one.

But ultimately whether or not you have a good time comes down to two things; how was the food and the service? Restaurants build their reputation more on word of mouth than paid advertising and a good recommendation can make or break an establishment.

Within the past week I dined at two places, both of which came with good advance notices, but which left me with distinctly different impressions about the concept of service.

Saturday night, four friends and I ate at Awash, an Ethiopian restaurant on Amsterdam Avenue between W. 106th and 107th. A family-style restaurant, it had very modest yet nice décor and a welcoming wait staff. Our group, celebrating one member’s birthday, arrived at different intervals, but staff seated us as we arrived and offered drinks and menus. Once we were all present, orders were taken promptly.

Monday night, I met up with my very busy friend Kevin, who recommended we meet uptown at Revival Restaurant on W. 127th Street and Frederick Douglass Boulevard in Harlem. This is a decidedly more upscale eatery that specializes in French American cuisine infused with the influences of Caribbean, Creole and Soul. Attention has clearly been paid to the overall appearance, from seating design to table cloths to flatware.

We met right after work so the place wasn’t crowded at all. Kevin, and Nathan, host a regular Saturday night party there, and he told me despite its’ attractiveness, it is rarely busy. We speculated as to why, but my observations this evening lead me to spot possible reasons.

At Awash, as the night wore on, the restaurant got more crowded, full in fact. This posed a bit of a problem in that they were short staffed that evening. Two waitresses, and a waiter/bartender who attended to us, had their hands full seating guests, taking orders and getting them back in a timely manner. Our drink orders at times had to be given more than once, but when delivered were done so apologetically which we appreciated. Our waiter/bartender was clearly better at the former than the latter, as a Long Island Ice Tea he prepared for one guest was entirely too strong, despite two attempts to rectify it.

But the meal was sumptuous and quite filling. Appetizers were sambusas in three variations, beef, lentil and chicken. Sambusas combine main ingredients with finely chopped onions and spices wrapped in dough and deep fried to a delicately flaky crust. They go down easy, but pack a bit of a kick afterwards from the spices.

For main entrees, we shared two combo platters that included lamb, chicken, or beef wats or stews, lentils, collard greens, cabbage and more hot spices. Ethiopian food is to be eaten with your hands using injera, a spongy sour dough bread, made from teff, that is flat and torn in pieces to scoop up morsels of the food. As one in our party mentioned, it initially didn’t look like it would be enough for us all, but we were quite full before we were halfway through.

The waitress at Revival seated us at a booth towards the back despite empty ones up front. I am trying to be objective in my evaluation of the evening, but throughout there just seemed to be a general ambivalence on her part. On a slow evening, one might have expected a certain attentiveness for the few paying customers, but none was present here. Bread arrived promptly enough, but without dishes to eat on. After a couple of passes, we got her attention and she quickly pulled two off a nearby table.

The menu had a number of tempting, albeit pricey selections. This restaurant doesn’t seat very many and perhaps there is a need to pass along overhead costs to customers. Nonetheless an appetizer of salmon-wrapped sea scallops placed on a salad of carrots, spring onions, mustard cress, watercress, coriander and celery was simply delicious. The saltiness of the salmon was just enough to balance the natural taste of the sautéed scallops, while the salad, with teriyaki sauce dressing added a slight tangyness.

My Peppery Roasted Duck Breast with dates and black pepper sauce was served with puffs of mashed white and sweet potatoes and mixed vegetables. Another winner. Kevin had the Chef’s Caesar Salad of romaine lettuce tossed with croutons, Caesar dressing, parmesan cheese & slices of chicken and tomatoes on top. In the food department, this place gets straight A’s.

I am trying not to nitpick, but I did get an emotional reaction to our service at Revival that I am assessing even as I write. This restaurant is a very stylish, posh boutique smack dab in the middle of da hood. Black-owned and managed, there just seemed to be an air that was inappropriate for the evening and the environment. Not that I want a greasy-spoon or ghetto-like informality, but snobbery isn’t necessary either. Perhaps I read our waitress wrong, but there was an attempt at an attitude that I felt was wrong as well as inauthentic.

Meanwhile the folks at Awash scored big points for making the best of a difficult situation. They were busy that night, but still found time to bring out the cake we’d purchased beforehand, with a lit candle, and sang happy birthday to our guest. They also offered—and we accepted—a bottle of wine on the house. A decidedly less formal restaurant than Revival, they treated us as if they want us to come back.

He created 79 ballets over the course of his career. His work was a fusion of jazz, modern dance, classical ballet, and African and Caribbean movements which challenged his performers to reach great heights and also helped popularize dance across America.

Alvin Ailey, a dance luminary of the 20th Century and founder of the company which bears his name, was honored officially May 5 with the release of a new commemorative 37 cent postage stamp from the United States Postal Service.

The Ailey stamp is part of the American Choreographers stamp series, which also includes icons Martha Graham, Agnes de Mille and George Balanchine. The stamps were unveiled at ceremonies at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center on May 4.

A native of Rogers, Texas, Ailey drew upon his “blood memories” of life there, the blues, spirituals and gospel as inspiration, which resulted in the creation of his most popular and critically acclaimed work, Revelations.

The U.S. Postal Service has recognized other prominent African Americans in recent memory, including Paul Robeson in January 2004, and Zora Neale Hurston and Thurgood Marshall in January 2003.