Went to the Met again and was drawn to three exhibits:

American Stories, Paintings of Everyday Life. I didn't take the time to follow all the stories or read all the labels, but was impressed by how quickly drawn into the, well, story, of each painting I was. A reminder of how compelling and immediately human visual storytelling in a single image can be. I wonder, too, how much of it was because of the American content, and how much of it was universal... Would it strike Europeans (or Asians or anyone else) as curious as an outsider or compelling as human or both?

American Landscapes in the Lehman Wing. Generally Hudson River School grand landscapes, including some of my favorites. These always get to me...

Five Thousand Years of Japanese Art. Japanese art tends to get to me, too. So much elegance, simplicity, balance, vigor. I've become more interested recently in screens, and the Sansetsu Old Plum was particularly appealing.

Went to the Saarinen modernism exhibit at the Museum of the City of New York. Fascinating to see more about his overall work, particularly the TWA terminal, including modeling and construction photos and drawings. I was also impressed again at the Yale rink, surprised to see his Miller House in Columbus, curious about his corporate campuses (Deere, IBM), and surprised at the number of chairs he designed (and that he collaborated with Eames). It was a bigger and more interesting exhibit than I'd hoped for.

And the grand old building is quite handsome.

Went to the Frick Collection in NY for the first time. What a refined and impressive palace-as-gallery. Three Vermeers, and lots of other famous paintings. I was particularly struck by and drawn back to the Turner Salisbury Cathedral from the Bishop's Garden.

I went for the Exuberant Grotesques exhibit, which, though small, was a delight. I'm so drawn to the seemingly endless menagerie of fanciful creatures tied together with swashes on plain backgrounds... Mesmerizing...

Rode the No Pants 2010 subway ride in Boston. Mellow fun. Lots of legs. Goosebumps, too. And fun to see the sequential train results -- some people taking off pants, some people getting on pantsless on the second train.

Met Suzanne of http://talk2meont.blogspot.com/ . It was kind of interesting to talk with her about her social experiment to understand and encourage talking to people on the the T.

Groundswell at the Lyric Stage was engrossing, creepy and moving. Who's responsible for improving the lot of (formerly) subjugated people? What means are acceptable? How much do hope and greed and vengeance color our judgment of what's right?

BSO's Haydn, Bach and Schubert concert was lovely. Yo Yo Ma is impressive, conductor Ton Koopman was gawkily, charmingly enthusiastic, and I was impressed listening closely to the Schubert 'Unfinished' closely. Right up my alley.

Saw Avatar in 3D. I'd heard that the visual experience was immersive and impressive, and that the story was sufficient but not inspiring. With those expectations going in, I was even more impressed with the visuals and feel of the whole thing than I'd expected. And though the story did seem well-worn and a bit simplistic, it more than sufficed to hold the whole thing together -- and even get me to think more about it in the following days. Nicely done.

New England Aquarium and Under the Sea in 3D on IMAX was pleasant enough. I can watch fish in aquariums for hours. And the IMAX movie was immersive (pun intended) without being 3D gimmicky. I groaned (inside, at least) at some of the narration, but was fascinated by some of the footage, particularly of cuttlefish changing color and convict fish feeding in a wave across the sandy floor.

Went to Reckless by SpeakEasy. For the first half of it I was amused and annoyed and intrigued, wondering where this was all going. Somehow, it was redeemed for me toward the end as the theme of seeking redemption for past actions that turned out poorly hit home.

Went to MFA's First Fridays with cocktails and music in the old masters room. It was the first time I'd been at the event, and the first time I'd spent much time in the room with the paintings there. It was kind of fun and fascinating to make my way around the room spending time with each painting, overhearing snippets of conversations, listening to bits of Christmasy jazz, and sipping on a holiday ale. And now I'm acquainted with the old master works hanging in the gallery, too!

Went to BSO's Dvorak Symphony 8, Bartok Divertimento for String Orchestra and Martinu Violin Concerto 2. The Bartok was enjoyable enough, the Martinu well-played but not engaging to me, and the Dvorak familiar and delightful.

Heard the Back Bay Chorale do a mix of Italian music "for cathedral, concert hall, and opera house." I was particularly struck by the Rossini liturgical piece O salutaris Hostia, clearly dramatic, yet spiritual. I also enjoyed the other Rossini pieces from Péchés de vielillesse ("Sins of Old Age"), especially the Toast for the New Year -- so light and festive. It was also nice to sit with friends (one of whom I thought would be singing) and listen to other folks I know singing.

I enjoyed Boston Philharmonic's All Wagner Program. In particular, Siegfried's Funeral March is quite moving for me. I was disappointed that often I couldn't hear the soprano soloist that well, with the whole orchestra on stage rather than underneath.

Enjoyed the BSO's open rehearsal!

I was surprised at the long line for tickets twenty minutes before the start time -- it stretched outside nearly to the corner of the building, and it didn't seem to be moving very quickly. I was worried about missing the beginning. It was cool to see a mix of people from college age to older folks with canes lining up for the concert.

I made it in a couple minutes before the conductor got on stage. I was disappointed that the seats I wanted up close on the first balcony were taken by the time I got there (open rehearsals -- open seating), and the ones on the other side I spied from across the hall turned out to be reserved. I went to my go-to seats at the back of the second balcony.

I came mostly for the Honegger Pastorale d'été and Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto No. 2, and was middling on the Stravinsky Petrushka (1947 version).

I was charmed by the Honegger. It had a gentle arc from quiet beginning to dance-y high point in the middle, back to calm. I reminded me a lot of Copland, but with a little more resonance or reverb. I thought a lot about how well this might work as a chamber ensemble arrangement, perhaps woodwind quintet plus string quartet and maybe string bass.

I was surprised by the Saint-Saëns on two counts. First, the composition itself more than met my expectations for a composition by him: well-crafted, intelligent, expressive, varied.

More memorable than the composition itself was the soloist, Lise de la Salle, 21 from France. She came on stage pretty casually with her hair loosely up in what looked like a bun, carrying her purse and wearing a baggy sweater in authoritative high heels. She sat down with poise. Then, wow.

I've heard a few virtuoso pianists in performances, but I don't remember being so impressed by one before. Incredible agility, power and grace. Go to a performance by her if you can!

After the first movement she took off her sweater to a few chuckles and tittering. Clearly she'd been working hard during the first movement, and under her sweater, she had a tighter one on that showed off her beautiful body.

The second movement was quite playful and charming and even from the back of symphony hall I could sense that she and the whole orchestra were enjoying the fun of the piece. At the remarkably cute ending, the audience laughed and chuckled out loud.

Apparently Ms de la Salle had been working hard on the second movement, too, because she then took off the second sweater, leaving herself in a thin-strapped little top. The audience laughed out loud, perhaps wondering, like I did, whether she'd take something else off after the third movement!

After the third movement, the audience was quick to applaud loudly, holler, and after the applause ended, talk excitedly into intermission. I don't recall the last time a classical performance has gotten so many people so excited.

The Stravinsky was well-done and familiar, but it just didn't grab me. I don't know why. I don't think I object to anything in it, but neither does anything really move me. (When I saw a couple of scenes by Basil Twist puppets, I was thoroughly engaged.)

Danish organ music at King's Chapel in Boston was enjoyable enough. Nothing really grabbed me, and only one piece turned me off.

Saw comedian Vidur Kapur. A competent stand-up comic. Not particularly memorable, pleasant enough.

King's Chapel Bach on the organ, played by Malcolm Proud.

I was surprised to be so moved by the chorale Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier BWV 731. So sweet and beautifully crafted and played.

The Prelude & Fuge in E minor BWV 548 was engaging and interesting, too. Still a bit much for me to follow the whole thing, but cool to notice things going on at shorter time scales.

I missed some of the Byrd piece at the beginning, but it was interesting to notice how much was going on compositionally with the work, though he died 60 years before Bach was born.

I like these noon concerts.

Went to the Jamaica Pond Lantern Parade. It was quite cool to see all the people out with their lanterns, making a ring around the pond. Also nice to meet and run into a couple people I know.

Dead Man's Cell Phone by Sarah Ruhl at Lyric Stage in Boston

Went with Paul to see this (he liked another play he saw by Ruhl, and I thought the review looked good and like the last thing I saw at the Lyric Stage: Grey Gardens).

A fun, clever, sometimes dark play well-performed and -staged. As ridiculous as much of it was, it had the quality for me of keeping me wobbling between awareness of the artifice of the play, emotional engagement with the characters, and curiosity about what's meant to be "real" and "imagined" -- both in the play and in the world. Nice.

BSO Beethoven Symphonies 1, 2, 5 open rehearsal.

After listening to the Teaching Company's Symphonies of Beethoven course lectures on these symphonies in preparation for the BSO's series of all nine of them, it was nice to hear them with "new ears" of a sort.

I was particularly engrossed in No 2, particularly the first movement, as the program notes said it was like the introduction of a number of characters in a comic opera. It got me thinking about wanting to find or commission one or several works that introduce "characters" associated with different instruments, then have the characters interact (counterpoint) and change (variations?, harmony, elaboration) over the course of the piece.

BSO Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky et al

I particularly liked the Tchaikovsky Francesca da Rimini, and am looking forward to hearing more Tchaikovsky soon. The Stravinsky Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra was engaging, though I'd have to listen to it again, I think, to have a clearer idea of the program notes' assertion that the influence of Tchaikovsky is all of it.

The Martinu (Frescoes of Piero della Francesca) and Thomas (Helios Choros II) were missable. In particular, while there were a couple of engaging short moments in the Thomas, it repeatedly reminded me of my dislike and dismissiveness of recent "bleep-bop" art music -- that to me sounds like a series of pairs of pitch-harmony-timbre clusters coming helter skelter one after another. *sigh* Fortunately, the concert ended with the Tchaikovsky.

The last of the MFA classes "The Creative Eye" finished today. While it started out a little awkward with me arriving a couple minutes late and realizing I was both the only male and the only one under 50 (I think -- there may have been a woman or two in her 40s). Each week we spent about a half hour each at three works (still lives, landscapes, portraits, sculpture), spending a long time looking and sketching or writing and then talking about what we saw and a bit about the painting, the style, the artist, etc. A lovely class that has helped me see more. And I was quite impressed with the teacher, who I wasn't surprised to find out had done education work at the Met.

BSO Stravinsky, Rachmaninoff and Shostakovich conducted by Vasily Petrenko

A fascinating concert for many reasons:

It was the first time I sat in the first balcony very close to the stage where I could see the conductor well from the side.

Vasiliy Petrenko was fascinating to watch: young, intense, authoritative without seeming imperious, gracious to the audience, and making more use of his face and body in more different ways than I remember seeing a conductor do before. I'd like to watch him again.

While none of the three pieces (Stravinsky Scherzo Fantastique, Rachmaninoff Isle of the Dead, and Shostakovich Symphony 10) really grabbed me, I enjoyed all of them. The standout for me was the Rachmaninoff (who I generally like) and the clear inspiration and relationship with the painting that matches the name of the piece.

Boston Philharmonic Brahms Violin Concerto in D Op. 77 and Dvorak Symphony 7.

Went with Tim to this lovely concert in Sanders Theatre. The Violin concert was well-performed, but didn't grab me. The encore by Feng Ning was an impressive arrangement of a classical guitar piece.

I don't remember hearing the Dvorak Symphony 7 before, but I really liked it. I was also pleased that as Ben Zander was talking about the piece and having the orchestra play excerpts, I though "ooh, that sounds like Wagner", at which point he turned and said, "If you like that, come back for our Wagner concert next time."

Saw Paula Poundstone with Mark at the Wilbur Theater. Lots of fun. The most memorable for me was her talking about how awful she thought it would be to fell like your marriage was threatened by gay marriage. "Um, Honey, I'm not feeling close to you now that Patrice and Maureen are getting married."

The Donkey Show was kind of fun, and there were lots of beautiful people, both in the cast in glitter and on the floor as audience, but it just didn't grab me. I'm glad I brought ear plugs, too.

I saw Fences at the Huntington with Erik and Alex up from Providence. I was quite impressed with the show. I've liked August Wilson works put on at the Huntington before, but I don't remember the audience gasping three times during a play before. And I gasped once, too -- a rarity for me. And it was just on the simple delivery of surprising and heartbreaking news -- no violence, no screaming, just a devastating statement of fact. Looking forward to the next Huntington show I see next year.

Had a lovely little trip to Spectacle Island in Boston Harbor with Rick. Kind of cool yet strange to see how green it's becoming after being filled upwards in the 1990s. Lots of open grass, nice to lie in and feel the wind and the sun without hearing much of the city a few miles away.

Varla Jean Merman in Provincetown was excellent and, as expected, bawdy and funny. Varla Jean and the Mushroom Heads got to play with kids' shows in an even racier way than Avenue Q. Can't wait to see her again.

The Brave New Workshop Saves the Planet; or Yes We Can, but Do We Have To? with Jon and Kristin was lots of fun. An actually funny and clever (and sometimes juvenile) satire/two-act-set-of-related-sketches. I was particularly struck by Kim Jong Il's plans for a doomsday unicorn from his guts. I still snicker at the little soliloquy. (Dudley Riggs)

Went back to the ICA again with Larry to see the Shepard Fairey exhibit again before it closes up. Wow I like his stuff, especially at such huge scale. Reminds me a bit of how Beethoven can take stuff and repurpose and vary and recombine it to make amazing new stuff from fairly simple starting materials.

Went to the New England Aquarium. Was pleasantly surprised -- despite the dark bunker of a building, there's a lot of cool exhibits. I war particularly enthralled by the Giant Ocean Tank, and the penguins were fun, and the jellies mesmerizing.

Went to Mass MoCA in N. Adams. I was particularly struck by two exhibits: The big Sol LeWitt exhibit, particularly his early work on the first floor. I also appreciated Guy Ben-Ner's Treehouse Kit, a bit of Robinson Crusoe from Ikea components.

They Might Be Giants put on a good show, but man it was loud. I'm glad I had earplugs. Peter used them until he'd had enough, then I did. Didn't really grab me, though it was fun to hear some of my favorite novelties: Particle Man and Istanbul. Also nice to run into a college friend.

Boston Gay Men's Chorus: Boys Just Wanna Have Fun: Totally 80s was fun, energetically performed, and at times touching and moving. Fortunately, early sound mixing that overwhelmed the chorus with the band got better and I could enjoy the show. I wouldn't want to see this kind of concert all the time, but it was a lovely little diversion.

More catching up -- Attended:

Grey Gardens at Lyric Stage May 8 - June 6

UP in 3D at Castro Theater

[Greek-Italian-American Cabaret at Sculler's]

Catching up -- Attended:

Alvin Ailey at The Opera House April 28 - May 3 - live with Sweet Honey in the Rock April 28

Gold Dust Orphans show "Willy Wanker..." April 24 - May 24

SpeakEasy Stage Jerry Springer The Opera at Calderwood May 1 - 30

Boston Gay & Lesbian Film Festival at the MFA May 7 - 18

Max Culpepper's farewell concert with the Dartmouth Wind Symphony May 10 2:00pm at Dartmouth

Boston Ballet Ballets Russes May 14 - 17

On Sunday afternoon, Jim and I went to see The Buddha In His Own Words. I thought it was well-written and interesting, but the storytelling and acting didn't draw me in. It felt like something between an animated university lecture and a story hour, but didn't get to the level of intensity that a one-man play needs to in order to get me involved.

Friday night I went to Boston Lyric Opera's Dvorak "Rusalka", which was performed quite nicely with engaging staging. It's a lovely piece of music, and I'm glad I listened to the talk beforehand -- I had no idea that Dvorak was into the whole leitmotif thing, too. And I'm glad I brought binoculars with me -- being able to see the performers closer-up brings me much more into the experience, even if I don't use them the whole length of the show.

Unfortunately, the first half of the first act was marred by lobby conversations audible in the hall and an extremely disruptive latecomer seating mob, right at the beginning of the highlight aria. *sigh*

Went to the Friday afternoon Boston Symphony Orchestra concert of Stravinsky "Petrushka", Ravel "Mother Goose" and Prokofiev "Violin Concerto No 2".

I really liked Petrushka, I thought I'd like Mother Goose much more than I did based on the description, and the Prokofiev was nice.

Overall, it was really great to be in the hall (this time on the second balcony in back with great sound and no annoying person behind me. I was alternately drawn in to the music and stimulated to think about various things, mostly inventing-related, which was actually nice. I might go just for that kind of stimulation.

Between the first and second pieces, as the orchestra was rearranging, I saw someone change the conductor's score and I wondered how they make sure that they get the right one. Do they have a checklist backstage? Do they check with the players to make sure of what's next?

Then the conductor and soloist came on and there was a longer-than-expected delay before starting the piece. The guy who changed the scores came out and looked at the score and then red-faced (I presume) took it back stage and brought a different score, to the chuckling of the audience mixed with light applause. What a fun coincidence! (Fun for me, at least -- I expect he was somewhere between disappointed and mortified.

Based on this, I'm likely to try to head back to get rush tickets ($9), even if I'm not that excited by the program -- just being there is great.

London Symphony Orchestra Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5 & Prokofiev Symphony No. 5 at Symphony Hall March 25 was lovely and inspiring (despite the man with the noisy plastic bag right behind me -- who let it fall to the floor at one point, then noisily picked it up again so that he could have it in his lap to make more noise with -- *sigh*).

First, it was nice to be back in Symphony Hall -- a lovely place that I have fond memories of. Then as soon as the music started, I also remembered how beautiful the sound is -- both clear and warm and enveloping, even though I was near the back just under the first balcony overhang.

While themes from the Beethoven were familiar to me, it felt mostly new. It was fun to be able to listen more closely after listening to a number of lecture + concerts of Beethoven's String Quartets that I heard in San Francisco a couple years ago. And the playing was first-rate -- both expressive and precise. It also was interesting to watch Giergiev conduct -- without baton and with often floppy-jointed gestures.

The Prokoviev was all new to me as far as I can tell, and while it wasn't as preciously beautiful as much of the Beethoven was, there was lots of rhythmic excitement and much richer and varied orchestral textures.

I'm looking forward to getting back to Symphony Hall for more Russian composers at the next BSO program.

"Of Mice and Mink" by Gold Dust Orphans was fun and well-done. I'm glad D reminded me of them and then went with me to see the show. I'm also glad I read "Of Mice and Men" so that I could appreciate how they played with the original material. (I didn't know anything about the story besides that it was American before that.)

I'm looking forward to their next show: "Willy Wanker and the Hershey Highway". Seriously. (Or they're just pulling all the audience members' legs, which could be, too.)

"I Love You Man" with S last night was much funnier and cleverer and sweeter than I expected.

Sita Sings The Blues (at the Boston MFA)was engrossing and charming and fun! (You can even watch it online.)

I saw Hasty Pudding Theatricals' Acropolis Now with DT on Sunday March 15. It was as fun and silly and clever as I'd remembered the shows to be... I'm looking forward to next year's show.

I saw Wonderboy performed by Joe Goode Performance Group with Basil Twist-directed puppetry at Northeastern U. on March 14. I was engaged but not super-excited by the first piece on the program, but I was charmed and really enjoyed the combination dance and puppetry second piece. A bit of magic and fun and tenderness.

I saw Two Men of Florence at the Huntington on March 12, and enjoyed it. The set was cool and effective. By intermission, I thought 'well, that's well-set-up, but where's the conflict?' Then the Pope decided something was really wrong, and things did get interesting.

Afterwards, the Out and About reception and backstage tour was nice.

I enjoyed the Triangle Gay Men's Chorus fundraiser and performance called 'Feelin' Groovy' on March 7 in Durham, at the lovely Duke Gardens. It was nice to enjoy the chorus singing, and really revel in how lovely they (formerly we) could sound, especially in a sweet little arrangement (by Roger Emerson) of Scarborough Fair.

I went to the Opera Boston performance of The Nose on March 3. I was looking forward to seeing someone I knew from college in the title role. By the time I got there, the only tickets I was willing to pay for had the supertitles blocked. I enjoyed the pre-concert talk, and the show seemed to get off to a good start, and I enjoyed some of the clever stagecraft. Unfortunately, the music just didn't engage me, I couldn't see the guy from college under his foam costume, and I just wasn't enjoying it. I left at the intermission. I suspect I would have enjoyed it a little more being able to follow a little more closely with the supertitles, but I don't think it would have drawn me to stay. Oh well.

I saw The Corn Is Green at the Huntington. As I remember other Huntington productions, this one was extremely well-crafted and well-performed, ranging from gags that would be at home on a sit-com to anguish in the face of dilemmas.

It's uncommon for me to get misty-eyed at a show, but I did at this one, reflecting on the teacher's sacrifice for her student. It was quite humbling to consider how much my teachers have done for me (though none of them adopted my unplanned child).

I'm eager to get back to the Huntinton many, many more times.

Saw Bread and Puppet Theater Sourdough Philosophy Spectacle at BCA Cyclorama in Boston. I'd wanted to see a B&PT show for many years. It was certainly interesting, both for theatrical techniques (from primal sounds to crowd scenes) and for themes, but it really wasn't my thing. I was walking out when the show came to a close.

Bread & Puppet Sourdough Philosophy Spectacle at BCA Cyclorama was painful and slow. I admire their earnestness and effort, but I don't want to be stuck indoors at one of their performances again.

Saw A Chorus Line at Broadway Series South in Raleigh. It was well-performed, and it was kind of cool having the 'Director' doing his part from a few feet away from me in the house, but the show just didn't grab me.

I saw the Met Opera simulcast of Massenet's Thais December 20. This was the first of the simulcasts I've made it to, and I hope it won't be the last. It was delightful to get to see the performers close up, and I was impressed with the sound. I have mixed feelings about the back stage set changing and interviewing and commentary. Part of me wants to focus just on the performance, though other parts of me are curious about how the performers and designers think about their work. And the juvenile in me enjoys hearing stage hands mutter expletives as they struggle to make the set changes or run behind interviewees to be seen.

I saw The Little Prince at UNC Playmakers Rep December 14. What a lovely production and really beautifully performed. I was quite moved for days afterward, and now want to read the book. (I've only read an excerpt in French in high school before, from conversations with the Fox, which seem much more poignant now as a grown-up.)

Saw Chicago at Raleigh Memorial Auditorium December 7 with mom and D&R. I was impressed with the excellent singing and dancing, and liked the production design. And the sound was excellent, which surprised me in that space.

Saw UNC Opera Poulenc's The Breasts of Tiresias. What a strange piece! And short and with funny and lovely bits. It was well-performed by the UNC students, with a particularly unexpectedly funny fortune teller.

Went to the NC Master Chorale's performance of Stravinsky's Les Noces, and a chamber chorus and ballet that preceded it Menotti's The Unicorn, the Gorgorn and the Manticore.

The chorus and ballet piece was charming, though a little odd to me, both because of the extremely wordy narrative and conversational text sung by the chorus, but also because of the fairy-tale surreal story of an eccentric who kept pets like a unicorn.

The performance of Les Noces was clearly diligently prepared (they got through it briskly and with gusto), though the performance struck me most of all as frenetic. And because I've studied and sung Russian folk music, the diction and style of singing kept distracting me. I admire them for giving it a good go.

Went to Art During the Reign of Philip III -- El Greco to Velazquez at the Nasher at Duke. Actually, I went twice -- once on my own and once with a friend of mine. It was a pretty impressive little show, and nicely curated. The paintings and sculptures were grouped thematically (Mary, saints, still life, et al.) to make it easy to compare different treatments of the same subjects. And there were a couple of cool things to see side-by-side -- similar subjects by the same artist and similar compositions by different artists, and similar themes by different artists. I was particularly impressed by an adoration of the magi by Maino. TV program here.

I went to Sweeney Todd at Duke. It was an interesting production. A few of the actors' or directors' choices were interesting, but it wasn't particularly inspiring and I wasn't really in the mood to be there, so I left at intermission. I'm glad I went, though.

Saw Absinthe at Spiegelworld in New York. Wow, I was impressed with the performances. I think every act had something to recommend it -- straps, swinger clowns, balloon, skaters, pair balancing, hoops and hand balancing and contortion, duo static trapeze, tumbling, and maybe another one or two that's slipped my mind now. And it was great to be just a couple rows away from the action. I'm definitely keen to go to another show there, even if not this year.

Saw New York City Waterfalls by Olafur Eliasson: the one in Brooklyn at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge, another between Piers 4 and 5 near the Brooklyn Heights Promenade and a fourth on the north shore of Governors Island. I was charmed by the waterfall under the Brooklyn bridge. The other two that I saw just looked like giant scaffolds with water flowing down the side like a big fountain. I suppose the combination of the bridge pier masking the scaffolding, and the juxtaposition of a waterfall under a busy old bridge made that one work for me. Glad I made a point to go.

I (and hundreds of other people) participated in the Improv Everywhere MP3 Experiment 2008 in New York City on Governor's Island. It was lots of fun to see hundreds of other people in red, blue, yellow and green shirts looking knowingly at each other and anticipating a fun bit in the afternoon. I wore my Dartmouth 'GREEN' shirt and got a few smiles and snickers and a few recent- and soon-to-be Dartmouth graduates introduced themselves. The Improv Everywhere site gives good coverage of what the event is actually like, so I won't elaborate on it here. Plus I've only found one picture where I can tell I'm in it.. It's certainly different and fun to be participating/playing/performing/having fun than just reading about it and looking at pictures and imagining it. It was also nice to see Charlie Todd there in the fray.

Saw Ka with DK in Las Vegas. I was afraid it would basically be an apparatus/scenery-driven show, but was pleased that it was better than that. In particular, the duo strap act in the second half was quite impressive, as was the big spinning apparatus act. In addition, the moving stage platform that went towards vertical (and was covered with arrows and ripples) was a platform for engaging acts. While quite simple, the bird puppetry was lovely. I wasn't quite as taken in as other Cirque du Soleil shows, but was not disappointed, either.

Saw Tropic Thunder with DK and really enjoyed it. It reminded me lots of South Park's sensibility, but live action with a big budget, and quite well done.

Saw Le Reve in Las Vegas with DK. It was cool to be in a smaller venue (than O) and seated in the round around the water. The mood and such for the show was well done, but I wasn't impressed by anything in the show. I felt like it was a lot of people on winches. If there weren't winches, I think I'd have been bored to tears. I much preferred O, which had a lot more variety and lots more impressive acts.

I've now seen both the world's largest cut diamond and the world's largest rhinestone. DK and I went to the Liberace Museum in Las Vegas. It was pretty cool, actually. A bunch of fancy cars and pianos and outfits, staffed by friendly people.

I went to the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Washington. Unfortunately, it just didn't do much for me. The harbor location is lovely, the flow around, to and from, and on top of the building seemed awkward, and the monumental cone is, well, monumental. It was interesting to watch glassblowers at work (and have seen that other places before), and there was lots of art glass, particularly lots of Chihuly. It's clear to me that the skill required to create the works is impressive, they just didn't grab me. As I reflected on that, I was thinking that just being around one Chihuly piece would probably be more engaging for me than being around hundreds.

The one thing that I did particularly like was the exhibit Contrasts: A Glass Primer. From their own description: "The exhibition is comprised of international, historically important, and visually stunning works of glass art that are grouped to illustrate opposing ideas, techniques, and styles." It was quite engaging, and got me to look at the items with much more engagement than just "that's lovely" or "that's impressive" or "I don't care for that".

At the NC G&L Film Festival last night, I saw a particularly beautiful short about a boy who discovers he has a crush on his piano teacher done without words called Trystan. The last movie I remember being quite so charmed and enthralled by the visual storytelling was the Triplets of Belleville. Mmm...

Saw the Carolina Chocolate Drops string band then The Great Debaters movie at the NC Museum of Art outdoors with Dan. The group was good fun with some lively playing and dancing and singing (on-stage and off-). The movie was well-done and engaging.

I saw Brideshead Revisited last night. (As I approached the cinema, I saw the marquee said Eraserhead and not Brideshead and I was briefly confused.) I liked it -- it's the first costume drama I've seen in a while, and I'd forgotten how engrossed I get in them. And the whole thing just seemed very well crafted to me all around from concept and plot to dialog to cinematography, with none of the craftsmanship calling attention to itself.

GALA Choruses Festival in Miami, July 12-15. Highlights for me (besides our chorus singing) were Coro Allegro, Boston, Washington D.C. and Atlanta Gay Men's Choruses (with a sighting of a friend of mine I didn't expect to see), and San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus's USS Metaphor (with great lines like 'I want to speak with your top man'.)

Leslie Jordan at Progress Energy Center July 11 was a fun one-man show. Lots of laughs, some tender moments and no doubt that he has great performing (and ad libbing) chops. Honestly, I don't think I'd really heard of him before, but on a friend's recommendation went, and I'm glad I did.

Pilobolus at American Dance Festival June 19, 2008

I liked one of the new pieces (Laterna Magica), and kind of liked their new projection/puppetry one, but wanted more physicality than was in it. The bodily engagement of the dancers and the fun they have is something that draws me in, and I just didn't get much of that in that new piece. Since I saw them here, I won't be heading to New York to see them.

Radio Gals, Raleigh Little Theatre, Sutton Theatre, June 6, 2008 -- When with Chris N and enjoyed the fun show. Well performed, cute, sometimes a bit of a pastiche and fluffy, and fun. Looking forward to more shows at the Raleigh Little Theatre.

NC Pride Band May 17th.
Went to see the NC Pride Band (as in concert band) concert tonight. I didn't know what to expect, and my heart sank during the first number which sounded note-y/play-by-numbers, and I heard intonation problems throughout.Fortunately, the rest of their playing was pretty solid and fun. The Duffy piece called Snakes was mercifully short. (Snakes in a band!) And they had a sax quartet play, and I liked them (I'm not fond of sax). And there was a jazz band from Atlanta (called MetroGnomes, heh) that was excellent. Now I want to play in a jazz band. (I still don't want to play sax, though.)

Avenue Q May 7 In Raleigh
Great Show, Great to see it again. (Blogger ate both my previous write-ups so I'm not writing any more.)

Bent April 25 by the Raleigh Ensemble Players. This was a rich, intimate, deep, challenging performance.

The play follows Max's life from dissolute young partying life in Berlin in the 1930s to his time at Dachau concentration camp. He confronts everything from cold-blooded murderousness to grace around him and many sides of himself from manipulative self-promotion to overwhelming love.

The performance was done with a small audience (I think there were about 40 of us) moving through dark shifting spaces at the barked orders of guards in swastika-emblazoned uniforms to stand and sit around events as they unfolded. There was no hint of a third wall.

The actors themselves generally got me to forget that I was watching actors playing parts, which doesn't happen so often or easily for me. It was the occasional slip of southern drawl onto a word or a brush against someone in the audience that reminded me of their being actors. I was impressed.

It seems rare for me to see in a play (or most anything, for that matter) an earnest and wide-ranging set of situations, conflicts, values, emotions and motivations that is both difficult because it gets at painful things that happen in life and yet engaging as a story rather than a lecture or schematic. To be faced again and again with people in terribly difficult and often shocking situations and see what they do and wonder what I would do and why and how to decide what to do is both uncomfortable and a way to learn more about myself and what goes on with other people.

I don't think I can write positively enough to convey how much I value having gone to the performance. At the same time, I remember that only a few years ago, I just don't think I'd have been ready to go to the show or, if I had, that it would have touched me and moved me the way it does now.

Bravi!

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum performed by the Pauper Players, April 24 at UNC. This was a modestly-budgeted and -staged (most or all student) production of the show (which I'd never seen before, but had heard a couple of songs from). The performances were solidly comic and musical (with just one number sounding off to me). I was impressed with the energy and willingness to really go for large silly performing, while keeping a fast tight pace and sounding good -- Lovely, even. I'm looking forward to the next Pauper show, and think I'll enjoy seeing this particular show another time.

NC Master Chorale April 19 - Verdi Requiem was well done. I wished I could hear more of the chorus, generally and in relation to the orchestra too often. I was actually most impressed with the pre-show talk by one of the cellists about the piece, the history around requiem compositions, and the performance itself.

Monty Python's Spamalot April 19, 2008 in Raleigh was fun and well-performed and well-staged. Glad I saw it, enjoyed it, and don't feel the need to see it again. Kind of like a nice dessert that's pleasant enough but doesn't call out to be had again.

A New Brain by Pauper Players at UNC Cabaret space

Enjoyed the solid performance and spare production with H. Was happy to see TK in the show. Was particularly moved by the sailing song (the song itself, the performance and the performer). Looking forward to more Pauper Players shows.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch February 22 in Raleigh at Legends www.realtheatre.org. Well-performed and -staged. Only one song really grabbed me (The Origin of Love, I think is the title). I'm glad I brought ear plugs, and I'm glad there wasn't much smoking.

The Drowsy Chaperone February 12-17, 2008 in Raleigh at Broadway Series South was lots of fun. Went to see it with Howard, who also enjoyed it. I'm still snickering about various parts of the very self-referential show. Well-performed and very clever and funny and aware of musical theater cliches to make fun of. Definitely recommend.

Went to see Sweeney Todd at Company Carolina on February 2, 2008 in Chapel Hill.

The actor playing Sweeney Todd was impressive. The best performance that I've been able to see up close. Lots variety and intensity. Mrs. Lovett was also good, though unevenly able to match Sweeney. Beadle Banford was also impressively smarmy. Anthony, Joanna, the judge, the Beggar Woman all had impressive moments, and Toby was disconcertingly agonizing during the contest and losing it at the end of the show.

The choral numbers were overwhelmed by the orchestra. Mic problems marred some of the numbers, particularly disappointingly Joanna's.

Glad I went to see it.

Performances I've seen in the second half of 2007

Aurélia's Oratorio June 23-24 in Hanover

Strange Fruit, SWOON! June 28 in Hanover Free and outdoors in the afternoon

Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble July 6-August 4 in Pittsburgh

Augustus Saint-Gaudens: Master of American Sculpture film Friday July 13 8pm in Hanover

Pilobolus in New York July 16-August 11 Three different programs, all three of which I want to see

Big Apple Circus July 20-26 in Hanover http://hop.dartmouth.edu/2007-08/070720-bac.html

Dartmouth Theater Dept, A Mouth as Big as All Outdoors July 26 - August 3 in Hanover

Sweeney Todd August 30-September 30 in San Francisco

Met Opera Prokofiev War and Peace December 10-January 3, 2008 in New York I saw this production years ago and it blew me away. It was the most amazing overwhelming stage production I've ever seen. (Rivaled by Cirque du Soleil, but different, of course.)

SF Ballet Don Quixote

Saw Don Quixote on Sunday afternoon with Larry and Dave. What a fluffy, light ballet! It was fun and generally kept my interest and kept a smile on my face.

--- past --- not written up ---

Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 3 SF Symphony
Wed Nov 29- Sat Dec 2, open rehearsal Weds 10am

Antonio Gaudi movie Castro Theatre Nov 30 7pm, 9pm

Silly Symphonies animation at Castro Theatre Dec 2 matinee

RECESS! Play Night for Grown Ups Who Need/Want a Play Break
Saturday, December 2nd; 6:30-9:30 pm $15 in advance, reservations recommended
My friend JeffJ has great things to say about Sue who leads this, and expects it to be quite fun.
More info here.

Manon Lescaut SF Opera to Dec 10 (I'm planning Thu Dec 7)

VARLA JEAN MERMAN IS ANATOMICALLY INCORRECT!
December 7th - 16th, Victoria Theatre in SF
For more info visit http://www.victoriatheatre.org/

Traces presented by Circus Center December 13-Jan 1 at Palace of Fine Arts
I expect this will be a really good circus show.
More info on the Circus Center web site.

SF Gay Men's Chorus Home for the Holidays
Dec 14 7pm, Dec 24 5, 7, 9pm at Castro Theatre
More at on the Chorus's web site.

Kinsey Sicks Oy Vey in a Manger Sat December 23 8pm at Herbst Theatre w/KK

Luma at Victoria Theatre
December 17-January 19 Looks like very cool light/movement performance.

Beethoven String Quartets with commentary at Herbst Theatre on Saturday mornings at 10am
February 3 w/ND

Barber of Seville SF Opera Nov 17

Mark and I saw this and generally enjoyed it. Not bowled over. Good lead performances and good ensembles. Enjoyed the set. While intellectually I thought some of the gags were silly, they did get a laugh from me. I enjoyed the ensemble numbers a lot. The solos generally dragged for me, with the exception of the maid's. I don't feel I need to see this again, but glad I did.

Hamlet
Went Thurs Nov 2 8 PM Climate Theater, 285 9th Street in San Francisco with MarkA

Intense and involving performance. Since I haven't seen Hamlet before, the whole thing was unexpected for me. I lost a bit of attention at the end and something about suicide and murder gets me to check out a bit. Certainly glad I went, though, and was mostly taken in by the show. It was also nice to visit a bit with Stuart, the director/editor.

It’s “Hamlet” like you’ve never seen it before- reduced to a slick hour and forty, the tale has been streamlined and taken in a new direction, with unexpected plot twists, a reshaped ending, re-conceived characters and more, all while still using the original dialogue. See the director/editor's press release in his blog for more.

Momix Marin Center October 28 8pm

Went with Mark A (with dinner before at Sushi Ran's bar in Sausalito, which was crowded, so make reservations or have lots of time if you want to go).

Really enjoyable show. Somewhere between Pilobolus and Cirque du Soleil. Lots of neat movement and lots of illusion. I want to see their other shows.

I particularly liked (and am writing here for my own reminder in case I want to crib ideas later) jellyfish, rope waves, half black/white costumes, white legged four- and six-legged beings, the arm birds, dancing on the inflatable balls, the spirit puppets, and the spinning webs, much of it lit with blacklight footlights, and all shown behind a scrim (to help hide apparatus, black clothing, and helpers and puppeteers in black).

From press materials: "Known internationally for presenting work of exceptional inventiveness and physical beauty, Momix has been celebrated for its ability to conjure up a world of surrealistic images using props, light, shadow, humor and the human body." More on the Momix web site.

Troijka

Went to see this with MarkA (after yummy dinner at Thai Basil).

I generally like Stuart's work, and this one actually pulled me in enough that when the revelation came, I was actually surprised and had my head spin for a minute making sense of what had gone before.

See http://horrorunspeakable.com/chronicles_troijka.html for more.

Beethoven Quartet
Another good concert, this time with just one quartet. Lecture style was smarmy to me, but interesting in content.

Bouquets to Art
Mar 21-25 at DeYoung Museum
Floral designers put dozens of arrangements and installations related to various works and rooms around the museum. Interesting to see how different designers pull different things (textures, colors, compositions, even images) from the works and respond to them in flowers.

Wasn't as interesting this year as last for me. There were a couple of striking pieces (the three lamps in flowers with the woman and a glass of port, the oval arrangement with the woman bronze).

It was nice to see the new DeYoung. A few appealing things: the fern garden between wings, the contemporary mirrored glass forms, nice and reasonably priced cafe, and best of all the room of Hudson River School paintings. Heart-wrenching and inspiring to me. Bummer that the tower closed before I could make my way up it... Guess that'll be next time.

http://www.bouquetstoart.org/

Love's Labour's Lost

Went with DavidvdW (who also liked it) and DaveIS (not so much) to see this after sushi at Hana Zen.

I enjoyed it quite a bit, laughed out loud, felt the visceral "oh no, this will go badly", and was only disappointed a few times when the language went past me.

I liked it enough that I'd kind of like to see it again, maybe after reading it or a bit more about it.

I thought the contemporary back-alley bar setting with rock music and music video prelude and interludes worked well and were fun.

Exit Theater
www.horrorunspeakable.com

Gem of the Ocean
Feb 15 at ACT in SF

Went with David vdW and enjoyed the production. It was compelling, but I was surprised that I felt an observer all the way through, rather than being pulled in, despite the City of Bones ritual and other moving elements.

Pilobolus
Marin Center Jan 28 '06
with Val & Russ & Cory

Good show. Liked Aquatic a lot. The Empty Suitor clown bit on pipes was a good 5-7 minute concept presented in 5-7 minutes. Symbiosis and Day Two were enjoyable Pilobolus. Unfortunately, I was a bit sleepy/dozey during Day Two.

Cirque du Soleil Corteo
11/18 in SF DavidSe, JimL, Jeff & Ellen, Bill & Chalet

Another good Cirque show. The pre-curtain illusion is interesting and fun. The early bed/trampoline act is cool.

Phaedra
11/17 at Climate Theater in SF
http://www.horrorunspeakable.com/ 11/3-19

An intimate and nicely done performance. I must admit I got a little lost toward the end, but I enjoyed the show and am looking forward to Stuart's next show in the late winter/early spring.

Miss Liberty
by Irving Berlin presented by 42nd St. Moon 11/13 at Eureka Theater in SF
A friend from college, Brandon, is working on this show. Other 42nd St. Moon shows I've seen have been really enjoyable.

This was no exception. Not a particularly deep or moving show, it was nicely done and enjoyable. As corny as the song "Big Fish" is, it's catch and it's still on my mind whenever I think of this song. The performers were appealing and compelling all around. Fun.

http://www.42ndstmoon.com/42newweb/season/currentseason.htm 10/27-11/13