Red Bucket Follies

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If you have attended a Broadway show in the spring or late fall, you may have experienced an appeal to donate to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS (BCEFA) after the performers have received applause during their bows. Shows still in previews don’t generally participate, but nearly all shows that have opened do. Often you can purchase Playbills or window cards signed by the entire cast in exchange for a donation to BCEFA, and sometimes there are special items auctioned off to the bidder donating the highest amount. I once watched Glenn Close auction off the false eyelashes she had worn during the last revival of Sunset Boulevard (not to be confused with the currently running Sunset Blvd!), along with a photo opportunity with her, for over $10,000. Daniel Radcliffe has a history of raising quite a lot for BCEFA auctioning things like the literal shirt off his back (in Equus) and a piece of paper he had typed on during the performance (in Merrily We Roll Along). But always during these times of year there are people waiting as you exit with red buckets to receive donations of any size (as I have heard many times, “no donation is too small . . . and no donation is too large!”). They now also have QR codes on the buckets to scan and donate through in these relatively cash-free times.

These fund-raising drives were started in 1987, as AIDS was ravaging the theatre community and so many brilliant artists needed assistance with medical costs and social services. Much of the money raised now goes to the Entertainment Community Fund to fund The Friedman Health Center for the Broadway community, the HIV/AIDS Initiative, and The Phyllis Newman Women’s Health Initiative, but also expands to provide grants to AIDS and social service organizations all over the country. With these drives occurring roughly around the Easter season and just before Christmas, BCEFA has held revues since 1989 at the end of each round of fund raising to announce the shows that have raised the most money. In addition, shows that choose to can also perform a short musical skit in front of the Broadway community and a panel of celebrity judges in hopes of winning bragging rights by placing in the top three. The spring drive led to one show being called the Easter Bonnet Competition (and each musical skit ended with one performer wearing an elaborately themed hat) and the one in early December was called Gypsy of the Year until being renamed Red Bucket Follies in 2022. As of this year, Red Bucket Follies was the only show being put on (despite the drives still being twice a year), but perhaps Easter Bonnet will come back!

I have been going to these events for years now. The audience is largely made up of the Broadway community, but for a donation to BCEFA some additional tickets are available to the regular public. Generally there are two performances, one on a Monday at 4:30 (think of this as a dress rehearsal, and a way for the judges to decide which skits they plan to award so that there are no delays the next day) and the finale the next day at 2PM (earlier since most attending and performing have a show that night). At the Tuesday performance the fund raising and musical skit winners are announced, as well as the total raised by everyone during the drive.

One of the great things about going to these is being at an insider Broadway event where the more shows you have seen, the better you will enjoy the musical skits. For instance, I remember when the original cast of Hamilton retold the story of “Demon Barber Sweeney Todd” to the tune of “Alexander Hamilton.” When Phantom was about to close, cast members going back decades had a skit set in a nursing home for Broadway performers. You also see Broadway performers interact and introduce different skits (above see Daniel Radcliffe and Jonathan Groff from Merrily We Roll Along at the 2023 Red Bucket Follies). The BCEFA YouTube channel has videos from many of the performances over the years.

Often the musical skits are funny (I remember well the opening number honoring the covid testing teams at the first Follies following the covid shutdown – including dancing nasal swabs), but sometimes are quite touching.

The photos above show you the judges and which shows participated in the Red Bucket Follies in December of 2024.

The final total and the shows that had raised the most for the fall drive in 2024 were announced by Jim Parsons (Our Town), Cole Escola (Oh Mary!), Ruthie Ann Miles (McNeal) and Nicole Scherzinger (Sunset Blvd).

The total for the fall drive in 2024 was over $5.3M! As someone who truly loves Broadway theatre, BCEFA is one of my favorite charitable organizations (every year I send their cards, which also represent a donation, to family and close friends). There are other shows during the year to raise money for BCEFA (for example, Broadway Bares, if you are feeling adventurous) and other ways to support BCEFA (they often have Broadway house seats for even sold-out shows available if you are willing to donate twice the face value of the ticket – better than giving the money to a scalper). If you happen to be at a Broadway show during the fund raising periods, please consider being generous. Every single person who participates in the BCEFA drive donates their time, both while collecting and for the Red Bucket Follies. Even the theatre space for Red Bucket Follies is donated by Disney Theatricals. And if you happen to be able to attend Red Bucket Follies next December, let me know – I’ll see you there!

Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

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I truly believe some of my earliest memories are of watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and waiting to see the Snoopy balloon. My mother would be in the kitchen preparing Thanksgiving dinner and I would race in to make her come in and see when Snoopy finally arrived! Because I was not fortunate enough to be born in New York City, I watched it as most people do, on television. When I moved to NYC, the very first Thanksgiving I was lined up early on Central Park West to see the parade, and have seen it most years since then. I thought it might be fun to go into different ways to watch the parade, other than on TV. I was going to get photos this year (2024) but it was raining all morning and I knew the photos would not turn out. However, I have hundreds of photos from previous years, and had fun looking through them.

The parade starts on CPW and W 77th Street, and ends in front of the Macy’s department store, on W 34 between Broadway and Seventh Avenue. It heads south along CPW, turns at Columbus Circle for a few blocks along Central Park South, then heads south on Sixth until it turns on 34th Street. The blocks around the end of the parade, where the live performances in front of Macy’s are performed for the television audience and a few lucky people, are not accessible to the public.

So the photos above (from 2024, of Hells Kitchen the musical, and the Rockettes) show the typical TV experience, and also show the parts you cannot see if you decide to watch the parade yourself in the city (Broadway and other live performances). If lucky enough to live in a building with a roof deck, you might be able to see the parade from a distance. The photos below are from the roof of an apartment building on Eighth Avenue and W 53rd Street. It’s fun to see the parade like that (and hey, there’s Snoopy!) but it can be distant.

Midtown along Sixth Avenue can be an easier place to see the parade. There may be lots of people around, but the sidewalks and streets are wide enough that you will see the balloons easily even if you don’t get there early. The photos below are from midtown from a few different years (note that although there is always a Snoopy balloon, it changes out from time to time in terms of the design). The disadvantage to this area is that you may be too far away to really see the floats and clowns, etc., but you won’t need to get there early to be able to see the balloons.

Another way to get up close and personal with the balloons is to go to the balloon inflation the day before Thanksgiving. The official area to walk around where the balloons are being inflated (and held under nets until the next morning) has an entrance at Columbus Avenue and W 72nd Street, and there is airport-style security. The hours are usually 1-6PM and it can get crowded. You can also see some of the balloons and floats, with no waiting and no crowds, from the west side of Central Park. The photos below were taken in the park just off the intersection of CPW and W 81st Street.

An insider tip that I rarely hear people mention is that you can get a surprisingly good view of the balloons (if not the floats) from inside Central Park during the parade, without waiting and with few crowds. The photos below were taken from inside the park on the west side at about W 72nd Street (note the Dakota as a backdrop for some of these). This is a really easy and fun way to see the balloons – and was what I was going to do this year (2024) until the rain descended and I decided TV was fine for this year!

The gold standard of seeing the parade – and the thing I did for years and years when my daughters were young – involves waiting on CPW to get a front row view of the parade. You have to get there early (some people sleep overnight in their spots), weather can be tough (I’ve been there in snow and on years when it was below freezing), but the view is impeccable. You can see everything, and clowns will come right up to you (fun clowns, not scary ones!).

There are always people walking behind any horses in the parade, and everyone along the parade route gives the pooper scooper people a huge round of applause, without fail. It’s always a fun moment.

OK, back to Snoopy. There is simply no view like the one you get on the ground right on CPW. He (like all the other balloons) towers over you. And there is always a float with the other Peanut characters (see below for one year where they had a live beagle with them too!). Snoopy is the balloon character to have been in the most Macy’s parades, so I can’t be the only person obsessed . . .

Here are some more photos of the balloons looming over you if you are standing at the front on Central Park West:

If you are right at the front, you can easily see the performers on the floats. They won’t sing (if they are going to at all) until they get to Macy’s but they will wave and it’s fun to see people. See below from 2007 when Jonathan Groff and Lea Michele were in Spring Awakening on Broadway and on a float, and for Corbin Bleu that same year.

I will say that the BEST way to see the parade is the hardest way – and I have only been fortunate enough to experience it this way once. This way is to have, or know someone with, an apartment with windows facing the parade route. When one of my daughters was in preschool, the grandparents of one of her classmates invited all the families from the class to their apartment on CPW to see the apartment and it was magical. If you have seen the movie Maestro, about Leonard Bernstein, you will have seen the balloons go right past the windows of the Bernstein apartment in the Dakota on Thanksgiving morning, and it is just that amazing to experience (as long as you aren’t having an argument as was happening in that scene). You also get to stay warm, protected from the elements, and eat and go to the bathroom when you need to. My dream is to have such an apartment but it hasn’t happened – yet.

The end of the parade always heralds the beginning of the holiday season, with Santa (yes, the real one, since it’s Macy’s that is in Miracle on 34th Street after all) as the final float. I have blogged before about Santaland at Macy’s, and it opens the day after Thanksgiving so I guess in theory this is the big reveal before he gets to work meeting children at Macy’s.

Other ways to see the parade, that I have not experienced: know someone at Macy’s and get seats on the grandstand (that would be great!) or pay for a hotel room with a view of the parade (expensive to be sure but worth it if you can afford it, I guess).

A few facts about the parade, courtesy of Macy’s, that highlight what a big production this is:

-Years of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade – 98 (est. 1924)
-Years on NBC, official national broadcast partner – 72 (since 1952)
-Years of Al Roker as co-host- 30
-Featured character helium balloons – 17
-Heritage and novelty balloons – 15
-Height of tallest balloon – 60 ft (Disney Minnie Mouse by The Walt Disney Company) and Length of longest balloon – 77.5ft (Spider-Man by Marvel)
-Width of widest balloon – 66.5 ft (Gabby by Universal Studios’ Dreamworks Animation)
-Gallons of Paint – 2,000
-Pounds of Glitter – 300
-Pounds of Confetti – 200
-Costumes – 4,500+

Apparently they get to work planning the next year’s parade the day after Thanksgiving – it’s a big production with a standard of excellence, and it shows. I recently also read that the ratings for the Macy’s parade now beat out the Academy Awards, and advertising costs are only slightly less. I’m a fan, and would say that if you are in NYC and get a chance to see it in person (however you choose to do it), take that opportunity! Maybe I’ll wave to you there next year from the windows of my new apartment on Central Park West . . .

October happenings at Carl Schurz Park

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The Yorkville neighborhood on the Upper East Side is a real hidden gem in Manhattan, and I have blogged about it often (Yorkville in the snow: A love letter, Goodbye to Glaser’s Bake Shop, the heart of Yorkville, Yorkville: From Lexington and 86th Street to the East River Promenade, for instance). The heart of this neighborhood is Carl Schurz Park, between East End Avenue and the East River, from 89th to 84th Street. The Carl Schurz Park Conservancy maintains and improves the park, and also holds special events throughout the year. In October, two extremely enjoyable (and entirely free!) events take over the park on two different Sundays: Harvest Festival, and the Halloween Howl. I went to both this year (2024), had a fantastic time, and took a lot of photos.

The highlight of the Harvest Festival is a gigantic pumpkin patch created on the lawn next to Gracie Mansion. Every child that attends can select a pumpkin and take it home at no cost.

Surrounding the temporary pumpkin patch, multiple tables are set up with various ways for children to decorate their pumpkin once they select it.

When the ropes are dropped (this year, at 1PM), there is a bit of enjoyable chaos and mayhem, but even toddlers seemed to be able to go in and select a pumpkin without being trampled by larger kids.

Near the pumpkin patch and decorating tables, there were friendly costumed characters and live music (Nice Brass, see a short video of them playing at the event here).

A really nice touch is that the scarier decorations are all located in a nearby area but one that you can’t see unless you choose to go there – perfect for those with young or easily frightened children (or adults, for that matter!). For my video montage of the entire event, see my Instagram reel here.

The following Sunday, Carl Schurz Park hosted the Halloween Howl.

The Healthy Hound Vendor Fair started at 11AM, and was set up all along John Finley Walk next to the East River.

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The canine Halloween costume contest was set up In the basketball court, and began at 1PM.

There were four categories: for small dogs, large dogs, children with their dogs, and groups. Judges were business owners from the Yorkville area, and spectators crowded all around the perimeter of the contest. You can see the video I made of the Halloween Howl here.

There are other events in Carl Schurz Park during the year – opportunities to help with planting, movies under the stars during the summer, a tree lighting in December – and these two October extravaganzas were delightful. But I would recommend visiting this little jewel of a park any time of the year. Hang out and watch the dogs play in either the big dog run or the little dog run. Stroll along the Promenade next to the East River and watch barges or even sailboats go past. You can continue south and connect eventually to the East Midtown Greenway. There’s a wonderful playground for little kids. I love Central Park, of course, but it’s not the only show in town! Check out Carl Schurz Park and let me know what you think.

Stonewall National Monument, NYC

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When President Obama recognized Stonewall National Monument as part of the National Park Service in 2016, the entire block on Christopher Street between 7th Avenue and Waverly Place became the first official National Park Service unit dedicated to telling the story of LGBTQIA+ Americans. In June of 2024, a Visitor Center opened up adjacent to the Stonewall Inn, and I got a reservation (free; recommended but walk ins are also welcomed) and checked out this new addition to the many places we can go in New York City to learn about our past and think about our present and future.

The park outside the Stonewall Inn has exhibits that are changed over time. Currently on display is “Stonewall Forever: A Living Monument to 50 Years of Pride.”

The Stonewall Inn still exists as a place to go in and have a drink. They also have entertainment in the evenings, with bingo, a piano bar, the Eight Ball Lounge (there is a pool table), and Saturday night dance parties. The Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center is right next door. In 1969, Stonewall Inn occupied both 51 and 53 Christopher Place, but more recently it has only occupied 53 Christopher, with various businesses using the space at 51 Christopher. With the Visitor Center now in 51 Christopher, the original footprint of Stonewall is again intact.

You can reserve free tickets in advance, but walk in visitors are also welcomed. In 1969, the bar was where the merchandise is now; the dance floor was in the back where there is a short video playing.

The visitor center is not large, but it does a good job of explaining the history behind the uprising in 1969. A juke box is an exact replica (with the music available then) of one trashed during the uprising.

There are interactive elements as well, like these empty journals with prompts for you to fill out if you would like your voice added to the story.

In the back of the visitor center, there is a short film shown, and the corporate sponsors who helped make the visitor center a reality are thanked.

There is, of course, merch! And as you can see, those working here wear the uniform of someone working for the National Park Service.

A reviewer for the NY Times criticized the newly opened Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center for delivering an overly optimistic view of how LGBTQIA+ rights have progressed since the uprising at Stonewall Inn in 1969. I get that, and this center does not pack the emotional depth of a visit to the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama – which I have also visited. Still, I personally found going to the Visitor Center to be a valuable experience, and one that I would recommend. While there is still significant work to be done to ensure equal opportunities for all, it is also important to remember the events in June 1969 which were the beginning of positive progress for LGBTQIA+ rights.

A Brooklyn beach walk

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It’s been a hot summer in New York City, and many escape to the Jersey Shore or the Hamptons (or Martha’s Vineyard, Cape Cod, or Bar Harbor, for that matter) to find some cooling ocean breezes. However, we are fortunate that in NYC we have several beaches we can get to fairly easily via public transportation. I have previously blogged about taking the ferry to Rockaway Beach in Queens, and taking the subway to Coney Island. Recently though, I enjoyed a walk through three different beaches in Brooklyn, starting with Manhattan Beach, continuing to Brighton Beach, and then finishing up on Coney Island. Consider this a bit of a summer photo essay, and a reminder that there are always things to do in New York City.

To get to Manhattan Beach, you can take the Q to the Brighton Beach stop, and then either take the B1 or B49 bus toward Sheepshead Bay, or walk about 20 minutes or so. Manhattan Beach looks across Jamaica Bay right at Rockaway Beach. Walk with the water to your left and you will be walking back toward Brighton Beach. You will get a boardwalk beginning in Brighton Beach, which then eventually joins the Coney Island boardwalk.

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There are multiple public transportation options at Stillwell Avenue for getting back. If you don’t stop, the entire walk from Manhattan Beach to Coney Island Beach is about an hour. There are plenty of reasons to stop though – not only to enjoy the ocean but to have a bite to eat, or sit and people watch. I went late on a weekday when it had been threatening rain off and on, and the walk was quiet, but on a sunny summer day be prepared for it to be crowded. Hey, if you can spend the month of August somewhere cooler looking at some other beach, enjoy! But if you can’t, don’t forget all the beaches that are easy to get to within the city.

Perelman Performing Arts Center

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Lower Manhattan near the original site of the Twin Towers has completely transformed in the almost 23 years that have passed since September 11, 2001. I have written before about the Oculus and One World Trade, but was happy this summer to visit the Perelman Performing Arts Center, a new space for the performing arts.

The center is nestled in the shadow of One World Trade, across from the reflecting pools and the 9/11 Museum.

The building was designed by REX, an acclaimed architecture and design firm based in New York City, whose name signifies a re-appraisal (RE) of architecture (X). There are three potential performance spaces, and all are designed with flexibility in layout, depending on the needs of any production. I was there to see a reimagining of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s long-running feline musical as Cats: The Jellicle Ball (only there until August 11, and it is SOLD OUT – but you could keep checking the website, or go by the box office before a show to wait for returned tickets. I also hear this may transfer to Broadway after a series of rave reviews . . . ). Setting the musical within a new frame of NYC Ballroom culture works brilliantly, and the production is a lot of fun.

Public spaces are cool and visually arresting.

Celebrity chef Marcus Samuelson of Red Rooster fame has a new restaurant in the space, called Metropolis. We dined there before seeing Cats and I would definitely go back. I personally believe it is even worth a reservation even if you aren’t seeing a show at the PAC. If you do have tickets at the PAC, you are allowed access to reservations for your date before they open to the general public, which is a definite plus.

The cocktails at Metropolis were excellent and the bar looked like a great place to stop off and have a bite and a drink if you don’t want a full sit-down meal.

I don’t generally post a photo of the bathroom, but this one was cool – when you lock the stall, a red light goes on, so when you go in you can quickly look up and find a green light to know which stalls are available.

For Cats, the main performance arts area was set up with a catwalk (ha) with cabaret tables around it, elevated side seating, and more traditional seating behind the judge’s table where André De Shields sat as Old Deuteronomy. I look forward to seeing what programming is presented at PAC for decades to come.

As I exited PAC, the joyous music and dance of the performance I had just enjoyed still reverberated in my body even as I immediately faced the reflecting pools on the former footprints of One and Two World Trade. As I said in my post about the Oculus, for many years after 9/11, I completely avoided that area as I found the loss there overwhelming. But the area is now revitalized, while still holding that loss in memory via the reflection pools and the 9/11 Museum. Having a new performing arts center there now brings even more light and life to this area that, after unimaginable tragedy, has been reborn in the past two decades.

Blue Box Cafe at Tiffany and Co.

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In the beginning of the Audrey Hepburn 1961 film, “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” Hepburn’s character Holly Golightly stares into the window displays while eating a croissant out of a paper bag (this scene does not occur in the Truman Capote book the film was based on, although she does reveal at one point that whenever she is anxious Tiffany’s is the only thing that can calm her). Since May of 2023, after the flagship Tiffany and Co. store reopened after a gorgeous renovation, star chef Daniel Boulud’s Blue Box Cafe has allowed you to eat a real breakfast – or lunch, or early dinner – at Tiffany’s on the sixth floor. I recently celebrated my daughter’s birthday here and it far surpassed expectations (and my expectations were high!).

The first thing to figure out was how to get a reservation, as they are not easy to acquire. You can find out more about the cafe at its website (Blue Box Cafe) but reservations are only taken online at Resy. If you want a specific date and time, reservations open up 30 days in advance at midnight, and you need to be fast. However, in playing around with the site I noticed that often last minute reservations would show up a day or so before. You can’t order a celebration cake less than 48 hours in advance (more about that later) but otherwise it is a good option if you don’t get a reservation right at the 30 day mark. Also, note that last minute reservations tend to be for later in the day, I suppose because most people want to say they had “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.”

The space is exquisite – large windows looking west onto Fifth and north to Central Park, an abundance of little Tiffany blue boxes hanging from the ceiling, and an intimate space where regardless of the small size of the space you aren’t crowded right next to other diners. Service was excellent, as well. Immediately upon being seated, two coin-sized discs were placed in a bowl and hot water poured over them so that they would blossom into warm towels to remove the grime of the city from our hands.

Here are the menus – a wine list, cocktails, desserts and nonalcoholic beverages, an afternoon tea prix fixe, a la carte entrees and sides, and the signature “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” prix fixe selection. Everything was tempting but we both ended up getting a gin-based cocktail called “Holly’s Delight” along with “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” Between 10am when it opens and noon, there is also a lighter breakfast option you can choose.

All the silverware and china were of course by Tiffany! The cocktail was delicious.

The first thing brought out was “A glass of Golightly,” a fresh fruit and vegetable juice with a touch of ginger. Then the “Breakfast at Tiffany” service came out with six different delicacies, two of each since we had both ordered this.

The “egg in a shell” was ingenious! A hard boiled egg shell had been hollowed out, and a delicious serving of scrambled egg with cream and chives used this shell as a container. This comes with caviar on top but I don’t care for caviar (I know, most people do!) so I asked for mine without and it was very tasty.

There were three pastries, a croissant, a chausson aux pommes (apple turnover) and a madeleine. They were all excellent (and for some reason, I forgot to take a photo of the madeleine, very anti-Proust of me to find they made me forgetful. . .).

There was a lovely pineapple rosace fruit dish with strawberry, vanilla and lime. There was also a yogurt parfait with granola and a layer of mango and passionfruit. Everything served was elevated in some way and made the entire experience feel special.

Since we were celebrating a birthday, I had ordered a “celebration cake” in advance. To do this you first need to have a reservation, then email the restaurant more than 48 hours in advance of the reservation to fill out an order form and have that linked to your reservation. The choices for flavor are either vanilla cake with seasonal fruit, or chocolate with caramel (which is what we had selected). They bring the cake out with a slab of chocolate personalized with the message of your choice with icing. The cake came with a lit candle, and they let us take pictures of the intact cake (which was beautifully detailed in Tiffany blue with chain decorations) before taking it away to cut for us and box the rest to take away. They asked how many slices we wanted but said they usually recommend for two cutting it in half, boxing half to take home and making two slices out of the other half. We did that and in fact the slices were too large for us to finish, but the cake was wonderful.

The box for the leftover cake continued the theme, as did the postcard attached to the bill. The bar, by the way, is created from gorgeous marble with blue veining. I noticed that there is the opportunity to walk in and sit at the bar if there is availability, so if you don’t have a reservation but really want to come in and experience the food, drink, and decor, that is an option.

I am fortunate enough to live in New York City, close enough that I walked there and back from home. There are so many things to do and places to go that I only go back to those that stand out and surpass expectations. Blue Box Cafe fit this description – I will be back!

Thoughts on the Tony Awards 2024

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On June 16th, the 77th annual Tony Awards will be awarded (and televised on CBS). The ceremony this year is at Lincoln Center for the first time and American Express will be holding a live simulcast at Damrosch Park just behind the David H. Koch Theatre where the awards will be given out (see here for more information about how to attend if this interests you). Two years ago I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the 75th annual Tonys in person at Radio City (see how I wrote up the experience here) but this year I will be watching on television as usual. The awards this year seem harder than ever to predict this very crowded season. Needless to say, with so many new productions, not everything could be nominated, and most musicals and plays rely on the publicity and the “stamp of approval” from the Tonys to fuel sales.

Best New Musical

This was an unusually busy season for new musicals on Broadway, which is great for musical lovers – but very tough on producers as there was a lot of competition for the ticket-buying public. Six new musicals have already opened and closed this season:  Once Upon a One More Time, Here Lies Love, How to Dance in Ohio, Harmony, Lempicka, and Days of Wine and Roses. From earlier this season, only Back to The Future (which opened last July) is still running, with most new musicals on Broadway having opened in a very busy spring season. So the eligible original musicals were Back to the Future, Days of Wine and Roses, Harmony, Hell’s Kitchen, Here Lies Love, How to Dance in Ohio, Illinoise, Lempicka, Once Upon a One More Time, Suffs, The Great Gatsby, The Heart of Rock and Roll, The Notebook, The Outsiders, and Water for Elephants. I saw all of them, and correctly predicted which five would be nominated (which is not the same as saying I agreed with the result). The five are:

“Hell’s Kitchen”

“Illinoise”

“The Outsiders”

“Suffs”

“Water for Elephants”

I have to say, this is a year where any one of these could win. The best reviewed by the New York Times were Illinoise, Hell’s Kitchen, and Water for Elephants (all “Critic’s Picks”) but Suffs and The Outsiders are both nominated for best original score as well as best new musical. Illinoise has had perhaps the most rave reviews across the board, but since it is a very unique Broadway musical (the story being told entirely through Justin Peck’s dance and a group of instrumentalists and singers, all based on Sufjan Stevens’ 2005 album) it may be hard for Tony voters to award it best in this category (although I expect it will get best choreography) when it is not nominated for Book or Score. However, Hell’s Kitchen had the most nominations (13; tied with the new play Stereophonic in number of nominations this year).

Best Musical Revival

The eligible musical revivals were Cabaret, Gutenberg, Merrily We Roll Along, Spamalot, The Who’s Tommy, and The Wiz. Only four were nominated:

“Cabaret”

“Gutenberg! The Musical!”

“Merrily We Roll Along”

“The Who’s Tommy”

This category definitely comes down to two productions, the transfer from the West End of Rebecca Frecknall’s Cabaret, starring Eddie Redmayne, and the smash hit revival of Merrily We Roll Along, a musical once felt to be Sondheim’s great flop, but transformed by the direction of Maria Friedman and the performances by Jonathan Groff, Daniel Radcliffe, and Lindsay Mendez. The Cabaret revival has not been received as well on Broadway as it was on the West End, so I would expect Merrily to take this award. The same goes for Leading Actor in a Musical – I would be surprised (and very very disappointed) if Jonathan Groff does not win this category over Eddie Redmayne. I love The Who’s Tommy, by the way, but don’t expect it to win.

Best New Play

The nominees for best new play are:

“Jaja’s African Hair Braiding”

“Mary Jane”

“Mother Play”

“Prayer for the French Republic”

“Stereophonic”


I will be very surprised if Stereophonic doesn’t win this category. It’s a “play with music” (and in fact, it is nominated for best original score, which is unusual but not without precedent) by David Adjmi, about a rock band in the 1970s recording an album. It’s over three hours long, takes place entirely in a recording studio with no change of sets, and yet is completely riveting.

Best Play Revival

All three of the nominees for best revival of a play are excellent. They are:

“Appropriate”

“An Enemy of the People”

“Purlie Victorious”

Despite the strength of all three of these revivals, I would be surprised if Appropriate did not win this category (and I think Sarah Paulsen is a lock for Best Lead Actress in a Play despite being up against Jessica Lange in Mother Play).

Other thoughts

This season not only had a great number and variety of new productions, there were many extremely innovative sets. The category of best scenic design of a musical had seven nominees (for The Outsiders, Hell’s Kitchen, Back to the Future, Lempicka, Water for Elephants, Here Lies Love, and Cabaret) and I was dazzled by all of them. I think the immersive quality of Here Lies Love, which has closed but I absolutely adored, was a stand out in a great field for me – but it is very unusual for shows that have closed to win even if nominated (Here Lies Love is also up for best original score, best choreography, and best sound design).

A shout out to the Director categories this year, with four out of the five musical directors and three out of the five play directors being women.

After the Tonys, I expect many shows with disappointing results will post closing notices, either right away or as the summer ends. Tony awards do not guarantee a long run (look at A Strange Loop from 2022) but the lack of awards can be the difference between enough ticket sales to keep going and a decision to close the show. What will keep Broadway alive is not only a wealth of plays and musicals in the pipeline but also the ticket-buying public out there to support them. Go see a Broadway show (or a ton of them!) and keep this very special art form thriving here in New York City.

Field of Light NYC

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Walking around Manhattan’s East Side near the United Nations, there has always been a huge empty undeveloped (more about that later!) lot between E 38th and 41st Streets, from First Avenue to the East River. Beginning earlier this year, an enormous light installation has filled that space, Field of Light. I have been there twice and it is an unusual and charming experience.

The installation is free to enter, but you need to either have timed tickets or wait in a standby line. All of the procedures are pretty clear on their website. I have not seen long lines for standby, so even if you don’t have tickets I think your wait would be relatively short. You go through airport-style security, and then a few posters to set up the idea behind the installation and give information about the artist.

The artist, Bruce Munro, is drawn to creating large light installations, and this one in NYC is his largest to date. He notes that with buildings on three sides and the East River (and FDR Drive) on the other, the field is almost like a box filled with light.

From inside the installation, you can see the Chrysler Building, while the apartment buildings and the United Nations building surround the field, adding their own element of light.

Each bulb and stalk of light is interconnected to others in complicated tangles. The lights slowly change color over time as well.

There is a spider-web quality to the way the lighted strands snake around the bulbs on stalks.

This installation is sponsored by the Bjarke Ingels Group, which upon a little investigation, has plans for a megadevelopment in this space along the East River. A lot of it sounds good – affordable housing, a public park roughly the size of Bryant Park (the park behind the main branch of the New York Public Library), a museum (no idea what its focus would be), a dog run, play areas for children – but also a hotel … and an underground casino. See here for more details about the proposed development, which has to receive approval and licensing and hopes to by next year. The idea for the area shows a few tall buildings which would definitely impact views (and values) in Tudor City. Along with the proposed Times Square Caesar’s Palace Casino (see more about this here), and the question of whether a casino will be allowed in Hudson Yards, this casino raise the question of what NYC wants to be going forward. Proponents note the possibility of increased tourism and tax revenue, while opponents note that tourism based on gambling in places like Las Vegas and Atlantic City potentially creates a different atmosphere and clientele in those neighborhoods with a casino.

New York City is constantly changing, and there is a casino near JFK airport. I do wonder though what allowing casinos in Manhattan will change about the city. At this point New York State as announced that it will grant three licenses for NYC and/or it’s suburbs, and there is significant pushback against having a casino in a residential neighberhood. But . . . stay tuned! I enjoyed Field of Light but feel we need a little illumination (haha) about whether Manhattan wants casinos.

Porto and the Douro Valley

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Some beloved family members – and their pets, two dogs and two cats – moved to Porto, Portugal about six months ago, and last month I went to visit them for the first of what I expect to be many trips to Portugal (as long as I don’t ruin things by being a terrible guest!). This trip was mainly about seeing them and where/how they are living now, but I can tell you about a few fun things I experienced this time and recommend if you plan to visit Porto.

My first day there, while staying up to fight jet lag and get adjusted to the time change, we went to a tour of the Pinhais sardine factory (more information and tickets here). In addition to seeing the factory itself, we learned about the history of sardines in Portugal, saw a staircase designed to look like a sardine when viewed from the correct angle ( see above – the light is its eye), practiced wrapping a tin of sardines (which the professionals can do perfectly in mere seconds but I definitely could not), and finally had a sardine/wine tasting.

The next day, feeling fresh and ready to go, we enjoyed a fantastic tile painting class at Gazettes Azulejos (more information here). The tiles that are so beautiful covering the exteriors of buildings in Porto also serve practical purposes, keeping moisture from seeping into the facade, insulating from excess heat or cold, and strengthening the structures. Gazettes Azulejos is working to catalogue all the Porto facade tiles, and you can use a pattern from an actual address to recreate your own tile to take home as a souvenir. They admonish that “too much perfection is a mistake” and I would say that keeping that in mind is key to enjoying the workshop, as it is harder than it appears at first. The tiles I painted are definitely not perfect (the second one was better than the first, so practice helps), but I enjoyed making them, learning about the process, and bringing them home as a memento. One thing that surprised me is that Cobalt Blue looks light lavender before firing! You leave the painted tiles and come back to pick them up the next day after they are fired. I made a reel about the class that you can see on Instagram here.

One of my favorite things to do in any city (including my own New York City) is to simply walk around and experience it. Porto was a beautiful walking city, with plenty of hills and staircases to keep things interesting and muscles fully engaged!

The rooster is the symbol of Portugal, and they roam many of the public parks. At the park next to the Crystal Palace, there were also peacocks. You can see a video of the peacock showing off on Instagram here.

Porto is – not surprisingly – known for its port wine, and a port wine tour and tasting at Grahams – across the river in Gaia -was fantastic. This particular tasting paired food (a pastel de nata pastry, aged cheese, and chocolate) with three different ports. Grahams has some bottles still aging from the 1860s! A reel about Grahams can be seen here.

Speaking of pastel de nata, I tried several at different places. You can get these cups filled with sweet custard either plain or with cinnamon, and I liked mine with cinnamon. And the official cocktail of Porto, the porto tonico, was enjoyed several times! The porto tonico is white port and tonic water, garnished with orange peel, a cinnamon stick, and a mint leaf. Really, really good . . .

Livraria Lello proudly states itself to be “the most beautiful bookstore in the world” and I would dare not disagree. It is very hard to get into – you need timed tickets that you pay for, but the ticket cost can go toward a purchase. We went just before closing and managed to get a few photos without dozens of other people in the picture as well. To find out more about the bookstore or purchase a timed ticket, click here.

My final day before returning to NYC, we did a guided tour of the Douro Valley including wine tastings and a boat ride. The Douro Wine Region Valley is the oldest demarcated wine growing region in the world, and a World Heritage Site. The Douro (which ends up dividing Porto from Gaia just before emptying into the Atlantic Ocean) carved out this rich and beautiful landscape. I have written before about wine tasting in Napa and this day was just as special (see a reel about the day here on Instagram).

Of course the best part of this trip to Porto was spending time with family and experiencing a bit of the new life they have made there. They threw an amazing dinner one night where a private chef came in with all the ingredients and then we, the dinner party, made the meal under his guidance – so much fun, see a video reel here. And I look forward to exploring much more in Portugal as I visit them over the next many years.