Quuuuuuiiiick conclusions often lead the best of us astray;
The wisest move in life is just to wait!
Otherwise your galloping emotions run away
Like horses at the gate!

The above lyrics from The Mystery of Edwin Drood won’t stop repeating in my brain. Hmm.

So, what’s new today? I’m back on reception at the same place I was yesterday. A lot is going on. A lot I can’t talk about. I’m a loner, Dottie. A rebel. No, really—I don’t know how I feel about writing stuff about work in here until I maybe figure out some more privacy settings or something. I know you’re waiting with bated breath.

Last night, I went to see ‘The Farnsworth Invention,’ because Jess works for the producers and had a bunch of comps. I sat with Mikey and Jess in the mezz- beautiful seats that would probably cost around eighty dollars. Good lord. It’s a new play—I think it was workshopped at least at La Jolla before coming here. It’s by Aaron Sorkin, Mr. West Wing, and stars Hank Azaria. Let me say first off that Hank Azaria sounded like Moe from the Simpsons the whole time. I’m aware of the fact that he does Moe’s voice. It was funny.

The play is about two guys—Philo T. Farnsworth and David Sarnoff, who are each crucial in the invention, development and explosion of the television and radio, respectively. It starts out with Sarnoff talking right to us, narrating about Farnsworth’s life. And then Farnsworth does the same for Sarnoff—and we see them bounce back and forth, each telling the other’s story, until finally they converge…in reality and fantasy.

I was disappointed at the conventional tack the show took after the beginning moments. The narrative device returned time and time again, but it framed really standard, we’re-doing-a-scene now….made “edgier” by sharp transitions accompanied by drastic light switches and a really far-ranging use of the enormous stage. The cast was ABSOLUTELY HUGE, and I really think that the play could benefit from a downsizing—this is just my snotty, uninformed opinion. For example—there were all these characters that we see once and then never again. I like when there are a million characters and I like it when an actor plays a ton of them, but there were so many actors that the effect was totally, in my mind, diminished. At curtain call, I said to Jess “I feel like I didn’t even see half of those people during the show.”

Also, the interplay between fantasy and reality wasn’t explored enough for my tastes. Farnsworth and Sarnoff have a meeting in the last scene of the play that Sarnoff tells us (after the fact) never really happened—I was into that. I wanted more stuff like that to be going on—the whole thing felt like a two-pronged biopic resisting the urge to be a riff on the possibly-connected lives of guys. I wish it had been the other way around—I wish I had been left craving MORE facts. As it was, the facts flew so thick and fast that half the time, I couldn’t even absorb them. But what was I expecting? I never watched The West Wing, but I know how he operates. That sneaky devil.
Hank Azaria, Moe-aside, was good, Jimmi Simpson as Farnswroth was super. Blanketly, the women kind of sucked. I don’t know why. The costumes were lavish, the set was utilitarian (though a little dangerous-looking sometimes). Michael Mulheren was in it, playing a judge at one point (which is funny because he sometimes plays a judge on L&O), and playing Ernst Alexanderson at one point (the word Schenectady happened TWICE in the show!!). Jim Ortlieb, who had a recurring role as Ben’s mean science prof on Felicity, was also in the show. I like him a lot.

All in all, it was an up-and-down thing. I had a nice time, but it wasn’t great. And I’m an expert, so you should listen to me. It was a great TIME, and the theatre is beautiful. I’ll be interested to see what the “real” reviewers think.

Also, Joanna Gleason was there. So that was cool.

Dunder-Mifflin, this is Pam!

From Hotel Cassiopeia:
JOSEPH [sitting at a cafe table]There are days that I will have
a few donuts
a caramel pudding
two cups of Dutch process cocoa all milk, white bread,
peanut butter and peach jam
a Milky Way candy bar
some chocolate eclairs
a half-dozen icing cakes from Bay West
a peach pie (6 cents)
and a prune twist
and, on other days:
cottage cheese, toast,
bologna, jello,
fresh baked shortcake with creamy chocolate icing
Kool Aidbrownies and cherry Coke
a cinnamon donut
homemade coffee cake
the pink centers of Huntley and Palmer shortcake cookies
pancakes

It's no coincidence that some of my favorite passages from this play and bobrauschenbergamerica are all about food. Or that I'm writing this as my stomach grumbles! I'm working reception at a global ad agency right now. Which means there are some foreign hotties walking around.

In the pretentious update....hmmm. What do I have? Ah, yes-- I just got finished with my duties as production assisstant for the Common Thread Theatre Company's workshop production of Moving Shortly. The show ran for three performances, two of which were completely sold-out, which was fun. A whole bunch of friends came: Katy, Emma, Molly (and here's a SHOUT OUT!), Jade, Juls, Lee, Ava, Duke, Liz...punch me if I'm forgetting anyone. The show went quite well, from a technical/production view-- which is the vew that I, as a bona-fide techie, had for it. Michael and I worked sound/projection and lights, respectively. I haven't really touched a light board since the days of the BRTC, when I ran A Lesson Before Dying. I remember it being very stressful, though that could have had somtehing to do with the fact that cast members were dropping out left and right ALL. THE. TIME. Anyway... There were lots of silly antics in the booth, and Michael and I had a good time. There were lots of stupid scrawlings all over the walls- Michael and I added our own contribution: one of those twist-things that everyone used to draw in middle school, accompanied by "'95!' next to it. We were proud.

This is another line I really loved when I saw the show:

Then Balanchine revived The Somnambulist for me
and in that ballethe always had me exit backwards
because you know
well
because I didn't need to see a doorwayto go through it.

I thought it was VERY Judith Chaffee.

I'm going to see The Farnsworth Invention tonight-- it's a play by Aaron Sorkin, starring Hank Azaria. Jess is working for the producers, so she had a bunch of free ticket opportunities during previews. I'm psyched.

Here is a post that I meant to do the other day, but I'll tack it on here and elaborate:

In weird New York City coincidences part 1,586—

I ran into Rebecca McHugh the other night as I was leaving the Bedford stop. I was walking behind this girl and I thought 'She is so put together. Why can't I dress like that?' and then I realized that it was her. I stopped her and we walked out together—she lives two blocks away from me. Strange, isn't it? Then, yesterday, I saw Meghan Dalton's brother Tim in a coffee shop right near my house. We had a big case of mistaken identities when I tried to talk to him that we eventually cleared up....funny funny.

Michael and Nitz and I watched innings 4-9 of the baseball game the other night. We leapt for joy when Youkilis hit that homer. Matt Rudnicki was in the same bar as us, randomly, and we took a lot of pleasure in watching him from afar as he and some girl drank copious amounts of beer and occasionally flashed us the high-sign. Good fun.

Also, speaking of baseball AND coincidences—at work the other day, I was transcribing some phone calls and in one, a guy was talking about eh revitalization of downtowns. He mentioned two cities, and two cities only: Boston and Denver. Oooooooooh!

There is too much glass in this office. Everyone can see that I'm surfing the internet. Oh, dear.....