What to say about the play? (This will contain some plot spoilers). Hand To God takes place Somewher

After landing at various airports at various times, we all met up at the Benjamin Hotel. This was my second stay at the Benjamin. The service is excellent, the rooms are large, and bedbug free! After quickly james taylor tour dates getting unpacked, we headed out for dinner.
Spain is a New York institution. james taylor tour dates They serve some of the yummiest Spanish fare in town. We enjoyed a feast from paellas james taylor tour dates to merluza in herb sauce and more. The painter Monica Rose Song presented james taylor tour dates her work and spoke about her inspiration which evokes fairy tales and imaginary creatures. james taylor tour dates Here is how she describes it:
The exhibits were an interesting juxtaposition. From what I saw, it wasn t a far stretch from the the extreme and absolute thinking of the futurist to many of the tragedies james taylor tour dates of 20th Century Europe including Fascism and the Holocaust. Weems was an excellent contrast. Her work is concerned with the those who have been subjugated because of their race, gender or class.
The term "degenerate" was adopted by the National Socialist regime as part of its campaign against modern art. Many works branded as such by the Nazis were seized from museums and private collections. Following the showing on these works in a three-year traveling exhibition that criss-crossed Germany and Austria, james taylor tour dates most were sold, lost, or presumed destroyed. In this light, the recent discovery in Munich of the Gurlitt trove of such artwork has attracted considerable attention.
Degenerate Art was yet another excellent exhibit. When the Nazis labeled certain art as degenerate, they also labeled some art exemplary. The Neue Gallery showed some of the approved Nazi art. To my eye, It was technically adept but lifeless and uninteresting. On the other hand the so-called degenerate was weird and mysterious. It drew me in. It had power. Some artists I remember and liked were Paul Klee and Lasar Segall. Miriam was a fan of Max Beckmann s triptych Departure . The exhibit was framed exceedingly well. The walls where the art hung were printed with images of Jews trying to emigrate james taylor tour dates out of Europe, town book burnings and rail cars at concentration camps. It was an important reminder of the larger events going on in Nazi controlled society at that time.
After the Neue Gallery, we walked down Madison Avenue to Bemelman s Bar at 76th for some well deserved refreshments. I was wearing the tag from the museum centered on the collar james taylor tour dates of my black shirt, so we started calling me Father Kehle . At the bar, the well-known Earl Rose was at the piano. He was improvising on Erik Satie s Gymnopedie No. 1  . We had some refreshing non-alcoholic drinks (looking like a priest made this easy!), enjoyed resting our feet and looking at the murals.
After our brief respite, it was back on our feet to walk down to Columbus Circle for dinner at Robert @ MAD Museum . It s a little hard to do *THAT* particular event justice because so much was going on. For well over 20 years my close friend james taylor tour dates and ex-boyfriend Scot (aka Big Scot, aka Scox) has wanted to meet my mom. The meeting was finally going to happen. This was also Scot s husband Patrick s birthday dinner. Patrick has had a rather james taylor tour dates difficult year with multiple life threatening health challenges which he has thankfully beat. Nothing quite says Happy Birthday like remission. And then there is the restaurant itself. Originally I had planned to take Scot and Patrick to their favorite rib place. However a good friend of ours, the lovely Dr. Brian Saltzman, suggested we celebrate as his restaurant, Robert, which overlooks Columbus Circle. Instead of dining coach, we were going first class
Oh I had also warned my mom that Scot, like many artists I know, is very emotional. I told her that he would probably cry upon meeting james taylor tour dates her. What I forgot to mention is that he is a 6 foot 6 inches tall and frequently mistaken for The Undertaker , a world famous professional james taylor tour dates wrestler. When we walked up to the MAD building, Scot and Patrick were sitting by the door. Scot got up and gave me a big hug. My mom and Miriam stopped in a dead shock. They thought james taylor tour dates that someone was mugging me!
Saturday proved to be another great day except for the weather. It rained off and on making available taxis rare and valuable. james taylor tour dates The day started with a good meal with friends. Where can you have brunch for six easily in NYC on the weekend? The Smith Midtown.
My friend s Dennis Swaim and Susan Sloves met us for an early brunch. Ann Friedman, a friend of Miriam s,  happened to be visiting james taylor tour dates from Florida and was fortunately able to join us as well. I think my mom hadn t seen Dennis since the mid-80s. I caught up with Susan, my mom caught up with Dennis and Miriam caught up with Ann. My memories of the food are: good bacon and good french fries. The main course has slipped my mind but a good french fry is hard to find. I would go again, especially with a larger party.
Fortified for the day, we walked over to the Gauguin james taylor tour dates Metamorphoses exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art. The exhibit featured lesser well-known aspects of Gauguin s work across multiple techniques including wood carving, ceramics, lithography, woodcut printing, monotype, and oil transfer drawing. Honestly, I didn t love the exhibit. That probably had more to do with my state than the quality of the exhibit. When we arrived I was feeling a little off. Almost dizzy. Miriam and my mom also felt off. Fortunately Miriam produced a small tin of multi-colored, fruit flavored hard candy as a pick-me-up. The exhibition was more edifying than satisfying james taylor tour dates to me. I must have been a little off since it totally slipped my mind to visit van Gogh s The Starry Night while we were there. Anthony said it was like visiting the Louvre james taylor tour dates and forgetting to see the Mona Lisa. Oops. All was made better at the end of the exhibit by having a real Coke with sugar and caffeine.
After MOMA, we caught a cab to see the The Frick Collection housed in One of New York City s few remaining Gilded Age mansions. I love the building; especially the Garden Court . Miriam was especially fond a self portrait of Rembrandt . It is quite a magnificent piece. I enjoyed being surrounded by so much good art including Goya s The Forge , Jean-Baptist Greuze s The Wool Winder , and Vermeer s Mistress and Maid .
When we asked one of the docents, an elderly gentleman from India, james taylor tour dates how many people originally lived in the house, he informed james taylor tour dates us that there were three Mr. and Mrs. Frick and their daughter, plus 27 servants nine apiece. Why today an American household can only afford one servant! he exclaimed.
While looking at the few final paintings Miriam and my mom had an understandable giggle over the codpiece worn by Lodovico Capponi in Agnolo Bronzino james taylor tour dates s portrait.  Miriam and mom made some comment like Oh great. This is the last piece we got to see before leaving so I just had to include it in my notes.
james taylor tour dates After we left the warm, dry building, catching a cab was a bit of an adventure. I finally got one by sprinting a block down Fifth avenue. The driver kindly waited for Mom and Miriam and off we went to the Morgan Library and Museum.
Since its publication seventy years ago, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry s  The Little Prince  has captivated millions of readers throughout the world. It may come as a surprise that this French tale of an interstellar traveler who comes to Earth in search of friendship and understanding was written and first published in New York City, during the two years the author spent here at the height of the Second World War.
The show exhibited many sketches used in the development of The Little Prince along with notes and correspondence by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. james taylor tour dates  The collection gave better insight james taylor tour dates into how the story and its characters came to be. It was also a great reminder to re-read the book!
The library was constructed from 1902-1907. james taylor tour dates The architect created a structure in the style of a villa of the Italian Renaissance. It was gorgeous! The library has three rooms built off a marble rotunda.  Each room is opulently furnished. The library is a treasury of rare books and manuscripts including three Gutenberg Bibles.
Morandi was a suggestion of Miriam s friend Robert james taylor tour dates Goff. Robert has great taste. The staff at Morandi james taylor tour dates was warm, welcoming, and happy. It felt good just to sit in the restaurant james taylor tour dates and soak up the energy of the staff. The food was perfection but the fun of the meal was enjoying everyone s company. It was a great New York experience where everyone is connecting.
After the meal we went to see the play Hand To God The Lucille Lortel Theatre. Robert had made several restaurant suggestions. I picked Morandi because it was a six minute walk from the theater. If it s raining, six minutes is a long way to walk.
What to say about the play? (This will contain some plot spoilers). Hand To God takes place Somewhere in Texas where the country meets the city . More specifically james taylor tour dates the bulk of the place takes place in a Sunday School where a young window is teaching james taylor tour dates puppetry to her adolescent son and two other teenagers. For me, the first act felt a little abrupt like you were dropped into a situation too suddenly james taylor tour dates for the characters behavior to be believable. However the second act was much stronger and contained some powerful moments. james taylor tour dates At one point a character questions james taylor tour dates a culture that is failing her. She questions Southern (probably) Baptist bible belt living. I ve also recently seen this theme briefly explored by Julianne james taylor tour dates Moore s character in A Single Man  and less recently in the film Avalon james taylor tour dates . I have to confess that I m a sucker for this sort of thing. In most cultures there is no space to question or to criticize. I love it when theater explores the truth behind the story. Returning to Hand to God the second act also had (of course) rated-X puppet sex. What s not to like?
After the show we were briefly tempted james taylor tour dates to walk over to Marie s Crisis, a piano bar in the West Village but Mom s and my energy was flagging and the appearance of a taxi (it was raining hard) was just too tempting.
Sunday morning we went back for another