Sights, Sounds & Surprises!

Spider-Man on Broadway!

Sun, 22 Aug 2010 23:11:14 -0400

It has been a great first week of rehearsals with our full cast and creative team!!! You can get a detailed look at the who’s and what’s at the official Spider-Man on Broadway website.
Here we go people! Get your tickets NOW!

The Best

Mon, 16 Aug 2010 23:23:19 -0400

Thanks to the great Cusi Cram, I was introduced to the best people on the planet, and the most talented and fierce and hilarious and committed group of artists I have met in a long while...... The LAByrinth Theatre Company is of course known for its kick-ass work, but you have to realize that every single one of the members of that incredible group is a beacon of brilliance. I am inspired. I will try to recount some of the experiences in days to come, but suffice it to say, I witnessed breathtaking beauty and skill. heart and soul, and am lucky to have been able to participate (in the immensely gifted David Bar Katz’s play Oh, the Power! -- about super-heroes, one of which I played. Which I might add is sheer coincidence in relation to Spider-Man, unless I have not detected a gene within me!).
Hey! And if you need to rent rehearsal space, call them!
LABspace!
Two great rehearsal spaces for rent in midtown.
Window-lined, air conditioned.
30'x45' and 13'x17'
From $15/hour
307 West 38th @ 8th Ave
212.513.1052 or www.LABtheater.org

Chill, Baby, Chill . . .

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 01:13:19 -0400

After you expend all of that energy GRILLING, you gotta CHILL! Especially with heat waves and altruistic non-use of A.C. I herewith retire the reference to whatsername’s infamous quote. Remember to kick back and listen to the roses.

Grill, Baby, Grill!

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 22:55:20 -0400

I cannot possibly be the first to have appropriated that scary refrain for the GOOD, but let me be the next!!! It’s SUMMER people, time for primal tastes. On my list to perfect on the grill: mom’s paella recipe, in the paellera, using real “arroz bomba” and of course, real saffron. Mom says “toast the azafran first, but BARELY.” This means, leave it NEAR some heat. Also, want to try a grilled pizza, but what is the point? I might as well kick back and enjoy Chef Marco’s delicious potatoes and peppers!!! And salmon burgers...... fresh tomatoes! GRILL BABY GRILL!

Where Am I?!

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 00:14:35 -0400

I’m in HEAVEN! Figuratively. But if you call BLISS heaven, then that is surely where I am when listening to what I am listening to right now! As you can tell, I can’t get enough of Mark Berman’s The Genesis Project. If you like it, get the recording at iTunes! (“Heaven” is track 5, but why not try the rest of the ever evolving solar system?! “The Moon, the Stars” is another fave. Check it out!)

Sea Sky

Sun, 13 Jun 2010 16:14:47 -0400

We were bemoaning the plight of the undersea creatures suffering from the incessant spewing of oil into their habitat. Then we spied this cloud above us. I snapped the photo. It inspires in me a call to care for our earth and its creatures. Now more than ever Mark’s ecologically-themed The Genesis Project has relevance as well as fierce beauty. And of course, great grooves and soul! It makes me feel better to listen to it, and remember that it is WE who can better the world.

Carmen’s Quilts

Sat, 20 Feb 2010 20:58:10 -0500

Mom’s art inspires.
No wonder I am drawn to fabrics: I was surrounded by them throughout my childhood. Mom’s work space is a jumble of color and texture, bubbling over with life.
To come: photos of a jacket she made many years ago that should be hung either in the Met or at FIT!

Mark Berman’s Peace

Sat, 6 Feb 2010 00:41:52 -0500

The music and the man speak for themselves. Have a listen and then come on over to NYC’s Top of the Rock to hear the trio and the man himself on his vocals!
Most people know Mark as the “energy” guy, and that he is! But he can do ballad with the best of ‘em! Here we have “Peace” from his début album “The Genesis Project,” featured in this vid live at Birdland NYC, with the gorgeous vocals of LaTanya Hall, Emily Bindiger, Margaret Dorn, Bill Mitchell and Daryll Tookes, the amazing Cary Potts on bass, the brilliant Ray Marchica on drums, the incomparable JJ McGeehan on guitar, the peerless William Galison on harmonica, and the spectacular Ted Nash on sax, with the one and only Mark Berman on piano (and lyric and music by Mark Berman)!!! We all need a little peace. Listen here, and if you like it, get the music on iTunes and come hear the new trio stuff at Top of the Rock NYC!

Amelia Bedelia for the Valentine Set

Fri, 5 Feb 2010 23:26:15 -0500

The day is fast approaching! For the preschoolers and for anyone wishing for a bit of solace from the rat-race, I recommend a great respite in the form of Amelia Bedelia! I will read it to you, and thanks to the lovely engineering and direction of those at Paul Ruben Productions, it is a pleasant and humorous ride, courtesy Herman Parrish, nephew of the creator of the infamous Amelia. Here, she is presented as a youngster, which was a first for me! Most of us know Amelia as the grown-up with a gift for brilliant malapropisms. Here is Amelia as a youngster on Valentine’s Day. If you are eschewing (instead of chewing) chocolate, try this calorie-free confection.

Berman Burns the Ivories (Again)!

Sun, 17 Jan 2010 19:35:50 -0500

Just giving everyone advance notice! MARK your calendars (pun intended)! February 24th, Wednesday, at 6 pm, Mark Berman brings his Mark Berman Trio back to The Top of the Rock for an encore. New material! A continuing preview of his upcoming trio album (also previewing in Los Angeles in February)! If you were wondering when spring would arrive, this is your chance to heat up with Berman’s originals (and some fave standards and covers too if you want) played by the excellent Frank Canino on bass and the esteemed Ben Perowsky on drums, with Berman on the Steinway Grand, burning some soulful jazz and pop and SINGING his way into spring!!! Come one, come all, and bring your toe tappers, the joint will be jumpin’! (It’s cocktail hour, 6 to 8, and the Atrium will be serving up some bevs too!)