circle mirror transformation

Last year I decided I wasn’t qualified to give my opinion on live theater so, although I continued (and continue) to see stuff, I pretty much have kept my thoughts to myself herein. Also, I found myself being pretty hard on shows that didn’t deserve my wrath, my negative attitude and/or my disappointment regarding the quality of the endeavor(s) in question.

However, I just saw a production of a new play called circle mirror transformation and I’m happy to report I loved every minute of it. My only caveat is that lower case title but, hey (and again), who am I to disagree with a playwright’s decision on what his or her work is titled. In this case the playwright is Annie Baker and I’m now loving her madly. Her lovely play floated my boat on many levels; not only the writing but the spaces in between; by that I mean the pauses are as meaningful as the dialogue. The direction by Sam Gold is impeccable and the actors live up to audience expectations in spades. Of the cast of five the standouts for me were Peter Friedman and Heidi Schreck but the other three; Reed Birney, Tracee Chimo and Deirdre O’Connell are equally impressive; it’s just that the characters played by Friedman and Schreck resonated with me more personally. They are all wonderful.

The background of the plot is minimal; being an amateur adult acting class held at a small arts center in a tiny town in Vermont. The plot becomes universal as the characters reveal themselves obliquely in a series of “exercises” that anybody involved with ensemble stage craft will recognize. I was enthralled and I hope this play makes it onto the stage of every small theater in the land. I also hope Mr. Gold is prepared to do a lot of traveling to mount similar productions; he is obviously the perfect choice to direct this almost perfect piece. It’s a gem and every facet needs to be delved into by a variety of actors and actresses who can do it justice. My only advice to one and all: cherish the silences, and let the theater games begin!

Here kitty kitty

Avatar is probably the most gorgeous movie you might want to see in some time and, I might add, the most clichéd. The plot is almost ludicrously ordinary and predictable: Marine meets native girl (daughter of the chief of course), loses native girl through no fault of his own and gets native girl in the end by, what else, going heroically native. In between there is a lot of war and important stentorian music, both military and pagan-ish (for the natives), along with the major thumps and bumps of modern military machinery which includes major slaughter of the indigenous population and the ruination of a great deal of beautiful ecology.

Although Avatar takes place in the distant future, on the moon of a distant planet, mankind hasn’t learned squat about anything, including good screen writing. The natives are perfect physical specimens, all with gleaming blue torsos and blue/green make-up, and they are definitely feline in their grace and athleticism (with the hisses and grrrs to prove my point). And, surprise-surprise, they live in perfect harmony with nature. By the way, I'd like to get some opinions about where the sex organs are located on these cats; although I have my suspicions.

The military Americans (we have obviously taken over the galaxy) spout early 21st Century street-speak and the scientific Americans, although not so gruff, aren’t much better. And Sigourney Weaver, the honcho scientist, smokes! I presume that is to emphasize part of her character’s irascibility but I, for one, was shocked. You mean the tobacco industry continues to thrive back there on Mama Earth?

Avatar is worth seeing if only for the beautiful special effects and the action, although not always relentless, had me checking my seatbelt a few times. I’ll probably see it again just to get another look at all that 3-D beauty.

Carnivoraciousness

I hadn’t been to the Peter Luger Steak House in years. Luger’s is often rated as the number one restaurant (for steak) in the NYC area, with occasional lapses into second or third over the last century or so. Established in 1887, it’s a carnivore’s dream, with huge, juicy steaks of various cuts, precisely aged, cooked to medium-rare perfection (they don’t even ask your preference and tolerate no deviation). Luger’s is one of those places so well established that customers have gotten used to the confident and slightly insouciant waiters who plunk down your food with little ceremony but, hey, Luger’s is a sellers market and, anyway, they seem to always get the orders right so we have no reason to complain. And why would they not get it right? The menu is comparatively tiny with steak and a few side dishes; one fish offering (a catch-of-the-day), a shrimp cocktail and two or three salads. What’s to remember?

This is a photo of my dinner, or would be if you replace the tomato and onion dish with my key lime pie dessert. Although offered, no doggie bag was utilized by me or my companion who had exactly the same selection as I did (we shared the pie—I ate most of it). The steak is perfect, the potato dish is crispy and tasty, the creamed spinach is creamy and spinachy and the gravy boat of steak sauce spicy and special. To further threaten your arteries you can order a topping of bacon on your steak if you dare (we didn’t). A basket of delicious rolls of various ilk and a fine glass of cabernet sauvignon were the perfect additions to the overall table-top ambiance. I even admired the china pattern.

You would never know we are suffering through a recession because the place was packed with customers on a very cold Tuesday night at 8:30 (as they were kicking out the 6:30 flight of patrons) and the prices are nothing to be sneezed at. Upon consultation with diners nearby the conclusion was that, although we didn’t see any empty seats, things have changed in that reservations are fairly easy to come by nowadays since, at one time, you needed to call at least two weeks in advance to get a table, especially on weekends. We called on Monday and our nearest dining companions actually called the same day which is seemingly unheard of for the aficionados of this particular restaurant. No, they do not take on-line reservations, just in case you were wondering.

Although pricey, you have to admit the steak is fabulous and we carnivores need that once in a while. Red-blooded men need red-blooded meat at least once a month, even though the reality is that we often have to make do with the various chopped versions at home or between lame sesame seed buns.

Oh, yeah, as a farewell gift they give these chocolate coins covered in gold foil to each customer. I got four of them because the first two got drowned in a whipped-cream miscalculation by our waiter (which wiped off easily, by me, since the waiter didn’t want to bother). They look cool in their shiny foil and the chocolate is delicious just before bed. One has to keep up the bloat for the midnight hours, don’t you know.