Willkommen, bienvenue, welcome!
My first appointment was not until 2.00pm EDT at Wall Street. This being the case after a light breakfast I took the “R” train to City Hall and spent some time at the World Trade Centre Pools. This is a very relaxing and peaceful place. I was pleased to note that the cleaning of the south pool was complete, and it was running again.
Since I was nearby, I took a short walk to North Moore street and said “hello” to the most important building in the city. I then walked back to the World Trade Centre and cooled down in the company of iced tea at the open air bar.
En-route to all of these places, I listen to the “Jeremy Vine Show” that had been broadcast at 12.00pm BST. I enjoyed the song written by Richard Thompson about Siggy, an 85 year old railway worker who came as part of the “Windrush” generation. It was heartening to hear the story of such a pillar of the community.
Back at Wall Street, I met Gary and we got some refreshments from the coffee place nearby. Our ultimate destination was “Tacombi”. This is an establishment selling Mexican-American food and here we were meeting Gary’s friend Peter.
Peter is a fascinating gentleman whose job it is to programme visuals for shows, and other entertainment spectacles. He has been involved heavily in shows at “The Sphere” in Las Vegas, and also used to be responsible for making sure the ball drops at the right time for New Year in Times Square. He kindly showed me some of the things he’d worked on. It was very impressive, and his attention to detail was really something. The sort of thing you, or I would not think of would become his focus. This is most likely why his expertise has been highly sought after over the years.
We had a great chat, and some lovely food. Between us we ate a lot of “chips and guac”. It was a really nice lunch.
After, I took the “3” train with Peter and said farewell at 34th Street. Here I was to visit “The Edge”, one of the high viewing platforms in the city I had not previously visited. It is built as an external platform jutting out from a building. It has tilted glass so one can “lean” over the side as well as a piece of glass flooring in case the vertigo is not already at top-level. The views were incredible, and I did manage to brave the glass flooring a few times. Eventually we were ushered inside as lightning was predicted but I still stayed sometime and enjoyed the view from the indoor area. Although I did not see any lightning, watching the rain from this position was a unique experience and I was glad I came when I did. As the rain fell, the city vanished, so I headed back down.
The “L” and “1” train took me to 50th Street. My destination was the August Wilson Theatre. As I entered, my ‘phone camera was covered by a sticker with no photography allowed inside. Here I was to see “Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club”. Indeed, this was very much an “immersive” experience with the whole building themed as a 1930s Berlin Cabaret. I was very excited to see this show. I have seen the movie with Ms. Minnelli many times. I have also seen the recording of the stage show presented many years ago with Alan Cumming as the “EmCee”. The only time I have seen it live on stage was on German exchange in my mid-teens and I can barely remember the experience.
Today, I was to see it with Billy Porter in Alan Cumming’s part. Both of these people are somewhat heroes of mine. I enjoyed the accordion, fiddle, and dance in the bar for a time before taking my seat. I was in 103 D in the “Orchestra”, very close to the stage.
The show was incredible. Mr. Porter was the perfect casting in the role, bringing the mad, sinister emcee to life. I felt there were some “ad-libs” in the show but it was hard to tell. Marisha Wallace was Sally Bowles who descended into destitution as the play proceeded. It definitely started high, and ended low in line with Germany gradually transitioning to Nazi acceptability. I could tell that the audience were not sure how hard to cheer when the latter songs were happening – it would have been as if you were actually cheering Nazi-ism.
It’s a superb show, highly recommended. It finishes here in October but will be carrying on in London for the foreseeable future.
Unusually for me, I decided to wait with the crowd at the stage door with my “Playbill” to see what would happen. For many, this is an essential part of the Broadway experience. Ms. Wallace left in a hurry, but I managed to get the signatures of a couple of members of the chorus before Mr. Porter sailed out, looking as fabulous as ever. He spent some time in the crowd signing Playbills, and speaking to fans. I was pleased to count myself as one of them. He was an utter gentleman and was good enough to sign my Playbill, and allow a “selfie”. I felt quite starstruck. There is perhaps an old adage of “never meet your heroes”, but this was quashed by this meeting. At one point in conversation with the crowd, my Porter said (in his characteristically loud voice) “My pronouns are he, him, she, her, they, them, or that bitch”.
The “E” train took me downtown where I had a “slice” at Bleeker Street Pizza, and a drink in the piano bar at the Stonewall.
