Musicals set in NYC boroughs...I wonder if they will translate on the Plains.

Since I arrived...it has been threatening, but today it happened. The stagehands went on strike. All but seven Broadway theatres are dark. I totally support the stagehands, but one's heart cannot help but feel for all those individuals who have traveled to come to take a bite out of the Big Apple. The news keeps showing all these sobbing children who came to see The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, The Lion King, The Little Mermaid etc. and the couples who came on their honeymoon or those who have saved a lifetime to see a Broadway show. I am glad that I have seen most of what I wanted to see as there is not end in sight.

I went over to the East Village to see an original musical that sounded interesting. It was called Crossing Brooklyn, and it the first musical written as a response to 9/11. I really enjoyed it. It may have been a bit over sentimental at times, but it should be based on its subject manner. It was about the break down of a marriage of two young teachers. The wife is struggling to reconnect with the world post-attack. She taught 1st grade at a PS school located close to the site and had to walk the children out of the dusk cloud and wait with them until their parents arrived. There was one little boy whose parents never arrived; this ruined her.

The set design and blocking was potent. Simple and very viewpoint influenced. The performances were solid, especially the young boy. I can really see USF picking this piece up as part of our theatre of social change mission.

Afterwards, I hung around the lobby as I wanted to speak with the director. He addressed the audience prior to the show. I recognized him as the man who directed Michele Pawk in the 50th anniversary of Inge's The Dark at the Top of the Stairs; she took me along to a rehearsal last spring. As I waited for Jack Cummings III, who also wears the hat of artistic director at Transport Group, I checked out the headshot of the Crossing Brooklyn cast. I rarely look at a Playbill until I get home, so it was the first time I saw their names. The lead protagonist was an actor named Jenny Fellner. That name sounded so familiar. I dug out the Playbill to check out her bio. She listed Broadway's Mama Mia in her credits. I remembered that there was a girl from Sturgis who had been in Mama Mia, but I had never met her. One of the cast members, walked out, and I asked her if she knew where Jenny was from. She said, "I think Idaho." "Hmm...not South Dakota? For some reason, I think she may be from my home state," I asked. "Idaho - South Dakota. Could be. It is one of those Midwest states." Okay.

I continued to wait. All of a sudden from the front door, in ran Jenny. "Are you really from SD?" Evidently, she had snuck out a side door, but ran into her castmate on the street, who asked her about S.D. We hugged and listed all the people we knew in common, starting with her high school teachers. I can't believe we have never met. We agreed we need to get together for some South Dakota girl's time. Theory of Dakotativity.

Saturday night, I attended Charles Mee's musical, Queen's Boulevard. What an interesting project. Inspired by a classical Indian dance drama, Queens Boulevard celebrates love, community and life. It includes Bollywood, Asian, and hip hop music and dance. I really enjoyed the Wagnerian style. As the audience sits, the action has already begun. We are acknowledged; yet. it is not interactive. This too would be do-able at USF. I never would have imagined that I would like to explore this genre, but I totally dug it.

Both musicals were approximately 90 minutes without intermissions, so I was home early. I cleaned the apartment and settled in to watch Shampoo on AMC. What a great way to end the day...Warren Beatty.