Scrappy Travels

I have things to say about Waitress on Broadway.  All of which I'm worried will make it seem like I absolutely hated it.  When in reality, I actually quite enjoyed it.  It's just that I have questions.  I wanted to love it, but that just didn't happen.  And when the lights came up, and my Broadway buddy was wiping away tears, I was emotionally confused.  I cry at everything, (in fact, I accused her of having a cold-dead heart when she failed to shed a single tear at Falsettos ) and yet I couldn't understand why a single person would even tear up, let alone cry at the show I had just seen.  It's all a conundrum I'm still trying to process. First, above all else, why in the world did they make Earl such a quintessential bad guy? And why did they cast the positively lovely Will Swenson to play this awful excuse for a human being?  The character didn't elicit a single redeeming quality the entire 2 hours.  At no point did I see why Jenn...

A few of my faves.  You can't tell, but the Times Square card is gold embossed - so shiny! One of the best things about the arts community, is that there are so many creative pursuits within it.  Each artist has their own specialty, so there really is no limit to the art these people can create.  Basically, art begets art, which is a fabulous prospect in today's less-than-beautiful times.   One of these pursuits is the Lights of Broadway show cards, created by Squigs Robertson .  These trading cards are basically baseball cards for theatre nerds, however the design of each is about 100 times better than any old-fashioned baseball card.  Squigs designs and illustrates each of these works of art by hand.  If his whimsical artwork looks familiar, it's because you may have seen his designs around online.  For each new show that opens, Squigs lovingly creates a one of a kind design in his own style. These illustrations of shows, as well as ...

A few months ago, I had the pleasure of seeing Brandon Uranowitz - who played Mendel in the Falsettos revival - at 54 Below.  At the time, I believe I said I'd never left a concert happier.  He is a phenomenal performer, who absolutely nailed his first solo performance. He was excited to be there, and was surrounded by friends who were there to cheer him on, which I'm sure made the night a bit easier. He was unbelievably funny and I'm not sure I've ever laughed so hard in a show.  Not to blather on, but I loved it. So when it was announced that he would be reviving his show for one performance only, this month, I was first in line to buy tickets.  This time I would bring my Broadway buddy with me, who has had to listen to me gush about it for the last few weeks.  The addition of Carmen Cusack, Zachary Prince and Andrew Rannells, at the last minute was just icing on the cake of an already much-anticipated evening. Well, after seeing him again, I need to rei...

For about the last month or so, I've been ever so slightly miffed at Bette Midler.  She and her production of Hello, Dolly! have been taking the spotlight away from my Falsettos team in the Tony race.  I had no doubt that Bette in all her glory, and the unbelievably talented ensemble that make up the cast of Hello, Dolly! were just as fabulous as everyone was saying that they were.  How could they not be?  I just didn't want them to be more fabulous than the Falsettos crew in the eyes of Tony voters, because if it were up to me, that cast and production would receive all of the awards! However, after finally having the pleasure of seeing Hello, Dolly!, I have to admit that the critics are so very right in their praise of this show.  There must be a better way to describe such a classic production, but the best I've been able to come up with is sparkly.  Each part of the show, from the costumes to the set pieces to the actors, just seem to come a...

A few months ago, Travel + Leisure Magazine published an article that named Baltimore one of the country's quirkiest cities.  As a native Marylander I'd have to say I agree with that statement.  Baltimore is chock full of all sorts of  weird and wonderful - restaurants, sites, museums, and events, all rolled into one fairly lovely city. One of the quirkiest museums in town - probably THE quirkiest - is the American Visionary Arts Museum (AVAM.)  In a sea of stuffy, buttoned-up museums, AVAM stands out as one of the only in the country dedicated to self-taught art.  Each piece the museum exhibits is lovingly created by intuitive artists who have taught themselves their craft. The art is never boring or stale.  These artists dabble in all different mediums - from glass to textiles; from natural pieces to metal.  They realize that art comes in many forms and AVAM celebrates all of them in every exhibit they plan. As an admirer of AV...

Who's awkward?  This girl right here... When I was little, I was called shy.  When I got a little older, I was an introvert.  Now I'd say I lean more to the socially awkward end of the spectrum.  Friends and family tell me this isn't true, but they don't live inside my head and hear the non-stop chatter of hypothetical situations.  Honestly, it's getting a bit loud in here.  I'm perfectly fine with polite conversation. How are you?  How's the weather?  I'm even better if I know one small fact about you.  Oh, you just got back from Jamaica? Tell me all about it.  Oh, you have an affinity for small hairless cats?  Well, I'd love to hear all about that.  (Honestly, I really don't care about the cats so much, but it's something to hold on to.) However, if I were to be dropped next to you at a wedding and you and I have never met before, you would now be responsible for the remainder of the evening's conversation becaus...