Weekend Round-up

Here's a tip for anyone in the NYC vicinity or coming to town soon: go see Grey Gardens. It's a musical, on Broadway, starring the divine, surreally talented Christine Ebersole, and worth every single penny you'll spend on the ticket. I've had it in mind to see this one for a while now, but you know how it goes: there's never any time. And yet this weekend, abandoned by my partner in favor of a trip to see the men's Final Four in Atlanta, I found myself with what definitely amounted to a little extra time, and a burning desire to get myself some cul-cha already. So I took myself out there to the TKTS booth in Times Square (which, in case you're planning on going, is under construction; the new site is on 46th and Broadway, in the Marriot), hoping to get a ticket to GG but assuming it would be totally sold out. It wasn't, not even remotely, and for $60 cash, I got a perfectly decent seat at a perfectly phenomenal play. God, I love New York.

Meanwhile, in the news...

Tennessee Women Rule!!: Ok, so we're one game away from total and ultimate domination, but damn, that Candace Parker is good! I was jumping up and down and screaming so loudly last night while watching this game that Jackson actually started barking along side me. We raced around the house howling in ecstasy when North Carolina finally collapsed. Tomorrow, I will be dressed in my Tennessee orange for good luck, and if I can find a way to do it I'll take a picture and post it to let you see. Go Lady Vols!!

Little Miss Perfect: Yesterday's cover story from the New York Times on the struggles of young women to excel in all facets of their lives. Is it worse than it was when we were in school? Probably, so--though I think that many of us felt a very similar kind of pressure. What's nice is to see institutions like the Times treating the issues with some seriousness--although I do wish they'd spent a little more time pulling apart this so-called dialectic between hotness and smartness...

A Less Than Magical Evening?: Galleycat reports that the reviews are starting to come in on the translation of Joan Didion's memoir, The Year of Magical Thinking, into a play--now on Broadway and starring Vanessa Redgrave--and the critics do not seem much pleased. I've heard otherwise from regular theater-goers who've been lucky enough to score a ticket (the run is said to be sold out through June 30th); and I also happen to be one of those folks who feels that the opportunity to see Vanessa Redgrave on stage should not be missed, at any price. So despite the what those paid to appraise these things say, I will still probably go if I can. I'm a sucker for royalty and this is one that provides proximity to two kinds: theatrical and literary. Can't beat that with a stick, matter how (overly) "earnest" the play may be.