Monday, February 27, 2006

Nights on Broadway


My boyfriend is the least spontaneous man I know. If he doesn't have 24 hours' notice about anything I want us to do, forget about it.

So imagine my surprise on Saturday afternoon when Michael proposed -- out of f**king nowhere! -- that we go see a Broadway show -- that night.

A). We don't go to Broadway shows
B). We don't do things spur-of-the-moment
C). B

"Tonight?" I asked -- repeatedly. Surely he was talking about some Saturday in June, maybe for my birthday. "Yeah, tonight. Do you have any interest in seeing 'Barefoot in the Park'?" he asked. "Do I?!" I replied.

"Barefoot in the Park" is one of my favorite films of all time, and I hadn't even heard that it was back on Broadway. Then when he informed me that Amanda Peet, Patrick Wilson, Jill Clayburgh and Tony Roberts were the principal actors, I really couldn't wait. (Can I reiterate that I'm still in shock about this outing more than 24 hours later? If you know anything about the play's Paul Bratter then you know what I've been married to for the past four years -- only Paul's more easy-going!)

And so we went to the Cort Theater to see the first-ever revival of Neil Simon's classic (and first) hit. What an evening: The sets were wonderful! The Isaac Mizrahi costumes were pure '60s heaven! Neil Simon's one-liners still delivered 40 years later! Amanda Peet -- whom I've loved since her days on "Jack & Jill" and who is the most adorable actress in Hollywood -- encompassed Corie's spirit perfectly. Patrick Wilson -- who is a stage favorite also known for his role as the Hot Mormon in "Angels in America" -- brought to Paul the perfect blend of uptight yet still completely lovable. Tony Roberts is a fave since the Woody Allen days and Jill Clayburgh, although miscast as Mrs. Banks, still delivered the biggest laughs.

We loved everything about it -- or so we thought. You see, we're not theater people (the last play we saw was "Taboo" and we loved that, too). So when I got home I had to see what Ben Brantley of the NY Times had to say our evening's entertainment. Oh, dear. After reading this review I'm beginning to think that we didn't have a good time after all ...

  • Read: Early Simon, Dressed by Mizrahi
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