I saw three shows on Sunday: In The Heights, West Side Story, and Next to Normal. In The Heights matinee let out during West Side Story's intermission, so I joined my parents for the second half of West Side Story, and then we saw Next to Normal in the evening. All musicals. In The Heights My sister really liked this one but I only kind of liked it. I found the "Piragua" singer the strongest. I liked the musical Spring Awakening better. West Side Story I like this revival. This version has a lot more Spanish than the original. Entire conversations and many parts of songs are in Spanish. The lead woman, Maria, is from Argentina, so she sounds authentic to me. I'll go see this again. Next to Normal I liked one song in this musical (Superboy and the Invisible Girl) and I enjoyed watching the cellist (part of the on-stage band) rock out as she played. Other than those highlights, I didn't care for the show. It's about a housewife who becomes mentally ill...
Hugh Jackman at the Metropolitan Museum of Art I saw someone who looked like Hugh Jackman (Wolverine) walking around the museum with a male friend. I asked my mom if it was really him, since she saw him in "A Steady Rain" on Broadway from the front row just a week ago. "No, Hugh Jackman is much bigger and more handsome. That guy is scruffy." Then a couple girls went up to him and my mom heard Hugh Jackman say, "No autographs. I'm with a friend." My mom followed the girls as they walked away and asked whether it was Hugh Jackman. "Yes, oh my god!" sighed the starry-eyed girl. Alec Baldwin at Streetcar Named Desire I was waiting for returned tickets to the sold-out show "A Streetcar Named Desire," starring Cate Blanchett, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM). A black SUV pulled up to the curb where I was standing with a "Need Ticket" sign in front of the theater, and out stepped Alec Baldwin and a few friends. A g...
Catherine and I went ice-climbing on the glacier Viedma today. With crampons on our feet and an ice-axe in each hand, we scaled a 30-foot ice wall as the guides belayed us. The guides made it look easy, so I was surprised at the effort I had to exert. It got easier the second and third times I scaled the wall. We ice-climbed in the morning, had lunch, and walked on the glacier in the afternoon. I enjoyed the Perito Moreno glacier walk last week more than this Viedma glacier walk. On Perito Moreno, we got much deeper into the glacier, so I felt like I was in another world. This hike was close to land (because we had less time) and rocks were strewn everywhere. Still a good way to spend an afternoon.