Arts in the City

I had the opportunity to travel to New York City this month and in spite of the horrendous weather, I jumped at the chance. Was it cold? Yes. Did the wind attempt to find its icy way through any chink in clothing? Yes. But I was prepared. With a mid-calf coat with a hood, scarf, gloves, hat and several layers underneath, I ventured forth and was not disappointed.

I’ve been going to NYC since I was probably around seven years old. My mother and my sister would stop there when we were on our way to visit relatives in New Hampshire. That’s when I got my first taste of Broadway theatre and the magic of the city. There were many years when I was not able to go so the visits became all the sweeter when I could.

This visit proved to be short but full of delights. In the past, I have made my trips with friends who like museums and the theatre, but were just as content to wander the streets and enjoy the shopping and food. That’s all well and good when the weather is nice, but this frigid time was not conducive to strolling. Fast walking. Very fast walking. In four days, I was able to see two amazing plays and four museums. We probably would have gone to at least one more play but travel home became tenuous due to airline cancellations and prevented our last outing.

The first play was A Delicate Balance with Glenn Close, John Lithgow and Lindsay Duncan. An extraordinary set and a master class in acting. The play by Edward Albee won the Pulitzer when first produced on Broadway. The second was Elephant Man with Bradley Cooper, Alessandro Nivola and Patricia Clarkson. All were splendid. I have never been a particular Bradley Cooper fan but I have to say he was nothing short of brilliant in the role of John Merrick. I have never been so moved by a performance.

The museums we visited were: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Frick, The Museum of Natural History & Hayden Planetarium, and the Museum of Modern Art. I have been to all of these before with the exception of the Natural History. But as you know if you have been, once is never enough. The experience of seeing so many master works in such a short time left me overwhelmed. Van Gogh, Gauguin, Matisse, Monet, Turner, Renoir, Toulouse-Lautrec, Wyeth and so many more.  To see even one of these paintings would have been a thrill. Then, seeing the actual skeletons of dinosaurs (a lifelong dream), the butterfly sanctuary (where exotic butterflies literally floated all around you) and a spectacular show about Dark Matter and Dark Energy narrated by Neil deGrasse Tyson left me breathless. I guess I’m blithering now. I am still so full of the experience I will need time to process it, if I ever do.

                                           

                                        A Sunday on La Grande Jatte- Georges Seurat