London - Day 3

I tossed and turned all night then woke up at 6:20am. I'm beat. I've enjoyed my weekend and it feels like a getaway but I'm tired.

This morning we ate breakfast in the hotel (The Zetter -- highly recommend it) and it was delicious. Afterwards, we took the Tube to the Tate Modern and poked around in the galleries of the permanent collection. It made for a very leisurely morning.

We went to the Menier Chocolate Factory for a 3:30p performance of "Aspects of Love." Once she realized that the running time was almost three hours (2:40) Michele proposed that we sleep in shifts. Honestly, I was afraid I'd fall asleep during the first act but I made it through. We both did. The show had a few catchy tunes. I liked the return to "Love Changes Everything" throughout the show. I think the leads, Michael Arden and Katherine Kingsley, have very bright futures ahead of them.

I love Stephen Sondheim but I'm weak for Andrew Lloyd Webber. Sondheim is more sophisticated and mysterious but ALW is a rock star with a deep sensitive side. I feel like I'm part of a high school love triangle. Oh, how they toy with me.

Tomorrow we return to the States. I've enjoyed London and will definitely be back.

HIGHLIGHT: I enjoyed walking through the Tate and discussing the art with Michele. At some point I needed caffeine so we went to the cafe and sat on the patio about the Thames and chitchatted about the internets.

London Invader

London - Day 2

I woke up at 6:40am this morning. I'm cursed. I slept three hours the night before last and because I can't help but wake up at 7am local time where ever I am in the world I woke up at sunrise this morning.

We had a lovely breakfast of fried eggs and grilled tomatoes at a place we can see from our window called The Modern Pantry. Afterwards, we headed to the Tower of London. Because the subway was all messed up we took a taxi back to the hotel. The cabs here are so cute, roomy and old fashioned.

Today was our big theater day. We had a matinee of "The Mousetrap" and an evening performance of "Passion."

According to their Web site, "The Mousetrap" has been running for 58 years. I don't have a strong sense of smell but I swear the scent of moth balls and grandma's house wafted through the antiquarian theater as the curtain rose. Everything about the experience made me feel like Agatha Christie might very well have approved the staging. I can't recall ever seeing a mystery on stage but I was transfixed and intent on solving the case myself. I was amused during the interval as everyone in the audience discussed their suspicions. The only person within earshot who got it right was Michele!

Between shows we had a quick Mexican dinner then headed to the Donmar Warehouse for "Passion." Our seats cost 13 pounds and were row C in the balcony. Theater here is so cheap! The staging was economical and worked well in this space but would have to be reworked for a Broadway theater. As for the show... I love Stephen Sondheim but this show is dark. I know I'm talking about the man who gave us "Sweeney Todd" but this story is messed up and left me bewildered and empty. I like a musical that plants a song in your head be it about cannibalism ("A Little Priest"), murder ("Cellblock Tango") or love ("Seasons of Love"). Although there were classic Sondheim motifs in this show, not one note stuck with me. I am glad I saw it and I was thrilled to go to the Donmar but I'm ready for the next show.

HIGHLIGHT: Today, two New Yorkers spent the day conquering mass transit in a foreign city. I was telling Michele that I'm always impressed by NYC tourists who live in cities that don't have public transportation but muster the courage to take the subway. Well, today we were forced to forego the Tube and take the bus and I felt accomplished. We woke up this morning to find all the local/nearby train stations completely closed. I'm not talking about a specific line, it was several stations entirely! We decided to venture onto the London bus system to get to the theater. I was very proud of us for figuring it all out. My main obstacle was the fact that it is easy to catch a bus going the wrong direction since the traffic flow is opposite of the US.

London's Calling!

Arrived in London this morning.

Our overnight flight was delayed two hours due to a crazy storm that ripped through NYC 45 minutes before we boarded. The flight was so bumpy I was convinced we followed the storm across the Atlantic. Needless to say, neither one of us got any sleep.

Our first show in London was "Merry Wives of Windsor" at The Globe. The benches in The Globe are wooden and you can "hire" cushions. I was thinking The Globe was an exact replica of Shakespeare's theater but Michele was convinced there was a roof. In fact, she remembered seeing pictures. Based of that, I wore a skirt. Thankfully I could "hire" a blanket as well. The Globe is well done. The building, stage and seating make one feel like they are getting an Elizabethan experience. In the courtyard, they were selling moderately priced food. There was even a stand that had a giant wok-like looking piece of cookware that was filled with caponata that looked liked it had been made on the spot. I started the night with a hot chocolate and got a can of Pimm's Lemonade at the "interval."

As for the play...it was delightful. High comedy! During the interval, I recast the show for a Shakespeare in the Park run with Julie White as one of the leads and Richard Jenkins as Master Ford/Brook.

I was very impressed with the UK concept of the PlayBill. First of all, they call it a program and secondly, it is not free, you have to buy it. More interestingly, it is filled with dramaturgy instead of advertisements.

Thus far, I think the theater experience here is going to be very different than Broadway.

On a side note, it is refreshing to travel in an English speaking country.

Tomorrow we have a double-bill of "Mousetrap" and "Passions." Maybe I'll have time to take a peak inside the Tate.

HIGHLIGHT: The play was a blast and crossing the Millennium Footbridge to get there and back was gorgeous but my highlight was walking back to the hotel (The Zetter -- highly recommended for anyone planning a trip to London) with Michele. As we zig-zagged through the streets, making our way to the Underground, the act of crossing the street felt progressively more and more harrowing. Why? They drive on the wrong side of the road here so we are CONSTANTLY looking the wrong way. We came to a crossing that cleverly had the following words painted on the corner in foot-tall lettering "LOOK LEFT." Honestly, the sign made me feel like I could get through the weekend without injury. We both acknowledged how clever it was of the kind administrators of the city to warn mindless tourists, stepped to the corner then looked RIGHT. Despite the obvious danger in our blatant disregard for the sign we just discussed, we burst into laughter, looked the way we were just instructed to look and vowed to make it habit to always look both ways before stepping off the curb.