Move-in day, "Mother Courage"

So, yesterday I moved into my Seventh Street dorm in NYC. It's a pretty big suite with a small kitchen and large living room. The move-in process was a lot less painful than last year, and we got everything up in about three trips on the elevator. I settled in relatively quickly, but it took me a little bit of time to figure out how to work the internet again. I'm still attempting to get the cable hooked up, but there's no rush for that as long as it's up and running for Project Runway on Wednesday.

So yesterday I was walking to get food with a vague idea of checking out how the line was for Shakespeare in the Park in front of the Public Theatre. Since it was drizzling and had been raining on and off all day, I didn't figure a lot of people would be in line, and I was right. I hopped right into the line at 1:01 or so (which is actually after they start giving out the tickets, at 1) and got a nice seat about halfway back in the theatre in Central Park.

The play was Mother Courage starring Meryl Streep, who performed with boundless energy and snarky determination. The play centers around Mother Courage, a mother of three, during the Thirty Years' War. Courage, with the help of her children and, at times, a cook and chaplain, pushes a cart of goods along behind the Protestant troops. The play tackles the theme of war and its destruction and how profiteering from war can ruin people. It's considered one of the greatest plays of the 20th Century, and Meryl is probably my favorite actress, so I was hoping beyond hope that I could secure a ticket, and I know that many have waited long, hard hours to get a ticket, often arriving the night before the performance. It would have been worth the wait.

Jennifer Lewis as Yvette, a hardened street whore, and Meryl Streep.

The play is one by Bertolt Brecht, whose The Threepenny Opera I also enjoyed at Studio 54 this past spring. The adaptation, which sometimes felt awkward but nonetheless kept my attention, was by Tony Kushner of Angels in America fame, and the music was by Jeanine Tesori, who previously collaborated with Kushner to write Caroline, or Change, which spawned one of my favorite cast recordings. Though the threat of rain lingered into the first act, by the second act, all was clear and the breeze was cool and calm. Overall, it was a spectacular night.

Alexandria Wailes, Geoffrey Arend, and Frederick Weller as Courage's children, Kattrin, Swiss Cheese, and Eilif respectively, alongside Meryl Streep.