Weekend Update

So, it's been a lovely weekend. A recap:

Friday night, I went to see The Fever, a one-man play written and performed by Wallace Shawn (that schlumpy looking character actor who shows up in Woody Allen movies/was in The Princess Bride/was in My Dinner with Andre, pictured below). Anyway, Austin and I had just been talking about Wallace Shawn after watching the Before Sunrise/Before Sunset movies, so he came with me.

There was an onstage champagne reception before the show and then a brief humorous introduction to the play by Shawn before he launched into his 90-minute diatribe against the privileged. I suppose that was his way of making you feel luxurious before plunging you into his serious message. It was a pretty heavy-handed affair with some standout moments interspersed. The lighting, by Jennifer Tipton, was especially notable, helping to transition between the moods of the piece. It was an overall worthwhile experience, but mostly as a sort of lesson on theatre and what works and what doesn't. I was glad it was a comp ticket; I wouldn't have paid to see it.

On Saturday, I spent a fair while shopping for some used Tom Stoppard plays for one of my classes with only partial success. I was also looking for some poetry books by Rainer Maria Rilke and Li-Young Lee (a book called Rose -- why is it so hard to find!?), but I didn't find very much by either, which was surprising, especially in the case of Rilke. I feel really bad paying full price for books that are so short. Most plays/books of poetry are under 100 pages, and you often pay as much as $15 per book. I also like the feeling of supporting used bookstores, which often struggle financially.

After shopping for a bit, I met up with Emma and got tea at the Tea Spot on MacDougal Street directly below Washington Square Park. Much fun ensued.

In the evening, I went uptown to visit Christina, Richard, and Olga. We played Cranium, and I won each of the three games I played, one while teamed with each of the three. Thus, we were all winners. It was quite a bit of fun.

Today, I went to the Annie Leibovitz exhibit at Brooklyn Museum. It was the last day, so it was pretty crowded. Besides for the fact that there was a wait of somewhere between 90 minute and 2 hours, it was worth it. Despite her notability for photographs of celebrities for magazines, the ones I ended up liking the best were the photos of her friend (lover?) Susan Sontag (at right) and her parents and children. It was a great exhibit. Also notable were the Dippin' Dots at the museum.

Another busy week ahead.