My first pledge, "See..."

So, today has been a neat day so far. I woke up around noon, had breakfast for lunch, and then went to see See What I Wanna See with Jaron.

The show, playing at The Public Theatre, was spectacular, one of my favorite things I've seen so far this season. The cast features Idina Menzel (Wicked, Rent on stage and film,The Wild Party off-Broadway), Marc Kudisch (Assassins, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Thoroughly Modern Millie), Mary Testa, Aaron Lohr (soloist in the Rent movie), and Henry Stram. So, I saw that some of the people were there mainly to see Idina because of Wicked. However, if this was the case, they deserve to be sorely disappointed, because the show was not all about her. Every actor had an integral role in the story, and I loved each of their performances.

The show is an examination of faith that incorporates three different stories into one show.

The first story is told through two scenes, one in the beginning of each act. In the first act, the woman kills her lover. In the second act, the woman's lover kills her. This was probably the weakest of the stories to me, because it had less of a clearly defined theme and purpose.

The second story was about a murder in Central Park. The story of the murder is told from four different perspectives: a thief, who says he killed an actress's husband after raping her; the actress, who said her husband killed himself at her request, leaving her unable to kill herself; a psychic, who channels the husband's spirit, claiming that he killed himself after the two had passionately made love; and the janitor, who is too jarred by the incident to give an accurate account. This portion of the show is a comment on the truth and its variability.

The third story was about a priest who, having lost faith after September 11th, makes up a miracle in Central Park -- he says that at 1 o'clock on a Tuesday afternoon a miracle will occur, and Jesus will rise from the pond. He then encounters a former CPA who has made his home in the park after leaving behind his old life, assuring him that, if he has faith, God will see him on the "Gloryday." He then encounters an actress, whom he has sex with and assures the same thing -- with faith, she will see the miracle. The priest's aunt, a Communist atheist for most of her life, changes her views on faith toward the end of the story when, as she's dying, she proclaims that there will be a miracle. The priest also speaks with a reporter without faith. The priest, having given up on faith and condemned these believers and the masses huddled to see the miracle for their follies, finally glimpses the miracle for himself despite the fact that no one else is watching -- rain began to fall and the followers ran for cover. What an interesting story!

Well, it was a really great show. Michael John LaChiusa, who wrote the score, usually writes really lofty, intellectual music, and this show seemed much more grounded. I can't wait for the CD, as I really liked a lot of the sequences (there weren't a whole lot of "songs" persay; it was mostly recitative). I very much recommend the show to anyone who is into intelligent modern theatre. It was great -- even down to the exciting lighting, particularly during Act One, and the sparse settings that really added interest to the show, particularly the park background during Act Two. I can see where the show has its flaws, as many of its detractors would point out, particularly in the scenes opening each act with the lovers, but it's definitely better than about 90% of the shows out there. It was a great afternoon at the theatre. And, by the way, the Anspacher Theatre in the Public Theatre is a very nice, intimate space and a very beautiful room with a nice atrium.

After the show, I waited and got Aaron Lohr's and Marc Kudisch's autographs. Idina Menzel didn't come out, and I think she was who most people were waiting for. One girl was even crying, and I took pity on her, for she had missed out on the joy of theatre. The joy is not to get an autograph from your favorite star after the show. The point is to open up your mind and experience something new. I really urge people who are only into Idina because of Wicked and who only want to go to a show to see her and to get her autograph to just stay home.

After waiting for the cast in the lobby, I walked home through Washington Square Park, lingering to listen to one of my favorites of the singers in the park sing a few songs, including "Harmony" by Elton John, which he was pretty flat on.

What a nice day!

Oh! Last night, at the Phonathon, it started out as a pretty rough night, but, toward the end of the night, I got a $250 pledge! My first pledge and such a high amount! Yay! They had moved me into pools of people who had given in the past but not in very recent years, so it seems like it's much easier to convince someone who has previously given money to NYU over the phone, no matter what year, to give this year than someone who has never given and may have graduated far more than 20 years ago. So, the job is going relatively well, I'd say.