She's a Little Bit Country

Two days to go before the Tonys. I'm in the midst of "operation catch up", still not sure if I'll cave on full price "In the Heights" or not. I've got a decent discount on tickets but they were sold out of them for this week. And I think their rush policy is students-only. I have plenty else to do, but it's still tempting. If I don't get a chance to see it before Sunday, I'll still likely buy a ticket beforehand since it's favored to win. If that's the case, tix will be scarce for a while.

Tonight I saw "The Country Girl", with Morgan Freeman, Frances McDormand and Peter Gallagher. Rounding out the cast is Broadway veteran Chip Zien, whom I've somehow managed to miss until now. Also in the cast is Remy Auberjonois. I remember seeing his bio for "Frost/Nixon" and wondering if he was any relation to Rene. While it's not in his bio (and why would it be?), tonight's performance left me with zero doubt. At certain angles, it's unquestionable. Of course, I've now read on imdb that he is, in fact, his son. Of course the physical resemblance was probably tougher to spot in the nosebleeds for F/N than tonight's up-close orchestra seats.

No, "The Country Girl" isn't nominated for anything, but I still wanted to see it for comparison's sake. I think if "Boeing, Boeing" hadn't been transfered to Broadway just in the nick of time, it would have been on the revival list. And it seems like cheating to have Shakespeare under "revivals" ;) It's like having the Bible on the NY Times Best Seller list.

I really enjoyed the play. The first act is a lot of foundation, leaving one to wonder where it was all going, but the second act raced by and brought out wonderful performances by the entire cast. The performance that surprised me most was Peter Gallagher. He was brilliant. And, seriously, how often is Morgan Freeman hanging in my 'hood?

I had comps for a comedy show later tonight (had my choice of 10pm or midnight), but I passed them along to a friend. It's been a long week, so I was happy to consider a somewhat early night. It was tough enough to get in both yoga and dinner with a friend before tonight's curtain. My alarm will definitely be turned off tonight.