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Saturday, November 19, 2016

November 19. Day 324. Something Rotten


 Ordinarily I don't choose to travel alone but there can be something rotten about travelling with others. I was reminded of this when I sat on a tour bus today and listened to a child whinge because her parents were subjecting her to the unimaginable horror of having to tour around New York. The fact that 99.9999 per cent of the world's population probably never gets the chance to do any such thing was clearly lost. And last night in the audience of Falsettos I listened as the bloke behind me explain that he didn't like musicals. Now either he hadn't researched the production at all or he was compromising. And that's the thing about travelling alone. You go where you like, when you like. You don't have to discuss or explain your movements with anyone. Strangely this is the rotten bit of the experience too. You don't get to discuss your movements with anyone. You are on your own Lone Ranger. Anyway, while I don't often do the travel solo thing, I'm not adverse to it when the opportunity presents itself. And today I had a jolly nice time wandering around New York just taking in the sights, sounds and tastes of the city.
Naturally I was also lured by the lights of Broadway. At the matinee I saw the quite stunning Dear Evan Hansen. If it's ever in a city near you, make sure you do yourself a favour. And then tonight I was one street away at Something Rotten. What a laugh that little show is. This week all of the shows are collecting for Broadway Cares, where the casts, crews and audiences contribute to AIDS charities. It goes the same way at every show. After the final bows, a lead cast member asks the audience to stay where they are for a second and then launches into a spiel about why everyone should give. Along with the serious message there is are always a few gags. Tonight at Something Rotten it started the same way ... but they just couldn't resist a reference to the furore that occurred last night when Vice President elect Mike Pence was in the audience of Hamilton. There the cast asked the new VP to see how the cast reflected the diversity of modern America. The incoming president took to Twitter to express his annoyance at the "disrespect" of the cast. So tonight when we were asked to stay for a bit the spiel started "the vice president is in the house" pretty much what was said at Hamilton ans caught on a mobile phone of two. There was laughter. "No, of course he isn't". Pause "He's at Falsettos" Applause. Because who doesn't like a good political joke and frankly Mike Pence is a political joke. If you'd like to tweet about how rotten and disrespectful I am @RealDonaldTrump go right ahead.










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