Giving My Regards to Broadway!

I'm headed off to see Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown this Saturday (on Christmas!) with Matt S. and Sarah K. Needless to say, I am very excited for the Patti LuPone/Laura Benanti/Sheri Renee Scott/Brian Stokes Mitchell loving that is about to ensue. I've seen Brian Stokes Mitchell in person before, at the wonderful Kennedy Center event last January, but none of the rest of them. And I'm particularly excited about one of the best divas on the stage, Patti LuPone. I've heard mixed things about the show, but am nonetheless very excited for the panoply of stars AND to get to see a musical with two of my favorite fellow-theater-goers. You'll remember that the last time we had a theater adventure together, wonderfulness in Sondheim/Lansbury form resulted.

Sometimes I just get so excited about musical theater, and read Playbill.com and Broadway.com more than an energy efficiency researcher should during her lunch breaks. As a result, I've been hearing about lots of things that make me happy. And so, I present:

Rachel's List of Broadway Shows I'm Ridiculously Excited About:

1. Sutton Foster and Joel Grey in Anything Goes. Anything Goes, being a former Ethel Merman vehicle, and being full of deliciously clever Cole Porter lyrics, is one of my favorite shows. And Sutton Foster tap dancing in anything makes me happy (she made me like Shrek the Musical. that's just impressive!). Plus, Joel Grey is wonderful in every way. For evidence of the wonderfulness of this show, see this clip of Patti in all of her glory (now you see why I'm excited to see her in person for the first time?!)



2. rumors re: Patti LuPone in Hello, Dolly, another one of my favorite shows. In fact, when Arielle G. told me about this rumor, my response was "ahhhhh that rumor just slayed me. I am now a remnant of my former self, cowering in the ashes from when I just burned up in a blaze of Dolly-loving glory. " Overdramatic? Absolutely. Warranted? Most assuredly. Dolly, being another Ethel/Mary Martin/Pearl Bailey show (we pretend like that Carol Channing thing didn't happen), is one of my all-time favorites. Plus, I made a darned cute Minnie Fay in the 2004 PVHS production of said musical. No guarantees on this one though -- according to this article, "She [Patti Lupone] has talked on the phone with Jerry Herman, but that's as far as it's gone." Here's hoping!



3. Sister Act: the Musical. This has the potential to be absolutely, fundamentally god-awful. On the other hand, it has the potential to make me vigorously happy in every possible way. In general, I like the musicals written before 1980, and in general, I don't like movies that are turned into musicals. But there are exceptions (42nd street was originally a movie, In the Heights was made long after the 1980s), so I'm willing to go into it with an open mind. ESPECIALLY given the fact that Sister Act and Sister Act II: Back in the Habit are two of my favorite movies of all time. After all, who doesn't love Whoopi and Maggie Smith and lot of nuns singing MoTown? And even better -- Lauryn Hill rocking out in all of her early 90's glory?



4. How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying: the Harry Potter edition. One of my favorite Frank Loesser shows, featuring the actor best known for being Harry Potter and getting naked with a horse (in Equus, duh). I think it has the potential to be wonderful or godawful, and I've decided to be hopeful.

There are many more, but I've already given you a few clips of happy, so let's leave it there for the day. But seriously - what shows am I missing? What else MUST I be vigorously excited about?

Happy Thanksgiving: The Gold Family Edition

Reasons Why This Thanksgiving Was Amazing. In List Form, because that's how I roll:

1. the addition of the lovely Fischlowitz-Roberts clan -- Max's Mom, Dad, and brother all came into town (from St. Louis and Maine!) to hang out with us Gold ladies and enjoy the holiday Mona-style. They added a lovely dose of football (we normally don't watch), humor, and balance to the normal Gold-women-being-totally-crazy scene.

2. the addition of not 1, not 2, but 4 pieces of argyle clothing to my wardrobe, thanks to Momma Mona. Not only are my three pairs of socks and one sweater stylish and fabulous, they are warm and cozy as well. Major win.
3. the arrival of the FIRST SNOW OF THE YEAR! Oops, sorry for the caps just then. It's just that snow triggers my inner 8-year-old happy-to-be-getting-out-of-something genes, and usually involves a happy snow dance of some sort. It was less than an inch, and didn't stick anywhere besides the bench in the backyard, but it made me pretty ecstatic.

4. Momma Mona's glorious feast of deliciousness. I thought that this year might be a challenge, given the addition of three vegan guests, but the food was as yummy, if not more, than ever. We did have some turkey, and a few non-vegan items, but for the most part, we kept it dairy/meat free. Particular hits were the sweet potatoes with pecans (almost as good as Paula Deen's, and not guaranteed to clog your arteries), mushrooms stuffed with mushroom stuffing (seriously, my mother is a genius), and Mom’s Cranberry sauce with oranges and walnuts.

5. the Peanut Butter Mousse Bomb from the amazing Vegan Treats bakery in Bethlehem, PA. I visited this glorious confection shop for the first time the day after Yom Kippur with Max/Alli, and was SO grateful that Max and his dad made the trip up to Bethlehem for Pumpkin Cheesecake, Apple Pie, Chocolate Hazelnut Cake, and Peanut Butter Mousse Bomb, my personal favorite. Seriously, though

6. and most important, the craft-of-the-year: Foam Turkeys! It's very rare that a year goes by without some fun craft made by my Mom to decorate the table. This year, it was glittery, cute foam turkeys. Gold family win!

All in all, a fabulous Thanksgiving and a much-needed break from DC for some family time! Oh, and getting to see one of the best friends (Matt S. ) for the first time since February was pretty rockin' as well. There are few things that aren't improved by best-friend-time in the form of Harry Potter viewing and Starbucks schnuggling.