Between the snowfalls: In New York City for “MJ”

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We’ve recently had a couple of 5″ plus snow falls. I had some visitors over Christmas and in between the two snow falls (actually the day of the second) we went into New York City to see “MJ The Musical“. In case you’re not familiar with it the “MJ” refers to Michael Jackson. It was very good (especially the Tony winning choreography) and we had a great time. We walked back to Grand Central and on the way, I took pictures of Radio City Music Hall and the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree.

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Even though my friend would be driving, I don’t like being out on the roads when it’s snowing, so I rushed everyone to try to make it back home before the snow started. We failed and when we got back to the Ossining train station around 2-3 inches had already fallen.

Unfortunately, my friend had a craving for Thai food and the closest Thai restaurant to the train station/home was in Croton-on-Hudson: D Thai Kitchen (recently moved from Thornwood). In normal conditions it’s about 10 minutes’ drive away. Of course, these were not normal conditions, and it took much longer. However, we got home safely eventually.

How was the food? My friend seemed to like it. It appears that one of the reasons she wanted Thai was because there aren’t any Thai restaurants near where she lives. I love Thai food, and I’ve been to Thailand several times and perhaps I’m a bit more demanding. To me it was OK, but nothing special.

Taken with a Sony RX100 VII

Seeing a Broadway Show – Overview

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My younger daughter recently visited New York, and we decided to see a show: Sunset Boulevard. I was to meet her at the St. James theater where it was showing. My plan was to take the train to Grand Central Terminal and then walk west until I got to the theater at 246 West 44th Street (between 7th Ave./Broadway and Eighth Avenue. If I saw anything interesting, I’d try to take some photographs. It was a very cold day, made worse by the strong winds and I didn’t expect to get much…but you never know – particularly in New York City. I expected to be early and planned to get some lunch before the performance. If she had any time after the show, we’d figure out what to do later.

A Play

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A couple of weeks ago I went to see a play at the Westchester Collaborative Theater. The theater is tiny and located at the end of a narrow alley between two buildings. It’s down by the Ossining Metro North station and it’s easy to miss.

As you can see from the first picture it’s called “Hello, I must be going”. I’m not going to attempt to describe it. If anyone is interested there’s a short review (not of this particular production) here.

Did I enjoy it? I’m not sure. It’s billed as “A Comedic Drama in the Key of Life”, but it seemed to me to be much more drama than comedy although it did have comedic moments. The performers did a good job, and all things considered it was a decent production. I guess I just wasn’t in the mood for something as gloomy as this was a lot of o the time.

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Taken with a Sony RX100 M3

A Visit to Boston – Day Two – A Street Entertainer

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I must say that he was very entertaining. And I don’t think that I’ve ever seen anyone juggling two (I think it was two. Might have been three) knives while riding a 10-foot-tall unicycle and playing bagpipes. He could probably do it in his sleep, but managed to give the impression that he might fall off at any moment.

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Taken with a Sony A6000 and 18-135mm f3.5-5.6 OSS

The Trial of Major John André

by Posted in History, People, Theatre Leave a comment
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Yesterday I attended an interesting (for those who are interested in US Revolutionary War History, of course) presentation (actually more of a re-enactment) of The Trial of Major John André. It was organized by Revolutionary Westchester 250 as one of the many events and programs commemorating the American Revolution in Westchester County, in the run up to the 250 Anniversary in 2026. The two excellent performers were from “Drama From the Past, LLC. First Person Historical Performances”. The re-enactment was hosted by the Briarcliff Manor Public Library.

For those (particularly my friends in the UK) who may not be familiar with the story I’ll include this short quote from a recent article:

“It is September 29, 1780, the start of André’s trial. General George Washington has just learned the devastating news that American General Benedict Arnold has betrayed his Country and was about to surrender Fortress West Point to the British. Arnold’s accomplice, British Major John André, was captured in Tarrytown, by militiamen John Paulding, David Williams and Isaac Van Wart. André now faces a military tribunal at the Old Dutch Church in Tappan, NY. A Board of Officers has been appointed to decide whether or not he is an officer of the British Army or a spy. Having been captured behind enemy lines, out of uniform and carrying incriminating documents, André is faced with a monumental task of wriggling free from the grim fate that awaits.”

Great fun. I really enjoyed it.

Above: Gary Petagine plays Judge Advocate John Laurence, who prosecuted.

Below: Sean Grady (who portrays Major André). I was sorely tempted to ask him if I could try on his jacket.😀He did a great British accent too.

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Taken with an iPhone SE II.