My week in review

Sunday: We returned to the Metropolitan Museum to see the rest of the Turner exhibition, that we started the previous week. I was most impressed with his watercolors. Afterwards we had a few minutes to go to their roof-top sculpture space to see the Jeff Koons works they have up there. They're marvelous--especially the balloon dog.

Wednesday: My LGBT bar association board meeting was cancelled, so I had to improvise. First, I grabbed a bit to eat at the Zipper Factory Tavern. Then I went downtown to the Parkside Lounge to hear R.U.B.--Robert Urban's 80's rock cover band. Though the air conditioning had failed, it was still a lot of fun.

After that I went up to the Monster Bar, where I was joined by some friends for some dancing and Jesse Volt's drag show.

(At the request of one of my readers, from now on I will add a note listing what I wear when I present as a woman.)

Wardrobe: Yellow V-neck t-shirt with poofy sleeves, and a white flower-print skirt

Thursday: To celebrate our 20th anniversary, we started with a nice dinner at Marseille, followed by a performance of Boeing, Boeing--a revival of a 60's comedy about an American in Paris with three fiancées, all airline stewardesses, as they were called back then. It was very silly, and the main character (who, it became apparent, was the friend of the guy with the fiancées, not the guy himself) was not terribly well-defined, but it was hilarious. Christine Baranski was great as the French housekeeper, but my favorite was Gina Gershon as the Italian fiancée (the other two were American and German). My fantasy would be to look like her in this part.

Friday: We took a sunset cruise to look at the Waterfalls. I wasn't terribly impressed, but it was a nice night to be out in the harbor, with a beer in hand. My wife had never taken one of these cruises before so the whole thing was new experience for her. Afterwards we stopped and bought a real balloon dog to remind us of the Jeff Koons one. Then we went back up to our neighborbood Italian restaurant for a pasta dinner.

Saturday: We went downtown to the Joyce Theater to see the modern dance group Pilobolus. We used to see a performance of their's every year, but they got rather repetitive. But after some 10 or 15 years we decided to give them another try, particularly because one of the pieces' co-creators was Basil Twist, whom we both like very much. "Darkness and Light" mostly used silhouettes seen on a white cloth sheet, which were created by dancers moving in front of colored lights. There was also a short segment that seemed to be sparkling lights projected directly on the sheet--I'm guessing this was the main contribution of Twist's. There were some interesting parts, but whole thing was rather weak.

This was preceded, though, by "B'zyrk." This was a long, wild dance piece with 6 performers dressed and dancing crazily, to some crazy-sounding music. (We couldn't decide if the lyric was in some real, Eastern European language unrecognizable to us or completely made-up.) It was my favorite. It combined humor with Pilobolus' trademark acrobatic balancing.

After intermission there were a couple of older pieces, which reminded me of why we stopped going to Pilobolus for a decade or so. But I'm glad we stayed, because at the end of the curtain call the almost naked dancers took turns sliding across the stage on a thin sheet of water, sort of like an old slip-n-slide (except it was just some water on the bare floor!), holding various poses and doing stunts. They seemed to be having a great time, and the audience had one also just watching them.

We followed that up with a pretty good dinner at a sort of French restaurant up the street. The dessert soufflé was very yummy.

My week in review

Sunday: Following a lunch in the cafeteria, we saw the J. M. W. Turner exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Actually, we only saw part of it--it's so big that we'll have to go back again to finish.

Monday: First, I volunteered as a lawyer at the West Village TransLegal Clinic Name Change Project. After helping 5 people prepare their petitions to take to court, I jumped in a cab and went to the Maestrocities show at the Zipper Theater with my friend Cleopatra Queen of Denile and her roommate. As usual it was lots of fun. Unfortunately there won't be another show until October--allegedly they're going to band camp.

Wednesday: I had my quarterly check-up at my doctor's (it's so often because of a couple rather powerful medications I'm on). It included my annual electrocardiogram. Everything was fine, though we haven't gotten the lab results yet.

Thursday: First, I went to another Yetta Kurland for City Council fundraiser. This one was at the home of Margaret Ratner Kunstler, the widow of the self-described "radical lawyer" and civil rights activist William Kunstler. Their Greenwich Village townhouse was described by Kurland supporter Tom Shanahan, Deputy Commissioner of the NY State Division of Human rights and former civil rights attorney, as "hallowed ground."

Then I walked over a few blocks to Lips Restaurant. I said hello (again) to CDI member Abby and her sister, whom I had seen at the CDI apartment earlier when I was getting dressed. I got a drink from Frankie Cocktail at the bar, and waited for my friend Cleopatra Queen of Denile to show up. She soon arrived. We ordered a guacamole and waited for the show to start. Eventually it did--Thursdays at Lips is "Dinner with the Divas," where the waitresses actually impersonate the singers they are lipsyncing. First was show hostess Jesse Volt as Joan Rivers--no lipsyncing, just a bit of comedy, asking who in the audience was celebrating something, etc. Then Frankie did her usual Dolly Parton, Morgan impersonated Mary J. Blige, Ginger did Bette Middler, and Jesse returned, this time as Cher.

We stayed a bit after the show, then went off to see our friend Clover Honey in another show at another bar. But that turned out to be a mistake--she wasn't performing there that night. Fortunately we were only a block away from another show we were thinking of seeing: Starshine Burlesque at The Fortune Cookie Cabaret. I wanted to see Dirty Martini perform especially. But all the performers were good.

Saturday: We watched the last episode of Inspector Lewis, which we had recorded.

My week in review

Sunday: We watched another episode of Inspector Lewis.

Thursday: Cleopatra Queen of Denile and I went down to the Here Theater in SoHo to see Arias with a Twist. That's Joey Arias, the drag performer and Basil Twist the puppeteer, who have joined forces to create a bizarre, wonderful, song-filled show. It's been extended until August 31.

Joining us was Jenny Lee Mitchell (Deirdre of the Maestrocities). She has known Joey Arias since she was a teenager, when they worked together at Fiorucci's. We got to talk to Arias briefly after the show. Then Cleopatra, Jenny and I, along with a couple of Jenny's friends who were also at the show, went out to dinner at a nice Spring St. Italian restaurant.

Saturday: My wife and I saw "Tell No One (Ne le dis à personne)."(UK website) It was simply one of the best thrillers I've ever seen. It ranks up there with "The Third Man." It's the classic innocent man being framed, on the run from the police and a sinister gang of bad guys--including a woman so evil that she makes Cate Blanchett in Indiana Jones look like a cuddly pussy cat.

Afterwards we had an adequate dinner at Serafina.

My week in review

Sunday: My wife and I watched the first episode of Inspector Lewis from Masterpiece Mystery! Detective Sergeant Lewis from Inspector Morse gets a promotion and his own series in this spin-off. Pretty good, though as a character Lewis is not nearly as deep as Morse was, at least so far.

Tuesday: I started at Mayor Bloomberg's Pride Celebration at Gracie Mansion, the NYC mayor's official residence. (Bloomberg doesn't actually live in the mansion though. He prefers his own townhouse--it's nice being a multi-billionaire.) I got there late, and by the time I got through security (when I set off the metal detector I just said I was wearing a corset, and they allowed me in), Bloomberg had already finished his speech. City Council Speaker Christine Quinn was making her remarks. Then the mayor introduced a short talk by designer Isaac Mizrahi, who said a psychic had told him the love of his life was named Eric--so he would go into gay bars and call out "Eric!" to see who turned around. Finally they played a little "Match Game" take-off with three members of the audience. It was pretty stupid.

After the program I just mingled and had a couple small cups of wine and lots of the salads provided, avoiding the make-up destroying hamburgers, hotdogs and chicken. (A fork is a crossdresser's best friend at mealtime.) There were probably 15 or 20 people there I knew and said hello to.

After that I went downtown (via bus and subway) to another Yetta Kurland for City Council fundraiser. I got some good aerobic exercise climbing the stairs to Tom Shevlin's fifth floor apartment. But it was lots of fun--each one of these Kurland fundraisers is more fun than the previous. This campaign is attracting a lot of interesting people.

Thursday: My friend Cleopatra Queen of Denile and I started with an off-off-Broadway musical, written and performed by the daughter of Mariette Pathy Allen, who has photographed two books of transgender people. Julia Steele Allen's "A Boy Called Noise" is about the murder of a gay teenager. This was originally(?) produced in the 2006 San Fransisco Fringe Festival. Allen is a very good actress, but I found her writing to be a bit lacking.

We the went down to the Village for some dinner, and Sweetie's show at the Stonewall. However, the show was cancelled (the Stonewall manager told us Sweetie's father had died). So we went up to the Zipper Theater for "Don't Quit Your Night Job." It was the second anniversary of the Broadway-oriented comedy/improvisational show, though it was my first time. (It starts at 11:30, so the Broadway performers can be there.) It was a lot of fun. They get some big name Broadway performers as guests: I got to see Kelli O'Hara from South Pacific and Mary Poppins herself: Ashley Brown. They used O'Hara (whom I had heard in "Light in the Piazza") in the spot where a great voiced Broadway star sings some very mundane lyrics--O'Hara lent her beautiful soprano to subway announcements, prescription medicine instructions, and a test of the Emergency Broadcast System. Later it was Brown's turn. However, prior to her entrance the show host fielded audience suggestions to questions like: "Give me a verb," "Give me a liquid," "Give me a familiar place." These were inserted into Brown's lyric. So we got to hear her sing "A spoonful of semen helps the medicine go down," etc. I'm looking forward to seeing this show again, when it resumes in the fall.

Saturday: My wife and I watched the Metropolitan Opera production of Donizetti's "La Fille du Régiment" which we had DVR'd. It was a wonderful performance. Natalie Dessay and Juan Diego Flórez were marveleous--Flórez makes such a handsome leading man, aside from being an extraordinary singer (what high C's!). Dessay can also sing beautifully--while simultaneously being a great comic actress. The only slightly detracting aspect was the slightly muddled production. It seemed to be set in the 1930's, judging by the costumes and (altered) dialogue. But I can't say I remember France invading Switzerland in that time period.

My week in review

Sunday: was a rare weekend day out as Caprice, as my wife wanted to do something I was totally uninterested in. First, Clover Honey (recovering in male mode from emceeing the Brooklyn Pride Festival the previous day) and I saw a pair of transgender documentaries at Newfest, the NYC LGBT film festival. One was Envisioning Justice: The Journey of a Transgendered Woman. This was about Pauline Park, a New York trans activist with whom I've worked on the GENDA Coalition steering committee. It was quite good, and I learned a lot about her life. I knew she was a Korean adoptee, but I hadn't known she has a twin brother. The second film was Simply Love (Gewoon Liefde). This was a sequel to the 1993 documentary A Change of View, which told the story a Dutch transwoman's transition. The sequel tells of her reuniting with a girfiend of her youth, after 40 years. It was a boring soap opera--the only interesting parts were the excerpts from the original film that were inserted.

After the films there was a Q&A with Pauline and her film-biographer, Larry Tung. Then some of us went over to the HK Lounge for a bit of a reception. My friend Cleopatra Queen of Denile joined us, dressed for a party as always. Then she and I adjourned next door to HK's restaurant for some dinner (my entree was about half the size it should have been, but CQoD was quite satisfied with hers).

Following that we went to XES, where we watched the Tony Awards. I filled up on a hot dog and popcorn they provided, while getting semi-inebriated (I sure wish bars wouldn't get Absolut Apeach confused with Absolut Pear, though). It's fun watching the Tony's in a gay bar, with people cheering on their favorites. The guy sitting next to me knew every song that was performed.

Tuesday: I went to the ACLU's LGBT & AIDS Project's 10th Annual Pride Reception for attorneys and summer associates. I was on the host committee. It was held at the fabulous offices of Kirkland & Ellis LLP, located on the 50th floor of the Citigroup Center. The views were fantastic. I was looking down on the famous "lipstick building." I met a few people I knew, and had a nice time talking to them and filling up on wonderful hors d'oeuvres and gin and tonics. Things were winding down about 9:30, and I called it an early night.

The rest of the week: I stayed home, helping my wife with some things she wanted done around the apartment. Friday and Saturday evenings we watched the last two episodes of John Adams.

My week in review

Tuesday: attended a fundraiser for the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund at the Ritz Bar.

Thursday: went to the New York Philharmonic's performance of Tosca in concert--excellent. This was preceded by a very nice (though noisy) dinner at Bar Boulud.

Friday: saw Sex and the City (great clothes, tolerable plot), followed by a nice Mexican dinner at Maz Mezcal.

Saturday: saw Indiana Jones and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull--fun.

My week in review

Sunday: watched the final episode of this year's series of the Tudors (spoiler: Anne Boleyn loses her head).

Monday: went to the Maestrocities show at the Zipper Theater with my friends Rita and Cleopatra Queen of Denile. It was lots of fun, and afterwards I got to talk with two or three of the band members at the bar.

Tuesday: watched the GENDA debate and vote. I didn't even have to view it via the internet--the NY State Legislature has its own cable TV channel on my system.

Thursday: saw LOVE! That 4-Letter Word with Rita and CQoD. The show was pretty good, though the crossdressing character bore little resemblance to reality. The performances were much better than I expected for an off-off Broadway musical. My friend Johanna Weller-Fahy managed to get through her part despite being rather sick. She was singing at clearly reduced power. Afterwards Cleopatra and I went up to the O.W. Bar to hear Bianca Leigh sing.

Friday: got my hair cut, then I went down to the Film Forum to see The President's Analyst--a really fun movie from my college days.

Saturday: caught the end of the women's final of the French Open at Roland Garros, then I watched Hillary Clinton's concession speech--excellent. In the evening, I had a mediocre dinner at Amber on Columbus Ave (memo to all restaurants: I don't care if your menu is "Pan-Asian," if you're serving a western style dish that is not cut into bite-sized pieces, it should be accompanied by western style eating implements--chopsticks don't make it, and the customers shouldn't have to ask). Then we went to hear the New York Philharmonic play Mahler's Ninth Symphony. The orchestra played extremely well, though I thought Music Director Loren Maazel could have speeded things up a bit here and there.

My week in review

An out-of-town friend of mine complained about my change in blogging habits. It wasn't the decrease in my posting frequency, or the lack of my reviews of the various entertainment events I see. Rather, she just missed reading about my life--what I was doing with my time. So I am now going to start a weekly post just to cover the highlights. Maybe I'll throw in a comment or two.

Sunday: Watched the Indy 500, rooting for Danica Patrick. Later my wife and I watched the Tudors.

Tuesday: Went to the Empire State Pride Agenda offices, to call people to ask them to call their State Assembly members to get them to vote for the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA). I made 34 calls, talked to 16 answering machines and about a dozen actual, live people. (Later in the week we found out GENDA is on the Assembly calendar and will probably be voted on next Tuesday.)

After that, I went to dinner at Lips Restaurant with someone I had met there a couple of times over the years, who was up from Alabama for a visit.

Wednesday: Went with my wife to a concert of a choral group one of her friends is in.

Saturday: Went with my wife to hear the New York Philharmonic--an excellent concert with Emanuel Ax performing Beethoven's Fifth Piano Concerto, the "Emperor." He favored us with an encore. Prior to that we attended a "Friends' Night," an opportunity for donors to the orchestra to meet some of the orchestra members for a half-hour or so. I think this was the third year we have gone to one of these. This year we spoke with the English horn player Thomas Stacey, who told us about the orchestra's recent trip to North Korea, and violinist Fiona Simon, who talked a bit about some of the various personal relationships between orchestra members--she joined the orchestra after marrying a Philharmonic member. We also spoke briefly with orchestra pianist Harriet Wingreen.