A Little Night Music – Pittsford Musicals

When I first heard my mother play the record of A Little Night Music in the mid-70s, I was too young to appreciate the genius of Steven Sondheim, and rolled my arrogant teenage eyes at lyrics like:  “She wouldn't...therefore they didn't... So then it wasn't...not unless it...would she?”

Luckily, it didn’t take me too long after I matured to understand his gift and become an ardent fan.  I saw this show three times in the 90’s before finally attending a performance with my mother, at the Kennedy Center Sondheim Celebration.  After suffering through Catharine Zeta-Jones’ performance in the recent Broadway revival just to see Angela Lansbury, I wished that the last performance I attended had been the 2009 Roundabout Theatre reading, featuring the perfectly cast Vanessa Redgrave and Natasha Richardson in the mother/daughter roles.  Until now.

I convinced Gwen, my frequent partner-in-audience, Concentus conductor, and not yet a Sondheim fan, to attend Pittsford Musical’s production of ALNM with me, at RIT.  I didn’t know what to expect, since amateur theatre exists on so many levels (and part of me is still looking for a group to participate in, not in a speaking role – the chorus would be fine!).  But since this show has a special place in my heart (I would play the CD to soothe my mother on her deathbed), I couldn’t miss seeing it staged again.

Despite the somewhat uncomfortable seats (even I found the legroom wanting) I thoroughly enjoyed this production.  The performers were all outstanding, and to me, the fact that the incredibly talented Allyn Van Dusen, whom I’ve seen perform with the Rochester Lyric Opera, had a smaller role, is telling.  One of my (and usually an audience’s) favorite songs, “The Miller’s Son,” comes near the end of the show, and Linda Dirksen Gressell did not disappoint in her sassy delivery.  There were only a couple of moments that jarred (a few wrong notes in the orchestra, a few noisy scene changes, and a lyric change – seriously, is Rochester so pious that “the goddamn papers” lost its “god”?).  The costumes and wigs were incredibly professional, and the sound system was better than in Nazareth’s enormous theatre. 

I am happy for the Rochester community that we have such a talented group of performers and producers in Pittsford Musicals, even if it means I’ll remain on the seated side of their fourth wall.  My next opportunity (and yours, unless you can catch the final performance of ALNM tonight) is their October production of the very funny musical Curtains.  Can’t wait!

For more info visit http://www.pittsfordmusicals.org/

Equicenter Equitrails Fundraiser

the route

The last time I did a charity bike ride was about 25 years ago, in New York City, to raise money for MS. I was less interested in the cause than the ability to bike through one of the tubes of the Lincoln Tunnel car-free. Charity runs and rides are a peculiarly American obsession, and I’ve never really caught that bug – I’d rather bike away from crowds than with them, or go on a nice walk with a few friends, rather than hundreds or thousands of strangers.  But I do usually support my friends in whatever causes they’re running/walking/biking for.  So now it was my turn again.

an Equicenter client put through his paces

My friend Daren introduced me to the Equicenter in Mendon several months ago.  I don’t love horses, although I probably like them more after reading several of Temple Grandin’s books about animals.  Luckily, I didn’t have to get that close to the horses at the Equicenter – the animals there have a special purpose.  Short story:  “Horseback riding is a progressive form of therapy serving as an effective tool for improving muscle stimulation, strength, coordination, flexibility, posture and balance for people with physical disabilities such as cerebral palsy, spina bifida, hypotonia, visual impairment, Down Syndrome, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, stroke, and spinal injuries. In addition to these physical benefits, equestrian activities increase communication, social and organizational skills, and enhance self-confidence, relationship building, teamwork and independence.” (From Equicenter’s website.  For more information about their programs and mission, visit:  www.equicenterny.org)

When Jonathan Friedlander, President & CEO, told me they would be hosting their “first annual” ride/run/etc. in June, I had no doubt I would register (and actually ride if it weren’t raining!).  When I was begging friends to support me, I was surprised how many people were aware of the organization (and one friend and fellow Concentus member, Julie, actually works there!), so it wasn’t a hard sell.  I even enticed my friend Susan to join me so I wouldn’t have to bike alone. 

Let's bike already!

missing an "L"...

The 5K run had already started as Susan and I registered (with 200-250 other participants in the day’s activities), and the 50-odd bikers set off at 10am under a clear blue sky.  The owner of the Park Ave Bike Shop had created a lovely route, and although it was only 23.8 miles per the Strava app on my iphone, it had enough hills to make up for the mileage deficiency!  There was a killer hill at the very end, which shouldn’t have been a surprise to me, given the vista one has from the Equicenter…  I struggled to keep up with Susan, even though she complained about suffering the effects of being overserved the prior night at the Jazz Festival.  Only towards the end of the ride did we notice that someone had periodically chalked the road with encouraging or funny phrases.

beautiful view, but what goes down must come up!

We both agreed that the Equicenter set the bar pretty high for future annual events because this one was so well organized, and there was such a great turnout of volunteers.  As we devoured our bag lunches we were treated to the fantastic music of Significant Other, a local band (including Perrin Yang, an RPO violinist) using this as a “warm up” for their performance on Tuesday at the Jazz Festival.

Significant Other

There weren’t many participants left by 1pm for the wrap-up, when the donors were formally thanked and highest fundraisers were announced.  Many thanks to all of my family (Peter, Bill, Maria, Charlie and Kathryn) and friends (Bernie S., Lisa R., Tansy, Anne F., Ann B., Lucy & Phil S., Sue S., Sarah B., Nanette C., Lisa M., Tim & Kathy W., Tobie C., Jenna F., Peggy B., Maryann W., Dinny S., Jan S., Skalny Travel & Tours, Linda B., Rachel & Kevin G., Kathy G., Anne R., Cleve K. & Daren C.) who together helped me raise $2775 of the $24,105 listed on Crowdrise and earn me the prize for top fundraiser!  While I accepted that gift, donated by Park Ave Bikes, I declined the separate 10% incentive gift certificate when I learned that those had not been donated, but would need to be purchased by the Equicenter…  Second place went to team “Bella Goff,” which raised $1155, and Bella was adorable as she ran to the stage for her applause.  I looked up her story on Crowdrise and found it so touching I’m including it below.

I guess I’ll be doing this again next year!

Bella's Story

Bella was born 11 weeks early and when she was 3 days old we found out she had a brain bleed and we had no idea what that would mean for her development. She spent almost 8 weeks in the NICU and then immediately started physical therapy.  Now that Bella is 4 ½, we know that the bleed caused a weakness to her right side and a delay in all of her gross and fine motor skills as well as her speech.  As parents, we try to do everything we can to help support or children in their development and for us, the EquiCenter helps us do that.  We are a big proponent of trying to find new therapies that go above and beyond the typicals. One of Bella's therapists recommended the EquiCenter about 2 years ago. We went for a visit and were extremely impressed with what they offer. Bella has been riding there since she turned 3.  It is weekly therapeutic riding that focuses on her core strength, bilateral skills and the strengthening of her right side.  Her horse’s name is Annie.  Annie and Bella enjoy going on trail rides, “trit-trotting” as Bella calls it, and playing games.  They have so much fun Bella doesn’t realize it is therapy. Bella is also able to work on her speech while giving Annie directions.  The EquiCenter team is amazing in all that they have done to support Bella and this is our opportunity to help give back. 

Steve Martin & Edie Brickell at the Rochester International Jazz Festival

the stage is so far away!!!

Tickets to the evening Steve Martin and Edie Brickell concert purportedly went on sale at 10am on February 7.  By the time I had hit the right keys on my computer at 10:02am, the “best seats available” for two seats together were in the back of the balcony!  How is it possible that most of the seats for this performance at Kodak Hall were sold this quickly?  I bought two anyway, knowing that there aren’t really and bad seats in the hall, but also that we’d need binoculars to see the stage.  There’s obviously demand in Rochester for performers of this kind, so why don’t we have a full-time performing arts center that books musicians, comedians, etc.?   I checked again at 10:15 out of curiosity – the only option was 1 ticket (no more seats together), and the “best available” was in the “loges” (i.e., balcony), and by 10:18 the event was sold out.  Later, the festival added an afternoon show, whose tickets sold less quickly.  Although if I’d gambled on a second show, I know I would have lost!

seriously?!?

small outdoor music venue

This was our first foray into the Jazz Festival (not sure what qualifies it as “international”?), so we didn’t know what to expect.  We drove into town early, in case parking was an issue (it wasn’t, but it WAS expensive – luckily we pulled into the lot that “only” charged $10!).  At 5:30pm on Saturday, downtown Rochester felt alive, with people crowding the sidewalks and barricaded streets.  You could be forgiven for mistaking Rochester for Portland (either coast…) or any other vibrant mid-sized city.  A small band played outside, and it reminded me of the Joni Mitchell lyric:  “he was playing real good for free.”  There was more diversity – in race, age, and economic background – than you usually see in any one place in Rochester. 

Gibbs aka "Jazz" Street

Given the throngs of people enjoying the glorious weather as they waited to hear the outdoor music, and the concentration it took to steer a path through them, we were surprised to run into some friends – Lucia and her husband, who were also attending the 8pm concert, and Jen and a friend who raved about the 4pm show.  We were glad we’d made a reservation at Max at Eastman, not just because of the consistently good food, but because every restaurant was packed, and even the many food carts had long lines. As an added bonus, we got to hear the Diana Panton performance in the atrium, which was also filled to capacity, without paying the $20 cover!

the atrium of Max at Eastman

Bluegrass (Steve Martin admitted his band doesn’t really play jazz…) isn’t my favorite style of music – it reminds me too much of summer vacations spent with my father’s hillbilly relatives in North Carolina, and square dancing, and missing teeth.  But the musicians were all fantastic, especially the fiddle player.  Steve Martin was hysterical in between songs, as you would hope.  And they did a wonderfully funny a cappella composition called “Atheists Don’t Have No Songs” (“the ‘he’ is always lowercase”).  It was strange hearing Edie Brickell sing bluegrass – especially when she rhymed “thang” (as in “this ole thang?”) with another “ing” word. I was worried that she wouldn’t sing any of her songs from her time with the New Bohemians, but she finally graced us with “What I Am.”  The entire performance was extremely enjoyable, and Steve even remarked on how special a live performance is, with the interaction between the audience and the musicians.  Even if his jokes were scripted, they felt spontaneous (he is a great actor and comedian, after all), and I’m guessing that most of his patter isn’t included on their CDs. 

people staking out seats at 5:30pm
for the 9pm Lou Gramm concert

At 10pm when we emerged, the streets were still bustling, the restaurants were still full, and the atmosphere was one of a proper downtown.  I don’t know how the economic impact of a festival such as this is calculated, and I wondered whether the local hotels were benefiting from out-of-town visitors, but I would bet that receipts from this 9-day span provide more than their proportional benefit to many local businesses. Reluctantly, we decided to forgo walking by the Lou Gramm stage (we probably couldn’t have gotten near it anyway).  But I definitely left feeling like I wanted to return, and be rewarded with some real jazz music that I had to earn by standing in line.  Maybe next year?

In the Neighborhood

Last year, several of my New York City friends recommended a book they were reading for their book club:  In the Neighborhood, by Peter Lovenheim, a Rochester journalist.  Not being a long-time Rochester resident, I’d never heard of it, or the murder-suicide that was the impetus for Lovenheim's quest.  It was a fairly quick and fun read, especially as I was familiar with many of the locations.  So when Mary Beth and Lauren visited recently, they asked if we could do an “In the Neighborhood” tour.  Even though the addresses of the characters aren’t given in the book, a little googling combined with the descriptions of the houses provided guidance.  We parked on Ambassador Drive, close to the author’s old house, and took a leisurely stroll down Sandringham Road. 

Gannett house

The Houston Barnard section of Brighton, with its wide boulevards, sidewalks, and lampposts, boasts a variety of architectural styles, from grand mansions, both old (like the tasteful “Gannett” house, which is the only house in this neighborhood designated as a Brighton landmark) and new (the towering Chesonis McMansion, that is out of proportion to its land and the neighborhood), to modest ranch or split-level homes;  from Tudor Revival to Craftsman-influenced.

the author's home

where it happened...

Lovenheim’s prior home, described by him as “ a contemporary split-level with brick façade, wide eaves, double front door, and circular driveway,” was easily spotted. We also found the Wills family address after a bit of internet searching, and we wondered if the current owners still had to put up with curious people like us, or whether, more likely, the incident had receded enough into the past not to be an issue. 

Lou's house

From Lovenheim’s descriptions in his book, we were also able to identify Lou’s house, but we gave up looking for any of the others and just enjoyed the walk.  We passed the house where Charlie’s grandparents had lived, as well as his cousin’s house, and waved to her in her driveway (she was one of very few people we saw outside, despite it being a glorious day).  I pointed out an odd-looking tree that someone once had explained to me was a “spite tree” – it had to do with a dispute with the neighbor, I think, so the owner cut down all of the upper branches but left what now looks almost sculptural.

spite tree

After our walk, we drove to the reservoir for its great view of downtown, with a quick detour to the neighborhood Lovenheim describes as a mini-neighborhood “built around a central grassy area, which…all the neighbors owned.”  I only knew about this hidden gem because my friend Gwen had taken me there on a walk last fall, and we had met an outgoing gentleman who invited us into his little studio on the park-side of the green. 

Luckily, my own neighborhood is very small and residents are always outside and interacting (the benefit of having lots of young children on the street), so we’re probably not at risk for an incident that would make it into the news.  Still, Lovenheim’s book inspired me to make more of an effort to get to know my neighbors and to be approachable and helpful, when I have the opportunity.  It also motivated me to order a used copy of Smugtown USA on ebay…

Return to Susan B. Anthony House

There are so many things to do in Rochester that I never thought I’d want to write about the Susan B. Anthony House again.  But since I visited there twice in the past week, I thought it would bear repeat reflection.  Each time I go, I experience the house anew, either because a different docent tells slightly different stories, or because the people I’m with ask different questions (not, I hope, because my memory is faulty!).  Going twice in one week allowed a very immediate comparison.  The first time, my friend Martha (a long-time Rochesterian who had never been) and I joined a tour already in progress so we missed the introduction in sister Hannah’s house, which serves as the gift shop and welcome center.  The second time, my friends Mary Beth and Lauren, visiting from New York City, and I caught the last tour of the day, and I think for only the second time of the over half-dozen times I've been, we started at the beginning!  (This is because tours are not at a set time – they seem to occur whenever enough arriving visitors and an available docent intersect…)

I was reminded that Miss Anthony first became an activist in the temperance movement (in an era where a woman could not own property, defend herself in court, ask for a divorce, or be granted custody of her children, a husband who drank away his earnings was a cause for grave concern), then moved on to abolition, then to education reform, and finally to women’s suffrage.  Both docents explained how her behind-the-scenes sister Mary enabled her to work for her causes, supporting her and the family house by working as a schoolteacher, and eventually as a principal (although she had to turn the job down initially because the school only relented to her demand for equal pay after one or two male principals, depending on the docent, was deemed inadequate).  The second docent was much more dramatic and complete in her story-telling: knocking on a door to mimic the federal marshal who came to arrest Miss Anthony; and explaining that the Supreme Court judge who traveled to Canandaigua to preside over her trial for voting illegally actually wrote his decision on his train ride up, before handing the jury a ‘directed verdict,’ instructing them to find her guilty.  As a woman, Miss Anthony was not allowed to speak on her own behalf to the all-male jury.

In one of the rooms there is an interesting pair of prints.  Amusingly, one docent described “African Hospitality” as black men welcoming a ship of white men (in actuality, the scene depicts the Africans rescuing the white men from a shipwreck, and even though one of the tourists called this to her attention, she insisted the ship was upright).  This scene is juxtaposed with one called “Slave Trade.”  Obviously, the Africans should have let those white men drown!  I cannot imagine how difficult it must be to volunteer as a docent – to remember all the details and dates and stories.

Mary Beth and Lauren with statue of Susan B. and
Frederick Douglass having tea in the nearby square

While there is a lot of period furniture, very little, sadly, is original, since the house and contents were sold after Susan and Mary died.  But Miss Anthony's bedroom furniture is original, as is the encased black dress that she wore on her annual visits to Washington, D.C., and her iconic alligator purse. Oddly, one tour guide led us out the back of the house (where there was a statute of Miss Anthony) and back into the welcome center through the back, and the other returned us through the fronts (not even a peek at the room with the statue).  Both tours reminded me that even though I might check things off my “to do” list with a mental “been there, done that,” I'm happy when I have out-of-town visitors who provide me an excuse to return, because I just might see something I missed before.