Finally took an hour to hop on a downtown subway to 34th street to check out the legendary Chelsea Hotel (www.hotelchelsea.com) and surrounds on this trip. Hmmmm.... bit of a dive alright, albeit a totally famous and interesting one. Curious that Joseph O'Neill lived there with his whole family while writing "Netherland" - can that be true I wonder? Had to go to the nearest Starbuck's, ironically enough, to mull it over a bit.
Ambling around the Upper West Side on another October day, it was nice to see the Lincoln Center Fountain in action again. Also - there were changes and even a new "Illumination Lawn" to be laid on, in the hot October sun (yes, you read that right - hot October sun). I spotted and snuck a photograph of one specimen who I felt embodied the relaxation ethos of this new space - a man kicking back on a free chair, reading his paper. When I showed this exemplary image to my friend Julia Judge later on she declared "John McMartin - that 's John Mc Martin!". He was more than likely on a 2 hour break from rehearsals for John Guare's new play "A Free Man of Color" - currently in rehearsal. Well, it's a small world, even in random New York city. & when I say that Lincoln Center Theater feels like a second home, I earned that when I was lucky enough to partake in their wonderful Director's Lab, run by Anne Cattaneo. Apart from Wuppertaler Buhnen, it is the one theatre in the world where I am more familiar with the backstage area than the foyer. Lucky me, and nice to be reminded of it.
On my first day in NYC in 7 years, I ran around the upper west side to check that my favourite things were still there - joggers in Central Park perpetually jogging, people perpetually paying homage to John Lennon in Strawberry Fields, and the perpetual queue at The Muffin Shop (our own nomenclature, as you can see). Oh yes, and a couple of skyscrapers with the clouds reflected in them. Tick. All still here.
