I’ve always loved Fridays and I know why; as a youngster, my parents would close their dental offices on Fridays, come to my school and whisk me away at noon. Our destination was New York City to see a film and a stage show. That was followed up by a great hamburger and pie at Lindy’s (obviously we weren’t counting calories then!).
The thrill was greatest when we went to Radio City Music Hall. My only problem there was finding my way from the huge downstairs ladies room back to my seat. What appeared magical to me was watching a live orchestra arise from below the stage. I’m still entranced when I go to that midtown art deco cathedral of entertainment, especially to “The Radio City Christmas Spectacular.”Celebrating its 75 years, the grand old show has adjusted completely to today’s technology, still managing to retain the glories of the 20th century. As a child, I envisioned myself on stage complete with top hat, cane and tights doing the Rockettes’ breathtaking precision high steps; they are still magnificent. In this year’s show, they board an almost full-sized double-decker bus, whizzing past a kinetic montage of New York landmarks, a number that could only be accomplished on the great stage of Radio City. There’s so much more now: hordes of hoofing Santas, falling snow, film clips, and seasonal songs still played by a live orchestra that still rises from below the stage. “The Radio City Christmas Spectacular” at Radio City Music Hall remains stunning and memorable.
Even though a friend gave me a couple of interesting interpretations for the movie title “Lions for Lambs,” I still couldn’t understand it-even after seeing the film. However, I was attracted to its cast, a bevy of stars-and I do mean high wattage stars. I refer to the kind who can light up and steal the screen. How could a movie be anything but engrossing with the likes of Robert Redford, Meryl Streep and Tom Cruise! That turned out to be true. “Lions for Lambs” addresses a powerful and gripping story that digs behind the news of politics. The script seems to be formed by the headlines from today’s newspapers. Three stories are woven tightly together. This movie is a thinking person’s film, significant and entertaining, thought provoking and reality-based. There’s engaging conversation-a dialog-heavy film. There’s a brilliant duet between a veteran nobody’s-fool political reporter (Merly Streep) and a young hotshot NeoCon senator (Tom Cruise)-both utterly believable. Gushing about Meryl Streep is almost embarrassing, but the star gives a performance to remember. I say a special thanks to a weathered Robert Redford. The director/star appears to be trying hard to keep us from being sheltered from reality.
It’s great when you happen to be in the right place at the right time. I got lucky! I just happened to be at the World Financial Center in lower Manhattan when a tasting festival was in progress. What’s a tasting festival? Well, each season, there’s a showcase of signature dishes and desserts from the World Financial Center’s 17 (Yes, 17!) restaurants and cafes. At first, all I saw were crowds of contented-looking people holding white trays, many of them laden with appetizing-looking foods. What was going on? This showcase was a seasonal eating frenzy, called Autumn’s Palate. For $1 to $5, the most delicious dishes were available for sampling. What did I eat? Well, I’m a boring, careful eater, yet I ended up more than satisfied. First, I sampled a butternut squash risotto ($4 from The Grill Room). I next enjoyed a black bean soup ($3 from South West NY). Finally, my indulgence was a muffin ($1 from Columbus Bakery) with a short drip coffee ($1 from Starbucks). I didn’t leave hungry and I look forward to Winter’s Palate at the World Financial Center. Just the thought of it makes me salivate!
The Metropolitan Museum of Art has done it again-a sensational show of a stupefying king-size display of space-eating art. “Tapestry in the Baroque: Threads of Splendor” is awesome in its detail. There are 44 tapestries. Tapestries? What are tapestries? What are they doing in a museum? Aren’t they basically rugs on a wall? That’s what I thought. So I got Webster’s off the shelf and it was defined for me as “a heavy, reversible textile that has designs or pictures woven into it and is used especially as a wall hanging.” At the Met’s exhibition, the biggest is bigger than any other painting-except, maybe, for a Buddhist mural in the Chinese galleries-or any sculpture. In their 16th century heyday, tapestries were madly expensive and designed to flatter their patrons. This display at the Met is a study in socio-economic propaganda. It is also an extended, historical document stretching from the late 16th to the mid-18th century, and a demonstration of beauty of a very particular and surprisingly personal kind. The vast, colorful works are as heavy as they are fragile. It is stunning to realize the effort needed to install an exhibition like this; it took the Met a month. The show has works on loan from 24 collections in 11 countries. It commands the kind of space and manpower that few American museums other than the Met can command. If you see “Tapestry in the Baroque: Threads of Splendor,” you, too, will be dazzled. It continues through Jan. 6. Where? At the Metropolitan Museum of Art, of course.