Friday 5ive- June 9, 2023

Welcome to the Friday 5ive, a weekly post featuring five things that caught my attention this week.

1) The number one topic this week was the air quality on Wednesday. I was at work at the Book Cellar and we have windows that look out into a garden. We can see a little bit of the sky and we noticed that it was turning odd colors during the course of the afternoon, going from a cloudy grey to almost a bright orange. The NYPL closed all their branches at 3:30 and we headed home to what felt like being around a campfire, with that smoky odor (but alas, no smores). All is well now, our air quality index on Friday was 33.

Photo taken at 2:30pm on Wednesday by NBC News NY

2) Sunday I walked over to Times Square to see the Broaway musical Kimberly Akimbo. On my walk over, I got caught up in the Israel Day Parade and it took me a lot longer to get where I needed to be. The show was fantastic, one of the best I've ever seen. It's nominated for 8 Tony Awards on Sunday, and I hope it wins them all. Victoria Clark is a veteran Broadway performer and Tony nominated for her role as Kimberly, a 16 year-old girl who has a disease that ages her. Her body is 72 years old, but her mind is sixteen. Kimberly is befriended by Seth, who works at the local ice skating rink. Seth is played brilliantly by Justin Cooley, nominated for Best Featured Actor in a Musical, in his Broadway debut. Kimberly has to deal with being an outcast in school and with her dysfunctional family. Her father is an alcoholic who forgets to pick her up from the rink, and her mother is hugely pregnant- and a narcissist. Kimberly has to take care of them. Her Aunt Debra is played by the hilarious Bonnie Mulligan (nominated for Best Featured Actress in a Musical) who steals the show with her physicality and impeccable comedic timing. Debra has spent time in prison, and comes back to convince Kimberly's high school friends to help her with her latest scam. The show is hilarious and heartfelt, you'll laugh and tear up. This is the one show to see if you are coming to New York. 

3)  I stopped in to visit the new McNally Jackson bookstore in Rockfeller Center on Sunday. All I can say is that it is a stunning bookstore! There are two levels, and the store is so wonderfully curated. Their Children's section is huge, with separate areas for Picture Books, Chapter Books and Young Adult, filled with thousands of books. The Fiction section on the top floor is has so many sub-genres- American Literature, British Literature, Russian Literature- even Oceanic Literature and Canadian Literature have their own section. I did think it was humorous to see True Crime next to Romance. I was very impressed and will returning when I can spend more time browsing.

 

4)  On my walk back home, I ran into a large crowd in Times Square calling for Russia to free Alexi Navalny, currently imprisoned in Siberia for daring to ask for democracy. 

5) I watched the last two episodes of Ted Lasso and all I can say is bravo. It was a lovely way to say goodbye to our friends in Richmond, and they tied up most of the storylines very well. I liked Nate's arc, and the scene where Coach Beard goes to visit Nate was so touching, I cried. Sam, the Nigerian player, has a great arc too. Roy and Jamie's bromance was fun to watch, and seeing all these characters grow as people was enjoyable. I also like how they left the door open for a spinoff, I think the fans would be on board for that.  And shout-out for the Little Free Library in front of the Lasso house- nice touch! 

The LIttle Free Library!

I hope you all had a safe, healthy week. Don't forget Father's Day is next Sunday! Until then.