Friday Five- Volume 5

This week's Friday Five is:
Five Cool Things I've Done in the Last Two Weeks

1. Meeting Pat Benatar- 80s rock superstar Pat Benatar signed copies of her autobiography, Between a Heart and a Rock Place, at the Fifth Ave. Barnes & Noble. No photos were allowed, darn it, but it was so cool to meet her. She is very down-to-earth, and her book is fantastic. I love her music, and have lots of her songs on my Ipod. And she used to eat at our favorite neighborhood diner, Green Kitchen!

2. Meeting the cast of Broadway's Lend Me a Tenor- The cast did a Q&A at Barnes & Noble Lincoln Triangle, and I learned that while watching a farce is very funny, talking about it, not necessarily so. The show is very funny, and it was pretty cool to meet Tony Shaloub (TV's Monk, my mother-in-law's favorite), his wife actress Brooke Adams, Justin Bartha (who is terrific in this show), Jay Klaitz and the incomparable Jan Maxwell, who was nominated for a Tony for her role. If you get the chance to see this show before it closes on August 15th, do so. You will laugh your self silly.

3. Meeting author Carolyn Parkhurst- Parkhurst wrote the devastatingly sad Dogs of Babel, which still haunts me, as well as Lost and Found, which I listened to (narrated by the brilliant Blair Brown) on my Ipod when I used to walk my dog Malcolm.  Her new book is The Nobodies Album, which is another incredible, unique novel. She is not one of those authors who writes a book a year, but the wait for her novels is so worth it. I was disappointed that there weren't more people at the reading, she is one of the best authors working today.

4. Meeting the cast of Broadway's Million Dollar Quartet-  The cast of this show performed three songs from the cast recording at Barnes & Noble Lincoln Triangle. The show is about Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis singing together at Sun Studios in Memphis. They rocked out the place, singing "Blue Suede Shoes" gospel song "Down by the Riverside" and "Great Balls of Fire".  The performers look so young, and Tony winner Levi Kreis, (Jerry Lee Lewis) looks so much like Harry Connick Jr. they could be brothers. And Lance Guest (Johnny Cash) when not in costume, reminded me of Brad Garrett from Everybody Loves Raymond. 

5. Meeting the cast of Broadway's Promises, Promises- Sean Hayes is the funniest man on the planet. Everything that comes out of his mouth is hilarious, and he moderated a Q&A with the cast that was wonderful. Kristin Chenoweth is lovely and so sweet, she spoke so kindly to all of the fans who showed up (and there were over 300 of them- the crowd rivaled the one who came for Liza Minnelli's CD signing last year). Waiting in line over 2 1/2 hours was worth it see this fun-filled event.

Friday Five- Volume 4

This week's Friday Five are five things that made me go WOW.

1. Broadway Boys-  Broadway Boys are six Broadway singers, all tenors, who sang  the most beautiful rendition of "Defying Gravity" from Wicked that it gave me goosebumps. I saw them at the Sirius XM Radio's Live on Broadway taping on Wednesday, and I just saw that they are going to be at Barnes & Noble Lincoln Triangle on July 6th at 5pm. I will be there!

2. Million Dollar Quartet- the performers from Broadway's Million Dollar Quartet performed three songs at the CD signing at Barnes & Noble Lincoln Triangle, and they had the audience almost out of their seats as they sang Jerry Lee Lewis' "Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On". I can't wait to see that show.

3. Skinny Cow's Chocolate Fudge Truffle Bar- I can't believe anything this rich and tasty is only 100 calories.  And it's Best Life Approved by Oprah's diet guru Bob Greene.

4. Emma Donoghue's upcoming novel Room- I got an advanced reader copy of Emma Donoghue's Room at BEA, and it took but a few hours to read this incredible, heartbreaking novel. Told from the point of  view of a five-year-old boy who is being held hostage in a room with his mother (who was kidnapped at the age of 19), it has drawn comparisons to The Lovely Bones, but I think it is even better.
The book comes out in September, and I will definitely be reviewing it before then. It is the best book I have read this year.

5. The lobster roll from Luke's Lobster- A new restaurant opened up a few blocks from my apartment, on 81st between 2nd & 3rd Ave., and Luke's Lobster has the most amazing lobster roll. Just a touch of mayonnaise, a little butter and seasoned just right, this is a special lunch treat. It's a little pricey at $14, but worth it.

Happening This Week in NYC- Vol. 3

This week is filled with lots of music, and I hope to get to most of them.

Tuesday, June, 22 Pop star Cyndi Lauper signs her new CD, Memphis Blues at J&R Music on Park Row at 12:30pm.

Tuesday, June 22 The cast of the Broadway show Million Dollar Quartet sing and sign copies of the cast recording at Lincoln Triangle's Barnes & Noble at 4pm.

Wednesday, June 23 Author Colson Whitehead discusses his latest book, Sag Harbor: A Novel at Bryant Park's Word for Word Series at 12:30pm.

Thursday, June 24 The cast of Broadway's Promises, Promises, including Sean Hayes, Kristin Chenoweth and Tony winner Katie Finneran sing and sign copies ofthe cast recording at Lincoln Triangle's Barnes & Noble at 5pm.

Friday, June 25 Singer Alicia Keys tapes her CBS Early Show concert at the 59th St. location near the Apple Store at 11am.

Friday, June 25 The cast and creators of Broadway's Next Fall speak at Lincoln Triangle's Barnes & Noble at 5pm.