Dee Davis

The Importance of Being Earnest

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For most of the time I was growing up, we spent our summers in Creede.  An old mining town in southwestern Colorado, it is now days noted for its fly fishing, and somewhat surprisingly for its repertory theatre company.  And since I have loved the theatre from the time I could first recite a line, I was delighted whenever my parents took us to see a play there.

And of all the plays I saw over the years, by far my most favorite was a production of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest.  As the years have passed, my passion for the play has not diminished.  I have seen several other versions and always laughed just as loudly at the antics of Algernon, Jack, Cecily, Gwendolen and the inestimable, Lady Bracknell.

I even suffered through the movie (okay, Rupert Everett is in it, so there really wasn’t much suffering).  So you can imagine my joy when the Roundabout Theatre announced a new production of Earnest.  And to make it even juicer, internationally acclaimed actor Brian Bedford was slated to both direct and act—playing the part of Lady Bracknell.

Needless to say I was among the first in line to purchase tickets.  And when the reviews arrived—most of them stellar—I was even more excited.  There’s something wonderful about a favorite play. Seeing it again is like visiting old friends.  Sometimes with new faces, but nevertheless people you already know and love.  That said, there is also the anticipation that maybe this time somehow the magic will be lost.

Fortunately for me, the production at the American Airlines Theatre was superb.   And I fell in love with Wilde’s comedy of errors all over again.  Every word is brilliantly written (Wilde is one of my absolute favorite writers), and in the hands of this cast, they literally sing out across the stage.

Santino Fontana (most recently at the Roundabout in Sunday at the Park with George) played Algernon with just the right glint in his eye.  Although he lacked the suave sophistication that Everett brings to Wilde’s characters (he was also in a wonderful movie adaptation of the Ideal Husband) he still captures the essence of the character with a wry playfulness that endears him the audience.

David Furr playing the role of John/Earnest Worthington was spot on as the stick-in-the-mud dying to break out and totally infatuated with Gwendolen.  Both Jessie Austrian and Charlotte Parry playing the women with whom John and  Algernon besotted were well-cast.  The scene with the tea and sugar cubes was excellently choreographed and wonderfully played.  Especially when it finally culminates with the two women on the steps, arms linked, casting “the look” over their shoulders at their befuddled gentlemen friends.

And of course there’s Lady Bracknell.  I was honestly afraid that Mr. Bedford would overshadow the rest of the cast.  The character has that potential all by herself.  Add to that an actor of such superior caliber and the potential is there.  But instead, Bedford simply inhabits Bracknell, breathing life into her effortlessly. Although each and every word and gesture was letter perfect and there were definite moments when he stole the show, he was still very much part of the ensemble, which made for a wonderful performance overall.

The scenery was whimsical and yet accurate to period.  The costumes were fabulous.  Especially Gwendolen and Lady Bracknell’s.   And yet, it must be said that in the end—it was all about the writing.  And of course—The Importance of Being Earnest.

A Lovely Night

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Okay, one of my favorite things about living in Manhattan is being able to come out of a late running play or movie and still be able to find a great place for a drink or bite to eat.   Recently, after seeing the fabulous Million Dollar Quartet, my husband and I stopped by a restaurant on west 44th called Osteria al Doge.   Billed as featuring Venetian cuisine, the restaurant offers a quiet, spacious ambiance that’s perfect for winding down after a night at the theatre.

We opted for space at the bar and initially were planning only to have a late-night drink but after being seated and seeing other couples around us with mouthwatering food, we decided to give the food a try.   The people next to us had some fabulous looking bruschetta, and there were other delicious sounding appetizers like rosemary focaccia,  carpaccio, and a spinach salad with goat cheese and walnuts.  But in the end we opted for the Pizza Margarita.  Now one would think that pizza with basil, fresh mozzarella and tomatoes would be a no brainer for any chef, but I have to say that I find that often times it’s not as good as it should or could be.

So you can imagine our delight to find that the pizza delivered to up was to quote Mary Poppins “Practically perfect in every way.”   The crust was both crisp and tender, a must for me.  The cheese freshly melted, with the basil and tomatoes adding bright, fresh flavor.  To complement the food, I had a glass of excellent cabernet and my husband had an Italian beer.  And the service was superb!  When we came in they cleared a place for us at the bar,  offered our drinks immediately, and then when the pizza came, divided it ahead of time onto two plates to make eating at the bar easier (and to keep my husband from eating more than his fair share.)

And then as the perfect topper for the evening, the bartender brought us a plate of biscotti, sugared nuts and little meringues.  The biscotti—almond vanilla—was amazingly delicious, and my husband made short work of the meringues.  It was a delightful surprise.

All in all it was a lovely night.  Million Dollar Quartet was great fun.  The renditions of songs by Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Cark Perkins were spot on, and the thinly woven plot was fresh and interesting.  And then the food and charm of Osteria al Doge provided the perfect setting for a little after theatre magic.

If you’re over on 44th check out Osteria al Doge:

142 w 44th street between 6th Ave. & Broadway, 212 944-3643

I promise you won’t regret it!  What’s your idea of a perfect evening out?

A Maze of Italian Goodness

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So last weekend, in the mood for a little adventure, we boarded the N train and headed for Mario Baltali’s Eataly.  Located in the Toy Building at 200 Fifth Ave. between 23rd and 24th streets, Eataly is a sprawling 50,000 square foot market hall style emporium where Italian food lovers can shop for imported ingredients.  Owned by Batali and partners Joe Bastianich, Lidia Bastianich and Eataly founder Oscar Farinetti, the market is modeled after the original in Tuscany.

Now I’m a big fan of food halls.  Or at least one in particular.  Harrods in London.  A mecca for all things epicurean, I can think of nothing more delightful than spending a morning picking out delicacies to make a picnic of.

Eataly is a bit more congested and certainly not laid out in as linear a fashion as Harrods Food Hall, but it is every bit as entrancing. Especially if you’re fond of Italian food.  The space is arranged sort of wheel like, with the five restaurants forming the inner part of the wheel and the various food departments at the end of the spokes.  While finding your way around can be a bit of a challenge.   It’s worth the effort, with an end result of some pretty spectacular food options.

Departments include pasta (fresh and dried), bread (organic), cheese, meat, seafood,  produce, olive oil along with sauce and condiments, wine, coffee,  beer and housewares.   Boasting over 700 regional Italian wines, and over 400 diverse varieties of cheese, the market also offers Felipe Saint-Martin, head chef pastaio, from Piedmont and Organic stone-ground flour from Don Lewis’ Wild Hive Farm in Clinton Corner.

We decided on a simple menu for our first time out.   For our main course we chose agnoletti stuffed with pork and veal, as well as some quattro formagi agnoletti to mix in for variation.  On the advice of a friendly patron in line, we also bought some of the butternut squash ravioli, topping them all with a brown butter and sage sauce.

To accompany our pasta, we bought lovely heirloom tomatoes and fresh bufala mozzarella to make a caprese salad.  We already had olive oil and balsamic vinegar, but had we needed either we would have had a plethora to choose from.   A little pan rustica finished off the meal.  And I have to tell you everything was amazingly delicious.

Partly, I suspect, because of the fun we had ‘forming the menu’ as we walked amidst the fabulous foods of Italy—at Eataly.

Eataly, 200 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10010

info@eataly.com, T: 212.229.2560

Arcadia

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So our latest venture on the boards involved the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, home to among others, A Streetcar Named Desire and an Ideal Husband, and Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia.  I confess that we probably wouldn’t have seen the play at all if it hadn’t been for a friend who raved about it.  And am I ever glad she did.

Two stories in one, Arcadia is a masterpiece in storytelling.  “In  April 1809, … a gifted pupil, proposes a startling theory well beyond her comprehension.  Two hundred years later, two academic adversaries are piecing together puzzling clues, curiously recalling those events of 1809.”  Now first off, as
 indicated by my three time travel novels, I’m a sucker for stories spanning time.  And this one is so beautifully done that at times it literally took my breath away.


The play first opened in London in 1993 directed by Trevor Nunn.   This outing the director is David Leveaux, a five-time tony nominee, including Fiddler in the Roof and Nine.  And he does a superb job, the choreography of past and present ever growing closer as the two stories intertwine.

photo: Carol Rosegg

Bel Powley and Tom Riley are especially wonderful as the gifted student Thomasina and her tutor Septimus.  Septimus in particular captured my heart, with his seemingly stoic take on life and the simmering heat just below the surface.  And his pivotal role in the drama/comedy is the lynch pin that holds everything together.  A lesser actor than Riley would have been a disappointment.    Margaret Colin (who for me will always be Jeff Goldblum’s girlfriend in Independence Day) was solid as Thomasina’s mother.  And the rest of the seventeenth century players provided pertinent background characters.

In the present day (1993 actually), the two battling historians played by Billy Crudup (immortalized for me in Big Fish) and Lia Williams also performed admirably.  Crudup as a blustering overly zealous academic was a delight.  And Lia as a woman looking for her next story rang true for me as a writer.  And playing off of each other they were wonderful.  But the real highlight of the modern day cast was the amazing Raul Esparza (whom I discovered last year in Mamet’s Speed the Plow).  Playing an aristocratic math geek he was so good you almost wanted to hear the lines again.  And in a wonderful surprise, I was treated to Meryl Streep’s daughter Grace Gummer, whose older sister Mamie I fell in love with this spring watching Off the Map.   I predict great things for both girls.

Photo: Jim Spellman/WireImage

The setting was simple, but deceptively so.  In a drawing room at the country estate of the Coverlys, bits and pieces of the past slowly begin to occupy the same space—a turtle, an apple, a computer, and even a journal, with pages being turned simultaneously in both time periods with a synchronicity that was truly amazing.  I don’t want to spoil the story, because that’s half the fun.   But believe me when I tell you that the ending is so bittersweet and beautiful that if even if you aren’t one to cry easily, you’ll be tempted.

Eight more weeks.  I urge you to go.  Go.  GO!

A Trip to 1775

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So last weekend we visited Emerson College for accepted students day  (where my daughter officially ended College Quest by accepting).  And because the Boston Marathon was on Monday, we decided that instead of staying the weekend, we’d move on and check out the Patriots Day celebrations in Lexington and Concord.

As many of you probably already know, Lexington and Concord, MA were the locations of the first battles of the Revolutionary War.  The British set off for Concord in search of the munitions—including cannons—they believed to be housed there.   Unfortunately, patriots Samuel Adams and John Hancock of the banned provisional congress were in residence in Lexington at the time.  So Paul Revere was dispatched along with William Dawes to make sure that the men were removed before the British arrived.

Thus began the famous ride of Paul Revere.  And though he did manage to warn Hancock and Adams, he was captured before he could reach Concord.  (Another dispatch did arrive in time).  He was later released, and the story of Paul Revere’s ride recorded for infamy.

The British, with 700 troops, arrived in Concord and split up to capture the arms.  Some traveling into town, while others headed for the farm where the cannons were supposedly being held, and a third group remaining at the old north bridge in between.   The patriots, forewarned, managed to bury the cannons before the troops arrived, and when the militia confronted the British at the bridge, shots were fired (the first ones not actually attributed to one side or the other).   The Revolution had begun.

Additional militia arrived, and the British sounded retreat, moving back toward Boston as the numbers of militia men swelled, the fight culminating along Battle Road which stretched from Concord to Lexington.   Though strategically the battle was not an important one, historically it marked the beginning.  As John Adams would remark shortly after…  “the die is cast, the Rubicon crossed.”

We were lucky enough to visit the house where Paul Revere found both John Hancock and Samuel Adams, as well as the Lexington Green where eight militiamen were killed.  We also watched as reenactors brought the British retreat through the Bloody Angle to life.  Having heard of reenactions all my life, it was amazing to actually see one.   The sound of the muskets was so much louder than I expected.  And the time between volleys ridiculously long.  I’d have had trouble holding my ground, anticipating the destruction coming any second.

After a visit to Captain Smith’s house and the Hartwell Tavern, we headed to Concord and the green there.   Tying literature into history, we visited The Old Manse where both Ralph Waldo Emerson and Nathaniel Hawthorne resided.  And jumped forward in time to post-civil war days and Louisa May Alcott’s house.  Then back again as we visited the Old North Bridge, and a verbal recreation of what happened there in 1775.

We take our democracy for granted.  But, perhaps especially in these troubled days, it’s important to stop and remember the people who sacrificed to buy us our freedom.  I for one, couldn’t have been prouder to have the chance to relive such an important moment in our history.

What about you?  Have you visited Lexington and Concord?  Other Revolutionary War sites?

Off With Her Head!

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As I said earlier, it’s a new season on Broadway, which means lots of new openings.   We recently went to see a preview of the musical, Wonderland.   Now I should state right up front that I’m an unabashed Alice fan.  I fell in love with Alice in Wonderland as a kid, and then even more so with Alice Through the Looking Glass when I was a bit older.  And I’ve never stopped loving the wildly nonsensical world of Lewis Carroll.

I adored Tim Burton’s vision of Alice.  The casting, the story, the special effects, all of it lived up to my vision of the book.  Carroll would have been honored.   So it was with much excitement that I sat down to see Wonderland, book by Gregory Boyd and Jack Murphy and music and lyrics by Jack Murphy and Frank Wildhorn.

The opening montage, the original drawings coming to life against a scrim were fabulous.  And roving quotes from the book made it all that much more alluring.  Equally provocative was the overture.   The audience tittered (and probably twittered) and quieted.  The curtain pulled back to reveal, not a rabbit hole, but a New York Apartment.

The story, a modern day version of Alice’s descent into Wonderland complete with a faulty elevator, is simple.  Alice (Janet Dacal), a newly separated single mother, has just moved to a new apartment.  The stress of everything has left her exhausted and as she falls into a restless sleep, a white rabbit appears, and well, except for the elevator, you know this part of the story.


The bright colors and brilliant set pieces for Wonderland set the tone for a rousing first half where we meet many of our favorite characters, some of them old friends and some slightly reimagined.  The rabbit, although earless, is priceless as he rushes around avoiding the words “I’m late, I’m late”.  (Disney copyright, don’t you know).   And E. Clayton Cornelius is wonderful as the Caterpillar.   As is Jose llana as El Gato (a slightly altered version of the Cheshire Cat).

Photo: Michael Daniel

But the real star is costume designer Susan Hilferty (Wicked, Spring Awakening).  From the caterpillars back loaded pants and side-kick legs, to the Queen of Hearts fabulous dresses, the costumes steal the show.    And I found myself looking forward to the introduction of new characters, or new scenes with new outfits.  The March Hare’s dreadlocks, and the Mad-Hatter (again cleverly reimagined)with her bustier and boots were equally outstanding.

Even the introduction of Jack, the White Knight, was cleverly done with a “boy-band” accompaniment to the song One Knight.  The first act was full of the whimsy one expects of Wonderland.  And also true to the story somewhat short on plot.  Still, the music, costumes and sets carried the act, and made it truly enjoyable.

Photo: Michael Daniel


The second act, unfortunately, never found the same beat.  Without the turning point break-out song, like Wicked’s Defying Gravity, the audience was left waiting for the missing beat.  And the show never really found its footing again.  The tone was uneven and while the music was still good, the important moments often inexplicably happened off stage, leaving other characters to fill in the blanks for the audience.

Overall, I hope the production gets a much needed tweaking.  I think the potential for magic is there.  The story, though slight, is compelling.  The actors, particularly Janet Dacal (Alice) and Kate Shindle (The Mad-Hatter)– with hat’s off to Karen Mason as the Queen of Hearts–were wonderful.  And as I mentioned the music was delightful.  The sets and costumes were worthy of Carroll and his world (as was a brief cameo by the man himself).  But I was still left wanting more.

How about you?  How do you feel about Alice and Wonderland?

Food Glorious Food

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Okay, I’ll admit that first of all I love to eat.  And second of all, I love to eat breakfast the most.  And this past week I had the chance to have the Best. Breakfast. Ever.   Seriously, and for me that’s saying a lot.   A dear friend of mine was in town and the only time we could get together was for a quick breakfast at her hotel.

Color me jaded, but I’m not that big on hotel restaurants.  I find they’re either over-the-top celebrity kinds of places or they’re just filling space and not meant to be anything but overpriced and inadequate culinarily speaking.  So I wasn’t expecting anything but a wonderful hour of chatting with my friend.

I was in for a big surprise.   The hotel, the Mondrian in Soho, is tucked away on Crosby Street behind a long and lovely arbor.   When my friend said look for the arbor I pictured a smallish arch, this was a long leafy walkway that made me feel like spring might actually arrive in New York after all.

At the end of the arbor was a very friendly doorman who pointed me in the direction of the restaurant.  Imperial No. Nine.   Chef Sam Talbot (of Top Chef fame) has created a 150-seat sustainable seafood restaurant.   And from what I’ve read it’s fabulous.  But I was there for breakfast, and except when I was in Japan, I sort of tend to avoid fish in the morning.   So I was curious to see what my options might be.

Having arrived first, I had the opportunity to survey the absolutely gorgeous dining room on my own.  As you can see from the picture, it’s a vision of glass.  The centerpiece, by acclaimed artist Beth Lipman, bisects the room with a  magnificent Alice-in -Wonderland-like rendering of crystal vases and glasses at all sorts of angles and heights and apparent abandon.   The soaring glass roof gives the feeling of an oversized Victorian garden room.  Quiet and lush, it’s the perfect setting for that first jolt of caffeine.


In my case, iced tea, that I think they made fresh just for me.  It was delightful.  And once my friend arrived it was time to order.  Although  I was tempted by the french toast with caramelized white pineapple and Tahitian vanilla cream cheese, I decided instead to go for the “perfectly poached” brown egg.  It was offered several ways, but I went the traditional route and ordered egg, biscuit and turkey sausage.  (The dish was actually designed to be served with gravy, but as much as I love the stuff, I’ve never liked it with breakfast—so I opted out and boy am I glad I did.)

Seriously people,  BEST POACHED EGG EVER.   The food came in a bowl, with the biscuit and sausages on the bottom and the egg gently laid over the top, the combination of the three flavors; the creamy egg, the slightly sweet and very tender biscuit and the salty sagey sausage was sublime.  And being a food in its own compartment kind of a person, I wasn’t certain how I’d feel about everything mixed in with everything else, but it was amazing.  The perfect combination.  And more importantly, the perfect amount.   Exactly what I needed to start my day.

My friend’s breakfast was also amazing.  Fresh granola with some sort of creamy concoction on top that was divine.

So two thumbs up from me for Imperial No. Nine at the Mondrian.   If breakfast is any kind of an example, then I’m guessing the seafood (which is Mr. Talbot’s specialty) must be incredible.   But for me, I’ll be heading back for the eggs.

So how do you like your eggs?

Imperial No. Nine, Mondrian Hotel, 9 Crosby  (btw Grand and Howard), 212-389-1000