beat the heat

ooh dear me,

so much to report on my friends. first of all: what a stew it is out there! how anyone is venturing outdoors in this heat is beyond me… but evidently there are braver souls than i…

my pal spotted the one and only bill cunningham of the nytimes earlier today. she was even inspired to write a fan letter! and has shared it with me. read it here:

Dear Bill Cunningham,

Today I spotted you in your signature blue coat on 7th ave in the garment district. I’m afraid I don’t think you spotted me… my fashion pales compared to some other more formidable fashionistas… but I was so pleased to see you sailing along on your bicycle with a smile on your face in brazen defiance of the summer’s punishing sun and temperatures. It made my day. Keep up the great work!

Your fan,
E**** B***

well, well. i hope mr. cunningham responds. but who knows what his internet tendencies are… given that he is a rather old salt (if a spritely one at that!)

what else? the 25 cent opera firm that opera-ates out of barbes once a month outdid themselves once again last night. i was most tickled with the conceptual comedy as performed by karen davis and also completely in awe (wink!) of dorothea lasky‘s totally delightful poetry and heartfelt interludes. brava to all!

oof. and let’s not forget the funny business going on in iceland right now. no no, i am not referring to hera björk’s recent eurovision antics—holding up a volcano after singing her ‘je ne sais quoi‘ (though i do love that!) rather i am referring to jon gnarr‘s recent election. congrats jon! i am sure you will do the best job possible. double wink and har har.

kisses,

kippy

reminds me of my time in lovely iceland

not so small

my friends and followers,

when it rains it pours! the painter of light arrested for a dui? octoroony-toon? actors misbehaving … and then behaving very well?

first off saw the very delightful (and distressingly depressing) the small last night at that thumb place. they do know how to pack a house … it’s a like a ‘who’s who’ of downtown royalty. (too bad theatre peeps are such paupers though!) j/k … everyone was as well dressed as they could be given the sultry circumstances of the about-to-be-closed yet still-air-condition-less ohio theatre. some like it hot! and so does kippy.

anyhoo. was pleased to be greeted with a warm reception but what tickled me even more were the excellent performances, sharp direction (by les waters), and unexpected (yet expectedly excellent) script from anne washburn. from maria dizzia’s refreshing naturalism to matt maher’s delectable quirk factor, it was an evening to remember. not to mention those insane and amazing songs.

next up: painter of light. what has he done? ! i think the pic is worth a thousand pixels of paint.

read more about thomas kinkade’s trying times here.

and now what we’ve all been waiting for. octoroony-toon. it is the rare moment when a community as small as new york downtown theatre is enraptured by a scandal. and now is the moment! i won’t rehash all the hullabaloo here … i’ll just say that i can’t wait to see the show… even if the publicity tactics are lamest and oldest in the book. they’re clearly working. my pal texted not a moment ago “just passed some guy on cell phone yapping about the octoroon!”

yours,
kippy

ps this video is great! you’ll be seeing more of it in blue dress reduction at the undergroundzero festival july 20-24

joy ride

mes amis,

can’t say my time in the city of wind was 100% ‘ah-gray-ah-bluh’… indeed, it was more gray than ah-gray-ah-bluh…! those large hotels don’t have much natural sunlight which really does a damper on kippy’s mood + vitamin d levels. hmph!

nevertheless, i sure enjoyed catching up with an old art & literature pal from my salad days who now lives in the city of wind. a hickory burger for me (and veggie for him) were just what we needed to rehash war stories from our college years (four for me and three for him) giggling with glee over the memories of crazy fellow students and bizarre profs was a great antidote to the very serious theatre conversations that were bubbling up elsewhere.

the conference itself was a whirlwind… i much enjoyed a 500 clown workshop and of course the chances to chit chat with young theatre stars such as beantown’s company one and the windy city’s own the hypocrites. ooh and how can i forget the catch up with my old co-worker who was volunteering?! that was nice too. plus it was strange and unnerving in a good way to rub elbows with theatre leaders whose institutions have budgets of over $5 million. (yowzer!)

last night’s joy ride with co-workers and and a certain rapper of repute was just the right kind of unexpected spin (literally!) the journey needed. hear qualo‘s “pockets” defend the rights of artistic expression here. (not until the 5th minute)

c’est la!

kip

oldies but goodies

hey pals,

off to the windy city tomorrow for some conference type thing my press agent signed me up for. lord knows what it will entail… i’m guessing talks about the “state” of theatre. sigh!

meantime, i’ve been meaning to link to this (also below) for quite some time… it’s a fabu little video song-nod to yours truly. and speaking of, did you hear those obie-winning cats + cads are remounting their three pianos at NY theatre workshop in the fall? i know, i know. big time.

speaking of big time: a half straddle pal will be involved with the upcoming builders association show in montclair, nj in the fall. while i avoid america’s armpit at all costs, i am told that those builders pay well. so three cheers for dirty jers!

and now, something not so cheerful. i saw a certain show on saturday by clubbed dumb. i mean thumb. anyhow, the appalling treatment of this city’s press truly could be summed up by the frigid reception–or lack thereof–that i received. they almost didn’t have my ticket ready! the sweltering theatre heat and unsaved seat also proved unsavory. at least the delightful tunes by mike iveson perked me up as sung by the delectable lynne mccollough. too bad the show wasn’t just her… her appearances were divine!

that’s all folks. until next time when i’ve returned un-rested and wind blown.

kippy

ps. i almost forgot! mark your calendars for a sneak peek of blue dress reduction presented the evening of june 27 at barbes in pk slope.