TT n Sheldy

Everything Was Possible

(tt) Sheldon sent me to City Centre tonight to see a great concert created by two Broadway veterans who were the golden couple in the late sixties/early seventies then parted ways and did not see each other for 30 years. Victoria Mallory and Kurt Peterson.

This was them then

And this is them today. That's Ted Chapin who wrote the "Follies" book, "Everything Was Possible"

They met in drama school and after competeing for success for a couple of years finally made it in the 1968 Lincoln Centre of "West Side Story"

This was the exact photo they sang "Tonight" against. When the show began I thought perhaps we were to be bombarded with "And then we did this.." Well it sort of was but the script and the disarming performances created an atmosphere of such warmth and tenderness that we were bathed in nostalgia and wanted to be.
They paid tribute to all their major Broadway work including "Dear World" Miss Lansbury was in the audience. Mr Peterson's rendition of "Kiss Her Now" was totally sublime

and Follies. This was the Boris Aronson set model for "Loveland" whcih was a backdrop to "Too Many Mornings"

That's Kurt in the sailor suit and Harvey Evans as the sergeant.

Mr Evans was in the audience

And I said, "Hello", to him before the show

Miss Mallory played Young Heidi and sang "One More Kiss" to a photo of her ghost self. Her finest work tonight was "I Remember Sky" from Evening Primrose" which she sang at a benefit Sondheim concert on the set of "Night Music" in 1974.

Mr Hal Prince was in the audience
This was a really special concert and Mr Peterson especially found the reception extremely moving

My photo of the curtain call was moving too. I'll get a decent one soon

mr michaels

As avid viewers of RUPAUL'S DRAG RACE we are waiting with bated breath to find out which of the final three contestants will take the crown. Imagine our delight to discover the fabulous Chad Michaels in the PRISCILLA audience tonight. He is an absolute sweetheart and our fingers are crossed for a big win on tonight's Grand Finale!

In a rock box on Staten Island

(tt) I wanted to see more of Staten Island.

Here is some of what I saw on the ferry trip over. Some ghastly shots are probably because of shooting through filthy bus and ferry windows. Others are just plain incompetence

This is one of the bridges on the ferry. I nearly missed the boat taking this and was yelled at!!

Leaving the ferry terminal

Part of the wonderful old terminal building

The southern end of Manhattan. Freedom Tower continues rising on the left

A flock of seagulls followed us. This one was called Lorraine

If Disney had produced this statue she would not be compensated for R S I

Staten is no longer an island in the strict sense because of this bridge

The first time Sheldon and I went over we walked from the ferry to a rather seedy traffic-laden street and turned back. This time I decided to hop on a local bus and go from one end of the island to the other. Well, the bus was as old as those you see on documentaries about villages in the Andes and the roads were like a giant's acne scars. By the time I got back my fillings had all come out and I had to jump up and down to get my eyes back in focus. So the photos reflect that a lot.

These few were taken from the bus after leaving the ferry. They reflect the most citified of the island before suburban settlement took over the farms and woodlands that were here right up to the sixties.

Detail on a derelict cinema

The central road of the island is part suburb, part shopping mall and part woods, albeit filthy and litter strewn. But occasionally you see original stone farmhouses, converted into apartments, next to cheap bargain stores, petrol stations and faux mansions and townhouses.

Beyond hair..what?

These next few are what is left of Richmond Village once an isolated community

Attempts are being made to restore some of the buildings

Then as soon as this pleasant aspect is reached it all gets ugly again.
An abandoned amusement centre with dodgems and miniature golf all going to god

And here is a shot of The Staten Island Boat Graveyard. I took the first from the careening, shaking bus and the others are filched from the net.

The bus had only two passengers on it by the time we came to the end of the route..me and this old lady who vowed and declared she would never do that trip in her life ay-gin!

The end of the route was in fact the shopping mall in Tottenville..which I can only assume was once a hamlet. The local mattress shop looks like a barn blown up 10 times