More Magic To Do

I made a return visit to PIPPIN to see our dear mate Tovah Feldshuh swinging from the trapeze as Pippin's grandmother Berthe. Andrea Martin won the Tony Award for the role but Tovah brought a new and equally valid interpretation and stopped the show cold.

She finishes her limited engagement this weekend and returns to her award winning one-woman show GOLDA'S BALCONY. It was interesting to see how PIPPIN had grown several months down the track. Some performances were broader, some less disciplined but the standard was uniformly top notch and it's still one of the best evenings in town.

And I was VERY proud of our talented (and flexible) friend!

Hope Remains

The Depressed Cake Shop is a pop-up concept that sells grey colored cakes and other baked goods with the purpose of raising awareness about mental health issues. Proceeds from the cake shops are donated to a charity of the pop-up’s choice. The idea was conceived by Emma Cakehead in the UK and to date more than 30 Depressed Cake Shops have popped up all over the world – from Scotland to San Francisco. Since the inaugural shop opened in August this all-volunteer effort has raised over $25,000.

Everyone is talking about The Depressed Cake Shop. It made Oprah’s Gratitude List in the December, 2013 issue of O Magazine, and has been featured in such outlets as Time, the Huffington Post, CNN, the Los Angeles Times, LA Weekly, The Daily Mail, Daily Candy, The Hollywood Reporter, BBC and The Guardian.

1 in 4 people will suffer from mental illness at some point in their lives.
Mental illness is a disease that just isn’t discussed. If someone has heart disease or diabetes you would never say “just snap out of it.” The Depressed Cake Shops provide an experience that encourages discussion about mental health issues, including — but not limited to — depression. The proceeds from each Depressed Cake Shop directly benefit a mental health-based charity of that shop’s choice.

The concept is simple
All bakers need to do is sell grey cakes (or other baked goods) and donate the money to a mental health charity. Why grey? Because the color represents what depression does: It coats a beautiful life in grey. Many of the Depressed Cake Shop bakers use baking as a way to battle their depression. They decorate the cupcakes, cookies, and other delicious items with designs that represent their depression and encourage discussion. Often, underneath those dark designs, is a bright pop of color inside. Because underneath that grey cloud, hope remains.

First New York Moment of 2014

So I go to musical director Alex Rybeck's apartment to run through my songs for the Jerry Herman cabaret evening and I'm sitting on the couch next to Jerry Lanning who created the role of Older Patrick in the original cast of MAME on Broadway. And he tells the most hilarious story about being cast in the role opposite Angela Lansbury and then sings "My Best Girl" sounding exactly the way he did 48 years ago. I was crying so hard I thought I'd flood the place.

with Jerry Lanning and Peggy Herman

and Alex Rybeck

Jerry will be telling the story and singing the song at the Laurie Beechman on Jan 18th if you're in town.

Farewell Blue Mountains

Sheldy is heading back to NYC indefinitely. How can I leave this glorious new home I've fallen in love with?

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The paint pot is out again

I have decided to go mad and paint everything in sight. I did some chairs and a table which eventually are to be multicoloured. Sheldon thinks they should stay white but once he has gone...ha ha ha! The covers are by Ms Lamond

Another Foray into Our Neighbourhood

Sheldon will be heading off bak to New York in just over a week so we continue to cram loads of things into the time left.
This morning we went down many a street trying not to go anywhere we've been already. Here are some shots of the still, clear day which yielded a couple of lovely surprises.

The surprises are the two gentlemen at their garden gate. Max Lambert and Darren Yap who we found totally by accident by a turn of a head!!