Our old stomping ground
After the hard years, I get to remember and celebrate all the good years
New York City Center has been restored beautifully.
It’s a bright elegant spot even with all the superb theatrical venues the City sports.
I have been a habituée for longer than you need to know. [Hey, it was home to the New York City Ballet when Lincoln Center was just a gleam in Robert Moses’ eye.]
As I step into its balcony seats, gazing at the Moorish splendor of its interiors. I remember the many times Burt and I had been at City Center. Although our seats were always in the first row [far-right] mezzanine.
During the Ballet Hispánico show, I note [to self] how much Burt would have enjoyed this ballet performance. I think the tidbit of Carmen.maquia (choreographed by Gustavo Ramirez Sansano, sets by Luis Crispo) would have been a treat for him. But, I know we would have agreed that the piece of Club Havana, with its colors and textured dance, were the highlight.
After the matinee, my friend J and I walk through lobbies from 55th to 57th. This is the tactic Burt would have spearheaded, too.
The hotel, now called Thompson, was Le Meridien when Burt and I used to wander in before heading to a performance. It’s an equally convenient squat for Carnegie Hall as it is for City Center. We even sometimes stopped there on the way to Radio City; although the Hilton or the Warwick where better situated.
This way of bringing Burt along by tickling memory is a habit I am happy to cultivate. It’s doubly nice that pretty much anywhere I go, we’ve been. And I remember.
So many memories, and these of theater outings and walks, are of the best of our 35 years together. I remember….
this is our life 