Mystic Pizza Box
A slice of heaven
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Kathryn Erbe Offstage-post-Sunday matinee 1-22-2012
Alberto's Snowy Mountains 2012 drawing-crayon and pencil on paper.
Alberto's Valentine Heart 2012-red construction paper with message written by me to Kate with a black Sharpie pen.
Message-To Kate, Thank you for a spectacular ten years on LO:CI. Wishing you the best in 2012 and beyond. Much Love, Blanca Acevedo
www.vincentandthemysticpizzabox7-22-2010.blogspot.com
Yosemite postcard with envelope and ticket stub for Sunday 3 PM performance.
Back of Yosemite postcard
Yosemite set photo-center stage
Yosemite set photo-stage right
Kathryn Erbe holding the Valentine Heart, handmade by my brother
Kathryn is holding the drawing Alberto's Snowy Mountains 2012, her second gift from me and Alberto
My WOODSTOCK FILM FESTIVAL 2011 program signed by Kathryn Erbe
Close-up of Kathryn Erbe's message to me.:)
Yosemite program signed by Kathryn Erbe
Close-up of Kate's message to me
First half of blurb inside Yosemite program about Kate
Second part of blurb about Kate inside Yosemite program
As you can imagine, I was very excited about seeing "Yosemite" this past Sunday, since this would mark Kathryn Erbe's first stage appearance in 2012 and her second play in New York since shooting wrapped on Season 10 of LO:CI in June 2011. (Not counting her appearance in Dirty Laundry for the Playwrights Horizon fundraiser last fall) What else could get me out of the house in freezing below 30 degrees weather on a Sunday afternoon? Alberto had been making Valentine hearts at home last weekend so I asked him to make a large heart for me. He did such a great job that I decided to give the heart to Kate after the Sunday matinee, along with a beautiful drawing of snow covered mountains I had also commissioned from my artist brother. I wrote a message on the heart for Kate and carefully placed both works of art in a large manila envelope which I would give to Kate.
After watching Kate's stunning performance as Julie, a troubled welfare mom still mourning the death of her first husband and unable to face the loss of her infant son or her eldest son's wrath, I stepped outside the theater on Waverly Place so I could congratulate her. Kate was quickly swarmed by a small group of fans when she emerged from the theater just after 4:30 PM but I was soon able to speak with her. She remembered me from our previous meetings last year and said hi to me as I embraced her and wished her a happy new year. I congratulated Kate on her new play and told her that her performance had taken my breath away. She was happy to see me and said so as I presented the envelope with Alberto's art to her. She was very impressed and said that the heart and drawing were beautiful! I told Kate that Alberto is learning to paint on canvas at school now and creates art at home all the time.
Kate was sweet enough to pose for photos holding each artwork, despite the cold and breezy weather. Good thing Kate was bundled up for the occasion, with her heavy gray winter coat and matching scarf, black gloves and black knit cap. :) I was wearing my black leather jacket and heavy wool sweater underneath and dark blue jeans, but I had to remove my leather gloves to work the camera on my smartphone and my hands got cold very quickly. I didn't ask to pose with Kate for a photo this time but instead asked her to sign my programs for the WFF 2011 and Yosemite, which she was very happy to do. I also complimented Kate on her performance in Mother's House, which I had seen at the Big Apple Film Festival in November 2011 and was screened at the WFF last September. I also mentioned that I had seen 3 Backyards last year and that this film is been aired on Showtime this month. Kate was surprised but glad to hear this.
Finally, I told Kate how much I liked her darker hair, and she replied "I was tired of being a blond, so I wanted to go back to my real hair color." Actually, close-up, Kate's hair still appears to be highlighted, although the hue is more copper-toned than blond. Kate explained that the old blond highlights she had still "bleed through" despite the fact that she dyed her hair a darker color, but in time her hair will grow out and darken further. To me, Kate is beautiful, blond or brunette. She thanked me and Alberto for the artwork and she also thanked me for coming to see her play. I told Kate that I would post a review and pics on my blog and that I would see Yosemite again in February. As we said goodbye, I was so relieved and pleased that this afternoon had turned out so well, and very proud that Alberto's talent is being appreciated by such a lovely and talented artist in her own right, Kathryn Erbe.
I also posted the photos of Kate holding Alberto's heart and drawing on Facebook and Twitter and got a very positive response from my friends, my niece Amanda and Alberto's teacher Carrie, who posted this comment on my Facebook page "So awesome!!!" Wow, the kid's gonna be famous! :D
Monday, January 23, 2012
Yosemite Review-1st Sunday matinee preview 1-22-2012
I'm still reeling from yesterday's preview of "Yosemite" at the Rattlestick Playwrights Theater in the West Village. Daniel Talbott has written a provocative, stirring, and sometimes shocking piece about a family torn asunder by tragedy, fear and resentment, and their longing for happiness in spite of it all.
Kathryn Erbe as Julie
Seth Numrich as Jake
Libby Woodbridge as Ruby
Noah Galvin as Jer
As the play opens, we see three young siblings in the snowy woods of the Sierra Madre foothills in Northern California (hence the title). The older brother, Jake, is busy digging a hole in the ground while his sister Ruby and little brother Jer look on. As they argue and fret over their predicament, we begin to realize the awful and sad task their mother Julie has assigned to them, while Ruby and Jer take turns cradling a mysterious bundle that is later revealed to be their dead baby brother Nathan. The baby apparently has died either of SIDS and/or neglect, and was left in his crib for three days before his siblings are sent to the woods to bury him. "Make it deep," commands Julie when she finally appears, rifle in hand, to admonish Jake to continue digging her youngest son's grave.
Jake is burdened with the task at hand, but he and his family are also burdened with memories of losing their beloved father and how their mom fell apart after his death. The youngest, Jer, who complains of hunger after feeding his Fruit Loops to the family dog, is constantly wishing they could go home to Grandma and visit Disneyland. Ruby, who is holding Nathan, wrapped in a black plastic bag, sits on a log and complains of the cold and the hole in her boot that her mom tried to mend with cotton balls and masking tape. Ruby and Jake clash several times as she prattles on nervously about Jake's love life and how deep the hole should be so that "animals won't smell him...so they won't dig him up." The language is raw and profane at times, as Jake's rage erupts into a tirade aimed at Ruby so she will back off and let him dig in peace. He drops the R-word a couple of times in anger as Jake criticizes his sister's mindless comments about a girl he slept with, which I found more disturbing than all the F-bombs unleashed during the 1 hour and twenty minute production. If a word can really be used as a weapon, the R-word is it. I took note of how Ruby withdraws momentarily into silence after her brother's vicious dressing down, while poor Jer sits quietly on the log holding Nathan. "We're not better!" Jake insists as he settles the argument. My heart broke for all four of them, as this scene takes place just before Julie appears.
Julie appears lost in her own sorrows as she greets her children and inspects the grave before recounting her childhood experience as a "paper girl" for the local newspaper in her hometown of Oakland, CA. She also recalls cutting off the curls her mother had so fervently created so she would appear less girlish, and get the job she so wanted, having won over her boss with her "spunk." Real fireworks come after Julie confesses that she didn't want Nathan, her child by her second husband Mike, and describes carrying Nathan as feeling "like a rock" inside her. After Julie turns on her children with the accusation "I think that you're ungrateful," she and Jake have an all-out fight onstage that got so intense they were throwing dirt at each other! I sat in the front row, close enough to almost feel the heat of battle. Whew!
After the dust settled, literally, Julie tells her children a sweet story about her late husband and a penny he finds and asks her to kiss before he swallows it, assuring her that she's safe with him. She weeps for him and how his death had ended her happiness. I could actually picture in my head Vincent as the love of her life (if only).:) As the family collectively mourns their late father/husband's loss, Julie tries to comfort her children before leaving, rifle in hand. Julie's parting words to them are "I want us all to be happy." Moments later, a shot rings out while the children are huddled together on the log, baby Nathan in Ruby's arms.
Previews began on Wednesday, January 18, 2012 and the opening night is Thursday, January 26, 2012. Performances run through February 26, 2012 at the Rattlestick Playwrights Theater at 224 Waverly Place in New York City.
Discount codes for Yosemite tickets:
$10 student tickets-YSTU10
$15 under 30 tickets-YU30
$15 theater artist tickets-YTA
Visit www.rattlestick.org to order your discount tickets.
Still photos courtesy of the Rattlestick Playwrights Theater.
www.rattlestick.org
www.Twitter.com/RPT224
www.Facebook.com/RattlestickPlaywrightsTheater
Kathryn Erbe as Julie
Seth Numrich as Jake
Libby Woodbridge as Ruby
Noah Galvin as Jer
As the play opens, we see three young siblings in the snowy woods of the Sierra Madre foothills in Northern California (hence the title). The older brother, Jake, is busy digging a hole in the ground while his sister Ruby and little brother Jer look on. As they argue and fret over their predicament, we begin to realize the awful and sad task their mother Julie has assigned to them, while Ruby and Jer take turns cradling a mysterious bundle that is later revealed to be their dead baby brother Nathan. The baby apparently has died either of SIDS and/or neglect, and was left in his crib for three days before his siblings are sent to the woods to bury him. "Make it deep," commands Julie when she finally appears, rifle in hand, to admonish Jake to continue digging her youngest son's grave.
Jake is burdened with the task at hand, but he and his family are also burdened with memories of losing their beloved father and how their mom fell apart after his death. The youngest, Jer, who complains of hunger after feeding his Fruit Loops to the family dog, is constantly wishing they could go home to Grandma and visit Disneyland. Ruby, who is holding Nathan, wrapped in a black plastic bag, sits on a log and complains of the cold and the hole in her boot that her mom tried to mend with cotton balls and masking tape. Ruby and Jake clash several times as she prattles on nervously about Jake's love life and how deep the hole should be so that "animals won't smell him...so they won't dig him up." The language is raw and profane at times, as Jake's rage erupts into a tirade aimed at Ruby so she will back off and let him dig in peace. He drops the R-word a couple of times in anger as Jake criticizes his sister's mindless comments about a girl he slept with, which I found more disturbing than all the F-bombs unleashed during the 1 hour and twenty minute production. If a word can really be used as a weapon, the R-word is it. I took note of how Ruby withdraws momentarily into silence after her brother's vicious dressing down, while poor Jer sits quietly on the log holding Nathan. "We're not better!" Jake insists as he settles the argument. My heart broke for all four of them, as this scene takes place just before Julie appears.
Julie appears lost in her own sorrows as she greets her children and inspects the grave before recounting her childhood experience as a "paper girl" for the local newspaper in her hometown of Oakland, CA. She also recalls cutting off the curls her mother had so fervently created so she would appear less girlish, and get the job she so wanted, having won over her boss with her "spunk." Real fireworks come after Julie confesses that she didn't want Nathan, her child by her second husband Mike, and describes carrying Nathan as feeling "like a rock" inside her. After Julie turns on her children with the accusation "I think that you're ungrateful," she and Jake have an all-out fight onstage that got so intense they were throwing dirt at each other! I sat in the front row, close enough to almost feel the heat of battle. Whew!
After the dust settled, literally, Julie tells her children a sweet story about her late husband and a penny he finds and asks her to kiss before he swallows it, assuring her that she's safe with him. She weeps for him and how his death had ended her happiness. I could actually picture in my head Vincent as the love of her life (if only).:) As the family collectively mourns their late father/husband's loss, Julie tries to comfort her children before leaving, rifle in hand. Julie's parting words to them are "I want us all to be happy." Moments later, a shot rings out while the children are huddled together on the log, baby Nathan in Ruby's arms.
Previews began on Wednesday, January 18, 2012 and the opening night is Thursday, January 26, 2012. Performances run through February 26, 2012 at the Rattlestick Playwrights Theater at 224 Waverly Place in New York City.
Discount codes for Yosemite tickets:
$10 student tickets-YSTU10
$15 under 30 tickets-YU30
$15 theater artist tickets-YTA
Visit www.rattlestick.org to order your discount tickets.
Still photos courtesy of the Rattlestick Playwrights Theater.
www.rattlestick.org
www.Twitter.com/RPT224
www.Facebook.com/RattlestickPlaywrightsTheater
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