A palooka from Podunk wanders NYC

Posted on September 5, 2007
Filed Under Personal | Leave a Comment

Headed south on Seventh Ave on a fine September morning for a post-breakfast saunter. My trek commenced at 15th, where I’m currently bivouacked, and I was intrigued to see how the orderly grid of Manhattan quickly degenerates into a thicket as one moves into the Village. Every intersection sports multiple streets intersecting at non-perpendicular angles, creating intriguing little slivers of public space every few blocks. Turning to peer up side streets, I see mature trees in green profusion, brick sidewalks in front of little brick townhouses – a whole new sense of human scale in the urban environment. Patrons gather in front of an orange truck labeled “MUD” for a hit of upscale urban coffee, the mandatory jolt of caffeine one needs to keep moving through the densely scheduled day. These are the Village landmarks of “Wonderful Town” – Sheridan Square (site of the Chase Manhattan Bank where Albert had a fateful encounter with Marshall Mason during a holdup), Christopher Street (”such interesting people live on…”), St. Vincent’s Hospital, the Village Vanguard and the Duplex. Me, I have little to do – well, no, lots to do, actually, and I’m fooling myself by giving myself a few minutes to dally here in blogville – but it’s fine to put the brain in discovery mode and take an unplanned ramble through some of the most stimulating urban real estate known to man. And now, to work.

From a NY outpost

Posted on September 5, 2007
Filed Under Professional | Leave a Comment

Habitues of the Chazzyverse (the few, the loyal) may be wondering about the dearth of posts here, but those in the know have been following action in other places on the WWW, most notably the site for Gemini the Musical, my show which is currently in rehearsal at the New York Musical Theater Festival. I’m currently installed in a New York apartment, which I’m using as a crash pad in between rehearsals and a temporary studio where I can work on rewrites. I’m exceedingly fortunate in that The University of the Arts has not only granted me a sabbatical leave this fall to pursue this and other professional endeavors, but also seen fit to support this project financially.

Meanwhile, other projects bubble just below the surface. I’ve composed and recorded about 20 minutes of music for Enchantment Theatre Company’s production of The Velveteen Rabbit, which features songs and original music by Don Sebesky. (I just accidentally typed “The Velveteen Rabbi,” which would be a good title for someone to produce during the Jewish holidays.) That project begins a national tour in a couple weeks. I’m also making plans to visit Europe in November and December, where I’ve received some invitations to visit and teach at schools with musical theater programs in Germany, Sweden, Denmark and the UK. Maybe I’ll even get around to more blogging in October…

A palooka from Podunk wanders NYC

From a NY outpost

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