Broadway Wednesday

I was even sicker on Wednesday, and it was a crazy day at work, but nothing was keeping me from my evening plans. Kurt has a good friend who is a Tony voter (last week, they saw Daniel Radcliffe in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying). His friend gave him a block of tickets for Born Yesterday, a play with Jim Belushi that is still in previews. I felt very honored to be included in the group -- and let it be known Kurt invited me even before I cooked him diner last week!

I met the group outside the Cort Theatre, which is right by Rockefeller Plaza. When we sat down, I asked what "in previews" means. Kurt said it means the play cannot be reviewed by theater critics. Spider Man has been in previews for about six months.

We'd watched Jim Belushi do an interview about the play on Live with Regis and Kelly. Flipping through the program, I noticed Robert Sean Leonard was also in the cast.

"Why does that name sound familiar?" I asked myself. Then I saw his photo. "Oh! It's that hot guy from Dead Poets Society!  But wait a minute -- why does he look all middle-aged?"

Despite the fact that movie is now 20 years old, I decided to blame RSL's aging on costumes and make-up.

Anyway, the play is the story of Harry Brock, a brash businessman (Belushi) who goes to D.C. in the mid-40s with his ditzy girlfriend to try and get some sort of legislation enacted to will benefit his shady business dealings. RSL is the sharp reporter who gets enlisted to tutor the dingbat so she won't embarrass Brock in front of influential senators and the like. The ending is pretty predictable, but the play has some funny dialogue, and the actress who played the girlfriend absolutely stole the show.

I'm not sure I would have paid big bucks to see it, but I'm really glad I got to go. And now I can't wait to see when Nina Arianda (the ditzy girlfriend) pops up again. She apparently has a small part in Woody Allen's new film, Midnight in Paris.