Follies: A Review

I was a lucky SOB and scored a preview performance ticket to the current revival of Follies that is playing at the Marriot Marquis Theater on Broadway.

For those of you who don't know, Follies is one of those shows within the musical theater world that is so fraught with expectation, dogma and preconceived notions that mounting a production is not something for the faint of heart. I did not see the original and legendary production from the 70's, which many hold up as the holy grail of versions, but I saw the much reviled Roundabout revival and enjoyed it. Obviously I'm not a purist so bear that in mind.

Review: MIX Fest Opening Night

by riot

Last night I attended the opening event of MIX 23 (mixnyc.org), the annual New York queer experimental film festival.  This year's festival is being held at Theater for the New City, which is a venue that works very well for this event.  After the jump I'll give a brief review of last night's festivities.  I highly recommend checking out some or all of MIX's programs!

The Castle Garden - May 8 & 9

I live in a Castle.  It's not a Disney sort of castle.  It's a Bushwick, Brooklyn, New York sort of castle, a loose-knit intentional community.  We call our home The P Castle in Bushwick, or just The Castle.

We're an eclectic group of 10.  Some words used to describe one or more of us are: queer, trans, cis, gay, lesbian, straight, bi, Mexican, black, white, activist, faerie, mother, child, DJ, programmer, painter, sculptor, musician, carpenter, archivist, filmmaker, cook, witch, costume designer, makeup artist, performance artist, and my favorite--slut!

We're taking on a new project, the Castle Garden.  We hope to grow some of our own food, so we joined the Secret Garden Project at the Linden-Bushwick Community Garden.

This year is off to an odd and late start at the Secret Garden, because soil testing showed elevated levels of lead.  To continue planting and raising safe and healthy food crops, raised beds are were constructed throughout the garden.

On Saturday, John, Natalie, and I lined our new garden bed frames.

On Sunday, Aderonke and I began filling our beds with lush imported soil.

We haven't yet decided what all we're planting.  Definitely on the menu are tomatoes, peppers, and a variety of greens.  I'm hoping for a ton of herbs, some Brussels sprouts, and perhaps some carrots and other root vegetables.

I plan to keep y'all updated throughout the year as we work on farming a little patch of New York City!  I can't wait to cook with ingredients we have raised.

24 Hour Party People

Posted by David

Monday night I had the great fortune to attend the Third(?) Annual 24 Hour Musicals, hosted by the eXchange (yes, that is how they write it) to benefit The Orchard Project. This yearly event pulls together writers, composers, lyricists, directors and actors and gives them 24 hours to create and perform a completely original musical set-piece.