New York
April 3, 2011

My hotel, the Courtyard Upper East Side, is nice, but a bit remote.  The room is very comfortable, but like most hotel rooms in this town, a bit on the wee side. 

Central Park in the Spring is definitely a big check in the PLUS column for America.  I had a lovely walk across the Upper East Side, the Park, and then the Upper West Side on the way to Gerard’s.

Gerard lives in this great building on West End Avenue.  His 13-floor living room windows face the Hudson River.  Between him and the river is a school.  “This is great, ” I would always tell him.  “That school isn’t going anywhere, so your view will be here forever!”

So naturally a few years ago the damn school added several stories, just enough to sit right smack in front of Gerard’s beautiful view.  Oh, the humanity.

Gerard has been my friend since 1988 or so, and it’s always great to see him.  Like my late friend Ken, we can talk about movies until we collapse.

“So what else besides The Book of Mormon should I try to see while I’m here?”  I knew Gerard would have his finger on the pulse of the New York theater scene.  Without hesitation he said, “War Horse.”  Funny, I had just seen an article on TED about this show that had these amazing horse puppets.  My time in New York was limited, and the show had a lot of buzz on it, so we actually scooted down to Lincoln Center and I nabbed the last remaining good seat for the evening performance. 

The show was dazzling.  The play basically puts you through World War I, with trench warfare, barbed wire, tanks, and full-size horses.  It was one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen.

Places I Have Seen Productions of Gerard’s Shows Since 1981

• New York, of course
• Boston
• Los Angeles
• Orange County
• Honolulu