The real 50-foot Nana: billboard facing Super 8 Motel, North Bergen, NJ.(photograph by Robert Vigliano)
It's been a long, long time since I did so much traveling...
Since Visitation 2000 I have gotten a job programming for an insurance company that included several business trips to Miami, and more recently, visits to New York, New York (the REAL thing, not that Las Vegas facsimile) in two consecutive weekends as part of the annual Nanites celebration of all things Nana Visitor that this year is known as Visitation 2001. Wanna hear more? OK, here goes...
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The real 50-foot Nana: billboard facing Super 8 Motel, North Bergen, NJ. (photograph by Robert Vigliano) |
The first trip started on Wednesday the 22rd of August when I drove up from Jacksonville, FL to my brother's in Greensboro, NC and then from there to Mirrani's in Chapel Hill on Friday the 24th. Since the last Visitation, Mirrani had moved to Carrboro (just outside of Chapel Hill). Mirrani, Shauna, Donna, Marcus from Germany, Carina (a friend from Austria) and myself had dinner at a Swensen's in the UNC campus before returning to Mirrani's and going straight to bed, which for me was on the living room floor. We left about 4:30 AM (except Shauna, who was performing in her play The Tempest that evening), and 11-1/2 hours later we arrived in North Bergen, NJ. Entering the Lincoln Tunnel to get into the City is sheer chaos!! Eight lanes worth of traffic squeezing into 4 available lanes of tunnel... Welcome to New York City!
Once we reach the Shubert Theatre we met Terry (who lives not too far from "The Hamptons" resort area on Long Island), Judy, Summer (a.k.a. "Bob", another local Nanite and Mirrani's old school chum), John (from Ireland), Wibke (a German exchange-student living in New Jersey at the time) and... Blanche!! After all these years e-mailing each other (not to mention all the Top-20 Lists and this website *G*) we meet at last. Go figure! We saw the 8 PM performance of CHICAGO. Unfortunately, Nana was unable to go on (severe back spasms) so Belle Calaway appeared that night as Roxie. Some quick impressions: Belle is a fine singer, actress and O.K. dancer but her Roxie was a little too "ditzy" for my taste. Anna Montanaro (who previously starred in the London production) appeared as Velma. She's an excellent dancer who can "stunt" with the best of 'em. Her chair-gymnastics during When Velma Takes The Stand was breathtaking! But on occasion her British accent filtered through, and she was occasionally a little too over-the-top, but I enjoyed her performance nonetheless. The real standouts in this performance were R. Bean as Mary Sunshine, and P.J. Benjamin as Amos. Excellent job, guys! Needless to say, we were saddened when Nana didn't appear but we understood why and, in a note signed by all and given to her by John on Sunday, we wished her a speedy recovery. We all congregated afterward to Judy's room at the Mayfair Hotel on West 49th Street (next to the Eugene O'Neill Theatre, where the musical The Full Monty was playing) - a tiny room that barely held such a large congregation of Nanites! And the elevator was on the fritz, so we clamored up the stairs to the 6th floor to get to it. Pass the oxygen, please!!
The trip, sadly enough, was too short as we had to drive back to North Carolina the next morning. When we returned to Chapel Hill we ate at a Mexican restaurant (El Rodeo - I had the Pollo Loco, some of you Dark Angel fans might be interested to know *g*) then back to Mirrani's for some photos, the Visitation T-shirt signings and bed (myself finding that same patch of floor to sleep on). And then drive back down to Florida the next day.
Sitting at my cubicle at work, I kept thinking to myself "I gotta go back, gotta go back...". And it's not just you-know-who, either: the city itself is such a magnet despite all the homicidal taxi-drivers, 50-foot tall electronic billboards in Times Square (one of which has Jessica Alba hawking L'Oreal) and endless traffic gridlock - you can never, EVER get enough of New York! And hell, it's Labor Day weekend, so why not?!
I'm sitting in a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 on Saturday afternoon of Labor Day weekend (September 1), looking out the window. In the distance is Manhattan Island and the familiar skyline, and I ask myself "What the hell am I doing??" But since Mirrani was also making another drive up, bringing her sister Kira with her, and I was also to meet Terry, Summer and Alisa (an old friend of Maureen's, and a fan of Nana's since ENVY days) with hopes that we would see Nana onstage this time, I knew what the hell I was doing.
Nanites at the Shubert Theatre, 8-25-01 (standing L-R): Terry, Wibke, Judy, Donna, Mirrani, Carina, (kneeling) Bob. (photograph by Marcus Karsities) |
Meeting Terry at MacArthur Airport in Islip, we get pizza and head briefly to her house before I boarded the Long Island Railroad (LIRR) train at Ronkonkoma Station for my ride into the City. Two hours in the plane, and now another two hours on the train. It was lonely until I got to Jamaica, Queens, then the car filled up pretty quickly, then under the East River and... Welcome back to New York City, Bubba!
I followed Terry's map to exit Penn Station onto West 34th Street and Broadway, flag a cab to the Mayfair where Judy stayed the previous weekend (I reserved the last available single-bed room the night before - hey, at least the elevator works this time!), divvy up the reprints from last weekend's photos and promptly fell asleep (it was 8:45 PM). I woke up a little before midnight, went outside and strolled around Times Square until 2, maybe 3 AM. The place was packed, tour buses everywhere the whole time! Some mime in silver body-paint was an always-ready photo-opp for the tourists. I spent an hour alone in this record/CD shop (The Colony) with a huge collection of old movie posters, Beatles, Elvis and even Sinatra memorabilia. I still managed to be at the Shubert stage door to meet Terry and Summer and get our CHICAGO rush ticket wristbands at around 7 AM on Sunday morning.
We stroll around half of westside mid-town Manhattan a good part of the morning. Madison Square Garden, the midtown post office, Macy's - I get a nice shot of the Empire State Building at this point - and we locate one of my favorite places in town, B&H Photo and Video but they weren't open yet. When we return to the Shubert around noon (when the ticket office opens) we meet Alisa, Mirrani and Kira. Lunch in O'Charley's across Shubert Alley from the theatre, then we get our rush tickets (all in front row center-stage) and before too long 2 PM rolls around and it's Showtime!
Mirrani proudly displays her lucky-charm - the Worry Sparklie!(photograph by Robert Vigliano) |
Showtime? Well, not exactly! It's 2:15 and there's an announcement that the show will start in about 5-10 minutes. Mirrani is worried - did Nana arrive late, did she hurt herself again?? There's one of those Razzle Dazzle silver confetti disks - the Worry Sparklie - on the floor: Mirrani picks it up and rubs it with her fingers until nearly all the silver stuff is removed. Finally, at 2:25 the show begins. And... there's Nana making her entrance in the middle of All That Jazz (Mirrani sighs a huge sigh of relief!), but her hair is sticking out all over the place! Donna Marie Asbury (normally June, a "Merry Murderess") was Velma (Anna Montanaro returned in the 7 PM show, which we learned later was her final performance). A fine talent, Donna Marie complimented Nana nicely during their duets and is an exceptional dancer. Chuck Cooper returned to the Broadway cast as Billy Flynn (the previous Flynn, Brent Barrett had just left) and, while he did a fine job his Flynn was a little too low-key (he was much better on October 6). Gregory Mitchell subbed for Barrett as Flynn back on August 25 - this time he was Fred Casely and it didn't matter which role he was, that same Brooklyn accent was in every piece of dialogue. ;=) It was great seeing Marcia Lewis return as "Mama" Morton - her "JEEEZUZ CHRIIISSTTT!!!" during Class really cracked me up!! Nana was something else! That smile, those legs... That hair!!! *g*
Her dancing (despite the back and - we learned later - leg ailments) was superb with her usual precision and fluidity, especially during We Both Reached For The Gun and Roxie. Speaking of Roxie - Nana did a shtick with Rob Bowman (CHICAGO's musical director) where she takes his baton and conducts the band. In the evening performance, she added to that some exuberant butt-shaking which cracks her up as well as the band! Nana has become a natural in the role, and having a whole lotta fun in the process. Still no cartwheel at the end of Hot Honey Rag, but who the hell gives a rat's arse??
Nana is a much stronger singer now than when I last saw her in Washington, D.C. (see my review of that performance). She projects a lot better and appears to be much more confident with her voice - thank Golden Boy for that, I suppose. But for me the most memorable moment was Nowadays - Roxie, rejected by everyone, sobs as she sings, "It's good, isn't it? Grand, isn't it..." Being in the front row, you could see every detail of Roxie's pain as Nana interprets the moment - the tears were literally running down Nana's face. During the second part where Roxie and Velma do their vaudeville number, Nana had completely regained her composure but her eyes were still moist. We all know what an incredible actress Nana is, but to see it up close and personal like that is an experience one should never miss.
And finally, we get to the curtain call - Mirrani had bought flowers prior to the 2 PM show, and it was my turn to deliver them. ;=) Back in July, Sue handed Nana the bouquet as she bowed in front of the stage. I was ready - but Donna Marie was in front of me, not Nana! As I gave them to Donna Marie, I motioned to her that they were Nana's. And then ensued a little play-fight between the two principal actresses for the bouquet! A little embarassing for me, I'll admit, but Nana eventually got them, thank goodness. Donna Marie deserves my eternal thanks for her sportsmanship and (I promise) next time there will be flowers for both of them!!
Nana did not appear outside the stage door after the matinee, getting a much-needed massage (she described it later as similar to having "my muscles torn off") and rest between shows, the matinee not being over until almost 5 PM. I did see Donna Marie and thanked her personally about the flowers - like Nana, a very gracious and kind woman. Mirrani and Kira began their drive back to Carolina shortly afterward, and the rest of us (sans Summer) attended the 7 PM show. Those obnoxious and loud CHICAGO fanatics (one whom we dubbed Laughing Boy) were all there in the front row cheering Anna Montanaro like a bunch of Bellevue lunatics. Anna rewarded their "love" with an improvised handstand at the end of I Can't Do It Alone, which was rather cute. Nana was solid (err..., fluid *g*) as usual. We met her outside after the show - I gave her an album of the Visitation photos and got a nice long hug in the process. :=D She also announced the final day of her run would be Sunday, October 7 (Ed. note: Nana's run was eventually extended to January 11, 2002 - in fact, she & Matt flew down to Fort Lauderdale immediately after her last CHICAGO performance - Judy was also there at the show AND the con!). After which we bid Alisa adieu, and Terry and myself took the LIRR train back to Islip and her house, and my flight back to Jacksonville on Labor Day morning.
My thanks to all who were there in New York those weekends, and especially to Mirrani and Terry for their hospitality. And most of all to Nana for being... well, Nana! Keep up the great work, and keep pounding the boards for chrissakes!!
Nana greets fans outside theShubert Theatre, 10-7-01. (photograph by Donna Berghaus) |
Since the Labor Day weekend trip, the Nanites had planned still another New York trip to commemorate Nana's originally-scheduled final regular appearances in CHICAGO on October 6-7. No one was prepared for the shock that occurred on September 11 that turned a nation upside-down! It took the steely will of the citizens of New York City, led by their mayor, Rudolph Giuliani, to bring this city back to its feet - yet, the sadness mixed with disbelief and anger still remain. I remember seeing the World Trade Center towers still standing tall when riding with Mirrani & Co. into the City on August 25. What a shock it was that, when riding the bus from Newark Airport into the City on October 6, those towers had disappeared!
Another large gaggle of Nanites were in town: besides myself there was Mirrani, Shauna, Donna, Blanche, Judy, Sue, Terry, Alisa, Summer, Carina and Tomoko (exchange-student from Japan) - more came Sunday the 7th including Mirrani's friend Chase, who I met in D.C. Most of us stayed at the Belvedere (a grand hotel in the heart of the Theatre District on West 48th Street); Blanche stayed at the Mayfair. I only saw the Saturday (8 PM, October 6) performance of CHICAGO. Nana was brilliant - her Roxie dance-monologue was especially mesmerizing - she certainly was pulling no stops! Deidre Goodwin appeared as Velma - I really enjoyed her sensuality and style. Great vocal chops, and gams that won't quit! In a nutshell, basically the same excellent cast as on Labor Day weekend with the addition of Deidre. A much more robust performance by Chuck Cooper as Flynn this time - his held note at the end of We Both Reached For The Gun literally brought down the house!! Chuck and R. Bean (Mary Sunshine) hammed it up quite a bit in that number, which combined with Nana's rag-doll/marionette Roxie made WBRFTG the highlight of that performance. Overall, probably the best CHICAGO I've seen to date!
Unfortunately, I had to leave Sunday the 7th (so did Blanche) so I missed both of those shows. But before we left, I joined my fellow Nanites early that morning (let's say, 5:30 AM!) at the Shubert stage door to help get enough rush-tickets so that the entire front row would be filled with Nanites - not a single CHICAGO moron-fanatic in sight! *g* A cold front had passed through the night before, and we froze our arses off! You see, Broadway disects itself across much of Manhattan Island almost without obstruction, surrounded by very tall buildings like some huge man-made fjord. This creates a wind tunnel effect (not to mention an awesome sight!) which whipped a hard, chilly North wind right through Shubert Alley where we were sitting. The sight of us huddling together, trying vainly to get warm... Even though I couldn't stay in New York long enough to see the Sunday shows, I did my part and braved the elements with them. We did succeed in shutting Laughing Boy and his ilk from the front row Sunday evening, so I heard later. *g*
Oh, by the way... here's the photo! *G*
As part of the commemoration of that weekend, it had been planned prior to September 11 that contributions would be made by fan club members (coordinated by Blanche) in Nana's name to help fight Multiple Sclerosis - an announcement was published in the September FBTS newsletter. Since September 11, contributions were added for the American Red Cross & other relief organizations. A formal presentation was made by Mirrani to Nana after the Sunday 7 PM show in the form of a single rose and a card listing the club members who contributed. According to those who attended, Nana was especially touched by this show of love and generosity from her dearest fans and friends. A class act always deserves a big round of applause, and it's nice to know that the applause is graciously returned for such heartful actions and admiration.
There were reminders of the horrors of September 11 all around us! The FDNY fire station (Battalion 54, Ladder 4, on the corner of 8th Avenue and West 48th) that lost a truck and all 15 of it's crew, and the sense of sympathy and healing when flowers, letters and cards from all over the country adorn the station. Several Nanites visited "Ground Zero" (the World Trade Center site) and could not believe their eyes - the place was described as being a "war zone". It's one thing to see it all on TV, but for those who were there, what an unimaginable and unforgettable scene that must've been!! Even in CHICAGO, Nana modified her lines during the Finale which included a rousing "God Bless America" that brought wild cheers from the audience.
My only hope is that we come out of this tragedy even stronger, more vigilant, and confident in the knowledge that the creeps that did this will never, EVER get the better of us. Peace, Prosperity, Good Times and Good Health To All!!
Photos used by permission of their respective authors
Article ©2001 Robert Vigliano
Visitation 2001 in New York Photo Gallery