My Sister's Keeper Premiere

Read the fine print.

This is the lesson I learned when it came to passes I printed out for myself and a friend to see "My Sister's Keeper". Although they were from the same place that I had gotten passes from for the "Nights in Rodanthe" Premiere it just never clicked that these passes could be for a premiere too as it didn't blatantly say it on the pass - just to dress in appropriate business attire. It wasn't until I joined my friend in line and listened to her observations that it seemed clear it was in fact the movie premiere! Sheesh! I didn't even know they held premieres at the Lincoln Square Theatre. I guess now I do! :)

Thru intermittent rain we patiently stood in line to hopefully exchange our printouts for an actual pass for the premiere. Then we both recognized one of the security guys. He told us we should have no problem getting in and to let him know if we had any trouble. Cool. A few minutes later he came past again and asked if it was just the two of us. Yes, it was. Then a few minutes after that he came up and told us it was going to be a while still and asked whether we wanted to go to Starbucks and get a coffee with him...having a hunch something was up, we said sure and stepped out of line. As we walked closer to the entrance of the theater our friend slyly produced 2 passes -"Enjoy the Show", he said. How great is that?! :)

So we made our way upstairs and got our complimentary popcorn and bottled beverage and found our assigned seats. It was a bit harder to blatantly spot the celebs this time around. (We think we caught a glimpse of the young actresses and Jason Patric but weren't for sure.) After getting a late start the director, Nick Cassavetes, bounded to the front to introduce the movie giving kudos to everyone in the film with special note to the author of the book in which the movie was based - Jodi Picoult. He said he loved the book like many others and w/ his tongue planted firmly in his cheek he added that he did his best to ruin it. ;)

I haven't read the book, so I don't know how the movie measures up but I can tell you that it would be next to impossible not to shed a few tears or at least feel them coming on while watching this movie. The entire cast did a great job but I thought Jason Patric stood out because he did so much w/ so little. His character had the least to say but it was his face that said it all in so many scenes. Just right.

Afterwards, as we exited w/ the masses we saw Cameron Diaz riding the escalator down in her white dress. Just like at the Rodanthe Premiere, there were buses waiting outside to ship people to the after party but once again we weren't sure if anyone could go or what so we kept walking.

My friend commented that she thought it was funny how whenever she saw movie premiere coverage on TV it looked so glamorous and full of stars. Little did she know that much of the audience was filled with "us commoners". ;)

Shakespeare in the Park

Thanks to a friend of mine I got to experience "Shakespeare in the Park" for the first time sans standing in line for a ticket! :)

The show was "The Twelfth Night". Rain threatened but since it was the weekend where critics were coming to review it seemed likely that the show would go on...

No umbrellas are allowed to be opened during the performance in the theater so after a failed search for a poncho @ Duane Reade and other places (they only had kid sizes) and not really wanting to buy it from the guy wandering the park yelling "Ponchos!", I decided to shell out $10 to get an official "Shakespeare in the Park" poncho w/ last year's logo on it. (Pics taken outside the Delacorte Theater. The statue is of Romeo & Juliet.)

Since it had been raining off & on all day we arrived at our seats to find them wet. Thank goodness for ponchos! Right before the show started a guy and his friend settled down behind us. He was a loud, opinionated talker and later we found he was a guy that not only chose not to shut off his cell phone but had convos w/ more than one person during the performance. Why come to a performance if you're just going to talk on the phone the whole time? - not only are you missing the performance but you are ruining it for others, too!!! Sigh. Kept hoping an usher would nab him but I think they were all preoccupied w/ how to deal w/ the rain.

Kudos to the actors & actresses that did not let a wet set deter them from carrying out their stage directions. Wet butts be damned! ;)

During intermission we were allowed to raise our umbrellas. Then about 1 scene into the 2nd Act Anne Hathaway slipped. She finished the scene but then the play was paused momentarily while they hoped the rain would slow down a bit. Once again, our umbrellas were raised. Finally the rain did become manageable again and the show went on!

The show was great overall. Audra McDonald owned her role and seemed to have a lot of fun w/ it. Not sure I totally bought the chemistry w/ Anne Hathaway & Raul Esparza though. David Pittu was fantastic - although I've only seen him in one other show (What's that Smell?) plus an appearance on "Rescue Me" I'm beginning to think I can expect nothing less from him.

At the curtain call, Julie White cursed the skies shaking her fists but they all had smiles on their faces. At least no raccoons made an appearance. ;)

Note: This pic was taken a few weeks later from the Belvedre Castle. It is a view from the back of the stage/set/seating area.

Cupcake Kebab Craze!

So, I went to my first "Cupcakes Take the Cake" gathering on Saturday and braved the rainy weather in Central Park to present my Neapolitan Cupcake Kebabs (Kabobs). My goal was simply to come up w/ something new, fun and tasty - I had no idea how well they were going to go over (or if they'd go over @ all)! It's nuts!

Rachel from "Cupcakes Take the Cake" posted a vid on Monday of me talking about my Kebabs and it has over 800 views already! A google search for "Cupcake Kebabs" shows pics of my Kebabs showing up everywhere as well as the video. (It was even blogged about on BettyCrocker.com!) There are definite fans and definite foes - It is all very interesting to observe.... A word search on Twitter found many mentions and LuLus Cupcakes in AZ tweet - "Cupcake Kebabs - deep fried or no?"

Now I have this wonderful idea that everyone is talking about and...I'm lacking the right paperwork to sell it via my "in the works" online bakery. Nertz. It's exciting that so many people like the idea but a bit frustrating that I can't act on it immediately! (Perhaps I'll just be the Cupcake Kebab version of "The ORIGINAL Ray's Pizza", Har.) I saw that someone blogged about it and said they are trying to convince Crumbs to do it! That would be so crazy to see an idea arrive on the market and know I was the one that started it... My brother joked that if he sees it in Hy-Vee he'll know where it came from! ;)

And already I've found a few pics of people making their own versions! One is from Paris! Amazing! It's kind of like a play - you can have the same script but a different result occurs depending on direction, actors, space, etc.

In the meantime, I've got a head full of other flavor combos for kebabs and can't wait to try them! I've also started a flikr album w/ pics of treats I've made and of course there's the Facebook Group for Nibbles by Nora that people can join and be informed of the progress I'm making towards an actual online bakery!

No matter where this idea may or may not take me, one thing is for sure - I've now learned the power of the internet first hand!

@ the Tonys!

Thanks to a friend of mine who "knew somebody", I got to be a seat filler at the Tony Awards!

When I officially got the word my first thought went to - What will I wear?! Our instructions were to wear "appropriate formal attire". I inserted "practical" in there. Not only did I need to choose an outfit that was background worthy but it needed to be easily moved in (in other words, not dragging on the ground or something I need to tug @) and my shoes need to be something I can skitter in quickly! Oh...And then there's accessories and hair...

So as the big day neared I found a dress (VS online), found the shoes (clearance @ Payless!), found a mini purse (we were advised to leave cells @ home and not bring much - the purse was my BOGO @ Payless), an antique necklace (only $10 @ an outdoor sale in Chelsea) and cleaned myself up a bit (hair cut, brows, nails, etc...) . Then day of, my roomie was kind enough to share her makeup artist skills to glam me up and I chose a fairly basic pull back hairdo - making sure it wasn't too bouffant for those that may be sitting behind me! ;)

We were asked to be at Radio City Music Hall by 4:30pm. When I arrived, I had to wk past a large grouping of police to get in the seat fillers line. I heard one policeman say, "Greenal must the color this year..."

My friend joined me in line and soon we were being ushered into the RCMH and given green wristbands - an easily spotted sign that we were seat fillers and not celebs. ;)

After everyone was seated in the back of the auditorium, we waited and watched snippets of the rehearsal that happened earlier in the day. We were given a steady countdown of how many minutes we had left to use the bathroom - once the show started there would be no trips to the bathroom (probably one of the reasons why we weren't provided w/ water while we waited to sit!) Soon we were given instructions as to how the night was going to roll. Err...Is it a problem that I'm not totally clear on who's who and where I'm supposed to go?! My friend assured me that once we were in motion I'd get it. I hope so. They said our movement would happen during the 4 minute commercial breaks - w/ most of the movement happening in the last 30 seconds and if you didn't have a seat by then you needed to get your ass back to the line!

They also told us that 2 very expensive watches were going to be given away during the commercial breaks and told us that only people that PAID for their tickets could win. (Later, the friend of my friend laughed at that saying off-handedly that no one on the main floor actually paid for their tickets. Har. Probably truer than we know. Although we were told the seats we were in were going for $500.) Later the guy that gave away the watches milked his kinda/sorta 15 minutes of fame. First he said he could dance - so he did in a "Go Watchman! Go Watchman!" kinda way and then the next time he was out there he sang "New York, New York" and specifically called out Jane Fonda as the person he was singing it to.

We were in the 2nd row of seat fillers so we headed to the left side of the stage (or stage right). And there we stood and stood, with the occasional musical chair moment and then we'd stand some more. My new shoes needed some gellin' insoles! But as the awards progressed more and more seats needed permanent or long term (i.e. - more than a segment) filling so it really started to pay off!

Here are some "highlights" from the night -

*Standing on the side, we saw Bret Michaels get clobbered only we weren't sure who it was. The audience gasped but quickly got over it as the show went on! (It was kind of a - did I see what I just think I saw?! - moment.)

*Sat by Geoffrey Rush briefly, only to discover the guy who's seat I was filling was standing in front of me the whole time but didn't say anything until he was ready to sit down. Then he said, "Okay, I'll take my seat now. But that's a very nice green dress you're wearing."

*I should also note that while I was sitting by Rush, Angela Lansbury touched his arm and said "Geoffrey" in a way that I can't really type out.

*When I got up to vacate the seat next Rush we were being scurried off and Raul Esparza thankfully tucked in his feet as I cut the corner close - oops.

*Anne Hathaway uses a lot of "sweeties" and "hon/honey" when she talks - wasn't sure if that was an always thing or just when she's in those situations. She introduced her father to Colin Hanks (Colin was w/ what we think was his gf...she took a pic of him w/ the stage behind him on her phone) and then later flew past and handed Raul a Starbucks Coffee - where did she get that from?!

*One of the seat filler wranglers said that Jane Fonda's bf was a "free spirit" so they'd have to keep an eye on him. ?! And he referred to James Gandolfini as "Jimmy".

*After actresses from Mary Stuart were done waiting to see if they'd won their category - they started munching on candy! - one had elbow-length evening gloves on, too! (I think it must have been a bag passed out to all the attendees as another seat I sat in had it lying on the floor. Which brings me to a side note: Not only did you have to get yourself past people in a quick and decent fashion - do I put my ass or front to the celeb?! - but you had to be mindful of items left behind.)

*Speaking of "ass or front" - Chandra Wilson had a lovely green dress on but it was looooong and in order to sneak past it, I did turn my ass to her and drop my mini purse in my friend's lap who just happened to be sitting in front of her. ;)

*More on Chandra - there was a mini "Grey's Anatomy" reunion as she and "Meredith's Mom", Kate Burton, excitedly greeted each other and chatted for a bit.

*While standing on the side during pre-show there was this entourage coming down the stairs for who?...Harvey Weinstein.

*Also while standing on the side we saw several celebs pass us on their way back stage and out again - Will Ferrell, Bebe Neuwirth, Poison, Samantha Mathis, Oliver Platt (wearing what looked like a Converse type black shoe - white soles w/ a tux), Lauren Graham and others...

*After Geoffrey Rush won, my friend and I ended up sitting next to each other in the vacated seats. Our hair and faces were touched by a cast member of "Hair" and the cast of "Norman Conquests" flew past us when they won. We were kinda hoping Rush wasn't going to come back but he finally did, apologizing for making us move. (By then he probably knew our faces as we seemed be cycling around that area a lot.)

*I sat by another seatfiller behind one of the gentleman (director? producer?) involved w/ Billy Elliott. When the 3 boys won the camera sat on him and the seatfiller next me was texted immediately after the segment and told she was on there (btw - obviously some people brought their cells. I did. But I kept mine off in my purse and wasn't texting during the show - Sheesh!). Anyway, I was all excited that I was probably on too and then when I found the clip all I could see was my sleeve! (you can see it about the 3:14 mark) LOL! BTW - The seat I was sitting in was vacated by Stephen Mangan (Norman from "The Norman Conquests") - they did not come back to their seats before the end of the show.

*Neil Patrick Harris entertained the audience w/ magic tricks during a couple commercial segments. First he asked a "random audience member" to pick a number, any number as he wrote on the small dry erase board he brought out. He guessed the number, she said "no" and he flipped his board around...it said "no". ;) Then the second time he came out and asked another "random person" (both times stressing that he'd never met the person before, right?) to guess a number and then forget that number and guess again. This time he actually got the right number (82)! Not sure if the person was a plant or if he truly was magical! ;)

*During another commercial break they aired "Shrek Auditions" which someone in the balcony apparently recorded! They also aired a "teaser trailer" for the upcoming Addams Family musical and the crowd lit up as they listed the cast. And they tossed in a few retro ads for previous versions of "Hair" and "Guys & Dolls" on Broadway.

Although my feet weren't very happy by the end of the night it was still an amazing experience....and something to reflect upon when I'm actually there as a presenter or nominee...someday... ;)

**Note: As we were filtering out of RCMH I turned on my phone, turned around and snapped this pic...