I decided to forego posting an entire response (as I promised last time I wrote) to the night we saw Louis C.K. at the Comedy Cellar. It’s not for a lack of trying. In fact, I drafted a whole 1400-word response in an attempt to summarize my thoughts. In the end, I changed my mind and decided that that post will be my own private record of me trying to make sense of that night. I will say this, though. Louis C.K. is a despicable, vile, gross man, and I don’t think I’ll be visiting the Comedy Cellar any time soon. If ever. Here’s a good article by Jenna Amatulli that I recommend you read that actually rather sums up my feelings on Louis C.K.’s attempt to return to his performing.
Anyway, so let’s move on…
On my fifth day here (Aaron and Amy’s first morning here), we made our way to Russ and Daughters on Houston in the Lower East Side for breakfast. As I noted in my post for October 7th, I just love this place, and I welcomed a second visit while I was here. Amy also loves this place, and we were so happy to introduce Aaron to the deli’s fresh selection of fish, bagels, cream cheeses, caviar, and assortments of sweets (including babka, macaroons, hand-dipped chocolates, honey cakes, and so much more). I don’t know how much more I can gush about Russ and Daughters, as I think I’ve run out of superlatives. We enjoyed our selections of bagels and fish at the nearby First Park, so named because it’s right on the corner of East First Street and First Avenue. It’s a very small park (more a playground for kids, really), but a nice place to sit down for a little bit, nonetheless.
Following breakfast, we took a walk around the Lower East Side, finding a little shop called Irving Farm for some coffee and tea, before we visited the Tenement Museum on Orchard Street. The last time Amy and I were here, we missed this museum entirely (mainly because we didn’t properly plan for a visit here). To plan properly, make sure to buy your tickets in advance, as they sell out fast and you may not be able to just arrive and expect a spot on one of their walking tours. We made that mistake last time, but we were determined not to let it happen again, as we had received so many recommendations to visit the Tenement Museum.
We had purchased tickets for the Shop Life tour, and our lovely tour guide, Genevieve, took us through the building at 97 Orchard, which was home to family-run stores for over a century. The first part of the tour took us through the 1870s saloon of John and Caroline Schneider. In the 1870s, this part of Manhattan was called Kleindeutschland (Little Germany) due to the influx of German immigrants to this area. In fact, it was so populated with people from Germany that newspapers written entirely in German were available, as Genevieve showed us the artifact on a table. And with their language, they also brought with them lager biers and wurst and mustard and so much else from their rich culture, things from their culture that we take for granted today because they’ve become so fully assimilated into a new American life. We even got to view an advertisement about lager bier from the era, proclaiming how it was a national drink, a family drink, a healthy drink, and a friendly drink.
The rooms at 97 Orchard were expertly restored to what they might have looked like in the 1870s. In addition to the saloon (complete with a long, shiny, wooden bar, bier steins, brass instruments, lamps hanging from the ceiling, and an old tin growler), we got to view the tiny, tiny kitchen were Caroline would have cooked as well as John and Caroline’s bedroom (which provides views of the four outhouses that would have been used by the building’s 83 residents on five floors). We also got to read about the lives of actual immigrants from the area, Genevieve passing out cards that told us their name, when they were born, who they might have been married to, and what they did for a living.
We also got to see unrestored, dilapidated parts of the building to show us what this building looked like after years of disuse and before the restorations, complete with a glass case displaying objects that they found during all their work (including a broken bier stein and a somewhat hilarious artifact of a piece of underwear).
The tour concluded with an interactive section where we could learn about three other shop owners: Max Marcus who ran an auction house in the 1930s; a butcher and his family from the turn of the 20th century; and owners of a discount garment shop from the 1970s (which explained the underwear they found). This last section was really pretty cool. We would take an object from a shelf (a photo album, an apron, a microphone, amongst other things), place it on a certain section of the table, and projectors from above would display on the table an interactive menu where we could choose to listen to interviews, read accounts, and view photos. The research to put this all together was so impressive and so thorough. And it was so informative to learn about the lives of all the men and women who made lives for themselves in this building on 97 Orchard. I’m already looking forward to making a return trip to check out some of the other walking tours that are available.
After a quick bite to eat at Vanessa’s Dumpling House on Eldridge Street (do stop by to try a diverse assortment of handmade dumplings filled with different combinations of meats, seafood, and vegetables; it was really quite good), we walked through the bustling Chinatown to make our way to the Brooklyn Bridge. Last time I was here, we also missed a walk across Brooklyn Bridge, and I was determined not to let that happen again. I was surprised to see that the pedestrian walkway was made of wooden planks. And as someone who is terribly afraid of heights, it was unnerving to see that there were spaces between the planks, and through the spaces between the planks you could see the long, long height from the bridge to the water below. Looking down gave me those wobbly knees as I felt the intense and irrational fear of that great, 135 foot height. Even still, seeing Brooklyn Bridge and walking across it is one of those experiences no one should miss, much like Saint Paul’s Cathedral in London, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, or Prague Castle in, er, Prague.
On the Brooklyn side of Brooklyn Bridge, we stopped by Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory to have some, well, ice cream (it was fine; no need to go out of your way if you’re hungry for ice cream) before we made our way over to NoHo in Manhattan to attend another night of theatre, this time at the Public Theatre, but not before stopping at a cocktail lounge called Sweetwater Social for some, well, cocktails (it was fine; no need to go out of your way if you’re thirsty for cocktails).
At the Public Theatre, we found ourselves attending a truly transcendent night of theatre, a production of Jane Anderson’s Mother of the Maid that featured none other than Glenn Close herself in the lead role. I knew nothing about this production beyond the fact that Glenn Close was performing in it. I rather prefer it that way, as it allows me to experience the work without any preconceptions. I had no idea what the central premise of this show was, which was that this was a show about Joan of Arc. More specifically, it was about Joan of Arc’s mother and her family. (Glenn Close, of course, played Joan of Arc’s mother, Isabelle.)
I’m somewhat ashamed to admit this, but it took me a little bit (maybe a half hour or so) to figure out that this show was actually featuring the Arc family. This might be somewhat forgivable, as–while everyone is dressed in period garb and the set is similarly designed to match the aesthetic–the dialogue is all written in a modern vernacular. Isabelle calls her daughter Joanie, for example; the Arcs all use the expletive fucking (as in, “These fucking sheep!”) while they describe how unpleasant it is to pick out hay from the sheeps’ assholes; and Isabelle refers to the farm she works on as a shithole. But, once I did understand what this show was about, it was such a magical moment when I realized I was witnessing a show about such a heroine and her family. And then, in that same moment, I realized that this seemingly light-hearted and funny show about a family living on a farm was not going to have a happy ending. (If you don’t know how Joan of Arc’s life ends, then I don’t have time for you.)
But before I go on any further, I must just gush about what a joy it was to see Glenn Close on stage. The show opens with the lights illuminating Close sitting in a chair on a sparsely decorated stage. The audience, enthralled at the site of Glenn Close on stage, applauded before she even said a single word. Her presence on stage was so strong and so powerful. She was magnetic and enchanting. Whenever she was on stage (she rarely was off), she commanded our attention with so little ease. It was really quite remarkable. I feel so happy that I was able to see Glenn Close live in a play in New York. It was absolutely magical.
The rest of the cast were also just so, so good. I can’t fault a single one of them. Grace van Patten as Joan of Arc herself was especially strong. She captured Joan of Arc’s heroism and bravery so flawlessly, while also generating such emotions of fear and anxiety as her character approached her fate. And along with these astonishing performances from this talented cast came some fantastic designs in lighting, costume, sounds, and sets. Clocking in at just over 2 hours, the whole evening was transfixing, and never once did I get that impatient feeling of wanting the show to end, something I feel from time to time with shows lasting even just an hour.
We concluded the evening by having some really quite delicious ramen at Misoya (this place I would recommend you go out of your way for if you’re hungry for ramen), and then we made a trip up the Empire State Building. Last time I visited the building, we went up during the daytime, but this time we went up at night (after midnight, in fact), and it was absolutely wonderful to see the city from this vantage at night, all the buildings aglow in glimmering lights.
Sadly, at this point in my journeys, my time in New York was fast coming to an end. October 11th was my last full day here, and I left early on October 12th. So, this means only one more post of my adventures in this lovely city.
Stray Observations:
1. I know I knocked the music in Uncle Vanya as anachronistic, so I should therefore complain in return that the dialogue in Mother of the Maid is anachronistic. But the anachronisms work in Mother of the Maid, because it brought such a relatable reality to the characters. Besides, technically all the characters should be speaking in French, anyway. But also, the music in Uncle Vanya was just so, so bad.
2. I only saw three shows while I was here (compared to six on my last visit), but here’s how I’d rate the three shows I saw: (1) Mother of the Maid (2) I Hear You and Rejoice (3) Uncle Vanya.
3. During our visit to the Tenement Museum, I was struck by how history repeats. Today we see such feelings of animosity towards immigrants from Mexico and Somalia and other countries. Those feelings were just as strong towards immigrants from Germany in NYC in the 19th century. This is just another reason why I have lost so much feelings of hope for the success of the human species. Earth would be much better off without us mucking things up.