We had no plans for the evening as yet and Dov, so concerned that I enjoy my visit, wanted to finalize which play we would try to get rush tickets for. I know he wants to see the Glass Menagerie but had mentioned Natasha, Pierre and the 1812 Comet a number of times. He has a friend in the production who could put tickets away for us. A musical based on War and Peace, it had received good reviews and was more definite than hoping for rush seats elsewhere. So we now had plans.
I have never spent any notable time in Brooklyn, so when it was time for Kaya's walk, I joined Dov and Marissa for a mini tour of the neighbourhood. We headed for Prospect Park a few blocks away. Years ago, I remember walking with my mother or with Lonia and having to keep slowing down so that neither one would be left behind. These days, the shoe is on the other foot. Even at my brisk pace, it was impossible to keep up with the youngsters and they were continually stopping to wait for me. After a while, Marissa walked with me, I think so that I would stop apologizing for my snail's pace. Marissa is a delight. She has a genuine interest in getting to know me and throughout the afternoon encouraged me to tell her stories about my past. I think back to myself at that age and in the same situation. I know I would have exuded an air of resentment, both for having to slow down and for feeling that it was my responsibility to entertain my mother in law for even the shortest length of time. I felt we had little in common and I was always on guard for either her criticism or her domination. Marissa seems to be very open and accepting and I feel comfortable in her company. I am beginning to better understand why Dov loves this girl.
Prospect Park is a sprawling well groomed recreational area. There is water in the form of a lake or river throughout the park. Near the entrance are two busy outdoor skating rinks, one for just skating and another one with a roof for hockey. Bird life abounds. In one area the trees are full of cardinals. Scattered through the park are gazebos and benches inviting longer pauses. We walk under bridges of all types, the most beautiful being one made of stone. One area of the path is beside the river. It is shaded with a vine covered roof. I can imagine its beauty in the spring and summer when the boughs are green rather than bare. Situated in the park is a large stately white mansion. It is the Audubon House. Set farther back from most of the walking paths, i would guess that it must be a venue for meetings or parties. Further along was a lovely octagonal wooden deck with benches overlooking the river. Its backdrop was a gurgling waterfall.
We walked for more than two hours. From time to time you could recognize an urban feature much removed from the park and there were roads patrolled by police cars, but for most of the time you could forget that you were in a big city. We took another route home and I saw many streets lined with more brownstones and even individual houses with yards, driveways and garages. I imagine that one hundred years ago, this was a high class, posh neighbourhood. Today there is much evidence of urban renewal, but the hip hop music and rap blaring from the cars driving by and the people of the street dispel any image of elegance. This is a very different picture of New York for me. I have always imagined it to be an concrete jungle with the exception of Central Park, with the boroughs home to the crowded projects of minorities. Dov has found a wonderful neighbourhood to live in.
The long walk exhausted everyone but Kaya. Dov, stuffed up with a nasty cold, lay down for an hour's nap. The plan was to head out to Broadway around five, have dinner and see the play. As the time ticked away, it became obvious that Dov was ill probably too illnfor a night out. I was fine staying in an perhaps ordering in a pizza when Dov woke up. I actually dozed off for a while as well, but roused myself when Marissa suggested that we watch Blue Jasmine together. Cate Blanchet does a remarkable turn as a very disturbed yet believable woman.
Dov woke up after six, but he really wasn't in any condition to go out, nor had we had any dinner. However he was quite insistent that we go to the theatre nonetheless. He did not know if his friend had already paid for the tickets, he thought it was rude to not use the tickets when they had been set aside for us and was determined to show me a good time.
Until we reached Times Square, I had totally forgotten that it was the Superbowl Weekend. OMG!!! Times Square is always, busy, crowded and noisy but when it is beset by thousands of raucous, belligerent football fans, it becomes a war zone for anyone not into the big game. Police were everywhere, blocking roads, cordoning off crowds to permit a trickle of traffic through, just patrolling the streets to have a presence. The crowds were boisterous and insistent that you knew they were Seahawks fans. If someone shouted out "Sea", "Hawks" thundered from the crowds and like a wave reverberated down the street. Seattle fans were so predominate that there was no evidence of the second team in the game. We ploughed through the crowds, hanging on to a sleeve or a coattail to try to stay together. Away from Broadway and a little further north the crowds were closer to what you would expect on a Saturday night in New York.
The play was not at all what I expected. Probably production would be a better description. The space was set up like a Russian cafe. Everyone was at tables and the stage, if you could call it that, surrounded the tables. Red velour curtains enclosed the entire space and as we waited for the beginning, actors from the production, in character, wandered through the room interacting with the guests. Particularly striking was a somewhat heavyset black drag queen. The makeup was perfect, the costuming was outrageous, fur hat, white furry boots, a leopard print shawl or scarf around the waist as a skirt and a short red military tunic to top it all off. When she/he approached our table, she exclaimed to Marissa. "You are so beautiful. Really beautiful. Except for you, this is an ugly house." I couldn't have agreed more. Marissa has a quiet charm an engaging smile and expressive eyes that enhance her physical presence.
This play followed the storyline and the characters of War and Peace, but there was little of Russia in the musical style and costuming of the ensemble. The main characters looked like they stepped from the pages of Napoleonic Europe, but the ensemble looked like harlequins and whores of a more modern era. The action took place all around us and on the floor of the 'cafe' with gratuitous interaction with the audience. The show was very polished. The voices were excellent, but the lyrics much of the time were chanted dialogue. It was hard to discern any Russian character in the music as it was closer to techno pop than show songs. Despite the flaws, for me, it was enjoyable entertainment. It was neither Dov's nor Marissa's cup of tea and I regretted for them that we had not seen the Glass Menagerie directly across the street.
I made a selfish suggestion to eat out after the play. We had not yet had dinner and I was hungry. Marissa suggested going directly home especially since Dov was ill, but I think in his effort to make sure I was enjoying myself, he took us to a cafe called Uncle Vanya. I was hoping that we could get something quick to eat so we could head back sooner than later, but Russians seem to enjoy long leisurely meals and this was as well. We shared hot cabbage beet borscht, carrot salad, kale caesar salad, all of it delicious. Dov and Marissa enjoyed a vegetarian stuffed pepper and I indulged in a serving of sprats, pickles and slabs of Russian black bread. Unfortunately, by this time, Dov was on his last legs. I think the train back to Brooklyn was the slowest one I have ever been on. It kept stopping because an prerecorded voice informed us of train traffic ahead even though at this hour, any train was at least half an hour away. It forever to get back to Brooklyn. Dov dozed most of the way back.
It was almost two before I collapsed in bed. I had some concerns about this visit, but I think both Dov and I want this to be a memorable visit for the right reasons. He is determined that I have a good time and I am determined to let anything that may escalate into any kind of disagreement go. Marissa is the bonus to all of this. As I have said she has been warm and welcoming and this evening, as we waited in line, rubbed my back, brought my head down on her shoulder in the subway and offered foot rubs for my tired feet. It is wonderful seeing Dov so settled and happy and wonderful to get to know Marissa better.
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