My friend Ms. Sequins took me on an awesome date earlier this week.
First we went to one of the Momofukus (I really can’t keep the names of these places straight…it was not the noodle bar, not the fancy meat one, and it was next door to but not the dessert one). The highlight of that was a bowl of shrimp heads. Yes, just the heads. With homemade old bay and some spicy mayo stuff. It was dazzling.
Then we went to see Uncle Vanya at Classic Stage. I’d love to tell you that we went because Chekhov really gets me going, but the truth is that I have mixed feelings about Anton and there was a celebrity selling point involved in this ticket purchase. Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard are both in it, as is Mamie Gummer, spawn of Meryl Streep. Ms. Sequins had recently interviewed Mamie for an article, and I felt like “that’s great, but I’m not really sure who she is and mostly I’m excited to see Elizabeth Darko wear period pieces”. As it turns out, Mamie Gummer was fantastic. The rest of the cast was not shabby at all, but Mamie as Sonya was heartbreaking and really well done. The production itself had its ups and downs. I think Ben Brantley offers a more or less accurate assessment. Anyways, Mamie’s performance stuck with me enough that I found myself googling her post-play. I already had that “I think we should be friends” feeling after watching her act, and after discovering the above picture of her in day-glo jazzercisewear I knew my instincts were dead on.
