A Week Without a Husband (Van Dyck, Met Breuer, Carnegie Hall, NYCFC)

Ed headed off to England for work last week, so I made lots of plans to keep myself busy. But before he left, we went to the Frick to check out the Van Dyck portrait show that's in residence until early June. No photos allowed, as usual at the Frick, so you'll have to swing by yourself. Which you should definitely do if you get the chance--the Frick is its only venue. The things that man was doing at 14 are unbelievable. His portrait of Cardinal Bentivoglio alone is worth the price of admission. Other than the time it spent in Paris when Napoleon chose it to enter the collection of the Musee Napoleon, it has never left Italy. Here's a photo of a photo from the members' magazine (it doesn't do justice to the richness of the original, but still): 

On Thursday, I had my usual Whitney shift (my second and final spent with Andrea Fraser's Down the River, thank God--it is torture to stand for 2.5 hours listening to the banging noise made by Sing Sing prison and its inmates), and then I headed over to Brooklyn for a girls' night with Sally. After swinging by a wine tasting at Dandelion Wine, a really great local spot where dogs are welcome and Sally knows everyone, we headed to the Naked Dog for dinner. I should have asked where the name came from, as you'd never guess from the name that it's a cute little Italian place, complete with lovely Laura from Florence who was our server. Good food, good wine, good conversation...very odd light fixtures. 

Friday, my friend, Leslie, and I checked out the new Met Breuer, the former home of the Whitney. I really hate that building (and all Brutalist buildings), but I thought the Unfinished show was fascinating. We only made it through one floor in the almost-two-hours we spent there. There are some really famous paintings included in the show, including the Flaying of Marsyas by Titian that is your first view off the elevator. 

A Leonardo da Vinci sketch:

An unfinished Klimt

The Death of Bara by Jacques Louis David

The painting left on Van Gogh's easel when he died

And though I'm not familiar with the work of James Drummond, I thought this was fascinating

And if you're familiar with the old Whitney, you'll be pleased to know that the site-specific Charles Simonds piece, Dwellings, is still there, as is its partner piece on the building across the street.

We had lunch at Via Quadronno which was like a little piece of Italy on the Upper East Side. On the way home, I walked through Central Park and had another of those right-time-right-place moments. A ballerina was posing for a photo shoot in a little gazebo.

Friday night, I went to see the NY Pops perform at Carnegie Hall. I had previously taken a tour of the building with my friend Linda (aka Nancy), but I'd never seen a show there. The orchestra was incredible, and they featured Darren Criss (of Glee fame) and Betsy Wolfe (of Broadway fame, apparently). The theme of the show was 42nd on 57th: Broadway Today, and they featured songs from many of the most popular shows of the last 30 or so years. Phantom, Nine, Company, Les Miz, Chicago...and Let It Go from the future show Frozen (opening in 2017). Every time Darren Criss appeared on stage, a huge contingent of teenaged girls would go crazy, screaming like the Beatles had just arrived. He doesn't have a Broadway voice like she does, but he did a lovely acoustic arrangement of I Dreamed a Dream from Les Miz.

The view from my seat

Not a good photo of Betsy Wolfe who channeled Elsa in her blue gown while singing Let It Go, but I have Frozen-crazy nieces, so I had to try. You can't tell, but Bobby Lopez, half of the team that created Frozen, is accompanying her on piano. She also had Jason Robert Brown (The Bridges of Madison County, The Last Five Years, Honeymoon in Vegas) as her accompanist tonight on songs he'd composed.

Betsy Wolfe and Darren Criss sing Suddenly, Seymour from Little Shop of Horrors

Saturday, I gave a public tour of the High Line. We had absolutely gorgeous weather this week, and Saturday was in the mid-60s. The tour was filled to capacity - Australians, Londoners, Romans, and Americans, though no New Yorkers. The park is in the middle of spring cutback, so it's a great time to see all the rails. They tend to hide in the plants once May comes around, but this time of year, they're the focus. Saturday night, my friend Janine and I had dinner at Salvation Burger, April Bloomfield's latest project. I'd read mixed reviews, but it was one of the best burgers of my life. I'll be returning with Ed ASAP. One note, though, don't show up hungry. At 7pm on Saturday, the wait for a table was at least an hour, and they only take walk-ins, no reservations.

Sunday, I had brunch and a good catch up chat with my friend, Terri, at the Red Cat, and then the home opener for NYCFC vs. Toronto at Yankee Stadium, with my friend, Jessie. David Villa scored twice in the first half, so I was sure we were going to win, but we had to settle for a tie. I love our new seats. We're back about 10 rows from last year, and we're under the upper deck. We have a TV for replays (and to see how much extra time has elapsed, which for some unknown reason they don't display on the field itself) and we have shade for the brutal NY summer days. It's going to be a great season!!