Maaaaaake waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay for Prince Aliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

I love that song, and that’s the only lyric I know from it.

Can’t wait to see Aladdin at the New Amsterdam next month. James Iglehart won a great big ol’ Antoinette Perry last night for his performance as the genie; should be a fabulous show. Have I shown you our box? Ah yes, I believe I have. It looks so hoity-toity & all, but they were among the cheapest seats in the theater. How does that work? Probably, there are sight-line issues (certain places onstage might be partially obscured from our view), but I don’t care.

Years ago, I took my high school music history class to a matinee performance of The Magic Flute at the Ohio Theater in Cleveland, and we sat in one of the boxes, I think four or six to a box. I thought it was grand. I hope this experience will be equally thrilling.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVvLCroLcNg

OK, it’s Monday (right?), and I need to get stuff done. I took the last four days to be a layabout and do next to nothing in an effort to decompress from the school year. Now it’s go time again. We’re off!

Even though I’ve seen the place only from the outside, I’ve always thought Tavern on the Green was cool: a place I wanted to visit so I could roost in one of the outlandishly gaudy-but-delightful dining rooms and have lunch. I never got the chance, though, as the Tavern — once the highest-grossing restaurant in the country — filed bankruptcy in 2009, and later closed its doors after a bitter fight with the city government over its lease. The owners also took a huge hit from the Wall Street crisis, as much of the restaurant’s revenue came from corporate dinners and parties. After the sky fell in 2008, all the frivolity dried up, right alongside the profit margin.

But as of this very day, it looks as if my fortunes might change. Tavern on the Green’s renaissance begins at dinnertime tonight, when its doors will open as a restaurant for the first time since the fallout, transfer of ownership, and $20 million renovation.

Gone are the Tiffany chandeliers, linen tablecloths, fanciful lighted trees and bizarre topiary that symbolized the Tavern in its heyday of decades past. Gone is the opulent and charmingly overdone Crystal Room (pictured), and the life-sized deer (deer??) that greeted patrons in the main entranceway.

Tavern Then

The new owners claim that they want Tavern on the Green to be the restaurant that everyday “Upper West Siders choose.” They’re catering less to tourists and more to “regular New Yorkers” — even though the ever-so-slightly pretentious menu seems to indicate otherwise. ($18 salads and $20 cheeseburgers?)

Tavern Now

Still, I’m glad to see it opening again, in spite of many comments I’ve read from New Yorkers who say that while it’s a restaurant opening under the same name and in the same location, it’s not Tavern on the Green. Without the decadence of the furnishings and the spirit of outlandish excess that gave the place its total Liberace-on-a-lark vibe, it’s not Tavern, they say. It’s just “that new place.” Indeed, the “new place” is different; the opulence has been replaced by earth tones and ultra-hip understatement.

My hope is that it will do well, and eventually draw in the hoi polloi as well as the hoity-toity. It’s a glorious piece of New York history, and should be enjoyed by all. I know it’ll be on my list of places to stop next time I’m in the city.

But I ain’t payin’ no $12 for a bowl of grits, y’all.

Every Sunday night for the last five years, almost without fail, I’ve parked it on the couch at 9:00 to watch Breaking Bad.

~~Safe to keep reading; no spoilers~~

I can’t believe it’s over. And what a final episode. Nothing at all like the ridiculous Dallas finale, or unsatisfying like The Sopranos reportedly was.

Have I mentioned that it is the singular greatest drama ever produced for television? I’m looking forward to whatever writer Vince Gilligan (also of X-Files fame) comes up with next. Mad Men also comes to an end this year, with a half-now, half-later approach, identical to the last hurrah of BB. Looking forward to that as well. AMC really hit it out of the park with these two shows; I doubt any basic cable network will ever do that again.

Sheesh. Both shows are history in the same time span. Thank goodness for Homeland, which I DVRd last night. I otherwise would have felt deprived and weird at 9 p.m. on Sundays, with nothing to amaze me.

Unless the Indians continue in the postseason…but shh. Don’t jinx it.

Have I also mentioned I despise Mondays? Well, there you go. Mentioned, for the record.

FO

Tell you what: I have to quit sleeping in, or the 19th is going to hit pretty hard. But I must admit, I have enjoyed these last two lazy mornings.

Time to stop procrastinating…after tonight. Tonight! Breaking Bad premiere.

I really don’t watch that much television. There are nights when it never gets turned on up here. I just have several shows that I follow — most airing on Sunday nights, for some reason, so the DVR is pretty busy — and I rarely miss. Fortunately, they’re also available in my cable provider’s on-demand listings, so time isn’t as big an issue as it used to be.

Remember the days when, if you missed a show, you just, well, missed it? 

What are your favorite shows? I mean, ones that you watch now, as opposed to the canceled ones that we all wish would come back? (I could make a list of those a mile a long.) For now, though, I’m addicted to:

1. Breaking Bad
2. Mad Men
3. Downton Abbey
4. Once Upon a Time
5. The Newsroom (HBO)
6. True Blood (HBO)
7. Ray Donovan (Showtime)
8. Homeland (Showtime)
9. Game of Thrones (HBO)
10. Boardwalk Empire (HBO)
11. House of Cards (Netflix)

Wow…I guess that’s a lot of TV! It doesn’t seem like I’m in front of the box that much. And notice: no sitcoms. Never liked them, never will. Does that make me a humorless grouch? Naaah. That means I’m surrounded by enough situation comedy with my own family and friends, I don’t need any on TV — which bodes well in the reverse for the “drama” aspect, yes?

Happy Sumday, fiends — I hope you’re enjoying it.