I saw Paul McCartney today, oh boy!

For once, I was in the right place at the right time.

A friend from Providence came with me for the first two days of my New York City vacation. Yesterday we went to Greenwich Village and in the evening we saw Blithe Spirit on Broadway with the delightful Angela Lansbury.

Today was pretty full, too - starting with a walk up Fifth Avenue to Central Park, followed by visits to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of American Folk Art. They were both great, especially the Folk Art Museum, which I'd never visited before.

Around 4:45 we were walking back to the hotel. Now, we had two choices - we could have walked along Sixth Avenue (aka Avenue of the Americas) or up to Broadway to go through Times Square. My very wise friend decided she wanted one last walk though Times Square before catching her train home.

And that turned out to be a fateful decision.

As we made our way up 53rd Street toward Broadway I noticed an unusual number of police officers. Broadway was blocked off with metal barriers and hundreds of people were standing behind them.

I asked someone what was going on and she told me that Paul McCartney was a guest on The Late Show with David Letterman and would be performing on top of the marquee of the Ed Sullivan Theater. I looked up and sure enough - it was set up for a concert!

To say that I was stunned would be an understatement. Paul has always been my favorite Beatle. I've always wanted to see him in concert but never had the chance. And now, I'd get to hear him live! I couldn't believe it.

Now, I've been in the audience for a Late Show taping and I know they do it in real time, starting at about 4:30 p.m. So the whole thing takes about an hour. I wasn't sure when Paul would be playing. Someone said 5, someone else said 5:15. It turned out to be near the end of the show.

In the meantime, people were leaning out of the upper stories of nearby buildings next to the theater to get a good view. Cameras were set up on raised platforms across the street. Someone in a Beatles T-shirt was trying to sell what looked like a huge mimeographed drawing of Paul. Everyone was very patient - not much pushing or shoving.

Finally, a huge roar went up when Paul climed out onto the marquee roof. I think he had a pink shirt on but I was kind of far back, so it was hard to tell. And he was so cute and charming and funny, just like I imagined he'd be.

He asked how we all were, said this was for "the telly" so he couldn't start until they were ready. He jokingly asked the people in the office building across the street why they weren't at work.

And wow, the man can rock! He sang "Get Back," followed by a song I didn't know, and "Coming Up." Then he continued to sing after the show ended - another song I didn't recognize, followed by "Band on the Run."

All I could think of was the Beatles and their rooftop concert. Paul sounded great. I can't believe I finally got to see him. It was an amazing experience.

After a day like today, is it any wonder I love New York?!

Will War Horse hoof it to New York?

Okay, I know it's not going to happen for a couple of years but this is so exciting: the producers of War Horse are planning to bring the play, currently a hit in London's West End, to New York in 2011, according to this story in The New York Times.

"British and American producers plan to mount War Horse in New York in 2011 and are now looking at Broadway theaters and other locations, like the Park Avenue Armory, that would be large enough to house the show, said one of the producers, Bob Boyett. The ideal, by many accounts, would be the Vivian Beaumont Theater, with its wide thrust stage."

The play, based on a book by British children's novelist Michael Morpurgo, is about a boy who goes searching for his beloved horse after the animal is sold to the cavalry during World War I.

In his review, the Telegraph's Charles Spencer said the story, adapted by Nick Stafford, "brilliantly captures not only the mysterious and intense relationship that can exist between humans and animals, but also the dreadful waste and terror of the Great War."

From everything I've read, all the photos and videos I've seen, this production, which began at Britain's National Theatre, looks terrific. And it has some amazingly lifelike and life-size horse puppets from South Africa's Handspring Puppet Company.

Here's the trailer:

Karl Malden warned me this would happen

I gave up my American Express card because I didn't feel like paying the annual fee and increasingly the Broadway presale wasn't of much use, since it's tough for me to map out my theatergoing months in advance.

But I did feel a slight twinge of regret after reading about A Steady Rain, starring Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig, which begins previews at Broadway's Schoenfeld Theatre Sept. 10 for a limited 12-week engagement.

According to Blooomberg News, I may be out of luck. The tickets will be scooped up fast when they go on sale Saturday at 8 a.m. to Amex cardholders.

(Yes, I know, what would the recently departed Karl Malden have thought. He warned me. I have no excuse.)

If there are any left over, they'll be available to the general public on July 25. But it doesn't look promising.

“I don’t think there will be a ticket available by the end of next week, and I’m being a little conservative,” said Scott Mallalieu, president of Group Sales Box Office, a Broadway ticket agency.

Actually, I'm betting he's engaging in a little hyperbole. I'm sure there'll be a few tickets available. And I only need one. Plus, I'm assuming for $301.50, I could always get a premium seat. Not that I would ever pay that much, of course. (Fingers crossed behind my back.)

Mallalieu went on to say that both men and women should be attracted to Keith Huff's two-character play. "These are two very sexy men, and male theatergoers will be attracted by the fact that it’s a drama about two cops."

Ruhl's next room will be the Lyceum

Congratulations to playwright Sarah Ruhl, who will finally be making her Broadway debut this fall. In the Next Room or the vibrator play, produced by the Lincoln Center Theater, will begin previews at the Lyceum Theatre Oct. 22 and open on Nov. 19.

The announcement attracted my attention because it comes on the heels of a recent study about the lack of opportunities for female playwrights. (For a great follow-up discussion with artistic directors, check out Kris Vire's blog post at Time Out Chicago.)

Ruhl is the recipient of a "genius grant" from the MacArthur Foundation, which referred to her as a young playwright who is "emerging as a powerful presence in the American theater." I'm not saying being on Broadway is the end all and be all if you're an American playwright but I bet it's pretty thrilling. And I'm glad she's getting this opportunity.

In the Next Room, set in the twilight of the Victorian era, had its premiere earlier this year at the Berkeley Rep. It "illuminates the lives of six lonely people seeking relief from a local doctor — but, despite his expertise with a strange new technology, all they really need is intimacy."

And the play garnered some acclaim during its West Coast run.

In his New York Times review, Charles Isherwood called In the Next Room "a spirited and stimulating new comedy from one of the country's brightest young playwrights." In the Los Angeles Times, Charles McNulty wrote about his dislike for the ending but felt that the play "still has the potential to be a modern masterpiece."

I became a fan of Ruhl's after seeing her very funny play The Clean House at Trinity Repertory Company a couple of seasons ago. And I'm looking forward to Dead Man's Cell Phone next season.

I know it's tough for a new play on Broadway without any "stars" in the cast. But presumably, In the Next Room won't be under as much pressure since Lincoln Center has a base of subscribers, who'll see it as part of a package. Also, since it isn't transferring from off-Broadway, I'm hoping plenty of Ruhl's fans will be lining up to see the play, too.

Breaking my bloggers block

Okay, I've started and abandoned a couple of posts over the past couple of days. Is there such a thing as bloggers block? I might have it. Or maybe because I have a big theatre trip coming up, I'm just conserving my creative energy.

But there are a few things on my mind. First, a couple of trivia questions:

When Rondi Reed appeared in the last performance of August: Osage County in the afternoon, followed by an Actors Fund benefit of Wicked that evening, someone asked whether anyone else had ever done a Broadway play and musical on the same day. Anyone know the answer? I bet it doesn't happen often!

Has anyone ever been successful at writing a musical's book and music? The only example I could find was Rupert Holmes, who wrote the Tony-winning book, music and lyrics for The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Although Drood was based on an unfinished work by Charles Dickens, so you could say he had a little help with the book.

Now, a couple of interesting observations from producer and fellow blogger Ken Davenport:

First, he summarizes a Broadway League report on touring productions. I was surprised that the number of tickets sold has been declining for six years - predating the recession. Has something changed over the past half-decade in the types of shows that makes them less appealing? Is it ticket prices going north of $100 for the best seats? I don't know. But as someone who sees a lot of shows on the road, the statistic troubles me.

At Just Shows to Go You, Patrick Lee has an interview with Ken, and it was interesting to read his thoughts on what might have kept the Jason Robert Brown musical 13 from becoming a hit. I saw the show last fall and thoroughly enjoyed it.

I wonder if it would have had a better chance opening in the spring and playing through the summer. And while it attracted a lot of attention for its all-teen cast and band, what really drew me in was the story - a Jewish kid from New York who moves to a very Gentile Indiana town. As I said in my review, the gefilte-fish-out-of-water aspect is something we can all relate to, no matter what our age.

Finally, I noticed my friend and fellow blogger Chris, of Everything I Know I Learned From Musicals, will be taking in a staged reading of the under-development musical Tales of the City this weekend. I've only read the first volume of Armistead Maupin's Tales series but I really enjoyed it. And it takes place in San Francisco - one of my favorite cities.

I'm eagerly awaiting Chris' report. Until then, Frank Rizzo at The Hartford Courant has a rundown of the cast for the reading, at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center. He also talked with Jason Sellards and John Garden, of the Scissor Sisters, who are writing the music.

Alegria

Gratuitous Violins rating *** out of ****

I'm not a big circus fan but I was excited about the first visit to Providence by Cirque du Soleil. I knew the Montreal-based troupe's shows were visually stunning and filled with amazing acrobatics.

Cirque usually plays bigger markets than Providence but because of the recession, they're reaching out to new locations and smaller cities with 15-year-old Alegria. The next stop on this tour is Manchester, N.H.

Alegria means "jubilation" or "joy" in Spanish and the Cirque Web site describes the show as "a joyful rendez-vous with the beauty and power of the human body."

The aerialists and trampoline artists and contortionists were incredible. Watching a pair of trapeze artists was so breathtaking I felt a touch of vertigo as they flew high above me in the Dunkin' Donuts Center. And the baggy-suited clowns were pretty funny, especially with one routine involving a paper airplane.

With the music and the costumes, Cirque does a great job making the show look fantastical - like you've stumbled upon an imaginary world with these weird-looking characters who are part Alice in Wonderland, part Moulin Rouge. It really is a visual feast and I can see why Cirque is so popular worldwide - there's no language barrier to surmount.

Where I felt let down a little bit was in the storytelling itself. Alegria was great to look at but I wasn't sure what it all meant. If there was a plot, it escaped me. Maybe if I'd understood the lyrics to the songs, that would have helped.

Now I know what you're thinking: It's a circus, there's no plot!

But according to its Web site, Alegria is about "Power and the handing down of power over time, the evolution from ancient monarchies to modern democracies, old age, youth — it is against this backdrop that the characters of Alegría play out their lives. Kings' fools, minstrels, beggars, old aristocrats and children make up its universe, along with the clowns, who alone are able to resist the passing of time and the social transformations that accompany it.

Okay, maybe it was all a little bit over my head but honestly, I didn't get any of that.

I felt like I was watching something kind of generic - incredible acrobatic feat followed by a little clowning followed by a little singing followed by another incredible acrobatic feat, with nothing that really tied them all together.

To me, it all wore kind of thin after awhile - more spectacle than substance. Although I admit the spectacle is pretty terrific.

Happy birthday, America!

For months I was an avid follower of Fred and Hank as they made their way across America with their human companions, Jim and Joan Brady. Now, they're back home.

To mark the Fourth of July and help me deal with my beagle withdrawal, here are Fred and Hank in 2007, visiting some monuments and important buildings in Washington, D.C. Sadly, there's no audio. So you'll have to play your own patriotic music while you watch.