A few months ago I penned a piece titled, “Bringing NYC back to life…One Boss at a time!”, about my first foray attending a Broadway show in over a year and how the City is finding its way back to some sense of cultural and work norms, whatever they may be.
In this same spirit, my wife Cynthia and I had our first “theater” date last evening since February, 2020 by attending David Byrne’s, “American Utopia,” at the St. James theater on West 44th Street. Having viewed and enjoyed the Spike Lee directed movie on Netflix last year and now appearing live was an exciting proposition. And for those who may be able to attend the show, it did not disappoint a completely full house!
Of course, there are changes in how we can attend a live event at this moment which includes showing proof of vaccination and wearing masks during the performance and until you leave the theater. In all honesty, wearing a mask does tamper with some of the enjoyment of the experience for two simple reasons the first being is that if you wear glasses, they will fog up which is a bit of an annoyance. The other is that being vocal in the appreciation of a song, act, and any other type of applause is hampered by the mask if only for a bit.
However, you do ultimately overcome this hinderance like many of the others we’ve needed to accommodate over the past twenty years including taking shoes off at airport security lines amongst others we don’t think about anymore. Not that this is ideal, but this is where we are at the moment.
Living in NYC is not easy and there are many tradeoffs and negotiations you need to make daily and as for me, I need to attend the theater as part of the deal. As for wearing a mask to attend theater or for the ability to hop on a plane, its one I’m willing to make at this moment with the hope that this will ultimately something to look back on in the past as a bad dream. Idealistic, perhaps.
But the real bet here is that bringing back NYC back to those full, “cultural and work norms,” is one I’m willing to work for with all the current daily negotiations needed including the discomfort of some moist lenses.
Back to David Byrne’s, “American Utopia,” …It definitely burned down the House!
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