Not so quick fic update and babbling about seeing Hair... again. O_O Oh... and a word count. ^_^

[eirenical]

So, I went to see Hair one last time (and this time I mean it! ...until the tour, that is ^_^) yesterday. I'm not, however, going to blather on about the show today. Short notes: Nicole Lewis was in as Tribe and Aretha Franklin. *cheers* So happy! Anastacia McCleskey was in understudying for Dionne -- holy hell can that woman sing! Seriously an improvement. ^_^ Jason Wooten was as awesome as he was on Friday. ^_^ Vanessa Ray was much more herself yesterday and I liked her again. ^_^ Josh Lamon is still adorable as Margaret Mead. Rachel Bay Jones is still hysterical as Mom and Buddhadalirama.

Kyle Riabko... eh. Honestly, not even worth a rant. I really wanted to like him... I just... *shrugs* Never realized Claude could be a forgettable character on stage. *sigh* Whatever.

Real Hud was on (Wallace Smith) -- not impressed. gildedmuse, I totally see what you mean, now. Darius Nichols -- full on protective-older-brother vibe. Even the understudy from Friday had a little of that going on. I didn't realize what an essential part of the character that was until it was missing. Oh, the man can sing and he was entertaining enough, but the humor had a more biting tone to it and a good part of the cuddly, protective part was gone. *shrugs* So, he came out very militant and a little one-dimensional. Meh. Another performance that was a little forgettable.

And now on to Ace Young. I'm so torn. I'm still not totally in love with him as Berger... though, my G-d, do I want to be, because he has completely won my heart as a human being. And I still say, for those few moments on stage when he lets his own singing style shine through... I remember why I loved him on Idol. Even went back and watched some old recordings of that season -- his rendition of "Father Figure" is just gorgeous. *_* I miss that Ace. I hope someone finds a better part for him, soon. Because in the right role? I'd go see him every night. Two other things: a severely handicapped person was sitting caddy-corner and three aisles up from me. When they came in before the be-in, Ace made a specific point of hanging back to interact with him and his caregiver. Didn't even hesitate. ^_^ Very sweet. Then he crossed the aisle and messed with the two aisles in front of me (I was in the last row, left aisle center orchestra) and almost turned to head up on stage, then saw me sitting there beaming and came back to mess with me. ^_^ Messed up my hair, gave me a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. *laughs* I've now been molested by two Bergers. *_* Turned out that was a fortuitous seat change. ^_^

Anyway, second thing: At stagedoor I had gotten to talking to a really sweet (strongly suspected) gay couple ^_^, one of whom was kind enough to take pictures for me. He'd been in the Berger pants seat and was really an Ace Young fan. I asked if he'd like his picture taken with him and he sadly said he had no camera. I said I did and would be willing to e-mail the picture to him. He immediately said yes. Only... when it came time... my battery died! D: When Ace figured out what happened, he immediately held up a hand and said, "OK, people, we need some help here! I know one of you is kind enough that you'll be willing to take a picture for these two nice people and e-mail it to them. Come on... one of you will, you just know it!" And he convinced a random stranger to take pictures for us and get our e-mail addresses to send them along later. *_* How awesome? So, yeah, like I said, seriously now a fan. ^_^

*twitch* OK... didn't mean for that to get so long... Sorry. ^_^ I was just impressed.

Moving on, now...

OK, so what else did I do on Wednesday? *snerts* I'll tell you. Since I was wandering around New York with nothing to do but wander, I decided to take a trip up to Central Park. Why? I had gotten it into my head that I wanted to find Berger's bridge -- if you've read my stories, you know the one. The one in which Berger takes refuge during "Going Down" and is still inhabiting by "Where Do I Go?" The one where Jeanie and Claude finally find him. The one under which he and Claude are reunited after 15 years apart. The one that becomes so symbolic for Berger that he uses its imagery to knock some sense into Claude's head in "I Believe in Love." You know it. And I decided that I wanted to find it, to see it for myself, to soak up its atmosphere and fic for a while.

Yes, I am a dork. I freely admit it. ^_^

*coughs* So, I thought I'd take you all on a little pictorial journey through Central Park (which really does have some lovely bridges) on my search for...

...Berger's Bridge

	1st Bridge This was the first bridge I came across at the south-west end of the park. I knew the bridge I was looking for extended past the path on either side and was fairly low. This one was too tall and a little too pretty, but at least it extended on either side the way I wanted. ^_^
	Moving further north... The man you see standing there was singing into the echo of the bridge. ^_^ Thought that was neat. However, though this bridge was lower and darker, it still didn't fit my other criteria. I didn't like how the sides sloped straight down. *sigh* Moving on.
	Again further north, on the western side of the park Closer. If it weren't for the fact that this bridge was so close to the Hekscher Ball Parks and it wasn't quite wide enough, this might well have been it. Getting closer. ^_^
	Same one Same as the previous one, but from the other side. Really the closest one I'd seen yet. ^_^
	Don't remember where this one was... O_O Good thing it wasn't the one. ^_^ I liked how it seemed so closed in, but not how it didn't have grassy areas under the bridge.
	Eureka...? OK, so now I'm torn. Upon seeing this bridge, I had a sense of recognition for it -- that maybe this was Berger's bridge. It slopes to the sides the way I imagined (even though there was no grass). It's dank and dismal and just looks like a place one would hide in when depressed. And it's close to the Lake's Boathouse which might explain why he and Claude initially found it a romantic spot to hang out in. ^_^ I was ready to accept that I wasn't going to find my bridge with grassy areas under the slope and just call this it... ...until...?
	Close-up Close-up of the previous bridge
	Inside Inside of the previous bridge -- kinda pretty, isn't it?
	The back of the previous bridge And the back. Also unexpectedly pretty. ^_^
	...Until I saw this one. After seeing that last bridge, I decided to cut through the Ramble to get back to the west side of the park. Really, I think the kind of bridge I was looking for would be in the Ramble, but I didn't really have the time to explore it if I wanted to get back to the Al Hirschfeld in time. ^_^ I came out the other side of the Ramble having found bridges that were perfect... except that they were actually over water. O_O And I knew that Berger's bridge wasn't. I got back to the west side of the park and started heading back south ready to call it quits and just accept that that other bridge was the one I was looking for. And then I saw this one. ^_^
	Berger's Bridge This is almost exactly what I pictured Berger's bridge to look like. It's dark and a little dank, almost spooky. It's lower than most of the bridges in Central Park and even though it's close enough to Central Park West to hear the roar of the traffic, you can't see it. It's much more natural looking than many of the other bridges I came across and it slopes down the way I imagined. There's no grass underneath, but there is dirt and gravel. That's almost better. ^_^ Even more than that other bridge, I had a gut deep recognition for this one. The minute I walked under it, I knew that this was where Claude and Berger met again for the first time after 15 years apart. I could see Claude and Jeanie diving under here to get away from the rainstorm, could even see the spot where Berger was crouching in the shadows watching them. I swear, it gave me chills. O_O
	Close-up of Berger's Bridge Just a close-up. Oh, and in case you were wondering, the people inside are filming a short movie. ^_^ No, I don't know the title.
	Berger's Bridge So, in case you're as much a fanatic as I am (and I must be, having spent two hours traipsing around Central Park looking for a location I made up for a fanfic O_o) and have any interest in visiting locations from stories/fanfics you like, if you're in Central Park you can add it to the list. ^_~ Western edge of Central Park around 72nd street. I'll get a better location for you next time I'm there. Not that anyone cares I'm sure... O_O

Hope you enjoyed! :D

Oh, and since I haven't posted a word count in a while, thought I would. ^_^ Berger's bridge did inspire me and I ended up writing a few words while sitting in my seat at the Al Hirschfeld waiting for the show to start. O_O Then a few more on the train on the way home. ^_^ All on the "wrong" fic -- now the right one as "Donna" is finished and I'm allowed to be distracted by whatever I want. ^_~

Yesterday's word count: 848
Total word count: 9,548

Not much yesterday, but the total's impressive, right? ^_~

Comments

[zoicite.livejournal.com]

Ace is sort of adorable as a person (I haven't actually talked to him cause i don't generally stick around for stage dooring, but from what i can tell based on clips and stuff anyway) and I do love his gigantic ridiculous eyebrows raised grin. I also really wanted to like him more as Berger than I did.

I only saw him once and it was their first performance, but I remember Kyle being kind of like sarcastic!Claude. Also remember him playing it a little more cocky than others in the role.

I really need to sit down and read all your fic at some point here. love the bridge picspam!

[rchan.livejournal.com]

*_* He really is, isn't he? He just comes across as so cuddly. ^_^ I didn't used to stage door, but I'm slowly learning thanks to the influence of the original cast and msorange21. I confess, I've become a bit of a picture whore. O_O I'd be embarrassed about it, but it's just such fun. ^_^

Yeah... now that you've said it, I think that was what bothered me. Other than him being kind of forgettable, that is. The man doesn't have an ounce of Gavin or Paris' stage presence in the role. But yes, he came off as cocky and sarcastic and... goofy. He played for the easy laugh too often. Again, it was an individual acting interpretation that I didn't much care for. Paris' interpretation was different, too (and far more straight, my goodness! O_O), but I still liked him as a character when Paris played him. Kyle... *shrugs* ...he had moments when he played a scene well (notably: the army induction center scene -- the cockiness paid off; and the "be a good fly scene" -- you could actually feel Claude's ambivalence and the line didn't come out quite as biting as when Gavin delivers it), but overall... *shrugs* ...eh.

*nods* You really do! ^_^ There's certainly enough to keep you busy for a while. O_O And I'd love to hear your opinions... and hopefully inspire you to some more fic of your own. ^_^ And I'm glad you enjoyed the picspam! Here I thought msorange21 would be the only one who would... but she saw them as I was collecting them. Snarkier comments included. :D

O_O I will stop babbling now. *sweatdrop*

[zoicite.livejournal.com]

#1. I love that you are using an icon that I drew squiggles all over.

#2. Do you believe that the first time I saw Gavin as Claude I totally texted my friend and was like "Dude, I think they finally cast a Claude that seems like he might actually have *some* interest in Berger AND Sheila!" Gavin was the 'maybe just a little bit slightly more straight' Claude!

[rchan.livejournal.com]

#1: I do love your icons. ^_^

#2: O_O Wow. Gavin as the more straight Claude. *snerts* I find that hard to believe. And it makes me even more sorry that I missed the concert in the Park! :D

[zoicite.livejournal.com]

#1 Thanks!
#2 Well, maybe not *straight* Claude, but he had more chemistry with Caissie than previous Claude's with previous Sheila's I'd seen.

[iscreamlouder.livejournal.com]

LOVIN all the bridge pictures!!!

Glad you got to see it once more :-)

[rchan.livejournal.com]

^_^ Yeah, I couldn't resist. Had a lot of fun, too. ^_^

Re: pictures
*dimples* I'm glad you liked them! Especially as I felt like such an unbelievable dork, too -- wandering around Central Park, in a dress, no less, taking pictures of every bridge I came across. *laughs* Ah well, it's New York. People generally accept the strange and mildly unusual without question. Thank G-d for that. ^_^ Now I'll just have to go back someday when I can actually spend a little time there and write. ^_~

Side note: Glad to see you're back! ^_^ Hope you had a good trip!

[iscreamlouder.livejournal.com]

I seriously do love the bridge pictures! One day I hope to go to New York so I can visit Central Park myself and be able to see these beautiful sites!

Had a lovely trip thank you! Went to the crazy hippie festival in the UK, Glastonbury! Not sure if you would have heard of it over there, although you may have as it's one of the biggest festivals worldwide!
Was lovely this year, didn't rain once and was hot hot hot!!! lol