It's catch-up time!

Following the relaxing of COVID restrictions, entertainment possibilities are everywhere, every weekend!

In the past six weeks, I've had the rescheduling of two events I had tickets for before the pandemic wiped out all slates, the return of a show that was on the ropes when everything shut down and an opportunity I've awaited for almost five years (not VID-related).

Before the world changed in March 2020, I had tickets for American Buffalo on Broadway, set to star Laurence Fishburne, Sam Rockwell and Darren Criss. When that was canceled, I didn't know if that show would ever come to pass, but it finally did for a limited 16-week engagement with the original cast intact at the Circle in the Square Theatre. I took in a preview with buddy Rob (who might have been holding his breath through the whole pandemic in an effort to get the show back) on March 25.

Fishburne gives a necessarily insular performance as Donny, the junk shop owner. You can feel the years this man has lived without him saying many words about them. By contrast, Rockwell's Teach wears everything he feels on his sleeve. It's the kind of role that suits the 2018 Oscar supporting actor winner very well. It's all too easy for a character resplendent with quirks to come off irritating to an audience, and as always, Rockwell deftly avoids such pitfalls. Criss' role as Bobby doesn't require quite the same heavy lifting as the other two leads, but he doesn't feel like a third wheel in the part.

Some extra kudos, first to scenic designer Scott Pask, and no doubt, the legions of co-workers entrusted with keeping the resale shop set stocked to the brim every single day. And second, to the Circle in the Square bartenders, because that was the best coconut rum and pineapple juice pour I can remember having ever.

So glad that show saw the light of day, and I was equally thrilled to find out that Martin McDonagh's "Hangmen" was getting another go at the Golden Theater, also a limited production -- only 10 weeks for this one. I saw the first iteration in previews a couple of weeks before the pandemic closed everything down. And word came a few months later that it would not be reopening.

I was pretty thrilled to then hear it was coming back after all a few months after that. The supporting cast remained the same, the changes were for the three lead roles. And I might have said "yay, but nay," if Alfie Allen hadn't signed on as Mooney. The world at large knows him from Game of Thrones, but Jojo Rabbit was my inroad with him. He and Sam Rockwell (see above!) played off each other so perfectly, really setting the tone for the 2020 Oscar winner for best adapted screenplay. 

So it was back to Broadway for me when The Hangmen's previews began on April 8. The programs were certainly better the second time around. I guess the shortened schedule kept the production from ordering new merch, but cool buttons were handed out upon exit that first night. 

Allen was everything I expected and more. His role -- portrayed by Dan Stevens the first time -- is no easy feat. There's something charming about Mooney, and yet there is something sinister about him at the same time. He comes on the scene deep into the first act, so McDonagh's script purposefully has us empathizing with the denizens of a bar long before the arrival. Stevens was very solid in the role; he got the job done. Allen is mesmerizing, the kind of thing that happens in the theater when someone is so charismatic you wind up watching that person when other people are talking. A pleasure to take in again, even knowing where it's all heading.

Next up was Aimee Mann's show at the City Winery. Originally, she was supposed to have an extended stay the week between Christmas and New Year's. And I had tickets for two of those shows, but when they got scrubbed and after the dust settled, only four dates fit into the City Winery's schedule. I could only go to one.

Now in the interim, a couple of interesting things happened. Aimee was supposed to be the opener on Steely Dan's tour this summer. And when that fell through, the entertainment press glommed onto her disappointment and published it for all to see. One of the highlights of the year has been the comic panels Aimee draws and publishes on her Instagram. She made lemonade out of her disappointment of being bounced from the tour by declaring all would be forgiven if Donald Fagen told her the story of "Brooklyn (Owes the Charmer Under Me)" from Steely Dan's first album Can't Buy a Thrill. The next day, she had a very long email with the details of that song and that became another great Aimee comic (see left). And then, in turn, the song became the set opener for her first City Winery show on April 15, particularly poignant in the wake of the Brooklyn subway shooting a few days before.

The other thing that happened between the originally scheduled spate of shows and the rescheduled ones was Aimee's increased focus on painting the worst past presidents and First Ladies (of any quality). Is there anything this woman can't do? Those paintings were sent to the City Winery for an art gallery exhibit. They all sold the first night. My favorites were Lou Hoover and Eleanor Roosevelt, the latter referenced in her song "You Could Have Been a Roosevelt" for Mann's most recent album Queens of the Summer Hotel (which originally was supposed to be the basis for a Broadway show, but that's another story).

The music portion of the evening began with Jonathan Coulton, whose songs are so pithy and entertaining that you forget you're waiting for the headliner. Well, you might forget, if said person didn't come on during the set to do a couple of numbers -- "All This Time" and "Red Shirts" -- with him. Before departing, the self-proclaimed writer of sad songs implored Coulton to do "the greatest f*ckin' sad song ever written, "I Crush Everything." How could he resist? Frankly, I think Jonathan could open for any act anytime and fit right in.  

Setlist: Brooklyn (Owes the Charmer Under Me), You Fall, I See You, Patient Zero, Rollercoasters, Moth, Burn It Out, Little Bombs, Suicide Is Murder, Save Me, I Can't Help You Anymore, Video, Gumby, Lost in Space, King of the Jailhouse. Encores: Wise Up, Long Shot.

Aimee's show opened with the aforementioned "Brooklyn," and boy, that song fits so sweetly into her milieu. It feels like an Aimee Mann song. The rest was a great mix from a number of different albums and leaning heavily toward the latter-day catalog -- four apiece from The Forgotten Arm and Queens; two from Lost in Space, Magnolia and Mental Illness; and one from Charmer and I'm with Stupid.

When I first settled into my City Winery chair -- now at Hudson River Park's Pier 57 -- I found it a little uncomfortable. But after a couple of vodka spritzers and Aimee's mellifluous sounds, I either totally forgot about it or settled into my seat. Perhaps a bit of both. 

Fans who might have expected more from the early years, like say a few 'Til Tuesday hits or more from Whatever, I'm with Stupid and Bachelor No. 2 or the Last Remains of the Dodo might have been taken aback by a glance at the setlist, but if they were there, they couldn't have been too disappointed. To me, the setlist was perfect, and more importantly, it felt right. I only wish I could have taken in one of the other shows. 

The following week was a signing at Bookends in Ridgewood, New Jersey, for Jim Kaat's Good as Gold. The former Major League pitcher and broadcaster will be going into the Baseball Hall of Fame this summer. He's long been a favorite of mine. I got to meet him in the press box about 4 1/2 years ago at the Triple-A National Championship Game, but I was on duty at the time, so asking for a selfie would have been unprofessional. I did get to talk with him a bit that day, and I already knew how well versed he is in all aspects of the game.

That was reinforced upon picking up my book and reading some chapters before he settled in for a Q&A and signing at Bookends. It was kind of lightly attended, and that bothered me on his behalf, until I realized 1.) the Yankees were playing at home that day and 2.) he was scheduled to be at a baseball convention over the weekend and many people probably held out for that event.

As always, he told stories in the most colorful and interesting way possible. Like the one about when co-broadcaster Phil Rizzuto told him after the seventh inning during a game that he was going to the bathroom. When the show's director asked where Scooter was, Kaat said he had gone to the men's room, and then the unsuspecting broadcaster summarily was told Rizzuto would not come back. Kitty finished the rest of that show on his own. And he wasn't the only one who fell victim to that Scooter ruse. Kaat told the assembled about another broadcaster who asked for Phil to bring him back some coffee before pulling the same trick. Before the telecast the next afternoon, Rizzuto set down a cup for his unwitting victim -- "Here's the coffee you asked for." There are stories like that galore in the new book about Kitty's early years, playing days and broadcasting career. 

After the Q&A, we queued up to get our books signed by Kaat and co-author Douglas Lyons. On my way to Bookends, I had looked back in my Facebook history to find the exact date I had met Kitty and discovered this post from 2017: "Jim Kaat just broke my hand." So when a gentleman ahead of me extended a hand to him, I said, "Be careful, he once broke my hand!" Cut to Kitty's look of astonishment.

When it was my turn, I explained the earlier comment and where I had met him. We laughed about it, then he mentioned the Bobby Murcer shirt I was wearing and how he thought the late Yankee player/ broadcaster was one of the greatest. All I could say in response was that I think they both are. (A little back story on that shirt choice: Since I met Kaat, I have tried and failed to find a Yankees one with No. 36 on it. So I went with the backup choice.) At least I finally got the picture I'd been wanting for almost five years.

So a pretty full few weeks there. I'm hoping for some better spacing out of events in the future. But I'm not counting on better quality, because I'm not sure that can be done.