Richard III in Central Park

Originally published June and 2013

Illustration by Stefano Imbert

I played the Duchess of York in Boomerang Theatre Company's production of Richard III. It opened June 22, 2013, in Central Park, and it was a dream come true to be in this production. What follows is what was posted on my site about the production before and after it opened.

There are eight free performances, all at 2 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, through July 14. Enter the park at the 69th Street entrance and follow the signs. (You can also enter at 72nd Street and walk south on the path to the road, then look right. It's performed in front of a large rock structure between 69th and 72nd.)

This is a great theater company, and a great cast. Bring your blanket and enjoy Richard's machinations, which never fail to excite an audience.

Photo by Isaiah Tanenbaum

RICHARD III
by William Shakespeare
Directed by Philip Emeott

Featuring Kenneth Cavett*, Nathan C. Crocker*, Michael Lawrence Eisenstein*, Philip Emeott, Breanna Foister, David Godbey*, Susan Kirby*, Sharina Martin*, Haddon McKinney, Robert Meksin*, Uriel Menson*, Matthew Mezzacappa*, Linda S. Nelson*, David O'Hara*, Ralph Petrarca*, Michael Russinik*, Ron Sanborn*, Thia Stephan*,Peter Quentin Smith* and James T. Ware

* indicates member, AEA

Richard Duke of Gloucester, born with a deformity he considers "not made to court the amorous looking glass", seduces and murders his way from courtier to King. With each sadistic move, Richard becomes the monster inside to match his grotesque physical form as he pursues the one thing he truly loves...becoming King RICHARD III.

Associate Directors: Sara Thigpen and Sarah Norris
Directing Intern: Christina Ashby
Stage Manager: Jamie Luther
Stage Management Intern: Veronica Lee
Costume Designer: Samantha Newby
Props Designer: Sara Slagle
Fight Direction: Michael Lawrence Eisenstein
Music Direction: Creighton Irons

Photo by Isaiah Tanenbaum
 

Saturday and Sundays at 2pm
June 22nd and 23rd
June 29th and 30th
July 6th and 7th
July 13th and 14th

In Central Park at The Boomerang Rock
(Enter Central Park at 69th Street, and the performance space is to your left.)

All performances FREE!

No tickets required...bring a blanket, a picnic, or nothing at all

For further information, check out Boomerang's Web site.

Central Park: It's Photogenic!

Originally published May 2013

The flowers, the birds, the raccoons and all the wildlife that takes us away from the bustling city, if only for a few hours. Central Park is amazing this spring, and I've been so fortunate to take a lot of pictures. I post almost daily on Facebook (feel free to friend me and let me know you saw my pictures on this site), but here are some of my favorites. I love watching all the animals. This Cooper's hawk was stunning, so high in the tree, so watchful.

The black-crowned night herons and the great egret are making themselves at home in Central Park. So are cormorants and the turtles (the invasion continues), with the help of bull frogs.

A barred owl settled in for the day at the top of a tree in the Pinetum, and in April I snapped its picture before it moved on. And there are black-crowned night herons at the Pond and the Lake. It has been a joy to photograph them and watch them fly.

I've been able to watch the egrets and the cormorants diving for fish and successfully catching dinner. After all, it is nature, and this is what they do to survive.









 

The egrets have been favorite subjects all spring. They are beautiful birds that can hold a pose for what seem like hours.

Seeing a bullfrog both at the Lake and the Pond has had me singin' Joy to the World with Three Dog Night. This Jeremiah was at the Pond.

On April 24, my Mom's birthday, I found a single duckling with its doting parents at the Pond. Unfortunately, I never saw it again, or any other ducklings. But nonetheless, the shots are worthy of a very loud "Awwwwww!!!"

Of course, on Mom's birthday, I was looking for cardinals, too.

There have been gorgeous flowers and foliage in the park this spring. These fiddlehead fronds were fascinating to see before they opened up.

Warbler season has been exciting and frustrating. I'm not quick enough to get good shots but am thrilled to see the birds. This is a palm warbler, one of the first shots of a warbler I was able to get. A yellowthroat is to the right.

The raccoons have been a source of delight and concern. Delight, because they have the cutest faces and behavior. Concern, because I spent one evening trying to help a raccoon that had fallen from a tree onto the walkway south of the Pond (near Central Park South) and was very injured and frightened. These pictures are of a mama raccoon and her baby, high in a tree in the Ramble (I try to stop by regularly to see how she's doing). I have taken a lot of video of raccoons near Oak Bridge at dusk, and hope to post something soon.

Spring Is Springing in Central Park

Originally published April 10, 2013

The flowers are blooming, the birds are singing, and Central Park is so alive with great subjects for photography. I have been posting albums almost daily on Facebook (feel free to friend me and let me know you saw my pictures on this site), but I want to share some of the best pictures in The Chronicler's Tales. On April 9, I finally got some good pictures of the little saw-whet owl, which was resting in a tree at the top of the Shakespeare Garden.

He finally opened his eyes, and I snapped away.

The flowers have been beautiful this year, and I have enjoyed trying to capture them in closeup. The magnolia tree near Belvedere Castle had such a wonderful fragrance.

I especially loved photographing the orange tulips in the Shakespeare Garden. The bee and the ant were an added bonus. And I think the flower on the right, below, could have been a Georgia O'Keeffe canvas. Is it a Christmas rose, that flower that has been featured on the covers of the PM Saga? I like to think so, even if it isn't! The purple petals are just too tempting for the Christmas tales.

The flowering trees have been so stunning, the color and beauty almost too much to absorb.

One of the most interesting afternoons I had was watching a red-tailed hawk sitting in a tree in the bird feeder area. Often when a hawk is in the neighborhood, the birds and squirrels hide out, and there is barely a sound to be heard. But with this hawk, the birds kept coming to the feeders and the hawk stayed in the tree, turning his head every now and then to look below. I watched for about two hours, then the hawk flew down. At first we thought he had caught a squirrel, then realized he had caught his talons on a stick and had the hardest time breaking free of the branch. It at first seemed comical, then sort of sad. Someone said the hawk was one of two that had been poisoned and rehabilitated, but perhaps there was some brain damage. At any rate, it was exciting to see the hawk, and to watch it move and fly.

Some of the most beautiful birds in the park are the woodpeckers. The park has red-bellied, hairy and downy woodpeckers, and I've seen all three at the feeder area. Often I will hear the red-bellied high in a tree near the Lake, and will stop to watch him work his way through the bark.







 

The cardinals, blue jays, goldfinches and other birds throughout the park are so fascinating to watch. There are so many lovely people I meet in the park, who are so devoted to protecting the birds and the Central Park environment.








 

One of the most interesting birds I've seen has been the cormorant. I had seen them in China when the fishermen went out at night in their boats, but it was so exciting to see them in Central Park and see their bright blue eyes.

Watching the turtles take sun has also been a fun pastime. They mass themselves on the shore of the Lake, the Reservoir, Turtle Pond, and the Pond. They are little tanks, stacking themselves, turtle on top of turtle, all baking and basking in the sunshine. Are they planning an assault on Belvedere Castle? Could be. But their progress has been very slow, so I am not panicking. Yet.