Hello, Gorgeous

Several years ago, on my first trip to London, a United flight attendant urged me to visit the Wallace Collection during my stay. Well, it took me a while, but I finally did it today. Wow!

It was the private art collection of Sir Richard Wallace, the illegitimate heir of the fourth Marquis of Hertford. It's very eclectic -- and includes paintings from the 17th and 18th centuries, shining armor from Europe and Asia, porcelain and much more.

Upon his death, Sir Wallace left the collection to his widow who bequeathed it to the British people upon her death at the turn of the last century. Much of the art came on the market during the French Revolution when French Aristocrats either "lost" the art or sold it to make ends meet.

Theaterwise, I saw Karen Kapler's favorite musical tonight, "Guys and Dolls," starring Ewan McGregor as Sky Masterson.

I saw this show a few years ago in Los Angeles -- but don't remember much about that production. This new one, by the Donmar Warehouse, is outstanding.

McGregor is great. Jane Krakowski as Miss Adelaide makes a wonderful sex kitten. (I last saw her on Broadway a couple of seasons ago in "Nine" where she famously entered the stage naked, dangling from the ceiling. While the sexual heat is pretty high in this show, you can only go so far with this Frank Loesser classic.)

And Karen will be pleased to know that Martyn Eliss, as Nicely Nicely Johnson, absolutely stopped the show with his rendition of "Sit Down You're Rockin' the Boat."

This is Hertford House -- the former residence of Sir and Lady Wallace and now the permanent home of the Wallace Collection.

I had lunch in the courtyard of Hertford House today. It was certainly a "ladies who lunch" kind of place, but the staff was very nice to me.

It was a gorgeous 75 degrees in London today. Everyone was out and about -- even eating a brown bag lunch outside where they could find grass. 

This lovely gated park across the street from Hertford House didn't have anybody eating lunch on it's lawn. But you were welcome to look at it -- through the fence. 

SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALIDOCIOUS

Thoroughly enjoyed myself at Cameron MacIntosh's new production of "Mary Poppins" at the Prince Edward Theatre.

It's a darker version of the story than the 1964 Disney movie. There's more of a focus on the harsh relationship between the Father, George Banks, and his children.

Laura Michelle Kelly makes a wonderful Poppins. I saw her a few years ago as Eliza Doolittle in "My Fair Lady" at the Drury Lane Theatre Royale.

Gavin Lee makes quite an impression as Bert the Chimneysweep, especially during the "Step In Time" number where he tap dances up one wall of the stage, upside down across the proscenium and then down the other wall. The crowd went wild.

But Kelly made the most dramatic stage exit I've ever seen at the end of the show when she, powered by her umbrella, flies way out over the audience and disappears in a hole in the ceiling. (Take that Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.)

Matthew Bourne is the Co-Director and Choreographer so the dancing was, as you would expect, creative, highly intricate and beautiful.

This time the entire audience participated in a Standing Ovation. Something I never thought I would see in London.

Knock Knock

Each year for a few weeks late in the summer, Queen Elizabeth throws open the doors to Buckingham Palace and invites the unwashed masses in -- for the price of an admission ticket. So of course I went.

They don't allow the taking of pictures inside, and I understand why. She's really let the place run down. I was shocked by the frayed corners and worn fabrics.

Even the armrests of the throne were worn out. I know she's been using it since the 50s, but can't she get it reupholstered every now and then?

Some of the state rooms are really beautiful and some seem like a fancy 1950s hotel lobby.

But it was a lot of fun to stop by. Even if she didn't offer me tea.

This is the Back Door of Buckingham Palace. 

Like all good tourist traps, the tour takes you right into the Gift Shop. 

You can buy towels just like the Queen uses. 

Spare Crowns. 

How about your very own Palace Apron? 

The tour ends with a walk through the Palace's lovely gardens. 

Who could pass up some of the Queen's own Ice Cream? Do you think the Old Bird churns it herself? 

I was not happy with my stay at the Waldorf Hilton (lousy internet access and too much noise off the street in my room). But the free breakfast in this lovely dining room almost made up for it. 

Here are just a few of the "Elgin Marbles" at the British Musuem. 

The Reading Room at the British Museum. 

The Great Court at the British Museum. 

Now I Get It

For years I've heard about the "Elgin Marbles" at the British Museum, but I never understood what all the fuss was about. How impressive could a collection of a kids toy you can buy for $5 a bag really be?

Yes, I too can be a dumb American. Spent the afternoon at the British Museum and know I know the "Elgin Marbles" are an amazing collection of marble sculptures from the Parthenon in Greece. Incidentally, now that Greece was the sculptures back, the British Museum refers to them as "the Parthenon Sculptures" and no longer uses the name of Lord Elgin who brought the collection from Greece to Merry Ole England. For obvious reasons I think the new name is better anyway.

The size and scope of the British Museum is pretty overwhelming. I took a guided tour focusing on their "Classic" collection -- mostly ancient art from Greece and Rome starting around 400 BC.

Had a lovely evening at Sadler's Wells -- the premier Ballet Theater in London -- where I saw a dance drama production of "Les Liaisons Dangereuses" starring Adam Cooper and his wife, Sarah Wildor.

Adam Cooper has starred in a number of dance productions by Matthew Bourne and in the movie "Billy Elliott" he plays the adult dancer little Billy grows up to be. This is his first show on "his own" with Adam Cooper Productions. I liked it a lot. Great dancing, beautiful music and costumes. Being seated front row, center didn't hurt either. (Yes, I made it to the Stalls.)

It was a gorgeous, sunny day here today around 70 degrees. Supposed to be the same tomorrow.

Doubleheader

Saw two GREAT shows today in London.

First up was the smash hit of the summer -- "Billy Elliott -- the Musical." It's done by the same creative team who did the movie with the addition of Elton John creating the music.

They have three different 12-year-olds who rotate performing the lead role -- and the one I saw today was amazing. They've really turned it into a powerful musical.

During the scene where Billy's first dance teacher reads a letter Billy's Mom wrote him before she died, you could heard the audience choking back sobs (it wasn't just me.)

And something I've never seen in London before -- about half the audience gave the show a Standing Ovation. London audiences are traditionally too reserved to stand. And I don't think it was just Americans standing at the end of today's performance.

I didn't like all the cussing in the script. I suppose that's the way coal mining families in Ireland talked in the 80s -- but it still bugs me with so many child actors on stage. And it wasn't just the adult actors who were dropping cuss bombs.

And the First Act had a lot of adults slapping kids around. Again, realistic but it bugged me. But then during the Interval (British for Intermission) I saw something else I have never seen in a theater: a Mother in an argument with her Daughter that ended with a loud slap across the Daughter's back as the Mother huffed off. So I'll give the show a pass on the child abuse and stick with my cussing harrumph.

This show is the hottest ticket in London right now. I sat in the "Grand Circle." Doesn't that sound elegant? In America we call it the Second Balcony. I'm not sure what it says about Britain's class system that the worst seats are in the "Grand Circle" and the best seats are in the "Stalls."

Tonight I saw a dark comedy at the National Theater called "Theater of Blood." It stars Jim Broadbent and is based on an MGM movie that starred Vincent Price and Diana Rigg.

Broadbent plays a terribly hammy Shakespearean actor who invites all the critics who have panned him to a theater where he proceeds to kill them, using a different Shakespearean murder scene for each one. The knife scene from Julius Caesar, Joan of Arc's burning at the stake, etc. They are all so over the top it's quite funny and each murder (there are 7 critics) earned a round of applause.

Broadbent really pulls of this over-the-top role and any Shakespeare fan (that's you, Renee) would love all the references to so many of the Bard's plays. (Think "Forbidden Broadway" does Shakespeare.)

I'm in a different hotel tonight and tomorrow (the Waldorf Hilton) and the internet access stinks. (I threw a tantrum and I'm posting this from the Operations Manager's computer tonight). But I may or may not post on Sunday -- so if there's nothing new until Monday that doesn't mean Osama got me. Or I might get motivated to go to an Internet Cafe tomorrow. We'll see.

Who He?

Today's flight to London Heathrow was uneventful. Took the terrific express train service from the airport right into the heart of London arriving at Paddington Station. There's a Hilton Hotel connected to the train station and I'm in my room and about ready to crash.

DC Celebrity Sighting: This morning I had DC's equivalent of seeing Sharon Stone at a grocery store in Tarzana (except people would recognize Sharon Stone). At Washington Dulles airport everyone has to take these pod vehicles that carry about 75 people each from the ticketing terminal to the departure terminal.

I rode on the same pod as Former Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge. He had a United Airlines employee escorting him (carrying his hanging clothes bag) through the airport.

On the pod I sat next to a uniformed TSA employee who noticed me eyeing Ridge. TSA Tommy turned to me and said, "He looks familiar, did he used to play football?" I told TSA Tommy that up until February that was his boss. "Oh, yeah," responded the front line of our defense against "evildoers."

Ridge looked really tan. (Way up on the color coded tan chart.) Me thinks he's been doing some business on the golf course lately.

Bitterly Watching Baseball History

Got to see the Washington Nationals -- the new baseball team in Washington, DC -- hit their team's first ever Grand Slam tonight by Center Fielder Brad Wilkerson in the bottom of the eighth inning at RFK Stadium. They went on to shutout the Dodgers and win the game 7 to 0.

Earlier this year my friend, Jim Brown, called to let me know he was buying Nationals Season Tickets and urged me to pick a game to come and see with him.

It was fun watching the Dodgers play on the road, but I don't know what I was thinking picking a game in August in Washington, DC. It was 95 degrees and muggy when I walked off the plane this afternoon.

RFK Stadium is like a giant cement bowl -- so it's even hotter inside. At least I wasn't the one dressed up in a giant bird outfit running around on the field.

Another early tomorrow morning as I'm off to London from Dulles at 9:30 a.m.

Never did figure out why the kid sitting next to us attached peanuts to the bill of his cap. I guess it was mostly because he could. 

Was I Ever That Young?

Attended the Graduation Dinner for the Junior Statesmen Foundation's Los Angeles Symposium tonight. About 80 high school students spent the last four days learning about Southland politics and government.

Most were from Southern California, although a handful were proudly from Fresno and one student was from Guam.

It's a little hard for me to imagine I sat through a similar ceremony after attending the Symposium just a short 26 years ago. (It sure seems like USC, where the students stay, has improved its facilities in the meantime.)

It's always a great treat to meet these students who are showing an interest in politics so early in their life. Some are still turning the corner on being shy and timid, while others are already in mini-politician mode ready to shake your hand and slip you a contribution envelope. (They'd take that as a compliment, by the way.)

One student speaker made a half-joke about the symposium's curfew being too early and the briefings (to prepare the students for the speakers) too long. Glad to see the program is consistent -- we had the same complaints in the 70s.

The other student speaker incorporated a card trick into her speech to illustrate how the symposium helped students go from being isolated individuals (a lone card) to part of a cohesive group (the entire deck). She campaigned to be a Graduation Speaker with the promise of performing a trick and she delivered.

Based on the students I spoke with, Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca was an engaging and informative speaker and several cited him as their "favorite."

Tonight it's early to bed because I'm up hideously early tomorrow morning to catch a 6 a.m. flight to Washington, DC and then on to London on Friday.

Glad to see someone's not too jaded to appreciate receiving a Junior Statesmen mug. 

What's the Good News?

Turns out the new movie, "The Bad News Bears," is pretty funny.

Billy Bob Thornton plays the role he was born to perform -- a scuzzy, broken-down, drunk coaching a Little League Baseball team of misfits.

Thornton's character, Buttermaker, does stuff like take the team to Hooters to celebrate after games and convinces a local strip club to sponsor the team.

His salty advice to these 12-year-olds is hilarious -- and they give it right back to him.

Marcia Gay Harden plays the uptight mother who finds herself falling for Bad Boy Buttermaker.

It's no kiddie picture, but this adult laughed a lot.

I Swear

Saw a very funny documentary tonight entitled, "The Aristocrats." It's about the filthiest, dirtiest, nastiest, funniest joke you've never heard.

Few comedians would dare tell this joke to a live audience. But they LOVE telling it to each other. Phyllis Diller claims the first time she heard the joke she fainted.

Three weeks after 9/11, Gilbert Gottfried told the joke at a Friars Roast in New York City. Many credit Gottfried's hilarious rendition of the joke for helping New Yorkers know it was OK to laugh again.

Lots of different comedians tell the joke in this documentary. Much analysis is given to how different comedians instill their personal style into the joke.

Bob Saget tells the raunchiest version of the joke. My favorite was Mario Cantone telling the joke as Liza Minelli. Rip Taylor never actually tells the joke -- he just asks if his toupe is on straight.

So what is the joke? I'd better leave it to the professionals to tell it.

Are You Kidding Me?

The worst pollster in America, Frank Luntz, was sitting in the Owner's Box today at Dodger Stadium. I can't imagine the McCourts are paying for his patented bad advice. They're too cheap.

Today's baseball trading deadline came and went today without the McCourts spending a penny to improve the team. Surprise, surprise! So much for McCourt's promise of a $100 million payroll. Obviously the new owner isn't committed to spending what it takes to win. Dodger fans are stuck with a mediocre team while McCourt looks to make money developing the land surrounding the stadium.

Songbirds

Tonight's "The Great American Concert: Great American Women" at the Hollywood Bowl lived up to its billing.

The show celebrated 300 concerts (in 15 years) by John Mauceri and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. Mauceri has a great rapport with the audience that makes the music his orchestra performs very accessible.

The show tonight featured 3 terrific singers. First up was the preeminent dramatic soprano of our time -- Deborah Voight. She sang from three operas and "My Fair Lady."

Next was Dianne Reeves, a wonderful jazz vocalist who has won a Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Performance for each of her last three recordings.

And finally, Broadway Legend Barbara Cook sang. She was the original "Marian the Librarian" in "The Music Man," and was considered "Broadway's favorite ingenue" during the heyday of the Broadway musical in the 1950s.

Great performances all around and the concert ending fireworks were pretty spectacular too!