Here are Aretha Franklin and Hugh Jackman singing during the Tonys. 

Here's the crush in the beautiful art deco lobby of the Radio City Music Hall immediately after the show. 

Renee consoles Spongebob Squarepants for not being nominated for a Tony. 

You Know You're In New York City When...

Here's Harvey Fierstein stopping by Rip Taylor's table at Joe Allen. We had dinner tonight at the next table over. On the way out I said hello to Rip. He's broadcasting from the Red Carpet of tomorrow's Tony Awards for Sirius Radio. "You gotta work," Taylor says. Taylor reports he really liked "Glengarry Glenross" and he saw Robert Goulet in "La Cage Aux Folles" and "he didn't bump into any of the furniture." Taylor also said he really liked "Spamalot."

The last time I saw Rip Taylor was two years ago immediately after the STAGE event where he performed. Back then Taylor seemed flustered and glad the whole thing was over. Tonight Taylor seem very composed, funny and happy to visit.

This afternoon Renee and I saw William Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar" starring Denzel Washington -- who got a rock star-like welcome when he came out on stage. In fact, hilariously, several large ladies in the front row fanned themselves vigorously when he first appeared. You could tell Washington is bringing lots of people to Broadway who normally don't go to shows. At one point one of the actors gets off a massage table and very briefly showed his naked rear end. The audience reacted with an audible gasp and giggles. Whatever.

As a Shakespeare aficionado, Renee loved the production. It was better than I expected, and more entertaining.

Tonight Renee and I, along with her sister-in-law and nephew, saw Tennessee Williams' "A Streetcar Named Desire" starring Natasha Richardson and John C. O'Reilly. A beautiful, gripping production and Richardson nails one of the theater's great female roles -- Blance DuBois.

Celebrity Sighting: During today's performance of "Julius Caesar" I noticed the guy directly across the aisle from me was dressed really casually in shorts and flip flops. In my mind I was reading him the Riot Act for looking so schlubby. Then I realized it was Phillip Seymour Hoffman -- who's made a career of looking schlubby -- and all was forgiven.

Here's Renee belting out a show tune at the West Village piano bar "Marie's Crisis." Everyone joins in singing popular show tunes -- loudly! Renee made sure I was overserved again tonight. 

Here's Renee trying to find out what the buzz is. 

Renee Rose is a Bad Influence

Renee talked me into going to "Don't Tell Mamma" -- an excellent piano bar in the Theater District -- at midnight tonight. Now, several Black Russians later, I'm attempting to post to my blog.

Tonight I saw Edward Albee's excellent "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" at the Longacre Theater. All four members of the cast, including Kathleen Turner, are nominated for a Tony.

And if Turner doesn't win on Sunday it will be a crime against humanity.

I haven't seen Cherry Jones in "Doubt" and I'm sure she's excellent. Everyone loves Cherry Jones.

But Kathleen Turner was born to play the role of "Martha." From the moment her foghorn of a voice kicks off the play to the heartbreaking finish, she has the audience in the palm of her hand.

She is the ultimate maneater, come alive. And she's met her match in Bill Irwin as "George." Irwin brings a clowns sensibility to the role. That's not an insult -- Irwin got his start with the Pickle Family Circus. His performance is not slapstick at all -- but he embodies a man shut down by his overbearing wife and determined to have the final word. His hunched shoulders alone tell you what this man is going through.

This show opened to mixed reviews, but I'm rooting for it all the way.

I spent this afternoon at the recently reopened Museum of Modern Art. It closed for a couple of years (well, technically it moved to Queens) during the reconstruction and just reopened this Spring. It's a beautiful building that gets out of the way of the art. And what a collection!

The Fifth Floor has paintings and sculptures from the first half of the 20th century and the Fourth Floor is the second half of the century. I liked the Fourth Floor better -- especially the Jackson Pollock's and the Andy Warhol's. The photo above is of Warhol's iconic Campbell Soup Cans. MoMA displays them in the order different varieties of soups were introduced with Tomato in the upper left hand corner(Campbell's first) to Turkey Vegetable in the lower right.

Celebrity Sighting: Saw Cheyenne Jackson walking down Seventh Avenue on his way to star in the Broadway musical "All Shook Up." He plays the lead role which is basically Elvis. Now I know the sideburns are real. Bizarre coincidence here: Jackson was set to understudy for Jarrod Emick who originally was going to play the lead. But ultimately the producers couldn't come to an agreement with Emick and gave the role to Jackson. At lunch today with Renee and her sister-in-law, Cecilia, and her nephew, Brian, Emick's performance in "The Boy from Oz" came up. I couldn't remember his name and spent all day trying to think of it. (I had also seen Emick perform in "Oklahoma" and "Damn Yankees." I didn't remember it until I googled "the star of All Shook Up" to come up with Jackson's name and ran across the backstory. Weird coincidence or still too many Black Russians?

I liked the way Yoshio Taniguchi -- the architect responsible for the recent redesign of MoMA in his first commision outside of his native country of Japan -- put windows in several of the galleries so you were reminded that MoMA exists within a living and breathing city. 

Here's Pablo Picasso's 1907 "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon" which is on display at MoMA. Last summer they recreated this piece at the Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach (they use live performers to create famous paintings and sculptures). 

Yesterday I stopped by the relatively new (1999) Brooks Brothers store on Fifth Avenue but didn't really like it. Today I went to the old Brooks Brothers store (photo above)at 44th and Madison. It remains my favorite store in the whole wide world. 

My Grandmother, Maxie Green, would be tickled by the name of this restaurant -- but she would be shocked by the prices. We visited New York City in 1981 and she spent most of the trip shocked by prices. One night, to express her displeasure, she stayed in the hotel room and had an apple for dinner. I did not. 

Back to School Nite

Had an excellent lunch today at The Four Seasons Restaurant -- the best restaurant in America.

I was talking to Jennifer Raiser, who knows a thing or two about toney NYC restaurants, and she gave me the lowdown on power seating at the Four Seasons.

First she asked me if I was sitting in the Grill Room. That's like asking someone who just returned from Washington, DC if they slept in the Lincoln Bedroom. There's no way I'm getting into the Grill Room unless I'm having lunch with Katie and Dianne to broker a peace in their early morning war.

But I did have a reservation for the Pool Room. Jennifer said you want to be seated immediately adjacent to the pool (it's a bubbling fountain) "close enough that you can dip your fingers in."

Well, I didn't make it there, but I was only one set of tables away. I got to observe two ladies of a certain age having lunch next to the pool. One was done-up entirely in white and the other was done-up entirely in pink. They seemed to exchange gifts throughout their lunch. (I couldn't see if the gifts were color coordinated with their outfits.) One more 'tini and they were going to dip more than their fingers in the pool.

The publisher of the New York Sun was at the table next to me. I'd never heard of his newspaper, but I know it exists because he was waving it all over.

Tonight it was only a coincidence that I attended the new Broadway musical, "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" on the same day as the real National Spelling Bee in Washington, DC.

It's a really fun musical. As you can see from the photo above, they did a good job of turning the theater lobby into a middle school look-alike. The writing is great and they even bring up some members of the audience to compete in the spelling bee. A good time was had by all.

This original Picasso artwork hangs in the corridor between the Grill Room and the Pool Room at the Four Seasons Restaurant. I guess you're supposed to feel better as the hostess leads you to Siberia because you get to see it.

The chocolate souffle at The Four Seasons Restaurant is excellent! 

It was a gorgeous soft Spring day in NYC today. I had dinner outside at the new Shake Shack at Madison Square Park. 

Hey, Big Tipper

Saw the new musical comedy "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" at the Imperial Theater this afternoon. It was actually my first time inside this theater because for the past gazillion year this was where "Les Miserables" was running.

I'd seen the advertising for D.R.S. as far back as last year when it debuted at the La Jolla Playhouse. For whatever reason, this show just didn't appeal to me. But once it got the second most number of Tony nominations I decided to see it this week.

I was completely blown away by how good it is. The writing is so funny. John Lithgow is a delight to watch. And Norbert Leo Butz (most recently seen in "Wicked" and from the original cast of "Rent") completely steals the show with a hilarious performance.

It's the story of two con men competing for the affection of a woman.

Steve Davey, who I worked with last year on the No on 68 campaign, and his wife were in NYC last week. They saw D.R.S. and it was the first Broadway show for both. Pretty good way to start, I'd say.

This evening I went to the Lincoln Center (photo above) to see "The Light in the Piazza" at the Vivian Beaumont Theater. This serious musical got good reviews and I went totally prepared to love it and to root for it at the Tonys this Sunday.

Unfortunately, the show just didn't do it for me. Lots of great individual performances, but it didn't add up.

It's the story of an American woman and her adult daughter visiting Florence, Italy. The daughter falls in love with a Italian young man. The problem is the daughter was kicked in the head by a shetland pony at her tenth birthday party and as a result didn't mentally and emotionally develop into an adult. (I kid you not.) The mother spends her life dedicated to protecting her daughter.

Victoria Clark (Titanic, Urinetown) gives a great performance as the Mother and is nominated for a Tony.

Matthew Morrison plays the Italian suitor. I saw him three years ago in Seattle and again last year in L.A. playing teen heartthrob Link Larkin in "Hairspray." He does an excellent job in a very different role from his "Hairspray" gig.

Michael Berresse plays the suitor's brother. A few years ago I saw him in a Tony nominated performance in "Kiss Me, Kate" where he literally climbed up the scaffolding of the set.

Celebrity Sightings: I saw Hank Azaria walking down Eighth Avenue at 1:35 on the way to perform in "Spamalot" -- for which he's received a Tony nomination. The show started at 2:00, so I guess he doesn't need a lot of time for hair and make-up.

About 30 minutes after tonight's show I saw Matthew Morrison walking down Ninth Avenue.

Lunch today was at "21." The food was excellent, but once again the highlight was talking to their washroom attendant -- the best washroom attendant in the country. Once he found out I was from Los Angeles he wanted to talk about Johnnie Cochran's funeral. I got so wrapped up in the conversation that, looking back on it, I think I forgot to tip him. That's no good.

One Day Work Week

Worked very hard at the office today and now I'm off on a red eye flight to New York City. I'm going to the Tony Awards on Sunday night at Radio City Music Hall and attending some Tony nominated shows between now and then. Can't wait to take a bite out of the Big Apple.

Return to Normalcy

Drove home from Las Vegas today. The worst traffic was a several miles long back up in Victorville caused by a "Sky Screamer" ride alongside the freeway at a Miniature Golf Course -- ironically located just down the road from where my Grandparents used to live. The LookieLoos just couldn't avoid slowing down to look at the kids at the very top kicking their feet and having a grand ole time at the very top of this ride, way above the ground. There were two boys and a little girl in the top car when I went by -- not that I slowed down to look!

Made it home in time for the Dodgers game tonight. They lost 5 to 3 to the Cubs.

Another crazy fan ran on the field during the sixth inning. This guy's "signature move" was to run across the field waving a Dodgers flag and then to stick it in the ground in the outfield before trying to run some more. Like always, the situation ended the same with his face in the grass and his hands in handcuffs. Have a nice night in Dodger jail, buddy.

In honor of Memorial Day an F-15 Fighter Jet flew overhead at the conclusion of the National Anthem. The sound was very intense as was the fire coming out the back of the jet. Two little kids right behind me burst into tears. I refrained from whipping around to take their photos and I was too lame to get a picture of the jet flying just over Dodger Stadium.

Positive Buzz

"La Reve" -- a small collection of imperfect dreams -- is the new show at Steve Wynn's new hotel resort, Wynn Las Vegas.

Much like Cirque du Soleil's "O," "La Reve" is built around a pool of water with a submersible stage. "O" is more spectacular. But "La Reve" is more intimate. The auditorium completely surrounds the pool and no seat is more that 40 feet away.

I sat in the third row. They gave the customers in the first row courtesy blankets to protect themselves from splashes. I didn't get splashed, but I got to watch the first row duck under cover whenever a performer jumped in or out of the water.

This show is designed by Francisco Dragone, who designed "O" and "Mystere" -- two of the three Cirque shows running in Vegas.

"La Reve's" music is more pop oriented then the score to other Cirque shows.

Steve Wynn spent $2.7 billion building his resort -- and every dollars shows. What a Show Palace! Stunning lobby, beautiful casino and a gorgeous shopping mall. (By the way, there's been lots of press about the "Ferrari Car Dealership" inside the hotel. What they don't tell you is you have to buy a $10 ticket to get inside. Not sure if they credit that towards your purchase price.)

So far "La Reve" is only running one show a night. The Cirque shows run twice a night, 12 performances a week. Without the "Cirque" name "La Reve" isn't selling enough tickets yet to justify more than 5 performances a week.

I think that will change as the good word of mouth spreads.

The sandwiches at the Carnegie Deli at the Mirage Hotel are as overstuffed as the ones at their New York location. But unlike New York, the Vegas Carnegie Deli offers free refills on iced tea.