At 2 PM today, I'll be celebrating 30 years of attending Broadway shows. Yes, on Saturday, August 20, 1983, I entered the the recently newly re-named Gershwin Theatre and marveled at how HUGE the place was! I mean, as if the parking garage/driveway right outside the door wasn't enough, there were escalators to the seating area, and giant waiting areas with bars! Surely, all Broadway theatres has to be this enormous and glamorous, right? But where were the rest of them? Weren't they all on Broadway in one big, fabulous row with flashy marquees? And why wasn't this theatre on Broadway? As we waited for the tuxedo-ed (yes, they had on black tuxes!) ushers to open the doors, all of my questions were answered by my drama teacher, who had been so amazing as to take a group of us drama kids to see her favorite show of all time.Mame was the show, and it starred its original lead (and many from the original cast as well), Miss Angela Lansbury. I knew her voice from hearing her on the Cast Recording, which my teacher played over and over, as well as the Cast Recording of a weird show called Sweeney Todd, which played this same theatre when it was still called the Uris. And I saw her in Bedknobs and Broomsticks when I was a kid. Did many people know who she was? Apparently, the audience did. That day, she got three standing ovations: one when she entered, blowing a bugle at the top of a spiral staircase in a sparkling gold pant suit, then at the end of "Bosom Buddies" which she and Anne Francine killed - it was AMAZING, and of course, at the curtain call. 
The Playbill title page
A flyer for the 1983 production of MameMy seat was Orchestra row T112. It was an expensive ticket at $37.50. (That exact seat at this Saturday's matinee of Wicked, would cost $142.00, including the restoration fee, but before any fees for buying elsewhere than the box office.) Boy, did we get out money's worth! Tons of scenery - drops, staircases, huge set pieces that moved by themselves! And the costumes! The huge cast! The dancing! The orchestra! It was way better than the record!I just looked through that Playbill and smile at the flood of memories. And I get a huge kick out of the show listings in the back! Who would have known that A Chorus Line would run another full seven years? Or that the newest Best Musical, Cats, would eventually run even longer to become Broadway's longest-running show? And how cool that the very next day, a little show called La Cage aux Folles would open, starring George Hearn, and would change theatre history?! It tickles me that Diahann Carroll, soon to star this season in A Raisin in the Sun, would be finishing up the acclaimed run of Agnes of God, and that Cicely Tyson was in previews for The Corn is Green, the last show she was in before this year's Tony-winning turn in The Trip to Bountiful! Amadeus was advertising "last weeks," and a play called Passion was playing the Longacre, starring Frank Langella. Other theatre greats on Broadway that day included Chita Rivera(Merlin at the Mark Hellinger), Harvey Fierstein (La Cage at the Palace AND Torch Song Trilogy - the newest Best Play at the Helen Hayes), Tommy Tune (fresh off a double Tony win for My One and Only at the St. James, while his Tony winning Best Musical, Nine, at the 46th Street), and legends Jason Robards and Colleen Dewhurst were starring in You Can't Take It With You at the Plymouth. Talk about your star power!Among the shows not listed is 42nd Street, the show that would end up being my second Broadway show. It was in the middle of its own record-breaking run at the Majestic Theatre. Yes, 30 years ago, that theatre was not home to The Phantom of the Opera. Times sure were different!August 20, 1983, as it turns out, is one of the most important dates in my life. That was the day a high school activity became my true passion.Tomorrow, I'll talk about the 10 biggest changes in Broadway theatre-going over the past 30 years. And how many things really haven't changed, too!Jeff4.309Source:http://jkstheatrescene.blogspot.com/2013/08/august-20-1983-my-first-broadway-show.html
August 20, 1983: My First Broadway Show Images
Broadway Shows || Jaunted
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... Broadway Photo Stop | Broadway's Best Shows | Broadway's Best Shows
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Nick Pitera One Man Tribute to Disney's The Lion King on Broadway
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Extraordinary Stories From An Ordinary Guy: August 2011
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SPY daily chart August 7 2013Wednesday, August 7 2013 saw a continuation of the pullback from the all-time highs set last week. SPY was weak early and relatively strong late, closing near the top of the day's range. The day's gains were particularly impressive given the sell-off of the Nikkei 225 last night, though that seemed more based on the unexpected strength in USD/JPY than anything going on in US markets.Today, SPY quickly headed down to the bottom channel trendline that we've been following for months, and then abruptly reversed to the upside. That is initial confirmation that the old uptrend channel remains of use.It was a tricky day to trade in some ways, but it followed the pullback pattern we have seen so often during this rally: weak early, strong late, with an abrupt low and reversal in the early/middle part of the day. There was never a hint of panic selling, and indicators like the VIX did not show undue uncertainty. Short-term traders were in control.The day's trading formed a Morning Doji Star. This is a Bullish reversal pattern. It suggests that sellers exhausted themselves on the trip to the lows, and then Bulls reasserted control. We could get confirmation tomorrow if the market is reasonably strong. If the pattern is confirmed, the low is in for now and would be today's low at 1680.75 on the futures.A couple of possible Bearish formations in development deserve mention simply because we must be ready for anything. One is that the several days we spent above 1700 may be the start of an Island Reversal Pattern. This would be Bearish. That pattern will be quickly eliminated, though, on any significant move higher from here.Another possible pattern is a head and shoulder pattern, formed the same way, with the top of the head above 1700. Anything is possible, but it is unlikely that a six-month Bull Market is going to end on a three-day top, especially given the lack of any fear in the market today. However, if we are unable to get past the mid-1690s on the futures in any reasonable time frame, that pattern might come into play for real.If you've been watching the markets closely this year, you'd likely agree that today's sell-off seemed like business as usual, a perfunctory rinse to clean out weak hands. It could develop into more selling, but during this rally, the flushes that saw a quick reversal like this have been met with more buying.The key is a break above 1690 on the futures, which was the pre-market morning high. Resiliency above that most likely portends another test of the all-time highs above 1700.The fears du jour were the usual ones about the Fed tapering. That is always a possibility, and who knows, the Fed may have cut back their buying already for all we know. It is interesting that the Fed Governors seem to be engaged in an organized attempt to beat down expectations of POMO (Permanent Open Market Operations). This may be due to their realization that the market would tank if word came out unexpectedly that the Fed is tapering or even ending QE, so they are giving these warnings to try to blunt or even sterilize the blow when it does happen.A report after the close tomorrow will provide some insight on where the Fed is at right now, and its imminent release may freeze trading late in the day. However, the Mantra among some that is developing that the Fed is going to start tapering in September seems to be based on facts in only a very tenuous fashion. Please note, though, that September is traditionally the weakest month of the year for the market.
