Lincoln Center
Our apartment is less than a mile from Lincoln Center, and we can walk there in about 20 minutes, which is great!
Lincoln Center has been a New York City treasure and internationally renowned performing arts complex since the 1960s. The distinctive plaza with the circular fountain is bordered by famous theaters: the David H. Koch Theater (home to the New York City Ballet), the Metropolitan Opera House, and David Geffen Hall (home to the New York Philharmonic). There are more buildings beyond the main plaza, including the Lincoln Center Theater and the Julliard School. All in all, there are eleven arts organizations in residence here, with about thirty performance venues. This adds up to an astounding 5,000 events and 5 million visitors annually! So it’s no wonder that we’ve had reasons to visit Lincoln Center several times in less than three weeks.
Vivian Beaumont Theater - This is a Broadway theater, despite being ten blocks north of the Theater District. Steve, Amy and I saw Robert Downey Jr. star in McNeal. We had amazing seats in the third row from the stage, with its futuristic set. It was exciting to see RDJ up close! McNeal was a thought-provoking play that questioned the ethics of an award-winning writer’s use of artificial intelligence.
David Geffen Hall - Steve and I went to Lincoln Center’s Open House event to check out the newly refurbished David Geffen Hall (formerly known as Avery Fisher Hall). Normally, we would have to buy tickets for the New York Philharmonic in order to experience this famous concert space. But on this day, there was a special concert in Geffen Hall that was free and open to the public. It was a family event, so there were costume-making stations and an army of strollers parked in the lobby. Electric Root was terrific, and I enjoyed their fresh spin on the Rogers and Hammerstein music. The shiny new hall had state-of-the-art acoustics, comfortable seats, and great sight lines. It would be wonderful to return for an orchestral performance.
Metropolitan Opera House - Amy joined us for an evening performance of the new opera, Ainadamar. Her friend Daryn was dancing in this production! It was exciting to walk up the red carpeted stairs in soaring lobby, with its glittering chandeliers. A handsome couple in formal wear took our photo. We sat in the highest level, the Family Circle, where we were glad we had rented binoculars so that we could see which dancer was Daryn.
Written by an Argentine composer, the opera told the story of Spanish poet-playwright Frederico García Lorca. The staging was innovative and modern, with Lorca’s words projected onto sheer, towering curtains that encircled the cast. As with all good operas, there was a prolonged and emotional death scene with plenty of blood. We were impressed with the performance and very proud of Daryn.
Rose Theater - This wonderful theater is actually at Columbus Circle, a few blocks south of the fountain plaza. Steve and I saw Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra (JLCO) in a program called Bebop Revolution. We loved our box seats on the side of the stage, and the JLCO was outstanding. It was fun to learn that the artist Jean-Michel Basquiat was hugely inspired by jazz, especially Charlie Parker and Bebop.
New York Public Library’s Theater on Film and Tape Archive - Did you know that every Broadway and Off-Broadway production has been recorded and preserved since 1970? They are all archived at the TOFT, in a building tucked behind the Met Opera House, next to the Lincoln Center Theater. We were fortunate to see a special exhibit here in 2023, and we vowed to return and watch some of our favorite shows performed by their original casts. Steve went and did this twice during his first week of retirement, and we will both be back soon for more.
