Back to New York two more times this week (I'm getting really good at getting into the city in about an hour). The first trip was Tuesday to see Wicked with Chicklet. First a disclaimer: I'm not a huge musical fan, so don't put a whole lot of weight on my opinion. That said, I thought the second act (when they finally got around to a plot) was quite good, and almost made up for the no-conflict, no-intrigue, let's-just-sing first act. One curiosity was that the audience clapped three times at the first appearance of certain cast members. I thought this was strange since if these people knew so much about theatre that they appreciate just the presence of a particular actor, how come it took them so long to see Wicked. Perhaps cast turnover has something to do with this phenomenon--in either case I felt a bit "out of the loop." (How am I supposed to know whether to clap before I've ever seen this person act?!)
Last night, I went with Seth's crew to the IMAX midnight showing of "Goblet of Fire." While book 4 is one of my least favorite in the HP series, I thought they did a very good job with this movie. The action, suspense, and humor were all excellent. Even if you're not a Harry Potter fan, I would recommend viewing this movie if only for one very wrong, but very funny scene involving a ghost and a bubble bath. Some key elements of the plot were left out (it was a long enough movie anyway), but I had problems with this plot in book form, so some of the deletions were welcome. I did miss Percy, though; it's unfortunate that they couldn't have made just one oblique reference to him. Thus, my recommendations are: (1) Go see "Goblet of Fire," and (2) Don't take the PATH home alone at 3:30am. (Some stuff need not be repeated on this blog.)
And, in between trips, I had my first IM hockey game of my Princeton career (we tied, 5-5). I came away with 0 goals and 0 assists, mainly because I hadn't played in about three years. I put myself in good positions to score goals, and I have faith that my old scoring touch will return soon enough. We'll see next week.
Oh! Unfortunately, I have no self-restraint and I'm going to see HP tonight (so much for waiting until after finals)! Must stop wasting time (like last night, when I watched Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in the sing along mode on fast-forward so that Allen K. and I could see how quickly we could sing along to all the songs).
Well, after you go see GoF, you'll get the Hagrid joke I made in my UVA law comment below. Though I think singing along to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang demonstrates less self-restraint than going to see GoF on opening night. I'm pretty sure the sing-a-long could wait a month, while I doubt you'll get the same atmosphere in a month from a December GoF crowd.
PS. Thanks for the scarf: it kept me warm at 3am on the streets of NY!