Jersey Boys

We went to S.F. yesterday to see the show Jersey Boys at the Curran Theatre. I saw these guys on Leno not quite 3 weeks ago and immediately felt compelled to get down there and see the whole thing. I can't explain why, though it may be as simple as liking the song "My Eyes Adored You" so much that I wanted to hear it sung in person.

We got into the city around 5:30 and checked into the Hotel Monaco (which, by the way, is frigging adorable though I was not a fan of the yuppie Frenchy-American menu of their restaurant, the Grand Cafe). Still, the hotel itself is way cute, and they had warm cookies on the check-in counter last night and this morning and apparently we arrived in time to take advantage of their wine hour so the clerk at the counter ordered up a glass of red and a glass of wine and we made our way to our room with our glasses in tow. I asked the person who checked us in if she had seen the show and she admitted she had not and seemed to be a bit sheepish about admitting it since she sells tickets to it all the time.

We dumped our stuff off in the room and went down to the bar for a drink. Sadly, there was no Sierra Nevada Pale Ale in the house. After I finished the glass of wine I was given at check-in, I ordered a margarita which their menu billed as 100% natural and 100% delicious. I told the bartender I was ordering it based on those assertions and he chuckled and made my drink. I wasn't sure I agreed it was so great, but after a few sips I had to admit the tequila they used made it quite smooth. Jason had a Guinness and I am ashamed to admit, as an Irish person, I had not yet tried it. I am 35 years old and Guinness, before last night, had never touched my lips. So, I took a sip. I thought it was going to be some silty, oatmeal-y, stinky stout. I was totally wrong! I didn't love the taste of it, but I was impressed at how light it actually was -- and rather, again, smooth. I could probably drink a whole one of those -- but it would probably take me a while.

We also ordered a pizza while we were there, even though the bar was attached to the French-American restaurant, and the guy who made it burned the bejeezus out of it. I took one bite and the roof of my mouth is still sore today! The cheese was like Napalm. We couldn't eat that thing because the sides and bottom were just too black. Funny thing was, we saw him take another pizza out before he made ours and I could see that it was burnt and I watched him cut off some of the burnt parts of the crust before sending it out. I don't know if the people who ordered it actually ate it. When ours came, we tried it and just couldn't choke it down. When the bartender came by to ask if everything was okay I had to admit that we couldn't eat the pizza because it had been burned to within an inch of its life. He took it away and took it off the bill. After we finished our drinks we walked up the street a bit to a little taco place that seemed okay. And it was -- except that they were in the midst of changing the register tape when we walked in and I stood there for no less than 10 minutes while they fumbled with this thing. What a pain in the ass. Anyway, we got our tacos, ate and then went back to the hotel to get ready for the show.

We had already picked up our tickets at will call so we walked in and it was not until I actually saw the inside of the theater that I realized how small it was. 1600 seats -- and we were in Row M in the Orchestra section. All I can say is, wow! What a show. It was funny, and profane, and interesting -- watching them tell and sing the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons was something else. I really thought Christopher Kale Jones, Deven May, Erich Bergen and Michael Ingersoll nailed their parts and were believable as 4 guys from Jersey. Listening to them sing together was a lot like being at a concert. I think they've been playing the Curran since December and it certainly appears that they've gelled as a foursome. It's been a long, long time since I've seen a play or anything live other than a concert and I am so sorry to admit that -- because live theater is so much fun to watch. I was bummed that I couldn't take any pictures, but I understand that's probably a distraction.

There was a lot of humor in the dialogue that you just wouldn't get unless you saw it live. It was so great to watch them do this. There was one character who really took me by surprise, too. I had to look him up in the Playbill: John Altieri. OMG -- that guy was a riot! I also thought Jackie Seiden's Jersey accent was good w/o being over the top. Speaking as someone whose family hails from back east, their accents were pronounced but not cartoonish.

Oh, before the show I took a couple of shots of the Curran Theatre from the outside -- I was in a bit of a hurry so I didn't get a great shot but I did notice when I walked across the street to take a shot that there is a hotel, I think, named Diva and the sidewalk out front has a bunch of signatures carved into the sidewalk -- reminiscent of the walk in front of the Chinese theater in L.A. -- and the names and handprints of the cast of Jersey Boys (the leads) were among them. Interestingly, it appeared that all the names on the sidewalk had been rubbed with blue chalk. Just an interesting tidbit that I discovered by surprise.

If you like theater, and/or Frankie Valli and/or The Four Seasons, I'd say get your ass to S.F. before whenever it is in May that they leave for Los Angeles!

After the show we met up with one of Jason's friends who moved to S.F. last year. We hung out at our hotel lobby for a bit w/our beers but I was toast. Jason and his friend took off in search of more beer as the hotel bar closed at midnight (!). As I started to head out, some of the other people in the lobby who were part of a big wedding group chided me for packing it in so early and I stopped and chatted w/them for a bit. As I took a good look at them, I told one of them he looked like a young lawyer -- and, of course, he was. My work follows me everywhere. He said he had 43 days to go before he was out of his large S.F. firm to go clerk for a while then figure out what he really wanted to do. My nightmare! It's hard to find and keep good associates. Of course, I have no idea if he was actually a good associate but a 2nd year attorney already tired of the rat race is starting to be the rule rather than the exception. I guess that's probably part of what will keep me employed -- but it would be nice to be able to focus on attorney retention rather than recruitment! Ah, well.

I finally headed up to the room around 1:30 and passed out. Jason didn't get back until around 4:00. Walking around 4:00 a.m. in S.F. He said it might as well have been 1:00 w/the number of other people walking around out there. Perhaps, but what kind of people?! As the song goes, the freaks come out at night. Heh.

This morning (closer to afternoon) we had breakfast at a place around the corner called Mason's Diner. I must say I rather enjoyed my blueberry pancakes, eggs and bacon. The fresh-squeezed O.J. was so full of pulp I couldn't get beyond a few sips. Why so much pulp, people? Ever heard of a strainer? Who likes pulp? Am I the odd man out?

After breakfast we picked up the car and drover over to Ocean Beach for a bit. We walked along and watched all the dogs on the beach with amusement. They looked like they were having a blast. I actually thought to myself, "those dogs look happy." Of course they're happy. They're dogs . . . on a beach! What's not to be happy about. It was pretty chilly on the shore so we headed back to the car after about a half hour or so. I definitely plan to get back down there soon. For too long I've not bothered to go to S.F. because Jason doesn't really like the city but I've decided that's not a good enough reason. I can go on my own, or with friends. I'll have to see what's going on down there that might bring me back in a few weeks -- maybe early May, since I have trips to Tahoe and Colorado later this month.

JERSEY BOYS -- great show, go see it! Really really fun event.

P.S. Thanks to Skindy for dog-sitting!