A Carriage Ride and a Night With Woody Allen

We start out Monday to see the Hirschl & Adler Gallery, on E70th to see some pieces on exhibit by American Impressionist, Childe Hassam and then head west on E70th to 5^th Avenue, then south down the shaded sidewalk. We stop frequently to look over the wall into the park. We come first to the Central Park Petting Zoo where children of the wealthy are dressed in tiny designer clothes, petting sheep and goats. A little girl of no more than four or five is dashing back in forth in pink overalls. She is conspicuously hairless and I watch her and hope that she will grow up one day to stand where I do now. We pass Temple Emanuel, a Stand Books stall and T-shirt vendors and arrive at Central Park South. Horses and carriages are lined up, all brightly colored in the brilliant sunshine. We negotiate an extended ride with Brandon, our Irish carriage driver. We see the parts of the park we haven’t gotten to on foot yet. Near the Dakota he stops and lets us stroll into Strawberry Fields the 2.5 acre Garden of Peace named in honor of the late John Lennon in 1981. We look at the mosaic in the pavement; a simple circle with the single word, Imagine. The carriage ride is terrific and when it’s over, we head south through the park on foot, down the mall and through the Literary walk, sculptures of William Shakespeare, Fitz-Green Halleck, Sir Walter Scott and Robert Burns looking on.

Once again, we find ourselves at the Loeb Boathouse Restaurant and there could be no more perfect day for lunch by the lake.

Tonight is the big night out on our trip. We’ve got dinner reservations at the Cafe Carlyle, to be followed by a live performance by Woody Allen & The Eddy Davis New Orleans Jazz Band. We arrive promptly at 7:00 and the maitre de shows us to the “premium seating” we reserved weeks ago. The Café Carlyle is far smaller than I’d imagined. It serves as the backdrop for scenes from both Hannah and Her Sisters and Hollywood Ending. The murals on the walls are stunning and their dreamlike quality reminds me of Chagall. There is a piano and drum kit set up and four chairs lined up across the tiny stage. Four miniscule tables for two are directly up against the stage, literally two feet from the line of chairs. We’re seated at the table farthest left. I start out with a Kir Royale and we have dinner, which is spectacular.

We’re finishing our dessert and coffee when a heavyset gentleman with a ski jacket makes his way through the crowd and up to the stage. It’s Eddy Davis, the bandleader who was also in the documentary film, Wild Man Blues. One by one, the band members make their way in. The trombone player, Jerry Zigmont sits in the chair on the end, closest to us and we start chatting. He lets us know that the slide to his trombone will be going out at an angle toward the center of the room so we won’t get hit in the head -- that’s how close we are to him. Jerry tells us three of the current band members were on the Wild Man Blues tour. Jerry joined the group in 1996 and is featured on the soundtrack to the movie. Eddy Davis met Woody Allen while Woody was doing standup in Chicago in 1963 and they’ve been playing jazz together ever since. Woody Allen & The Eddy Davis New Orleans Jazz Band began playing Monday nights at the Café Carlyle in early 1997 after Michael’s Pub, their previous Monday night venue closed.

There’s movement from the corner of my eye and before I know it I hear Jerry saying “Hi Woody”. Woody Allen has slipped into his chair between the trumpet player, Simon Wettenhall and the band leader and banjo player, Eddy Davis. Without a word, the band begins to play. The room is suddenly captivated and all eyes are on Woody Allen. Allen is wearing baggy corduroys and a button down shirt and his eyes are closed most of the time. We feel ourselves becoming self-conscious for him. It’s a small room and we all know that even jazz aficionados are here to see Woody Allen, the celebrity filmmaker. The New Orleans style jazz is upbeat and the tunes are a playful dance where the clarinet may take the lead, weave an intricate melody and deftly pass it on to the trumpet, then the trombone or the banjo.

People are taking pictures. I assumed nobody would do this, but cameras and camera phones are clicking everywhere. I might have liked pictures, but I’m glad we didn’t bring a camera. It would feel rude, even aggressive as close as we are.

The musicians are casual, upbeat and communicate in the shorthand that only artists who’ve been together for many years can know. Jerry mentions to Scott and I between songs that it’s especially noisy and he’s having trouble hearing. Simon, the trumpet player has lost his plunger, but we locate it by my feet and I pass it back to him.

Woody Allen closes his eyes or looks down at his lap most of the time. He’s pale and between numbers he pulls a wadded Kleenex from his pocket and blows his nose. Scott and I sense that he’s fragile and we try not to stare at him. After reading more about Woody Allen and his band mates, I think his unwillingness to look up and engage the crowd has more to do with respect for the other musicians and for the music than with self-consciousness.

Most of the musicians sing at some point over the course of the evening. Eddy is clearly the band leader and calls out the tunes and what keys they'll play them in. He watches Woody closely throughout the evening. We get the feeling he’s protecting him somehow. About an hour into it, Eddy introduces Jerry, Simon and the bass player, we applaud and they’re gone. Woody, Eddy, the pianist and the drummer stay on and play a few more songs. Eddy picks a song on the banjo and sings it while Woody Allen begins to break down his clarinet and place it into the case. Eddy turns to him and in his soft, almost childlike voice, Woody takes over the song as he finishes packing and puts his pullover sweater on. I wish I could tell you the name of the song because it was charming.

And then, with no more fanfare than when he came in, he stands up to leave. He’s a step from his chair and the man at the table next to ours stops him – Woody, I wanted to introduce you to my daughter, Georgia – Woody Allen nods and walks off stage and to the exit in the back of the room.

We settle our check and take the short walk across the street to The Surrey. Things still feel a little surreal. We've just spent the evening four feet from Woody Allen.

Day One of My Manhattan Fantasy Vacation

Scott and I just returned from our four days and three nights in Manhattan – my first trip there since my mother took me to see Santa at Macy’s when I was five – and I’m delighted to report that it was everything and more that I’d hoped.

Before we left Denver, I was shoe shopping until the last minute. I’m not a fashion maven by any stretch, but New York City is unlike anywhere else in the country when it comes to clothes. It’s intimidating. I travel quite a bit and never give a second thought to what I’ve packed, beyond whether or not it’s appropriate for the climate. I would never try to keep up with New Yorkers, but I also didn’t want to look like a bumpkin. Scott was mindful of his packing too and completed the same sentence earlier with the word “douche” – maybe more along the lines of how I didn’t want to feel.

We got into LaGuardia on Saturday at a little after five. When we arrived at the Hotel Surrey on E76th between Madison and 5^th Avenues I was delighted to find that we were only steps away from Central Park off of 5^th and we were diagonally across from the Carlyle Hotel on Madison. The Surrey Hotel was originally an apartment building and was converted to a hotel a couple of years ago, according to our accommodating bellman, Coco. Our one bedroom “superior suite” was on the 15^th floor, just below the Penthouse and it was a corner unit, looking down on E76th and Madison. The suite had two large rooms, but the bathroom was a constant reminder that we were in an old building. It was tiny! The Surrey is also a very small hotel, so every time we left the room or returned, the people at the front desk and in the lobby knew exactly who we were. That helped me to imagine it was still an apartment building and we lived there, which was not hard to do since most of the other buildings on that small stretch of E76th are permanent residences.

I noticed two things about Manhattan right away that dispelled previous ideas I’d had.

It was much smaller than I’d imagined it to be, which was wonderful. No wonder people walk so much.

The cabdrivers were not stereotypically chatty. Without exception, they were all on cell phones throughout most, or the entire ride; no chance of running into any Mel Gibson-like conspiracy theorists this trip!

We had no scheduled plans Saturday night and I was dying to see Central Park. It was in the high sixties on Saturday and just gorgeous. We unpacked, walked outside and headed to the E76th Street entrance to Central Park. We were less than a minute into the park and we ran right into the Alice in Wonderland sculpture. Holy cow! If you haven’t figured this out by now, I am excited whenever I see something I’ve only seen in movies and books. The sun was still shining and tiny green leaves were floating down all around us like confetti. Moms with strollers, kids on rollerblades, young and old couples, and people just out for a stroll with their dogs were everywhere.

From there, we continued on and came to the model boathouse. I’m told that the recent release of the movie Stuart Little showed the scene with Stuart on one of the model boats out in the little pond. I’ve not seen the movie, but since I loved the book as a child, I remember the illustrations in E.B. White’s book. The remote controlled sailboats were zipping this way and that across the pond and children and adults alike were mesmerized – me included.

I didn’t expect to see the Loeb Boathouse the very first night, but after we left the model boathouse, we came to it immediately and Scott suggested we have dinner. Again, my out of town anxiety started to kick in and I worried about even asking if we could get a table on a Saturday with no reservation. My concerns were laughable since it wasn’t much after six and real New Yorkers wouldn’t be going to dinner for hours. We got a lovely table and were able to watch the couples in rented rowboats while the sun was just beginning to set.

A bottle of Riesling, a full meal and a port after dinner for Scott later and we were on our way back to the Surrey in the dark. Helen Keller surely had a better sense of direction than both Scott and I put together and several minutes later, as we headed toward the sound of traffic I was ready to claim victory. Ha! I had gotten us back to 76^th – only it was W76th.

We hailed a cab in front of the Natural History Museum and found the Surrey once again. All in all, it was a wonderful first day in the mystical Upper East Side of Manhattan.

My Fascination With Woody Allen

He’s given me a completely romantic picture of New York. Between Woody Allen and Sex and the City, I’m a sucker for the Upper East Side. I’ve never been there, but that’s going to change soon. Scott and I are going to New York for a couple of days in May. We’ve built the trip around going to dinner at the legendary Café Carlyle on May 14^th. We’ve got reservations and premium seating to see Woody Allen and the Eddy Davis New Orleans Jazz Band. This is a big thrill for me. I’ve seen the interior of the Café Carlyle and Bemelman’s Bar dozens of times on film. If Bobby Short were still alive, the fantasy would be complete. We’ll be staying at the Surrey Hotel on East 76^th Street; just a short stroll from Central Park and yes, there will be a carriage ride involved. Despite the pronouncement in The Big Chill that Elaine’s is dead, the trip would not be complete if we didn’t have dinner there once. If I could be invited to a dinner party at the apartment used for Hannah and Her Sisters and spend an evening with those characters, I’d be in heaven. All my youthful ideas about a romantic New York City life have been built around interiors like the ones in every Woody Allen movie. They’re never anything fancy and they always have floor to ceiling bookshelves filled with interesting titles.

I have a fascination with Woody Allen movies. I won’t say every film is a classic, but I can say there’s something about all of them I love. He’s released a new movie almost every year since 1969 and there’s something about that kind of prolific creativity and work ethic I admire. I love that he remains a New York film maker, totally outside the Hollywood machine. Every movie has something a little different about it from the last. He’s made slapstick comedies, romantic comedies, black and white films, mockumentaries, dramas, an homage to Ingmar Bergman, a parody of a Greek tragedy and even a musical. The list of major actors who have been in Woody Allen films over the years, despite the legendary low pay for doing so is amazing.

More than anything else, he’s a master at dialogue. When I started to collect Woody Allen’s movies on DVD, I realized these really are movies I can watch over and over and it’s the dialogue that keeps my attention. It’s funny and it’s philosophical, which is why I tend to like his movies more with repeated viewings. But I guess it’s no surprise that someone who loves words as much as I do would love Woody Allen’s movies.

A small (and potentially disturbing) piece of personal information about me: I own all but two of these titles and those are on order so my collection will be complete. I’ve asterisked my absolute favorites.

Films Directed by Woody Allen

What's Up, Tiger Lily? (1966)

Take the Money and Run (1969)

Bananas (1971)

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex (But Were Afraid to Ask) (1972)

Sleeper (1973)

Love and Death (1975)

*Annie Hall (1977)

Interiors (1978)

*Manhattan (1979)

Stardust Memories (1980)

A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy (1982)

Zelig (1983)

Broadway Danny Rose (1984)

The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)

*Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)

*Radio Days (1987)

September (1987)

Another Woman (1988)

New York Stories (1989)

*Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)

Alice (1990)

*Shadows and Fog (1992)

*Husbands and Wives (1992)

*Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993)

Bullets Over Broadway (1994)

Don't Drink the Water (1994)

*Mighty Aphrodite (1995)

*Everyone Says I Love You (1996)

*Deconstructing Harry (1997)

Celebrity (1998)

Sweet and Lowdown (1999)

Small Time Crooks (2000)

The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (2001)

Hollywood Ending (2002)

*Anything Else (2003)

Melinda and Melinda (2004)

Match Point (2005)

Scoop (2006)

Cassandra's Dream (2007) - Not yet released

Woody Allen Spanish Project (2008) – Definitely not yet released