Two Men and a Lady (and an RV)

Ok, so why all the hubbub about the 50th anniversary of Woodstock?

This isn’t a post about the Watkins Glen debacle (the upstate town otherwise known for its racetrack that was supposed to serve as the site of the 50th Anniversary celebration with a roster of performers that sounded too good to be true, because it was). Or the curious coincidence of the Carribean “Frye Festival” fiasco of a few years earlier - where tickets for the first “annual” concert were going for upwards of $12,000 for an event that turned out to be barely a blueprint. And let’s not forget the also-not-gonna-happen fourth annual “OZY Fest” in Central Park which was cancelled by Mayor de Blasé-o because it was too damn hot -- or because his presidential campaign stomping had him in Dubuque that weekend; we’ll never know for sure.

No, this isn’t a lament about the non-festivals of the twenty-teens. It’s about what did happen in Woodstock on the third weekend of August, 1969, and the same weekend 50 years later.

Before the mud at Woodstock ‘69 

And 50 years later, Radio Woodstock 100.1 WDST concert at Utopia Sound Stage 

“The town still retains much of its ‘69 feel, despite all the commercialism,” according to Ronald, my Uber driver who was at the original event 50 years ago by way of an entry-level radio station job. “My boss caught wind of something going on and thought we should be there. So I went.” With no ticket, no tent, no food, he went alright. His most overwhelming memory? “It smelled.” His second? “I wish I had saved some of the audio I took,” he lamented to me. But who knew? When I mentioned the station must surely still have whatever content he captured, he told me they changed hands so many times, nothing is left. Another remembrance? “I was an arm’s length from Janis Joplin on the stage.” As a resident of Woodstock for a few years, Ronald once ran into Bob Dylan, who also lived there, at “The Green” where he dropped me off. Also known to make the town home at one point or another were Van Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie, Bonnie Raitt, Donald Fagen, and John Sebastian of the Lovin’ Spoonful who still lives there, according to Ronald. 

Not Michael Moore, my Uber driver Ronald, who spent some years living in Woodstock and was at the 1969 event. So while I had Ronald, I thought I would get my facts straight about the ‘69 event. Why free? It wasn’t supposed to be. There were tickets sold for $3 a day, but when the crowds took over, they couldn’t continue to check everyone for tickets and basically said, F-it, it’s free. Of note, some tickets for the Watkins Glen spectacle were going for $1,000. 

The original lineup in ‘69 - on a T-shirt from ‘19

Why Yasgur’s Farm? That’s not even in Woodstock! And who’s Yasgur? There were several music festivals in Woodstock before this one, but the organizers were looking for a bigger venue to hold about 20,000. 20,000! The actual turnout was more than 20 times that, despite Jimi Hendrix’s famous quote that it was over a million. So they stumbled upon a local farmer named Max Yasgur who had 600 acres to rent out in Bethel, NY.  Bethel is 70 miles away from Woodstock, but Bethel just doesn’t roll off the tongue in quite the same way.  

The real deal at Yasgur’s farm in ‘69 - from a friend who shall remain nameless as well as shirtless. I’d always thought the concert was actually held in Saugerties. What gives?  Some pre-'69 Woodstock music events were held in Saugerties, and the 25th Anniversary of the concert was held there. Oh that must be it! Why did it become such a cultural milestone if there were already similar concerts before it? Ok, there’s been a lot written about this one, but here’s my take, eh, really Ronald’s. The cultural mood was ripe for it. People needed something - the Vietnam war, the civil rights movement - people were restless. A generation worshipping at the feet of Richie Havens, whose opening set contained the iconic “Freedom”, was yearning for just that. And somehow, the rain and the traffic and the music collectively conspired to create a muddy container within which 400,000+ hippies experienced three days of peace, love and their own form of sunshine. 

Another shot from Woodstock ‘69

While those of us born too late may never fully appreciate its significance, here’s another explanation:

This plaque appears in a gallery in the Woodstock Playhouse, another cultural institution in the area where I stayed for the evening’s performance of “Hair” to round out my blast-from-the-past day.

Actors from “Hair” at the Woodstock Playhouse after the final verse of “Let the Sunshine In”, which included audience members, like me, on stage So, what did Woodstock the town do to celebrate Woodstock 50? Good question. When Ronald dropped me at The Green in the center of town, I only saw three violinists playing to a crowd of one, me. As I wandered the town, I saw the usual smattering of tourists, nothing out of the ordinary for an upstate tourist town in summer. Then I made my way up Rock Ridge Road and followed the sound of live music to the Colony - no doubt named for the artist colonies of Byrdcliffe and Maverick established there in the early 1900’s. Yes, Woodstock’s cultural history goes back to the turn of the last century. 

There were some local acts performing on two sound stages, one for real bands and one for, let’s just say, amateurs. The only restriction for the smaller sound stage was that the performers had to be locals. ‘Nuff said.

Sensing there had to be something more going on in this town, on this weekend, I hitched a ride (ok, I befriended a young couple who were there celebrating their first anniversary and they gave me a ride) down about a mile and a half away to Bearsville, where Radio Woodstock was hosting the real celebration which included merchandise kiosks and food trucks. I wonder what the hippies would have thought of food trucks in 1969?

My “ride” making love not war, in front of a food truck

The '19 festival also featured a 30-minute film running on a loop that captured some of the highlights of the weekend 50 years earlier.

Was there any tie dye?

Yes. Lots.

So if the tumult of the late sixties led to Woodstock ‘69, what hope does our generation in ‘19 have to unite us in an era of climate change, mass shootings, and a president who boasts of his friendships with dictators who admittedly “meddle” with our democracy? In the age of iTunes, it’s likely not music. In the age of Facebook, where everyone's life is already a “story”, it’s likely not the written word or photography.

Let’s just hope our collective container comes from looking backward, not living in a virtual reality as depicted by Netflix shows like Black Mirror. They say, everything old is new again. Perhaps that will prove to be true about the lessons learned from Woodstock ‘69.

These characters already seem to get it…

Dig those locks!

Where’s the farm?

For anyone thinking about traveling to Cuba “before it changes”, I wouldn’t worry too much about that. For one thing, it’s not changing so fast, thanks to one of the many reversals of Obama’s policies enacted by our current president. In 2014, Obama loosened the travel restrictions that had been in place under the 50-year U.S. embargo of Cuban goods, making it easier for Americans to hop the 90 miles from our southeastern coastline to stroll the cobblestoned streets of Old Havana in an effort to recapture the gilded elegance of a bygone age. Now, you can visit, but you need a visa from the Cuban government and a legitimate “reason” (i.e., educational or cultural) in order to enter the country, but only with an organized group.

Doors open. Doors close. The future of visiting Cuba remains uncertain, depending on who is in power – here as well as there. As for the promise of seeing this idyllic land with pristine beaches, preserved in time and untouched by commercialism “before it changes”…well, that wasn’t exactly what I saw in my travels to Havana, Cienfuegos and Santiago de Cuba during Thanksgiving week  -- an apropos time to visit, as Cuba reminds us how much we have to be thankful for.

One of Cuba’s less thankful? 

Neoclassical architecture in Cienfuegos, the “Pearl of the South”

Street in Havana (not New Orleans)

View from rooftop bar overlooking panoramic Santiago de Cuba (yes, I found the rooftop bar)

“What about the cruise ships? What happens then?”

In season 6, episode 1 of “Parts Unknown”, the visionary foodie, explorer and observer of life, Anthony Bourdain questioned the locals of Cuba about “cruise ships…what happens then? When the door opens and you have hundreds of thousands of Americans flooding the country looking desperately to spend money on all things Cuban?”

That was back in 2015 and an excited, almost child-like “Tony” prodded several Cubanos on their reactions to the throngs of rich American tourists who would be arriving, literally by the boatloads, “in just a few years.” The locals were nonplussed - the idea of foreign currency flowing into their economy was well, foreign, to them. One of them commented, “It’s not our goal in life, it doesn’t matter to us.” This sentiment was echoed by my rock star tour guide, Johannes, who told me, “Money isn’t everything. We have love and family and we are happy.”

Cubans are happy with what little they have.

As it turns out, Havana, on the northwestern coast of the island, only has room for two cruise ships to dock. So that left our elegant cruise ship, the Viking Star, anchored – not docked – nearly 150 miles away somewhere in the middle of the Caribbean Sea, about 1.4 miles from the city of Cienfuegos, aka Cuba’s “Pearl of the South”. We were shuttled to Havana via comfy coach on a three and one-half hour bus ride over rocky, unpaved roads where the only signs of “commercialism” were the billboards of Fidel Castro and his sidekick Che Guevara (the Argentinian-born freedom fighter who helped him overthrow Batista during the Cuban Revolution in 1959) essentially reminding those they lifted out of poverty of their presence, siempre.

The words “Go well Fidel” and “Until the victories always” honor Fidel Castro and Che Guevara on apartment buildings in central Havana.

 Souvenir books and postcards in Cuba honor its revolutionaries.

Amazin’ Amazon

While we Americans debate the wisdom of Amazon’s billion dollar decision to set up shop on our New York riverfront, it might be worthwhile to pause and consider this: Twenty-five years ago, Jeff Bezos was an entrepreneur with an idea. That he is facing backlash for the way he handled his search for a new company headquarters – and the money he took which no doubt influenced his ultimate choice of Long Island City, Queens – can only happen in this country. And we all ought to be damn grateful for that. In Cuba, entrepreneurship means being one of the lucky ones who can sell your wares via a kiosk at popular tourist destinations.

 A father teaches his young son the tricks of the trade as he organizes his kiosk – one of the lucky ones who gets to be an “entrepreneur”, selling crafts at the Morro lighthouse in Santiago de Cuba.

 Making a living in Cuba…

The buildings need far more than paint...

 And of course there are always jobs making cigars…

 …and Cuba Libres!

But there are some signs of progress on the Cuban commerce front.

Companies are allowed to promote themselves via Facebook, but citizens are prohibited from using it. Nor do they have internet access in their homes.

So what’s the deal with those old cars anyway?

Since there’s been a ban on U.S. imports to Cuba since 1962, their infrastructure is somewhat frozen in time – and so are their cars. Not every car in Old Havana is a ’57 Chevy, but you are guaranteed to see an array of shiny, spotless and colorful vehicles from that era – and they still run (though with a potpourri of parts from other vehicles – as well as DIY repairs using everything from toothpaste to asbestos - yes, asbestos - as their ingredients). As my mom observed, these things are held together by “spit and wire.”

Local color

The Cuban government wants you to see their Cuba. And the people who live there understand their “situation” as their government would have them understand it. (Those who had money and property at the time of the revolution were forced to give it up to the government, and most of them fled the country.) But we did find some time with locals, apart from the guided experience, and they are more than willing to share their perspectives. Just don’t try to take a picture of them.

An impromptu conversation with locals leads to this plea for “no pictures” citing “la policia” as a reason.

Taking time out for un cigarro

Traveling to Cuba under the current restrictions was just fine with me. I’m a lukewarm intrepid traveler. When it comes to visiting a place like Cuba – where a mysterious gas befell tourists and diplomats staying at two Havana hotels in 2017 – I prefer to be under a structured, government-sanctioned trip favoring the balance of safety and diplomacy versus a ­­­­­­truly local, cultural experience on my own terms. That may make this blog less interesting, but at least I’m still here to write it, with the freedom my country gives me to write.

Maybe this is precisely the time to see Cuba. Or maybe sanctions will be rolled back further opening those doors even wider to allow in a steady trickle – rather than flood – of independent tourists. Or maybe free enterprise will become an even more distant notion. We may have a better idea of which way it will go when the country votes on a new constitution in 2019.

This Part Unknown, known

The vision of Cuba the ever-ebullient Bourdain touted three years ago – you can tell he just loved being there, with a zest for life that made his untimely demise so stunning – is still a far cry from reality. The open borders never fully materialized, thanks to our current president. But maybe this will give some other more intrepid travelers a chance to get a glimpse of Cuba as it is and likely will be for quite some time. Before it changes.

In “Parts Unknown”, one of Bourdain’s amigos commented, “Our culture is so strong that it’s going to take a lot of cruise ships to dissolve us. We are always like this, with or without tourists.” From my limited interaction with the people of Cuba, I’d agree.

Here’s my nod to Bourdain’s query into life in Cuba “after the cruise ships”, from my vantage point as one of those American cruisers.

Cienfuegos: 

That’s our ship, the beautiful Viking Star, anchored about 1.4 miles from Cienfuegos.

Old and Central Havana:

Not an abandoned building – this is how many people still live in Havana.

 The streets and sights of Santiago de Cuba:

Castle of San Pedro de La Roca

Morro lighthouse

Did I mention we were on a cruise?

 Still thinking of visiting Cuba? You should. Just bring comfortable walking shoes, toilet paper and hand sanitizer. The people want you to visit. And perhaps more importantly, they need you to.

 To my favorite travel partner – thanks for an unforgettable experience - I love you, mom! Where are we going next?

The bar for holistic learning and retreat centers has just been raised, or rather, it was raised five months ago when the 1440 “multiversity” opened near Santa Cruz, California. I spent a weekend at 1440 (named for the number of minutes in a day – cue “Seasons of Love” from your Rent soundtrack now) in early October and here are 14 things I found to love about the place:

14. The programming

Attendees of “The Paleo Experience” program at 1440 featuring Michelle Tam (Nom Nom Paleo) and Dr. Akil Palanisamy (The Institute for Health and Healing), both pictured front and center.

If you’re an east coast yogini like me, you’ve no doubt been to the Kriplalu Center for Yoga and Healing in Lenox Massachusetts or the Omega Institute in upstate New York. But you’ve never been to a multiversity. Sure, you can drop a few hundred to participate in a weekend or week-long session with the likes of Deepak Chopra, Andrew Weil, or Elizabeth Gilbert at any of these places. But you can’t have the experience you will at 1440.

Dr. Dan Siegel, author of Mindsight, and his wife Caroline Welch, talk emotional intelligence and leadership in the 1440 auditorium during an evening program.

What makes 1440 so special? Let’s continue our countdown to find out…

13. The Teaching Kitchen

“The Paleo Experience” program included two live cooking demonstrations by Michelle Tam, author of Nom Nom Paleo. It was the first time 1440 operationalized their teaching kitchen, complete with state-of-the-art video monitors so you don’t miss a crumb. Michelle was a natural, ready for her Food Network close up after her sessions in the 1440 kitchen, for sure.

Michelle Tam and hubby Henry couldn’t be cuter demonstrating how to cut parchment paper hearts.

Enough tastes to go around – my helping of Michelle’s “All-Purpose Stir-Fry Sauce and Paper-Wrapped Chicken” dish from her latest cookbook. I may not know what nom nom means, but this was yum yum.

12. The redwoods, eh…rooms

1440 rooms aren’t fancy, but they are brand spanking new, spacious, clean, decorated with tribal accents, and overlook statuesque redwoods that you’ll only find on the west coast. Oh, and they smell like the woods too.

11. Breakfast

Eggs and fixin’s including sweet potato hash – a classic at breakfast

I love the food at Kripalu, Omega and the like; I even bought the Kripalu cookbook when I was there a few years ago. But 1440 believes in taking healthy and organic a few steps further with a variety of fresh, seasonal cuisines to suit every palate, including paleo ones. The Executive Chef, Kenny Woods, was so humble, it was hard to believe the amount of meticulously prepared options he oversaw.

Avocado toast - it’s a California thing. The toast isn’t made from avocado, just the spread on top.

10. Lunch

Two different options for pizza – regular and gluten free

If breakfast at 1440 doesn’t float your boat, or fill your belly, just wait a few hours for lunch. Both lunch and dinner have abundant options at three different stations – simple and lean, chef specialty and of course, a vegetarian option. If you’re anything like me, you will try all three, although I really don’t think that’s the point. But they don’t seem to mind!

9. Dinner

My favorite dish was Pad Thai with tofu and chicken. And the desserts -- wait for it… freshly baked cookies free of gluten and dairy and unbelievably delicious. They were so good I forgot to take a picture. Forget magic mushrooms, Kenny’s cookies are crazy.

8. Wine oh wine oh wine

It’s been customary at all the other yoga/retreat centers I’ve visited to avoid alcohol during your stay; it just doesn’t fit with the aura of those places. But 1440’s dining hall, dubbed the “Kitchen Table” was more like a fine restaurant, where you could purchase local wines and beers to complement your fabulous meal by Chef Kenny. My chardonnay was so good I forgot to take a picture. Do you see a theme here?

7. The fitness center

The machines can be rolled outside through the sliding glass windows so that you can work out in nature. I didn’t actually try to do this, but they tell me it’s possible.

6. The staff

The ladies (and guy) at the Common Grounds café were so friendly, it was a pleasure to stop in there for a pumpkin chai latte. And some pumpkin gelato – hey, it’s October. The gelato was so good, I forgot to…

The happy staff at Common Grounds, posing here with presenter Michelle Tam (right).

5. The hiking trails

Three intertwining loops surround the north end of the grounds for a little R&R, exercise and communing with nature. They are clearly marked, with just enough hills so you feel like you can get a “real” workout and work off the three main courses you eat (ok, I ate.) It’s nice to pass a few other happy campers along the way, as everyone at 1440 is so happy to be counting the 1440 minutes in their day.

4. The yoga classes

What’s a holistic retreat center without yoga classes? 6:45am was a little early for me, but thankfully there’s also a 5:45pm class that opens attendees’ hearts and hips, along with our minds, which are also being opened in our respective programs.

3. The spaaaaaah

A 20’ foot infinity whirlpool overlooking the redwoods. Need I say anything more?

2. The store

Forget Alice’s Restaurant, you can get anything you want at 1440.

Just a few items I picked up at the “Common Goods” store, including Dr. Akil’s book – a must after attending his Paleo program at 1440.

And the #1 reason to love 1440? This one might surprise you…

1. The bathroom

This message says it all:

Stay at 1440, look yourself in the mirror, and smile. :-) 

by Jami Kelmenson

The lights go up. A short siren sounds intermittently. Still, the action continues. Waiting for word, we sit, quiet and rapt, looking at the stage. Finally, we get word to evacuate and the audience is calmly ushered outside. Once outside, the winds pick up. The sirens are louder, this time from trucks. The hydrant is opened. Water flows freely, rusted brown at first, but then clear.  Water. With just a few turns of a cap.

Are we in the mountain village of Piton Vallue, In Petit Goâve Haiti, where local villagers work with a dedicated U.S.-based team to restore the deforested mountainside, pave roads, build a school and ensure water flows freely from a captage built by the community? Yes. And no. We are at the sixth annual “Hope and a Future (HAAF): A Celebration of Haiti,” the annual fundraiser launched by Community2Community (C2C) to raise funds for these four initiatives. 

In the auditorium of BRIC Arts Media House in Brooklyn, we are in the midst of watching a staged presentation of a video that is masterfully integrated into a performance of “Men Anpil” (Many Hands) – in which the C2C team at home is communicating via technology to the team on the ground in Haiti after Hurricane Erika destroyed the temporary school built by the community. Together they decide that the best course of action is to not rebuild the temporary structure, which will surely get blown away again by the next hurricane, but to construct a new school, sturdy enough to withstand the natural disasters that have sadly become a way of life in Haiti, while serving multi purposes in a town desperately in need of infrastructure.

Men Anpil’s depiction of the temporary school structure before Hurricane Erika... 

...and after.

Were the internal sirens and flashing lights part of the performance -- a new take on its evolved multi-media capabilities­? A possibility. But no. It was not a drill. The alarm system was triggered during the performance. At first, no one in the audience (or on stage) knew what to do. We watched the devastation taking place in Haiti on the screen on the stage, while silently wondering if something was more imminent in our own futures. Outside, the winds picked up in eerie symbiosis with how our Haitian Neighbors must have felt before Erika blew through their lives. But unlike in Haiti, our firefighters arrived in minutes to take action. The hydrant spewed gallons of water into the street before a hose was attached in preparation for what might be found inside.

Minutes later, all clear. The alarm had been triggered by a sensitive electrical connection. Everyone went back inside, orderly, in control. The play resumed with the start of the video, which took on new meaning now that we had some time to think about what we take for granted in this country – the services our government provides to protect, and even rescue us, if need be. The sophisticated technology that can track imminent danger in the form of weather conditions, and the rapid fire media that can inform us and tell us how to prepare. The water that is accessible at the turn of a cap. The feeling that we are not alone.

Waiting outside BRIC Arts during the unplanned show intermission...

...and re-entering the auditorium to pick up where we left off in Haiti. 

But soon we were back on top of the mountain with Ketlee, Seydou, and the regular cast of characters who update us on the team’s progress each year through the vehicle of entertainment, anchored musically by the passionate Haitian artist BélO whose uplifting vocals (sung in Kreyol) show love for his homeland and its people. 

BélO  reaffiming “Ou se wozo ...ou mèt tande'w pliye, ou pap kase." (We will bend but we will not break) before reaching out to the audience...

Thanks to BélO and C2C and all of their Neighbor supporters, the people of Haiti know they are not alone either. 

Find out how you can become a C2C Neighbor and be part of the community working on the ground with our Haitian Neighbors in Petit Goâve.

Here are some more scenes from HAAF 2016 at the BRIC Arts House:

Jami Kelly, present and ready to engage! 

Our informative partners and talented artisans on display in the Marché:

The faces of peace, love, and hope at HAAF 2016:

Always a joy to see C2C Project Manager Jean Anousse Napolean and “Engineer Trancy”  - our dynamic Duo for ground operations in Haiti:

And our Founder/Firestarter Marie-Yolaine Eusebe lets the Community shine as she works tirelessly to tell Haiti’s story through C2C:

(Spoiler Alert!) Rescue and redemption come to passengers of a casino-turned-disco-turned party boat on the Hudson River hit by both an earthquake and tidal wave. 

When it comes to Broadway musicals, I am not a fan of silly for silly's sake, or corny (Book of Moron, I mean Mormon, thank you, no) or campy (Hairspray, ok maybe). But clever corny is another story, case in point: the nonsensical homage to the movies and music of the 1970s now trying to stay afloat at the Nederlander theater:  Disaster!

Broadway’s latest spoof-fest, starring and co-written by SiriusXM “Seth Speaks” host, Seth Rudetsky, is a nostalgic romp for those old enough to know that Donna Summer’s “Four Seasons of Love” has nothing to do with Rent, or that the Queen song “You’re My Best Friend” (Oooh, you make me live) wasn’t written for a dog food commercial. The music and characters of Disaster! work just as well for anyone who’s never heard of the Bay City Rollers, although it’s guaranteed to be a lot more fun if you know who Melissa Manchester is.

Largely influenced by the S.S. Poseidon going belly up in The Poseidon Adventure, with hints of a big shark terrorizing the beaches in Jaws and the ground splitting in two in Earthquake – Disaster! uses our favorite 70s hits as a soundtrack to our favorite doom and gloom scenarios of the same decade.

It’s hard to do justice to Rudetsky’s and co-writer Jack Plotnick’s wickedly-paced song setups that catch you by surprise scene after life-threatening scene, but suffice it to say to say that a rendition of “Torn Between Two Lovers” takes on new meaning when sung by a nun torn between God and Gambling.

Sister Mary (Jennifer Simard) getting a little too cozy with the ship’s slot machine?

“Three Times a Lady” becomes a lament over three dismembered body parts of a wealthy “lady” who met her untimely death crushed beneath a gaudy chandelier that fell from the ceiling during an earthquake, about to be buried at sea by her wealthy husband bellowing Thanks…for the times…that you’ve giv-en me. And a commitment-phobic businesswoman goes full circle from her parents’ miserable marriage in Carly Simon’s “That’s the Way I’ve Always Heard it Should Be” (My father sits at night with no lights on…) to resolving all of her intimacy conflicts and feeling so good at being “Reunited” (Peaches & Herb) on board with the one she dumped (not overboard) so many years ago.

Chad (Adam Pascal) and Marianne (Kerry Butler) overcome their relationship dysfunctions amidst mayhem and tumult.

Not to mention a tender rendition of Captain & Tenille’s “Muskrat Love”  leading into an attack of fat, furry rats just because there aren’t any good 70’s songs about real rats. All this plus a side-splitting balance-beam stunt by Rudetsky (as “Professor and Disaster Expert” Ted Scheider no doubt tipping his pointed toe to Roy Scheider’s portrayal of Sheriff Brody in Jaws) set to what else but the sweeping piano melodies of “Nadia’s Theme.”

Two feet off the ground, will Professor Ted Scheider (aka Co-Writer, Music Supervisor and Song Arranger Seth Rudetsky) make it?

If you feel like you need to stop for a breath by this point, you know what it’s like to be in the audience of Disaster! – from rocking out to “Hot Stuff” as the opening number to kicking the chair in front of you in time with each knock in “Knock on Wood” – and that’s just the first act. When the song is the punchline and silly is the setup, Disaster!’s brand of humor works just fine for this decidedly un-campy theatergoer. One number after another gently coaxes the audience into how to interpret the show, i.e., sit back and laugh and at no one’s expense, unlike a certain mission-driven musical rival playing just a few blocks away. One review called Disaster!, “the funniest show since the Book of Mormon,” and (friendly?) rivalry or not, I'm just glad Seth didn't create that other show as this blogger would have had to give him a bad review and the guy’s just too likeable for me to do that.

When you see Disaster! try not to blink or you might miss a reference to your favorite sitcom characters of the 70s (really Seth: Joyce DeWitt , not Suzanne Summers? Horshack, not Barbarino?), a Farrah Fawcett hairdo (and Kate and Jaclyn’s too); not to mention (Spoiler Alert!) Faith Prince’s Shirley doing Shelly Winters proud in a re-creation of the “fat lady’s” heroic death scene made famous in The Poseidon Adventure.

Rachel York donning Farrah hair slams “Come to Me” – wait, my hair still looks like that.

Part of the fun of Disaster! is trying to catch all of the throwbacks to a simpler time. Or was it simpler because we were 12? I walked into Disaster!  thinking this blog might wax philosophical about how, in their most ingenious storytelling moments, the filmmakers of the 70s could not begin to imagine the real disasters that would befall the world in the ensuing four decades: that sunny Tuesday morning in September when we stared in silence at two real towering infernos on our television screens; when the name “Katrina” wasn't so pretty all of a sudden; or when we learned the meaning of the word “tsunami.” At least now we have Anderson Cooper to help us make sense of today’s disasters in real time, and Seth Rudetsky to show us how to laugh in spite of them.

Maybe the message of Disaster! isn’t so nonsensical after all. What if we all decided to laugh instead of focus on the next unimaginable disaster that may befall us - like the ozone layer depleting (“Killing Me Softly”), or Donald Trump becoming president (“Your So Vain”).  Did I just give Seth Rudetsky an idea for a sequel? Oh wait, with his gift for seeing hilarity in the everyday, I'm sure he’s already on it.

Backstage at the Nederlander with Seth and Crew:

Stealing a moment with the harried but friendly Seth Rudetsky.

Jeremy Jordan (Newsies, West Side Story, Rock of Ages) stopped by to help raise money for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

Stylist Emilia Martin working diligently on someone’s hair below deck, I mean, back stage.

Still quite haven’t squelched that onstage lure despite years of honing my craft behind the computer keyboard. Seth, can you use me in the sequel?

Really Seth, I’m ready.

Performances of Disaster!  end July 3rd so grab your tickets (and the nearest life ring) now! 

Read my latest blog post at:

While there are many annoying (okay, harrowing!) things about NYC’s recently expanded Citi Bike program (getting the bike in and out of the dock, adjusting the seat, riding next to scary trucks and inhaling exhaust fumes, just to name a few) the upside – which includes having a relatively inexpensive way to go bike riding in Central Park on a sunny fall weekend, makes it worth the aggravation. Another good thing to come out of it is the camaraderie of fellow riders trying to help each other get the darn thing in and out of the bike dock. Which brings me to my celebrity sighting…

I was at the 6th Ave @ 59th Street station at the south end of Central Park when I was waiting between shifts – in the Terms & Conditions there is a little-known clause that says you can have consecutive riding shifts if you return your first bike within 45 minutes, wait two minutes, then take out a different bike. It’s hard not to have a conversation with a fellow Citibiker when you are at a station, as someone (usually me!) has a question about how to get the thing into, or out of, the dock. This time, I was the one to help a fellow rider in distress.

A cool-looking, scruffy dude in a cowboy hat and sunglasses with a white iPhone cord hanging from his ear was standing opposite me trying to dock his bike. “How do you get it in here?” he asked. I didn’t really notice his look, but that voice…it was so familiar to me. I told him, “You just have to jam it in, more than you think it should go, until the green light goes on.” Success! He hadn’t known about the light and told me that he had kept the thing overnight because he couldn’t figure it out and was now expecting a fight over what he guessed would be crazy overtime fees, if not charges for the bike itself.

Now I am really bad with celebrities; I try to stay away from them. Just think of Lucy setting fire to her nose while pretending not to stare at William Holden at the Brown Derby – I’m kinda like that. I say stupid things and get all star struck refusing to believe they are real people with foibles and problems just like the rest of us. So when I realized it was Rob Morrow, who I used to love in Northern Exposure as Dr. Joel Fleishman, I went into Lucy-mode.

Rob Morrow as Dr. Joel Fleishman in Northern Exposure

The first thing I said was, “Are you Rob?” as if we went to high school together.

“Yes,” he said with little emotion, evidently not remembering me from high school.

“Holy shit!” I said. (I am not someone who usually says, “Holy shit!” -  where did that come from?)

I may have then said “I’ve followed you for years” (which would have been acceptable in a stalkerish kind of way), but it also could have come out as “I’ve been in love with you for years.” Not sure which.

He was nonplussed, so I went on, and here’s where it gets really stupid:

I said, “Do people know who you are anymore?” In my mind I was patting myself on the back for being a loyal fan when someone else might not have known who he was, but I realized it came out more like a, oh let’s say, dis.

Still nonplussed, he responded, “A fair amount.”

Ooops.

Then I suddenly realized two things that I have to try to remember more quickly in these situations: 1) I’m a blogger. 2) I had my smartphone with me.

“I have to take a picture,” I blurted, “and put you on my blog.” He didn’t seem to mind either action, and he was all for a selfie. I commanded, “You take it, your arms are longer.” And he did with that smirky Fleishman smile. 

Then I started blathering on about how crappy I looked (sans makeup and with hangover from dancing at the gay club Therapy the previous night, where the cosmopolitans where flowing). Note to self: always put on a little lip gloss while Citibike riding, you never know who you will meet along the way and who you will end up taking a selfie with.

So Rob, my long lost high school bud, forgive my blather. I know that you have gone on to some wonderful roles since Northern Exposure, including Numb3rs, Quiz Show and The Bucket List, and thanks for telling me about your upcoming guest appearance in the Showtime series, Billions.

And if you need a witness in the Citi Bike hearing when they try to take $1,200 from your credit card for not returning your bike, I’m your gal.

I wonder who will be my next Citi Bike celebrity sighting…I sure hope the Trivago guy like to pedal.

by Jami Kelmenson

Yoga vacations are a great way to travel and when that vacation includes an inside look into a documentary that took 19 years to make, a rare glimpse of living in harmony with nature, and Michael Franti calling your downward dogs, well then you’ve got something close to bliss, Santa Fe style.

Ram Dass & Timothy Leary are “Dying to Know”

Depending on how old you are, and how spiritual you are, you may be stumped as to why I am mentioning these two in the same sentence. Hopefully, that will change with the release of the independent documentary by Gay Dillingham, “Dying to Know,” which, after making its debut at the Mill Valley Film Festival in 2013, is currently seeking distribution. As a special event to kick off the 2nd Annual Santa Fe Yoga Festival, we were treated to a screening of the film followed by a Q&A with its director, who spent 19 loving years following these two men and documenting their stories, straight from their own mouths.

Gay Dillingham, Andrew Ungerleider, and Joanna Harcourt-Smith, a former wife of Timothy Leary

Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert (later known as the spiritual teacher and author, Ram Dass) met at Harvard University in the early 1960’s when they were both psychology professors. Leary became infamous over his quest for a better understanding of mind altering drugs, unwittingly igniting a global counter-culture movement. Alpert journeyed to the East and became known for the book “Be Here Now.” This film, narrated by Robert Redford, chronicles their shared triumphs and pains, as well as their unique friendship, and challenges us to reexamine the notions of who we’ve believed these two iconic figures to be, and whether their messages have relevance to the current generation. According to the director, “Whether you've heard of them or not they've changed your life and those of a generation.”

Ram Dass and Timothy Leary in their later years

Among other issues such as the war on drugs, personal choice, and the convergence of eastern and western thought, one of the movie’s key themes is the “taboo of death and dying.“ In their later years, with Leary battling lung cancer and Ram Dass recovering from a stroke, the two philosophical leaders tackle the most mysterious mind altering experience of them all. According to Ms. Dillingham, “We don’t have a natural relationship with death in our society, and that keeps us from living. As they age, this generation has the opportunity to shift this paradigm profoundly and we hope this film can help that movement.”

Seeing the film enhanced my understanding of their seemingly misunderstood quest to educate and enlighten the masses as to a level of consciousness that exists, one that inspires fear in most of us because we are so desperate to hang on to that which we know. All they were trying to do was make us all less afraid and more curious, more open, but perhaps fear is more powerful than knowledge. (Warning: this movie might bring out your philosophical tendencies.)

The Sound of Santa Fe Sunshine with Michael Franti & Tias Little

Everybody’s got to do some yoga…at least once a day…

Ok, those aren’t the lyrics but they should apply as the highlight of my five days in Santa Fe was seeing the spiritual rebel rocker Michael Franti rock not only the lawn at Fort Marcy Park, but an unplugged accompaniment to Tias Little’s “Yoga in the Ancient Flow” class at the Scottish Rite Temple. Okay, Tias is a master at slow flow but our group clearly wanted to move around and so he and Franti blissfully passed the asana baton back and forth so that we basked in Mr. Little’s soothing, “prajna”-based thoughtful approach while getting an intermittent shot of Franti-style adrenaline, a provocative yin to Mr. Little’s contemplative yang.

Read my full post on Michael Franti and Spearhead’s “Once a Day” tour date in Santa Fe.

Non-stop Zen in an “EcoNest” Built by the Littles

View from the front porch of the Little’s EcoNest

Forget the pueblos, forget the adobes, Tias Little knows how to live. His home and yoga studio, where he conducts “Prajna” Yoga teacher trainings and retreats, are made of clay, straw and timber. These simple “ingredients” transform one’s dwelling into an “EcoNest” – a holistically designed and hand-crafted natural home. It is this style of architecture, founded by Robert LaPorte and Paula Baker-LaPorte, “that deeply nurtures every aspect of human health in production, occupation, and post-habitation” as a natural, sustainable alternative to most industrialized living environments.

Me at the bambooed entrance to the yoga studio

Tias and his wife Surya were more than generous in sharing how they live in harmony with nature. These pictures say more than I ever could express in words, especially with the changing sunlight and clouds playing an integral role in the design.  

Bench fashioned after one at Ten Thousand Waves, the quintessential luxury spa inspired by the great mountain surroundings of Japan

Yoga Music Love

Katchie Ananda leads the closing meditation with body, mind and soaring voice. 

From my five days in Santa Fe, I can see that the people here are really happy. Maybe they’ve all spent some time with Timothy Leary in their day (and some of them indeed have), or maybe it’s the soothing sienna tones everywhere, or the chiles they put in everything (green or red, it’s like the west side of Central Park vs. the east – people are divided) or maybe, just maybe, it’s the yoga.

Santa Fe Yoga Festival Producer Kurt Young and Elite Events Group Founder Elana Maggal strike a pose.

Here are some highlights of my time on and around the mat at the 2nd Annual Santa Fe Yoga Festival, founded by Kurt Young and Pamela Serna. The unofficial theme of this year’s festival, which hosted local teachers Katchie Ananada, Tias & Surya Little, Shibana Singh, Yoga Ma Barbara, and more, was something we hear a lot about in New York, but never really master – taking the time to slow down, let yourself be who you are, hug your neighbor and listen to the sound of the sunshine. I’d say they’ve got all that down in Santa Fe.

The Union of Shiva and Shakti class with Shibana Singh

Michael Franti fans ready for his class.

Only in Santa Fe.

by Jami Kelmenson

There are performers and there are rock stars. There are musicians and there are storytellers. There are proselytizers and there are missionaries. And then there is Michael Franti. Other musicians sing about peace, love and understanding, but this larger-than-life (he's 6’6”!) dred-headed humanitarian truly embodies it with a Christ-like presence that has his audiences transfixed, maybe even transformed. 

The Santa Fe Yoga Festival was a treat for the body, mind, soul – and ears, as we were blessed to experience two Spirit-moving sessions with Michael Franti. The first was an “unplugged” version with a scaled down band in which he shared the podium with Santa Fe’s local hero of the yoga scene, Tias Little. The other was an outdoor, full-blast jumpfest (non-believers need not attend) where we the barefooted tickled the grass as our arms reached for the sky and swayed continually over two hours at Fort Marcy Park. The minute he hit the stage, everyone was up and moving in anticipation, as if not to waste a minute of his energy. No sit down/stand up affair here. Every lawn chair remained empty for the duration.

Acoustic Franti by day at the Scottish Rite Temple as part of the Santa Fe Yoga Festival...

And by night at Fort Marcy Park -- good thing we all do yoga as our toned arms were up in the air a lot.

Of his latest release “Once a Day,” he shared how his family learned to come together, “hug more,” and “laugh more” after his teenage son was diagnosed with a serious kidney disease. He likened his own personal crisis – and the perspective it can bring – to those in the world and on the planet, of which he said he is reminded each morning when he reaches for his phone to see the news he missed while sleeping. Crises both internal and external are what compelled him to reach for something more, something higher on a personal level, for when “life comes along and it knocks you down to the ground.” He wants to encourage the rest of us to do the same by reminding us that “a setback is a step back so you can jump even higher.” He demonstrated his philosophy by taking a step back and then powerfully jumping in his signature arm raising, leg kicking, dreds flying pose as a lead in to the lyrics, “and we all will rise up!”

And rise up we did. Over and over from the minute he graced the stage until the final song of the evening – not a cover version, but the actual recording of Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds” (aka “Don’t Worry ‘Bout a Thing.”) Just in case we didn’t get the message loudly and clearly enough from the band, he wanted us to get it directly from the source. Operating the sound mixer personally, he eliminated the voice track on key phrases so that the energy of the audience in unison singing “every little thing gonna be alright” would make it so. A humble homage to the reggae master that came before him in a class move I haven’t seen too many performers consider, as they usually want to leave you with their biggest and best, or something poignant and slow, at the end of a concert, rather than with someone else’s message of hope.

Channeling Bob Marley?

Michael Franti isn’t just talking to us weary, downtrodden adults in his music; kids love him too. He brought about 30 of them on stage to dance and sing with him during “Say Hey” (I love you, I love you, I love you baby girl), but there was one special “baby girl” named Michelle who shared the spotlight with him on “The Sound of Sunshine.” He sang the words “you’re the one I want to be with…” directly to her as she tried her best to keep pace with the spread vowels of the “sunshine coming dooww-ow-oww-ow –own,” belting it out with a smile to a rousing applause upon each repetition of the chorus. It was her moment and he gave it to her.

A “folksy” activist in the spirit of Harry Chapin and Bruce Springsteen who speaks as much as he sings, Franti blends rap, reggae and rock the way Nutella blends chocolate and hazelnut – the result is something seamless and greater than its individual parts. His booming baritone may have been reminiscent of another rock star turned yoga guru, Krishna Das, but the similarity ends there. Together we shared emotions of pride over the legalization of gay marriage, anger over the Eric Garner shooting, and hope over the upcoming election, all within in one sky-reaching sermon from the podium out the lawn where he could see us, touch us and meld with us to promote an agenda of community healing.

Another rebel rocker rabble-rouser who sings about “risings,” Bruce Springsteen 

No ohms for Michael Franti, no kirtan, no chanting, just the simplest of lyrics like “everyone deserves music, sweet music” and “all I wanna do is be with you.” Like the aforementioned social justice legends that preceded him, Michael Franti and his band have the rare talent of not just singing, entertaining and bringing an audience to their feet, but he also brings people together and makes you believe that -- at least for those 120 minutes you’re with him -- anything is possible. And isn’t that really why we go to concerts when we could otherwise hear the music in the comfort of our own homes or virtually anywhere else on our mobile phones? Isn't that why we do yoga? To bond, to feel good, and to have hope? And to stretch. In this case, our souls.

After two intimate gatherings with this sound and soul man, I wanted more Michael Franti. Here’s his remaining schedule for the “Once a Day” tour.

 Learn more about the Santa Fe Yoga Festival.

Me and Candace Bushnell at BookCon...read her answer to this question at my blog on Shelf Pleasure:

Inspiring words from Brandon Stanton at BookCon. Read my roving reporter review at:

Kick-Off Event: Try Something New! Get Inspired. Get Going. Get Unstuck!  FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015 11 AM – 2 PM Golf and Body NYC 883 6th Avenue NY,