#friday six

I skipped out on a happy hour thing because of a concert, the James Arnott story. (Working title.)

(It was a send-off for a [former] co-worker that found a better gig. I emailed my congrats along with the bit of the policy book about not rehiring former employees.)

Pretty sure I saw this same opening band (WATERS) at this venue earlier this year.

I couldn’t not buy the shirt. I tried. Really.

Picked up Iron Maiden and A Prairie Home Companion tickets yesterday. That probably says something about me.

Six excellent online reads, of varying lengths and seriousness. 

 Thirty-Three-Hit Wonder: Billy Joel still lives on Long Island, still rules the Garden. // The New Yorker

What's My Risk Of Catching Ebola? (with a handy infographic!) // NPR

How Amazon Solved the Problem of Work // The Awl

Here’s what Frank Gehry thinks of the rest of you architects: "Let me tell you one thing. In the world we live in, 98 percent of what gets built and designed today is pure shit." // Quartz

How Investment Firms Are Changing Philanthropy // The New Yorker

Six excellent online reads, of varying lengths. I'm particularly impressed with Dan Wetzel--his take on the FSU/Winston situation is one of the more sensitive, nuanced takes I've come across. Oh, and spoiler, the last link is in praise of The Good Wife, which means all is right with the world.

The Human Factor: William Langewiesche explores how a series of small errors turned a state-of-the-art cockpit into a death trap in the 2009 crash of Air France Flight 447, which killed 228 people. // Vanity Fair 

Dan Wetzel: Ugly treatment of Jameis Winston's accuser serves to only discourage future victims // Yahoo! Sports

A Fitting Nobel for Malala Yousafzai and Kailash Satyarthi: It is past time to stop seeing Malala as simply the girl who survived. She is an activist, a girl who leads. // The New Yorker 

Gold Diggers: As Tennessee’s Blackberry Farm prepares for its first truffle harvest, it is raising one of Italy’s oldest dog breeds to root them out // Garden & Gun

Welcome to THE FRIDAY SIX: Q&As With Your Favorite Broadway Stars. Want to know what hooked them to a career in the theater? Their dream roles? Their Broadway crushes? Read on!

In this next edition, we caught up with one of Broadway's most beloved belters, Lindsay Mendez, currently starring in the revival of Stephen Schwartz's GODSPELL!

What is the first Broadway show you ever saw? SHOWBOAT at the Gershwin. (It was AMAZING.)

What is your most unique pre-show ritual?

Jumping on the trampolines while singing a high C to see if it's there that day.

What is your most memorable "the show must go on" moment? Probably in GODSPELL when the bar that Jesus is crucified on didn't fly in, so we had to crucify him on the ground, while he stood there. We all threw our bodies around on the ground and I'd say there were MANY Oscar nominations that deserved to be awarded that day - the biggest to Hunter, who stood there, with his arms outstretched in the "cross" position for about 6 minutes. (No arm workout necessary that day!)

What is the one role you want to play before you die?

Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd. Who is your Broadway crush? Danny Burstein

Where can people stalk you on the web (twitter/fb etc.)?

You can follow me on Twitter: @LindsayMendez and check out my jazz band at: www.lmandmp.com.

Edit from Karlie: Most of our admins were at the show the night the cross didn't come down. Lindsay's right -- Oscars, Tonys, Emmys, etc. should have gone out to the cast that night. Especially Hunter. That was quite the performance.