I must admit that I am an action movie junkie! When I go to the theater I want to be intellectually engaged. When I go to the movies, I just want escapism. Most of the time, though, I am let down. Same situation with the Sauceres’ Apprentice. Do not pull your face as you read this. Please don’t think less of me for being shallow in my entertainment choice! Just think of me as a popcorn-munching movie fan who sometimes makes bad decisions when picking movies.

It’s like the time I was dragged to see Toy Story 3 in 3D. The tickets came to $28 for two people (because it was in 3D) and I charged it. I sat there growling and fuming that I allowed to be forced into this movie. But I think I was alone because everyone else in the theater was laughing and having a great time!

Do you every get up and leave when you don’t like a movie before it’s over? If it’s a theater production I will never leave. I’ve seen people get up and leave in the middle of a performance because they don’t like it and I find it rude. I stick it to the end because I always think there’s something to be learnt. Sometimes in a movie, however, I am very tempted. What do you do?

Last night I went to see “Lend Me A Tenor” on 46th street, right where they found the would-be-car-bomb-vehicle! I was so happy to see that the theater district was packed, there was a huge police presence and it was so clear that New York really is like the Eveready Bunny. It just keeps going and going.

It makes me proud to be a New Yorker. We take anything on the chin and just keep going. Congratulations to the New York police department and all the people who found this guy within 3 days of the attempt. We are all proud of you! (It was a great show, by the way!)

Last night I went to see A Behanding in Spokane with Christpher Walken. It is what one would truly call a ‘Black Comedy’ and it was really wonderful – so funny and so politically incorrect. If the N-word was used once, it was used 20 times, if the F-word was used once it was used 200-times and Mother Effers were flying left and right! The cringe-factor helped to make it really funny. Christopher Walken was great, adding his mad-hatter quality to an already great play.

Don’t miss it!

I just went to see a Broadway show called ‘Red’, which is about the period of time when Mark Rothco created a serious of paintings of which two has been installed at the Four Seasons restaurant here in New York. Alfred Molina does a superb job as Rothco, bringing to the stage a great deal of energy.

Highly recommended!

I’ve resumed my busy theater-going schedule and have seen some really great plays both on and off Broadway. Among the shows I’ve seen is Mr & Mrs Fitch with John Lithgow and Jennifer Ehle. It’s a sophisticated New York comedy about marriage, generational gaps and all the BS that goes on in the press. The set is this amazing Manhattan apartment and I always am amazed when you see something as contemporary as this on stage and feel that they just cut out a piece of an apartment and put it on stage. John Lithgow was crackling in his delivery and it’s a very Noel Cowardish type of play.

I also saw Equivocations which takes place in the 15th century and it’s a fictional story about the Lord Shemberland coming to a then-poor Shakespeare and asking him to write a play about an attempted assassination (which really happened) and how the conspirators planned to blow up the House of Lords, but they caught them just in time. It was great fun.

Another play I saw was Time stands Still with Laura Lenny and Eric Bogosian, Brian d’Arcy James and Alicia Silverstone. It’s a compelling story about a war photographer who returns from Afghanistan after being blown up by a road bomb and her recuperation and desire to settle down in New York. It plays on the trials and tribulations about the decisions we all make about our future. Laura Lenny was really wonderful and completely believeable as a war correspondent.

Most recently I went to see Elton John and David Furnish’s Next Fall. This one was all about relationships that are not always accepted by society and the prejudices that people hold to those who are different to themselves. In the play one half of a gay couple ends up in a coma in hospital and his deeply religious family won’t allow his partner to be with him and don’t acknowledge him at all. The play relates to Proposition 8 in California and the injustice of not accepting people who are different to who you are.

These shows always offer me so much food for thought and are truly a highlight in my week. What have you seen lately that made your mind’s cogs work overtime?

I went to see the new Tom Ford movie, A Single Man and it really touched me. If you’ve ever lost somebody it will do that to you too. Tom Ford captures that emotion, that emptiness that one feels inside. It was very stylish, with incredible cars and fashion (of course) but I don’t think that it detracted from what the story was about. (Although so many of Colin Firth’s suits looked like they were Thom Browne - but i think it fitted into what the character was about.) If you haven’t seen it I really suggest you do – it is outstanding: the acting, emotional impact and visually. Brilliant.

I went to see Superior Donuts, a great play written by Tracy Letts – the same person who wrote August Osage County. I went to see it four days after I left the hospital and was really scared of sitting in a chair for two and a half hours, but time just flew by. Tracy Letts is such a great writer and ‘Donuts’ is such an uplifting story. It was written after his father died and he wanted to put something out there that had a more positive ending and I really think he accomplished it.

Tonight I’m seeing The Royal Family. I’m going with Preston Bailey who is now starting to do stage sets, so he’s hunting and gathering ideas and inspirations. Pretty sure it will be fun to see a play through his eyes.

Last night I went to see The Old Vic production of The Norman Conquests. The play is a trilogy and you can either see one part a night or, on Saturday, see all three plays consecutively. The show has an all British cast and was really funny, very tongue-in-cheek and very British in the humor.

The audience really had a great time and it was the perfect blend of some sex, some raunchy, some silliness and a little bit of drama – perfect for our times. While I don’t always like British comedy, this was certainly up high on my enjoyment list.

This play was nominated for lots of Tonys and very deservingly won the 2009 Tony for Best Play Revival.

Go see it!