half wrong

I’m meeting Zelia (a very close friend) to see Over the Rainbow, a new play about Judy Garland’s last days.  Around seven, I take the subway and exit in Times Square.  Even as a New Yorker, I sometimes get directionally confused when I’m in Times Square.  I typically will use tall landmark buildings (like the Chrysler or Empire State building) to determine which side is east.  As I’m looking up, I hear a couple having the same conversation.  The twenty-something guy says to his friend, “Which way is East?”  His friend, who is more creative than I am, looks around, sees a gorgeous setting sun, points to it, and says,  “That’s east.”  I feel bad having to tell him that the sun sets in the west.

I arrive at the theater just as the play is starting.  The female lead, Tracie Bennett, is mesmerizing.  She is deserving of her Tony nomination.  At intermission, I overhear a conversation behind me.  An older gentleman leans over to the young women (mid-20’s I’d say) next to him and asks, “Do you know who Judy Garland is?”  The response is a quick one, “Yes, she’s Liza Minnelli’s mother.”