I played hooky last Wednesday, July 24, to be with my daughters who were celebrating my birthday belatedly by seeing a matinee on Broadway and then having a delicious dinner together.
It wasn’t easy to coordinate four lives and get tickets to a popular show, “Ain’t Too Proud,” the story of the life and times of The Temptations, a group of singers I grew up with and adored, and whose songs have remained relevant for generations.
The story is told through the voice of Otis Williams, who wrote a book about his group’s creation and through the tumultuous years of each band member’s struggles. The spectacular songs are credited from the Motown Catalogue, the organization that acted as The Temptations agents, and included many songs written by the genius Smokey Robinson.
They “got me” as the curtain came up and I was transfixed by hearing the music, seeing the superb talented performers dance and sing their way into my heart and apparently the whole audience’s, who gave them a lengthy standing ovation as the final curtain came down.
Sadly, with all the group’s success, drugs and disease wore them down. The group survived because their leader, Otis Williams, never permitted one of them to be the lead named singer. So when personal problems encroached on their professional performance, they were replaced seamlessly, and the group lived on, making their mark in the world to this day.
It’s a lesson for all of us in business a great person is important, but it’s the team that makes it happen. I live that every day — grateful for the talented people I work with in my multiple media outlets.
The theatre was packed, without a single empty seat, attesting to its popularity. But beating the traffic and the tension to get to the 2 p.m. curtain made me think of all the quality theatre now available to us in Queens and Long Island.
I recently saw a musical show at Babylon’s Argyle Theatre about Jerry Lee Lewis, “Million Dollar Quartet,” that had a cast as good as any I’ve seen on Broadway, but at a quarter of the price.
After our “Ain’t Too Proud” matinee, my daughters made a reservation at a restaurant at 57 West 57 street, Quality Italian, which lived up to its boastful name.
They offer a unique pizza shaped Chicken Parmesan that comes on a stand looking like a full size pizza. When I bit into the chicken dish, I shook my head in amazement. They pounded the chicken and shaped it to fit the pan. The mixture of cheeses and sauce made it a delectable surprise.
It’s a treat to have a “girls day out” and I enjoyed the time to catch up on their lives and planning the family trip to Israel in August to celebrate my grandson’s Bar Mitzvah. Stay tuned!
