56. basking

Friday was a good day. Beyond the unavoidable basking, in the muggy New York Sun that has thoroughly soaked the city, there were a certain number of moments of G-L-O-R-Y. Some of these moments were brief, others small, and blonde, and some probably don’t merit all caps, but a series of glorious nonetheless.

First and foremost among them, Jollyship the Whiz Bang. Elvis and Emma Lee used to play in a noiserock band with the drummer. And they’ve see other productions by the same folks, namely the Paula Abdul/vampire/colonial pennsylvania mashup, which was brilliant. And Emma Lee’s ex-boyfriend made the puppets. But even if the crew was a bunch of no-name-never-heard-of-’em jerks from Williamsburg and Bushwick, it still would have been well worth the trip over to the no-man’s land of Ars Nova (54th, btwn 10/11). Its run has been extended into July, so go go go. And bask in Nick Jones, the captain of that demented ship. If you manage a hug, maybe some of the brillance will rub off.

The other basking moments were faster, smaller, and more symbolic. Emma Lee left Elvis in the corner of Playing the Building, and had the opportunity, on a number of occasions when someone may or may not have wandered into a hazardous area at the end of the long hall, of sprinting across the Battery Maritime Building. Emma Lee likes sprinting. And before anyone got there, she sang in the hall for a while. She likes that, too.

Two tiny blond children at the installation prompted what may have been Emma Lee’s most positive interaction with the pre-K set in a number of years, trumping even family reunions with cousins (sorry, lil’ Pete, Hannah, Anna, Natalie and Monica,). And at lunch, in a moment of symbolic glory, Elvis turned in their application to be writers in residence with the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. It was a bunch of work, and Elvis is happy it’s done. Fists in the air, and fingers crossed.