Top 10 Reasons to Book This Train Ride

There's a pull between the stars.

Sis's friend and former boss at NYU--Dr. Nicole--got us great tix [$100 each with her member discount] to see the musical "On the Twentieth Century" on 42nd Street last night. I don't think I've ever been so close to the stage in an orchestra seat.

The story is set in 1932 on a luxury train ride from Chicago to New York. The locomotive is named the Twentieth Century. 

Top 10:

1. Kristin Chenoweth. Petite [4'11"] and pretty with a voice ringing like a bell on a clear June day. A tiny powerhouse, funny and sassy and enchanting from the moment she runs down the aisle and onto the stage. She plays Lily with great acting, dancing and charisma. I read that the actress is a proud native of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, and was adopted. As a foster mom to Punchy, that interests me, I loved her in the 2015 animated movie "Strange Magic"--she did the voice of the Sugar Plum Fairy. Magical and sweet.

2. Peter Gallagher. You know him from 1989's "Sex, Lies, and Videotape" and "American Beauty." Still as handsome, with that bad-boy edge that you can't quite put your finger on. I knew he could act but the singing and dancing were delicious surprises.

3. Mary Louise Wilson. She co-wrote and starred in "Full Gallop," the one-woman show about Diana Vreeland; it was fabulous. But here she plays Mrs. Primrose, a Bible-thumping old lady on the train. She nearly steals the show; hilarious.

4. "She's a Nut," "Five Zeros" and other great songs that sweep you up, gather you in and leave you laughing and clapping madly. Your troubles are forgotten.

5. The fashions and accessories. Lily's marabou trimmed high-heel slippers; stacks of colorful luggage; ladies' hems that hit the lower calf--1932. Oh, so that's the length my grandmothers wore in the thirties, I thought.

6. Period props. A manual typewriter; battered Bible; and black doctor's bag.

7. The porters. Four young men who sing witty songs and tap dance to beat the band.

8. Lily's hunk. Her movie costar is dumb as a doughnut but so funny.

9. The train details. Puffs of steam, compartment doors and fancy seats, a big train and a little train in two different scenes.

10. The feeling you take home. That Broadway's magic is alive and well. That some people have talent that glitters so much it truly can light up the night. That the power to entertain is a gift to behold. That these people love their jobs. And TBH, as foster mom to Punchy, I thought about the dazzling star's adoptive parents, how they must have spotted her skills and nurtured them, how proud they must be.

Tickets, tickets please!