On Saturday, May 14th, Netflix hosted and celebrated the screening of ‘Stranger Things 4’ at Netflix Studios in Brooklyn, New York.
Are ya 1? Are ya 2? Are ya 3?…and the extension of the “Happy Birthday” song continues, much to the dismay of those dreading adding another year to their tally. Noah Haidle’s latest play (and Broadway debut), Birthday Candles challenges the negative connotations of the passage of time and ideas associated with getting older, as it focuses on aging as the concept of adding tools to life’s toolkit and wisdom to one’s rhetorical autobiography (and on the amount of goldfish and buttery, vanilla cake one can consume).
But truly, what’s in a lifetime? Time doesn’t end when you go to college. Time doesn’t end when you find love. Time doesn’t end if/when you get married. Time doesn’t end when you have kids, grandkids, and then on. Hell, time doesn’t end if you end a first marriage and pivot the direction of your career at age 48. If anything, time moves on and new opportunities are presented to you. The good, the bad, the beautiful, the ugly, and everything in between. Birthday Candles touches a bunch of extremely relatable themes such as mental health, questioning one’s self identity, priorities, boundaries, but most importantly (in my opinion) is that it’s never too late.
We had the remarkable opportunity to sit down with Noah and connect on Birthday Candles.
TK: Firstly, what a BRILLIANT piece of work. Congratulations! Poignant, sophisticated, yet casual, relatable, funny yet emotional. How did you go about approaching a piece that could tap into all of those emotions and more?
NH: I knew if I got this one right it could be a very effective play (as opposed to some of the plays I’ve written which have been complete shit), so I tried to approach it with great caution.
TK: Process wise, how long did this take you to write?
NH: Six years. The first word I wrote for this play was in April of 2016 and the last was a week before opening in April of 2022. With a total of just over 15,000 words, that’s like 6.8 words a day, which is pretty much as many as the list of ingredients of mayonnaise. Pretty slow.
TK: One of the things I love most about Birthday Candles is that it shows that life is not perfect, but it happens. People make mistakes. Sometimes huge mistakes, but it’s never too late to change your mind and revisit prior thoughts. Was this theme based on any event(s) in particular for you?
NH: Yes. More than I would prefer.
TK: Debra Messing. That’s it. The way she portrays Ernestine at every stage, it’s remarkable. Do you have a favorite aged Ernestine of hers?
NH: My favorite is her hunched and surly 107 year old. I don’t know if I’ll be so lucky to make it that long, but if I do, I want to be exactly like Debra’s rambunctious yet open hearted 107, including, of course Debra’s otherworldly sense of comedic timing.
TK: Bravo to you for tackling mental health, aging, divorce, illness in relatable and practical ways – what is one key takeaway you wish for audience members to take away from seeing Birthday Candles? (it can be more than one)
NH: That life is a miracle. (Might as well go big, right?)
TK: How many goldfish have you owned in your life?
NH: One. As a kid. Spot. The idea for the play began when I was telling my wife about Spot and she misinterpreted my reminiscences as an expression of deep longing to own another goldfish and surprised me with a new, unwanted goldfish for my birthday. (If you haven’t seen the play, this anecdote will mean nothing, if you haven’t seen the play, you totally should).
We loved chatting with Noah as much as we loved watching his writing play out on stage. With brilliant direction by Vivienne Benesch, this play is funny, heart-wrenching, emotional at its core – a work for all ages.
P.S. – Debra Messing is truly outstanding in this work! What she is able to accomplish in those 100 minutes is beyond impressive and worthy of a visit to the American Airlines Theatre alone.
Birthday Candles is a Roundabout Theatre Company production and runs thru May 29. You can learn more about the show and ticket information by visiting: https://www.roundabouttheatre.org/
04-27-2022 – New York City hosted the grand opening of new adult nightlife venue Wonderland. Located on 20 West 20 Street, Wonderland officially opened its doors at
Wonderland is managed by Twenty West Partners, who in 25 years of experience have accumulated a large amount of success in the entertainment industry.
Richie Romero, the creative director and along with SBS Designs have worked hand in hand to bring Wonderland to life.
The space is just under 10,000 square feet, with a capacity for 300 guests over two floors. There will also be a private members-only speakeasy opening later in 2022. The date will be announced in the near future.
Wonderland’s menu shows it’s full flexibility as to compliment the live entertainment they feature a series of food options to go along with their bar and bottle services menu.
Those in attendance had the pleasure of watching sword swallower Le Reine The Thrill and ax juggler Sam Urdang.
The live entertainment was captavativing as viewers were fully engaged in amazement as Le Reine the Thrill seemed to do what seemed impossible.
The concept of the newly established venue combines big-room NYC nightclub experience, with the very finest in after-dark entertainment.
Over the top is their general concept as they had the likes of Rick Ross and NFL Star turned Rapper Antonio Brown as well as multiple platinum artist Diplo to headline their grand opening weekend.
From the bar to the dancers down to the entertainment- Wonderland is making one thing clear with its opening, they are determined to make their mark on the New York nightlife with their own flair and willingness to deliver a vivid experience.
The theme of the event was “dapper” and everyone showed out. Old Forester recently celebrated an annual Turtle Derby in preparation for the Kentucky Derby and will also be continuing this tradition by launching a yearly inaugural pop-up shop event coined “Dress Dapper for the Derby”. The event took place in SoHo and highlighted tons of small businesses and local designers. The idea behind this was to create a platform that will enable them to partner with like-minded brands and prepare clients with a stylish fit. Along with the small business pop ups the event featured live DJ sets, electric turtle racing, and Old Forester Mint Juleps. Old Forester is Brown-Forman’s founding brand, founded in 1870 by George Garvin Brown. Brown believed Old Forester was so pure and consistent that he sealed it, signed it, and pledged “There is nothing better in the market.”
The businesses in attendance that were being highlighted were The Tailory, Flamekeepers Hat Club, and MONA ASSEMI Jewelry. The Tailory New York is an appointment-only, women-owned, and operated bespoke clothing company that combines modern fashion design with the heritage art of custom-tailoring. They believe that custom suits are genderless and cater in equal measure to men, women, and non-binary individuals.
The Flamekeepers Hat Club is an upscale, locally owned Harlem, NY store offering an array of sophisticated hats for men & women, in many styles, they believe in passing the torch of style to the next generation.
MONA ASSEMII founded her namesake line combining inspiration from old Persian culture and modern American lifestyle. The NY based designer combines sculptural clean lines, sumptuous crystals, and elegant metals to create a liquid dripping aesthetic for her signature collection. Her most current collections include unusual shapes and sculptural protruding elements. All Mona’s pieces are handmade in New York City and are eco friendly and sustainable.
The event was put on in partnership with LITO Creative. LITO Creative is a creative consultancy that values building genuine connections, developing communities of engaged creative talent, and prioritizing innovation all in the name of showcasing art and shaping culture. Through experiential marketing solutions, social media strategy, production, and talent sourcing, LITO Creative helps brands build and share their stories the world.
At the Venue, a groundbreaking concept store and fashion incubator, held its grand opening last Tuesday April 26th in the Nolita neighborhood of NYC.
New York nightlife staple Richie Akiva, known for his legendary New York venues like Butter, 1OAK, and Up&Down, threw an epic party two weeks ago on Saturday, April 9th, that New Yorkers are still buzzing about.
THIS WEEKEND: See the Volkswagen ID. Buzz and More at the Earth Day 2022 Celebration at Hudson Yards
What are you doing this weekend in New York City? There’s a lot happening.
Women really do run the world — and make it look even better.
Long considered one of the signature events in the automotive world, the New York International Auto Show returns after 2 years.
The Wu-Tang Clan are one of the most pivotal and important rap groups in music history, so it’s only fitting their rise to the top of hip hop be immortalized not only in song but also on-screen. Enter: Wu-Tang: An American Saga, created and executive produced by the legendary RZA and Method Man. The show stars Ashton Sanders, Shameik Moore, Erika Alexander, Zolee Griggs, and Bokeem Woodbine, to name a few. Now in its second season, Wu-Tang: An American Saga is switching tracks slightly to focus more on the group’s music. “The Clan is disillusioned with life in the projects, and Bobby knows that success in the music industry could be their ticket to better lives. But getting the Clan members to drop everything for music isn’t easy,” says Hulu on Season 2. Fans of the series will get a look at the group’s development of the Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) album amongst other things. I got a chance to sit down with some of the cast ahead of its premiere on September 8th. We spoke about how getting to know members of Wu-Tang has inspired their performances, how listening to their music has impacted their lives growing up, and what to expect in this new season.
Wu-Tang: An American Saga streams on Hulu starting September 8th.