LeeFest 2019, part 1: The Pre-Lee
Have I mentioned before that I love Lee Tergesen?
Because I do. And if I didn't before, I certainly do now.
Because, celebrity aside, he is the most amazing, gracious, thoughtful person you could imagine. Not to mention, a pretty awesome actor.
But let's back up a bit...
The Pre-Lee
On Friday, June 7, my husband and I flew to NYC for a long touristy weekend. Oh, AND to watch Lee perform in the new off-Broadway play "Long Lost," alongside fellow LeeFest attendees Anne (tobyfan/leeleelee), Jessica R (jessicar_ny), Milti (miltil), and Sue (suespur). Our tickets were for the following evening, but much of my time beforehand was spent doing fun, fandom-related things! So I thought I'd share!
My husband and I checked into our hotel, then went to grab dinner at a restaurant where I had arranged to meet my good Twitter friend @marchriska (aka Meredith) for the first time. She is the world's biggest Meloni fan and one of the sweetest, most positive presences on Twitter. (I tell her she's the "Anne of Meloni fans" because she has actually formed a genuine relationship with Meloni via both Real Life and social media, and he clearly adores her as much as she adores him.) Meredith had already seen Long Lost the night of its first preview performance, and thanks to Anne, met Lee afterwards for a brief chat and photo. So, we had a lot to talk about!
Probably the highlight of our conversation was when my poor clueless husband interrupted us to ask, "Wait, are you guys saying that Meloni and Tergesen know each other?" LOL This tells you how much he pays attention to me when I'm rambling on about my fandom interests. (OR, maybe it tells you how little I bring to his attention. Heh.)
So anyway, that was a great way to start the trip. Fandom friends are THE BEST. ♥
The next day my husband and I did a lot of walking around, checking out some different parts of Manhattan that we hadn't seen during our previous visit to NYC for the PaleyFest event. We walked through the new Hudson Yards revitalization/development project, then headed toward the Chelsea piers (where I thought of pride_of_erin's deliciously porny 1970s Oz Magi story she wrote for me that took place there). Then I decided we should walk to Washington Square Park to see its iconic archway entrance, the one that was famously used as a backdrop in a scene from the movie "When Harry Met Sally" ... which was the movie my husband and I saw on our first date nearly *cough* 30 years ago. (Cue: awwww.)
On the way there, we came across this little park area that was absolutely covered with rainbow Pride flags, and I noticed it was called Stonewall Park, and I thought, "Hey, wait a minute," then I looked around and WHOMP, sure enough, there across the street was THE Stonewall Inn, the birthplace of the gay rights movement. (For those not aware, this Friday marks the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots that started it all.)
Anyway, we finally made our way to Washington Square Park, only to discover that set up in the middle of the archway and spreading throughout the park was... a rather raucous Hare Krishna Festival. Which, whatever, but it wasn't quite the nostalgic, romantic homage that I'd hoped it would be. *sigh*
From there we continued on our way back in the direction of our hotel, and at some point I'm just looking around, and I see this:
And I was like, "Oh, WOW, I know that place!" because of this legendary exchange:
… and also because it was the setting for an old and rather infamous Oz AU. I took this happenstance as a sign of good things to come!
Evening approached, and we met up with the other peeps for dinner, and I got to meet Sue and Jessica for the first time. Sue informed me that not only had she also been to Beecher's Handmade Cheese shop that day, but she'd also eaten lunch there. AND she had made a trek to 23 Leroy Street, the setting of another famous Oz story by callmeri.
Jessica is an amazing artist whose hobby is drawing the most amazing celebrity portraits, and she had worked long and hard that week to finish a drawing of Lee with his daughter Lily to give to him as a gift. The drawing was based on an adorable old photograph that Tom Fontana had once posted to Instagram. She had framed the drawing, and it was wrapped in a box, but she showed us a photo of it, and it BLEW MY MIND. We all assured her that Lee was going to absolutely love it.
(photo/art credit to the amazing Jessica)
(photo credit to Tom Fontana)
We were a little late leaving the restaurant, so it was a bit of a rush to get to the theater. Once there, we filed in line behind a large crowd to have our purses checked, then proceeded to the lobby to have our tickets checked, only to find out we were in the wrong place! The New York City Center has three stages, and we were in the line for a ballet that was taking place on the main stage. Doh! (I thought it was odd that there was such a crowd of people, because I knew our theater was a rather small one.) So we scurried over to the correct lobby, had or purses checked again, our tickets checked again, and then finally made our way our seats with only a few minutes to spare. WHEW.
Then the lights dimmed, some music played, and out walked Lee, looking deliciously scruffy in a plaid flannel shirt and olive khaki pants.
(screencap from the promotional video)
As I mentioned in a previous post, Lee plays a recovering-addict ex-con who suddenly reappears and wreaks havoc in the life of his wealthy, successful younger brother, dredging up old family secrets and telling tall tales that may or may not be true. As you'd expect, Lee was phenomenal (it's the kind of role he thrives in), and I was also particularly impressed with Alex Wolff, the actor playing his college-aged nephew, who did a great job providing most of the play's comic relief. The sets were amazing, too, as they revolved and folded in on themselves during the transitions between scenes. Unfortunately, I had spoiled myself for much of the plot's "twists and turns" while I was scouring the internet for information about the play, and I think I obviously would've enjoyed the story more if I hadn't done that. There seemed to be times when things dragged a bit (mostly when Lee wasn't on stage, HA), and I thought some of the dialogue didn’t quite flow. I do remember my favorite line in the play, when Lee's "brother" is using some street slang for drugs, and Lee hilariously scoffs, "Where'd you learn that? From David Simon? Have you been watching "The Wire?" LOL (Lee made Generation Kill with David Simon and is good friends with him, so it was a bit of an inside joke.)
The play ends with a spotlight on Lee, who gives this mysterious wistful smile, and GUH. After the play was over, the actors took their bows, and I swear Lee looked directly at Anne (who had a seat near the front) and gave her a smile.
Then we slowly made our way out of the theater, and I took some pictures of the interior, which I hadn’t been able to do when we were rushing to take our seats.
Then we all met back up with each other outside, and waited for Lee to appear. And that’s when the night really took off.
Ooooo, *Cliffhanger!* :D
ETA: LeeFest 2019, part 2 can be read HERE.
Because I do. And if I didn't before, I certainly do now.
Because, celebrity aside, he is the most amazing, gracious, thoughtful person you could imagine. Not to mention, a pretty awesome actor.
But let's back up a bit...
The Pre-Lee
On Friday, June 7, my husband and I flew to NYC for a long touristy weekend. Oh, AND to watch Lee perform in the new off-Broadway play "Long Lost," alongside fellow LeeFest attendees Anne (tobyfan/leeleelee), Jessica R (jessicar_ny), Milti (miltil), and Sue (suespur). Our tickets were for the following evening, but much of my time beforehand was spent doing fun, fandom-related things! So I thought I'd share!
My husband and I checked into our hotel, then went to grab dinner at a restaurant where I had arranged to meet my good Twitter friend @marchriska (aka Meredith) for the first time. She is the world's biggest Meloni fan and one of the sweetest, most positive presences on Twitter. (I tell her she's the "Anne of Meloni fans" because she has actually formed a genuine relationship with Meloni via both Real Life and social media, and he clearly adores her as much as she adores him.) Meredith had already seen Long Lost the night of its first preview performance, and thanks to Anne, met Lee afterwards for a brief chat and photo. So, we had a lot to talk about!
Probably the highlight of our conversation was when my poor clueless husband interrupted us to ask, "Wait, are you guys saying that Meloni and Tergesen know each other?" LOL This tells you how much he pays attention to me when I'm rambling on about my fandom interests. (OR, maybe it tells you how little I bring to his attention. Heh.)
So anyway, that was a great way to start the trip. Fandom friends are THE BEST. ♥
The next day my husband and I did a lot of walking around, checking out some different parts of Manhattan that we hadn't seen during our previous visit to NYC for the PaleyFest event. We walked through the new Hudson Yards revitalization/development project, then headed toward the Chelsea piers (where I thought of pride_of_erin's deliciously porny 1970s Oz Magi story she wrote for me that took place there). Then I decided we should walk to Washington Square Park to see its iconic archway entrance, the one that was famously used as a backdrop in a scene from the movie "When Harry Met Sally" ... which was the movie my husband and I saw on our first date nearly *cough* 30 years ago. (Cue: awwww.)
On the way there, we came across this little park area that was absolutely covered with rainbow Pride flags, and I noticed it was called Stonewall Park, and I thought, "Hey, wait a minute," then I looked around and WHOMP, sure enough, there across the street was THE Stonewall Inn, the birthplace of the gay rights movement. (For those not aware, this Friday marks the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots that started it all.)
Anyway, we finally made our way to Washington Square Park, only to discover that set up in the middle of the archway and spreading throughout the park was... a rather raucous Hare Krishna Festival. Which, whatever, but it wasn't quite the nostalgic, romantic homage that I'd hoped it would be. *sigh*
From there we continued on our way back in the direction of our hotel, and at some point I'm just looking around, and I see this:
And I was like, "Oh, WOW, I know that place!" because of this legendary exchange:
… and also because it was the setting for an old and rather infamous Oz AU. I took this happenstance as a sign of good things to come!
Evening approached, and we met up with the other peeps for dinner, and I got to meet Sue and Jessica for the first time. Sue informed me that not only had she also been to Beecher's Handmade Cheese shop that day, but she'd also eaten lunch there. AND she had made a trek to 23 Leroy Street, the setting of another famous Oz story by callmeri.
Jessica is an amazing artist whose hobby is drawing the most amazing celebrity portraits, and she had worked long and hard that week to finish a drawing of Lee with his daughter Lily to give to him as a gift. The drawing was based on an adorable old photograph that Tom Fontana had once posted to Instagram. She had framed the drawing, and it was wrapped in a box, but she showed us a photo of it, and it BLEW MY MIND. We all assured her that Lee was going to absolutely love it.
(photo/art credit to the amazing Jessica)
(photo credit to Tom Fontana)
We were a little late leaving the restaurant, so it was a bit of a rush to get to the theater. Once there, we filed in line behind a large crowd to have our purses checked, then proceeded to the lobby to have our tickets checked, only to find out we were in the wrong place! The New York City Center has three stages, and we were in the line for a ballet that was taking place on the main stage. Doh! (I thought it was odd that there was such a crowd of people, because I knew our theater was a rather small one.) So we scurried over to the correct lobby, had or purses checked again, our tickets checked again, and then finally made our way our seats with only a few minutes to spare. WHEW.
Then the lights dimmed, some music played, and out walked Lee, looking deliciously scruffy in a plaid flannel shirt and olive khaki pants.
(screencap from the promotional video)
As I mentioned in a previous post, Lee plays a recovering-addict ex-con who suddenly reappears and wreaks havoc in the life of his wealthy, successful younger brother, dredging up old family secrets and telling tall tales that may or may not be true. As you'd expect, Lee was phenomenal (it's the kind of role he thrives in), and I was also particularly impressed with Alex Wolff, the actor playing his college-aged nephew, who did a great job providing most of the play's comic relief. The sets were amazing, too, as they revolved and folded in on themselves during the transitions between scenes. Unfortunately, I had spoiled myself for much of the plot's "twists and turns" while I was scouring the internet for information about the play, and I think I obviously would've enjoyed the story more if I hadn't done that. There seemed to be times when things dragged a bit (mostly when Lee wasn't on stage, HA), and I thought some of the dialogue didn’t quite flow. I do remember my favorite line in the play, when Lee's "brother" is using some street slang for drugs, and Lee hilariously scoffs, "Where'd you learn that? From David Simon? Have you been watching "The Wire?" LOL (Lee made Generation Kill with David Simon and is good friends with him, so it was a bit of an inside joke.)
The play ends with a spotlight on Lee, who gives this mysterious wistful smile, and GUH. After the play was over, the actors took their bows, and I swear Lee looked directly at Anne (who had a seat near the front) and gave her a smile.
Then we slowly made our way out of the theater, and I took some pictures of the interior, which I hadn’t been able to do when we were rushing to take our seats.
Then we all met back up with each other outside, and waited for Lee to appear. And that’s when the night really took off.
Ooooo, *Cliffhanger!* :D
ETA: LeeFest 2019, part 2 can be read HERE.