Jelly's Last Jam tells the story (very loosely) of Jelly Roll Morton's life, as well as his contributions to the musical form we know as Jazz. This was one of the better revivals in City Center's Encore! series. Given that I enjoyed Jelly Roll's music, I figured that this would be an entertaining diversion for both RQS and I, and gave her tickets to see this show on Valentine's Day.
A week and a half later, we braved the cold to go to City Center. Weekend travel on the NYC Subway system can be frustrating at times, as many lines are shut down (whole or in part) for maintenance. For us, this meant that we had to deal with a larger than normal crowd at Union Square as we made our way outside to get a bite to eat.
Now, I don't keep any of my feminine wardrobe at RQS's house. Even though it hovered near 32°f, the wind chill made it feel worse than that. So I was very fortunate that my feminine wardrobe was not available to me, as I would have braved the cold in a nice dress with tights on my legs. Yet, if I did, I wouldn't have been the only person wearing a dress - we saw quite a few young (and older) ladies showing off their legs while on the subway, and later at city center.
Once done with food, we took the train to 57th street and then walked over to City Center. After picking up our tickets, we had to kill 30 minutes in the lobby before being allowed to enter the theater and proceed to our seats. Thankfully, we were able to take the elevator to the mezzanine where we had seats.
The play was nearly 2+1/2 hours long (with intermission) and RQS was tapping her feet and moving to the rhythm throughout the play. I loved it too, and I'm not a big fan of musicals. (Later on, I found this review in the New York Times while on the ride home - a nice coincidence.) However, there was one minor fly in the ointment - we weren't able to make it home in time for SNL's cold open - one of our usual Saturday Night things to watch, along with Weekend Update. At least, we were on time for a great fake advertisement for a love doll - Fugliana. This was not a skit for everyone, but it was one of the show's best skits of all time. We watched the show until the second musical number started - then it was off to bed for the night.
