In the days leading up to the opening of the 2016 Outside the Box Festival, I sat down with artistic director and Nicholas Sparks enthusiast Georgia Lyman. Over a delicious lunch at Trident Booksellers on Newbury Street, we discussed just what goes into producing an arts festival, my favorite 1930s screwball comedy, and whiskys with umbrellas in them.
Recently, over an oyster lunch on the patio of Row 34, I sat down with cocktail empress and gowns-with-pockets enthusiast Maureen Hautaniemi and, after a brief interlude about custom oyster shucking belts in Amsterdam, chatted about fashion, fishing, and what exactly The Thing is.
Right before she dashed off to rehearsal for Into the Woods at the Lyric Stage Company, naturally effervescent lady Erica Spyres sat down with me and, over burgers and a beer, dished on Sondheim, gave me some tips on building an outdoor fire pit, and told stories from her secret past as a child pageant star.
Recently, fabulous and fashionable lady Jessie Schlosser Smith took time out of her busy schedule to talk with me and, over a broccoli rabe pizza and some much-needed wine, chatted about how long it takes to incubate a baby, her secret past as a visual artist, and how she once dealt with an unexpected Thai sartorial conundrum.
The last time she was in town, I snuck in a quick date with rockstar violinist Aisslinn Nosky and, over the largest Hendrick's martini I've ever seen, chatted about Mendelssohn, her natural hair color, and a now-infamous evening of cocktails that wound Aisslinn up in an impromptu guided tour of the Shania Twain Centre.
Before rehearsals of her new show began, I sat down with newly-engaged-but-not-yet-talking-about-it lady M. Bevin O’Gara and, after I finished making fun of her choice in cellular technology, discussed Cuba, the Olympics, and the newest underground musical phenomenon known as “B-Jazz.”
Recently, I sat down with honorary lady Charles Haugland, and after we finished gushing about our mutual crush on the immense talent of Maria Aitken, discussed Chekov, surprise Russian majors, and why Joanne Chang hasn’t yet released a Meyers + Chang cookbook.
On a wintry afternoon during a rehearsal break, I caught up with not one but three ladies of the Lorelei Ensemble and, over stolen breadsticks and a pizza that had too many onions, chatted about the Spice Girls, Barbie, and gummi bears.
Recently, I sat down for tea with bonafide lady Leigh Barrett and, to the sound of the same Sarah Brightman song playing on a loop for over an hour, discussed safe words, aging gracefully, and Pinterest.
*Non-lady baritone David Kravitz lunched with me this past weekend where we talked about Stephen Sondheim, Mohammed Ali, and giant robots.
