Livin’ in New York City Post 21: My Foot’s in the Door!

The heat has brought everyone outside and taking to the most iconic streets of New York.

The heat has been turned all the way up in New York. The temperatures are blistering, the humidity is outrageous and the moment you leave your apartment, you begin to feel the first layer of sweat begin to form. I can’t believe that I braved last summer in the city without an air-conditioner. Thankfully, this summer I have a window unit and every day, on my way home from work, I grow an intense feeling of paranoia. “Did I turn on the timer for the A/C?” Fortunately, when I get home, I am greeted by the overwhelming cold that has been flowing for the past few hours from the unit. 

Despite the intense heat, it feels even worse to just stay inside, even if the room is a nice 68 degrees. After being indoors for the majority of winter, so many events are now being held outdoors with everyone turning out to see them. While the heat and sweat isn’t exactly ideal, everyone in New York these days is a sweaty mess. It’s all just a matter of degree and whether or not you forgot to put on deodorant. 

One outdoor event that has been nice to attend every week has been the outdoor movie screenings held at 8 p.m. every Monday at Bryant Park in Midtown. While drive-in movies are hard to come by around here, this serves as a good alternative. Being out in the fresh air, surrounded by people as you watch a movie has been worth looking forward to every week, especially since the movies screened are considered classics. So far, I’ve seen three films at these screenings: “Almost Famous,” “Mean Girls” and “School of Rock.” 

With these screenings, Bryant Park will play the films rain or shine and they strongly adhere to that policy. On the day of the “School of Rock” showing, it was supposed to be a day free of rain. That’s what all the weather forecasts and apps said. However, during the first ten minutes of “School of Rock,” when Jack Black is kicked out of his band, it started to pour down hard for exactly ten minutes. This was very similar to when I saw “Almost Famous,” which also had bursts of rain, and we either took out umbrellas or left. I decided to stay behind and watch “Almost Famous” under an umbrella for two reasons. One, the film is one of my all-time favorites and I’m not going to let rain spoil it. Two, it’s just rain. I don’t see why so many people wanted to leave when you’re attending an 8 p.m. outdoor screening on a Monday night. It’s not as if we all have big plans after this. Unless you have green skin and command a legion of flying monkeys, I don’t see why water falling down from the sky is a big deal. 

This time around, because of all the forecasts I’d spent all day looking at, most of us in attendance didn’t have any umbrellas. I was expecting so many people to just pack up and leave but, to my delight, about 80% of the crowd stuck it out and let themselves get soaked. This crowd was here to rock and, like the attendees of Woodstock in 1969, we weren’t going to let rain deter us from the music. Some of us started running around on the wet grass while others danced. 

Soaked moviegoers all stayed behind to continue watching “School of Rock” despite the massive amounts of rain we had.

As the rain poured, the film was momentarily stopped right before Jack Black gave a whole rant to his young pupils about the evils of “The Man.” So, with the film paused, I shouted “okay, who gave The Man control of the movie.” Not only did this get a big laugh from the movie-goers who were near me, but I decided to give Jack Black’s entire speech verbatim since the film was temporarily on hold. “You want me to teach you something? Here's a useful lesson for you: give up. Just quit. Because in this life, you can't win. Yeah, you can try. But in the end, you're just gonna lose, big time. Because the world is run by The Man. The Man. Oh, you don't know The Man? He's everywhere. In the White House, down the hall, Miss Mullins, she's The Man. And The Man ruined the ozone, and he's burning down the Amazon, and he kidnapped Shamu and put her in a chlorine tank! Okay? And there used to be a way to stick it to The Man, it was called rock 'n roll. But guess what? Oh no. The Man ruined that, too, with a little thing called MTV! So don't waste your time trying to make anything cool, or pure, or awesome, 'cause The Man is just gonna call you a fat washed up loser and crush your soul. So do yourselves a favor and just give up!” Cue applause. Then, the film kicked back on as a soaked crowd rocked out to a bunch of kids taking up instruments and sticking it to The Man. 

I’ve also taken the time to continue exploring different areas of the city. When Flag Day arrived, a holiday that never gets celebrated, I decided that the best way to honor the American flag was to see it alongside its other flag buddies and the best place to see the American flag with its friends is at the United Nations building. Seeing that building was spectacular. Not only because of how many flags there were. Not only because it's where important diplomats all over the world gather. But because it set off the film lover part of my brain. 

You see, The United Nations is an important location in Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpiece thriller “North by Northwest.” In the film, advertising executive Roger Thornhill (Cary Grant) is confused for a spy with mercenaries trying to kill him. When Thornhill tries to get answers from an American U.N. ambassador, he is framed for murder when a knife flies into the ambassador’s back. Once again, it’s impossible for me to go anywhere without it reminding me of a movie.

The WGA strike has been going on all summer and it’s still important to show support and to help the WGA in any way you can.

With the Writer’s Guild of America Strike having been going on for over two months, it's hard to know when it's going to end. When will studios and streaming services finally break and give these hard-working writers what they deserve? I have no idea but I will continue to show my support for these writers and I plan to continue picketing whenever I can. What has been reassuring about these pickets and rallies is how many people it’s brought together. If you’re a writer who has been continuously screwed over by corporate greed, it must be nice to see how many fellow writers, actors, directors, creatives, other unions and civilians are supporting your fight and physically turning out to pad up the picket line. 

To continue showing support for writers as well as boost morale, a rally was held in Times Square on June 15 with numerous Broadway stars performing for a crowd of picketing writers in the name of solidarity. When I arrived, I was ecstatic to see that it was hosted by Paula Pell who is one of the great television comedy writers. For 25 years, she was a writer at “Saturday Night Live” and is the reason we have Debbie Downer and the Spartan Cheerleaders, among many other hilarious sketches. Her work has also been seen in “30 Rock” and “This is 40.” She also has been in series like “Girls5eva” and “Documentary Now” where, in an episode that parodied the masterful documentary “Original Cast Album: Company,” she plays a jaded musical actress who calls John Mulaney’s Stephen Sondheim archetype a “pompous beta-male.” So, I was pretty psyched to see her as well as continue to show support for the WGA.

Among the performances were incredible renditions of “Defying Gravity” from “Wicked,” “Do You Hear The People Sing?” from “Les Miserables” and a reworking of “You’ve Got to Pick a Pocket” from “Oliver!” from the perspective of a Streaming CEO. So many outstanding actors from Broadway came out to sing and it was amazing to see the great Sharon Catherine Brown perform “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going.” As these performances continued and we cheered them on, the bus tours that were taking people through Times Square would stop and the tourists would raise their fists in solidarity and take photos of our protest. Other performances that floored me were the great Sara Bareilles singing “Brave,” Lin-Manuel Miranda singing “My Shot” and an amazing duet of Norbert Leo Butz and Adam Pascal singing “What You Own” from “Rent.” 

As the rally came to a close, most of the performers came back on stage and performed “The Flesh Failures (Let The Sunshine In)” from “Hair.” For most of the protest, the weather was overcast and cool. However, when the piano intro started on the song, the sun came out and we all started clapping and singing along to the hippie anthem for peace and harmony. It was a beautiful time in Times Square (as oxymoronic as that sounds) and, if those billionaires and CEOs think they don’t need these writers, I guarantee no one who is the CEO of a studio or streaming service has ever written anything that beautiful. 

As if that wasn’t enough music, later that day I made my way to where the Financial District borders the East River to go to the ever-popular music venue The Rooftop at Pier 17. It was there that I got to see one of the greatest singers of all time: Mavis Staples. Growing up, I didn’t listen to a ton of rock and roll, at least not on the level that I do today. Primarily, I was raised on country and gospel music with my childhood favorite being Johnny Cash’s male vocal backing group: The Statler Brothers. In particular, this upbringing with gospel got me to pay attention to group vocals in rock music. The way multiple vocalists can produce such beautiful harmonies is why I love groups like The Eagles, The Beach Boys and The Band. However, if you looking for one of the best gospel groups of all time, you can’t do much better than The Staple Singers. 

As the last surviving member of the Staple Singers, Mavis Staples continues to produce new music and tour constantly which is incredibly admirable given her age. Just last year, she released a live album of songs she did with The Band’s Levon Helm and their bands a year before Helm died of cancer in 2012. Not to mention, the version of The Band’s “The Weight” produced for “The Last Waltz” featuring The Staples is probably my favorite rendition of the song, especially when Mavis took the second verse. So, when the opportunity came to see Mavis Staples, I knew I had to take it.

Despite only singing six songs, since she was one of the opening acts for Ziggy Marley and Trombone Shorty, Mavis brought everyone to church with her amazing presence. Her performance of “Handwriting on the Wall” brought everyone together in a gospel-fueled frenzy and I couldn’t believe that I was hearing this incredible voice in the front row.

After Mavis, Ziggy Marley performed for the next hour followed by Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue. With Marley, he brought the crowd into this vivacious feeling of tranquility with a plethora of reggae infused rock. When he played the hit song his father wrote, “Get Up, Stand Up,” it was a great way to rev the audience up and leave them on a high note before Trombone Shorty took to the stage. With a sound of rock, hip hop and jazz all blended together, this guy was incredible. The entire band was a perfectly tuned machine of energy that clearly wanted the audience to not only enjoy the music but also justify hearing it live. Well, with excellent moves, lengthy solos and a fantastic light show, it’s obvious that Trombone Shorty is worth seeing. 

The wonderful Mavis Staples, still one of the great singers of all time and who performed a killer set at The Rooftop at Pier 17.

But there are alternatives to seeing live music. Instead of going to a concert, you can always go to the Theatre District to catch a show there and that’s what I did. Just a week after the Tony Awards were announced, I went to see the Tony-winning smash hit “Shucked” which had made history with Alex Newell becoming one of the first two non-binary performers to win a Tony Award for their supporting role as Lulu. After seeing “Shucked,” I can say that it’s an incredibly entertaining musical that definitely hits hard if you come from the Midwest.

Set in the fictional Midwestern Cobb County, the framing residents are distraught when their corn crop starts dying. When Maisie, who was supposed to marry Beau when the corn started dying, thinks that she should venture outside of town to get help, everyone thinks she’s nuts because no one ever leaves Cobb County and they sure don’t trust strangers. With few other options, Maisie breaks up with Beau and heads to the magical land of Tampa where she meets a con artist named Gordy who says that he can cure the corn crop. When they come back to Cobb County, tensions rise, hijinks ensue and complicated love dynamics form. 

What works so well about “Shucked” is how well it satirizes Midwestern culture while also being a fun story about acceptance of others and the understanding that we’re all just a small part of a larger world. So many of the songs are wonderful with funny and poignant lyrics including “Somebody Will,” “Maybe Love,” “Holy Shit” and “We Love Jesus.” As for Newell, their performance of “Independently Owned” was phenomenal and I can see why they won a Tony. 

Most importantly, I laughed my ass off so much. There’s this one character called Peanut and all he does is say funny aphorisms and stories. For example, at one point he says “you know, if you get your Driver’s License photo taken when you’re drunk, when you’re pulled over you’ll look completely normal.” Not that I condone drunk driving at all, but that is a million dollar idea. That is until the cops ask you to recite the alphabet backwards and then you’re screwed. 

Further desiring to see more live music, I went to the iconic venue Cafe Wha? in Greenwich Village to see Professor Louie and the Crowmatix perform songs by The Band. As I later found out, Professor Louie had a long history with the group including producing their last three albums in the 1990s (when the lineup was made up of Levon Helm, Rick Danko and Garth Hudson) and being given his nickname by Rick Danko. So, I was pretty excited to hear songs from one of my favorite groups of all time being performed by people who understood the music very well, especially in a place like Cafe Wha?

Founded in 1959, this landmark is famous for having been the stomping grounds of many iconic performers and musicians early in their careers including Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor, Joni Mitchell, Joan Rivers, Woody Allen, Bruce Srpingsteen and Jimi Hendrix. In fact, Bob Dylan’s first ever performances in New York City were at the small underground cafe. So, you can imagine why I was so happy to be there. 

Before I even got into the cafe, when I was waiting in line with all the other people who bought tickets for the show, there was already some action happening. In the middle of MacDougal Street was this crazy homeless guy yelling “Spare a hundred dollars!” Now, that’s a pretty steep ask until you realize how many rich people have taken over The Village and then it all makes sense. In case you were wondering why the guy wanted a hundred dollars, he then screamed “I wanna get laid and I wanna get pizza!” The latter you can get for pretty cheap. The former? I’m not going to even go there. As if this guy couldn’t get any more interesting, he then yelled “Which one of you ladies wants to go home with the homeless guy? Of course we’ll have to go to your place!” Well, at least he wasn’t too far removed from reality. 

When you enter Cafe Wha?, there’s this feeling of agelessness as you are seated in this dark and dim place where you can order booze and burgers. The bathroom walls are completely decked out in album art, rock stars and Playboy covers. There’s artwork all over and the walls are adorned with photos of famous acts that have performed there. When the band took to the stage, they made the most of their time and performed an incredible set of songs including fun tunes like “Stagefright” and more soulful ballads like “Whispering Pines” and “Ain’t No More Cane.” The group also performed some original blues compositions, including a song they wrote with Ronnie Hawkins: the rockabilly singer who formed The Band by recruiting all five of its members to make up his backing rhythm and blues band. When the group ended their set with “The Weight,” it was a marvelous conclusion to a fun night at the iconic Cafe Wha?

Professor Louie and the Crowmatix at the Historic Cafe Wha? in Greenwich Village.

As if that wasn’t enough live music, I still felt the need for more and quickly found the perfect group to see in the heat of summer: Dead & Company. While I’m not the biggest fan of The Grateful Dead, I do love their musical style of playing 20 minute songs that feel more like well-disciplined jam sessions and I have a massive respect for their cult following of Deadheads. After the death of Jerry Garcia, the remaining members of the Grateful Dead have created several different revivals with Dead & Company probably being the best received. With this being Dead & Company’s last tour, I knew I had to see them. Two of the members (Bob Weir and Mickey Hart) are not only original members of the Grateful Dead but they also performed at Woodstock so I couldn’t pass that up.

Before I even went to the concert, my mom reminded me to not take drugs. I swear, I’m becoming more and more like William Miller from “Almost Famous.” When I got on the subway to go to the concert, I was wearing my Woodstock shirt, an unbuttoned Hawaiian shirt and a bandana as a headband and I was a bit worried that I would really stick out. However, as I got closer to Citi Field, I saw more and more tie dye, bandanas, teddy bears and skulls along with the obvious scent of pot. The Deadheads had arrived. 

If you’ve ever been to a Grateful Dead concert or any of the revivals, you’d know that Deadheads are the best people to see a concert with. They were so nice and friendly with everyone just being happy, considerate and definitely high. For most concerts, security confiscates lighters before you go in. That didn’t happen here for obvious reasons. When you hear someone yell “Hey!” to you at most concerts, your first instinct is that some drunken lunatic is going to try and knife you before selling your organs on eBay. Or so I’m told. When a Deadhead yells “Hey!” to you, it’s followed by a “what’s happening brother?” or “got a light?” I was also shocked to see just how many people my age were in the crowd. Normally, at these kinds of concerts, I’m the youngest person in the room. So, it was great to see how many people in their twenties and thirties really dug this music. 

When Dead & Company took to the stage, it was like being taken to another plane of existence of pure psychedelia. With most concerts, they typically last anywhere from two to three hours. Dead & Company played for four with a 30 minute intermission. Honestly, I wouldn’t mind if more rock concerts would go on for that long. Then again, the jam style of The Grateful Dead’s music naturally elongates their concert runtimes. Often, there would be long instrumental breaks during songs that would go on for ten minutes, just a hail of pure electric sound coursing through you. 

The entire band sounded incendiary with Bob Weir sounding amazing. When you play music for nearly 60 years, you’d think that eventually the thrill of it would dissipate. But Bob Weir and Mickey Hart both brought that same energy they had when they were just kids, playing good tunes for legions of acid tripping hippies devoted to the consciousness-expansion philosophies of Ken Kesey and his Acid Tests. 

As for the musicians that joined them, they had the same vibes and a true love of this music that elevated this concert from being just a way to bring back good memories for some old hippies. I know I’m going to get in trouble with the Swifties for saying this, but I fucking love John Mayer. Granted, I’m not the biggest aficionado of Taylor Swift’s romantic history, I just really love her music and think she’s one of this generation’s greatest singer songwriters. However, as a musician, John Mayer rocked. Filling in for the late Jerry Garcia is no easy task. After all, he does have the best Ben & Jerry’s ice cream flavor. But Mayer really brought his A-game with his incredible blues-infused style of playing. 

Of course, the band did a killer job playing their original hits like “Truckin’,” “Cumberland Blues” and an amazing, percussion led instrumental section called “Drums,” but I really lit up when they did one of their favorite covers: a version of Merle Haggard’s “Mama Tried.” The control Dead & Company had over the crowd was so marvelous, especially when they did a ten minute rendition of Traffic’s “Dear Mr. Fantasy” with each solo just building up this energy until you thought Citi Field was going to explode. Just when it seemed like there was almost too much, this feeling of peace washed over when the band transitioned the song into the chorus of The Beatles’ “Hey Jude.” Seeing thousands of people swaying to the music and singing the words is something that isn’t easily replicated. 

Towards the end, The Dead paid tribute to their longtime friend and collaborator Bob Dylan with a thrilling version of “All Along The Watchtower,” played in the style of the great Jimi Hendrix. Throughout the entire psychedelia spectacle, I was moving and shaking like the rest of the crowd and this became the most apparent with this song. Something about the way it was played caused my legs to just shake and slow like Elvis while the top half of my body was moving to the music like Joe Cocker. 

When the show was over and I got home, I went to my Blu-Ray shelf and got my copy of the “Woodstock” documentary director’s cut. As I watched this amazing time capsule of 1969’s counterculture, I realized why I fell in love with The Grateful Dead, Dead & Company and the Deadhead fanbase. In a world that has since crippled the peace and love that flowed during the Flower Power era, Deadheads are still living it. This crowd was so full of love and warmth and their vibrations felt like something that was thought to have died when the senseless yuppie culture took over. When we stopped prioritizing the group and began to focus on our own individual greed. 

For the past year, I have been trying to do everything I can to further myself as a filmmaker and a cinephile. I’ve been seeing as many films as possible in theaters, I’ve been exploring the city for the great New York filming locations, I’ve been doing my own filmmaking projects, I’ve been working on some screenplay ideas, I’ve been standing in solidarity with the WGA and I’ve been constantly studying as a lifelong student of film. For nearly a year, I’ve been patiently waiting for some kind of an opportunity, some way to get my foot in the door. Well, it’s finally happened. 

Just two weeks ago, as I was working in the café, I got a text from my friend Karl, who I also work for as a part-time assistant and who’s been a part of indie cinema for a long time. He texted me saying that his buddy Onur was producing a film and that they were using Karl’s home, just down the street from the café, as a shooting location. So, after work, I made my way over there and pledged my services to the film, which was in its final days of production.

The next few hours consisted of doing whatever the hell Onur, the film’s director Ariel and the various departments (sound, camera, props, costumes) needed me to do. I guess I did a pretty good job because Onur and Ariel asked me to come back to serve as a production assistant on the film’s final day. The only problem was that it was an all-nighter, running from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m., and I had work the next day from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. But I wasn’t going to let that prevent me from doing it. After all, I’d done a few all-nighters in college, I can do it again here. 

The film was the best kind of indie production with a small, but efficient crew that I really enjoyed meeting and working with. As a production assistant, your job is essentially doing whatever the hell you need to do and that’s exactly what I did for 11 hours. I would go on a  pharmacy run for some make-up supplies, then I’d put together some boxes for props, then I’d move camera equipment and then I’d use the clapboard to slate a scene. It was so versatile and it gave me a good chance to see how everyone operated. 

The cast and crew of “The Next Big One,” the first film I’ve worked on in New York.

When I looked at the monitor and saw what the camera’s were filming, I was floored at how beautiful the lighting looked, how murky the image was and just how cinematic it all felt. Sure, I’d been on a film set before but those were student films that I was making with my friends. This was something much more intense. The production had a “picture car” (a car that’s mainly used for film and television productions) and I got to see it be used in a variety of ways for the film. Sometimes it would be stationary with a multitude of cameras surrounding it to get solid coverage, other times the cinematographer would have the camera on his lap in the passenger seat as it moved to get some excellent point-of-view shots. At one point, I even got to see magnetic rigs be placed on the hood of the car so cameras could securely shoot footage of the actors while the car was driving. 

There were points where some of us didn’t have to do anything so we would just talk and hang out until our services were needed. During some driving scenes where the amount of crew needed was minimal, I hung out at the studio we were using as our main base of operations and just spent a few hours talking to the production coordinator, make-up artist and costume designer about the film industry and all the cool things they’d done. 

I also got the chance to meet a pretty amazing actor in the world of indie filmmaking: Kevin Corrigan. For those not as well versed in film, Kevin Corrigan is an excellent actor who’s been a huge supporter of indie films and has also been nominated twice for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male. In more mainstream cinema, he’s probably best known for his roles as Henry Hill’s kid brother Micheal in “Goodfellas,” Leonardo DiCaprio’s shithead, coke-dealing cousin Sean in “The Departed” and the psychotic Mark in “Superbad.” 

He’s also responsible for one of the biggest laughs I’ve ever had watching one of my favorite comedy shows “Community.” In the show, he plays a film and theatre professor named Sean Garrity who, in one episode, teaches a course called “Nicolas Cage: Good or Bad?” under the belief that the question is impossible to answer. Undeterred by this, Abed, one of the main characters in the show, watches as many Nicolas Cage films as possible which nearly breaks him and causes him to have a Cage-inspired mental breakdown before leaving the class. With the rest of the class understandably concerned, Professor Garrity simply says “that was brilliant.” Cue me nearly dying of laughter. Kevin’s line and delivery was truly the “I’ll Have What She’s Having,” cherry on top that perfected this amazing scene. So, being able to meet and work with Kevin Corrigan was a pretty sweet experience. 

It was also just so wonderful to be surrounded by people who get my ideas, who get my ambition, who understand why film is important. When I tell most people that I go to the theater to see new films about two to three times per week, they look at me like it’s nuts. When I told these guys, they completely understood. 

After the shoot wrapped, I stopped by McDonald’s to reward myself with a big breakfast and Diet Coke and I went home. I could shower, eat breakfast or take a nap. I couldn’t do all three. So, I did the first two, went to work and then crashed at home for 16 hours. It was fantastic. A day later, I got an email from Ariel thanking me for my work and Onur said that he’d look for more opportunities for me. So, after nearly a year in New York, I finally have made my way in. 

As a lover of film, there are some actors that I really root for and grow excited about every time I see them in a project. Two such actors who have popped up in the last ten years are Oscar Isaac and Rachel Brosnahan. In film, I have loved Isaac’s incredible work in films like “Inside Llewyn Davis,” “Dune,” “The Card Counter,” “Moon Knight” and his role as Poe in the “Star Wars” sequel trilogy. As for Brosnahan, she’s only the star of one of my favorite comedy shows ever with her titular performance in the “Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” So, when I saw that these two were in a revival of Lorraine Hansberry’s final play “The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window” and I had a week to see it before the Tony-winning production closed, I wasted no time in getting myself a ticket. 

Set in 1964, the play concerns Sidney and Iris Brustein (Isaac and Brosnahan) as their marriage is put through testy times involving reform politicians, the changing art scene of Greenwich Village and their dysfunctional friend group. Through the many dialogues and monologues come the bitter and comical truths about who we are and what we can change. 

While I love Hansberry’s play “A Raisin in the Sun,” as well as its 1961 film adaptation with Sidney Poitier, Ruby Dee and Louis Gossett Jr., I had never seen or read this play and I was basically going in blind. I’m glad I did because this work was so beautiful to witness. The emotional range of everyone was stellar and I loved how, despite the play being a very serious drama, there were several scenes that had much-needed comic value. As much as I love Oscar Isaac and Rachel Brosnahan for their roles in film and television, it is something else entirely to see them a hundred feet from you, to feel as if they’re talking directly to you. Also, when Isaac picked up a banjo, I became elated because I was thinking “is he going to play that?” If you’ve ever seen “Inside Llewyn Davis,” then you’d know that Isaac is a great musician and can play folk music quite well. When he started plucking that banjo for Brosnahan to dance to, the audience went nuts. As sad as it was that this would be the only time I could see this play, I was fortunate enough to see it once. 

Since I moved to New York in mid-July, I had never celebrated Independence Day anywhere outside Central Illinois. So, I was pretty excited to celebrate it in New York and I found the perfect way to do it. At a cinema called the Nitehawk in Williamsburg, where you can order food and drinks from your seat, I watched “Jaws” on the big screen. Not only is “Jaws” one of the best films you could watch on the Fourth of July (after all, the film is set right around the holiday), but it just has this captivating summer fun that is fantastic to see with a crowd. The jokes were funnier, the action was more tense and John Williams’ score never sounded better than it did in that theater. 

The screening also made me feel more connected to the characters in a weird but meaningful way. Since the theater served alcohol, I got some hard ciders to have with my burger. When the nighttime scene aboard The Orca appeared where Chief Brody, Hooper and Quint are all drinking and laughing, I was a bit tipsy and in a similar state of delight. But then Quint delivers his famous monologue about how he was a sailor aboard the U.S.S. Indianapolis and had to fight off sharks when it sank. When I heard Robert Shaw’s powerful speech, it basically put me in the position of Hooper or Brody because that haunting delivery sobered me up quickly. 

Watching “Jaws” was also satisfying because, later this month, a play called “The Shark Is Broken” will be coming to Broadway. Cowritten by Ian Shaw, the play focuses on the three main actors of “Jaws,” Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw and Richard Dreyfuss, just hanging out amidst the tumultuous shoot in Martha’s Vineyard. What’s even more incredible is that Shaw will be starring in the play as his father Robert Shaw, who played Quint in “Jaws.” The resemblance between the two actors is shocking and, as a huge fan of “Jaws,” I can’t wait to see this play. 

After the screening, my friends and I made our way to DUMBO where in the shadow of the Manhattan Bridge, we got to see the spectacular fireworks shows going on across Manhattan, including the massive extravaganza that Macy’s puts on every year. So, as my residency in New York approaches the one-year mark, I grow increasingly more thankful for what I’ve achieved and what I will see in the future. My rebirthday is just around the corner.

Happy Independence Day from Brooklyn!