Livin’ in New York City Post 24: The Grandparents Are In Town, How I Became a Rock Star for Five Seconds and a Day As Bob Dylan

For Halloween, I made my biggest triumph with my costume as Bob Dylan which saw me create a full transformation into the great singer/songwriter.

With Halloween in the rearview mirror, I must resist my greatest nemesis: people who want to start celebrating Christmas in November. Don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas. It’s one of my favorite times of the year and I can understand doing some preparation for it in November such as getting some decorations but I don’t want fall to end. Fall is my absolute favorite season and I always feel that November gets the short end of the stick by people who can’t wait for midnight of November 1 so they can start blasting Mariah Carey. Just let fall be fall. 

With that out of the way, I think that Tom Hanks in “You’ve Got Mail” made a solid point when he asked Meg Ryan “don’t you love New York in the fall?” The answer to that is an emphatic “fuck yes.” The changing leaves, the cool temperatures, the constant need to have pumpkin spice coursing through my veins, it’s a whole production. I think that, in order to satisfy the cravings of the average fall consumer, Trader Joe’s should sell IV Bags of pumpkin spice. You can just see people in the coffee shops, at their office jobs or commuting on the subway all squeezing their hands as the pumpkin flows. 

One thing I always love to do is to show people around the city. In fact, whenever I see that people I know have been to New York and didn’t tell me, it kind of hurts my feelings. I know you think I have this massive social life and don’t want to be bothered but that’s not true at all. Please bother me. Be a pain in my ass for a few days. Make my eyes roll when you ask me if we can go to Times Square first. So, when I do get the opportunity to take people on a trip, I take a bit of pride in showing off New York. This was the case when my grandparents were in New York for just one day of shore leave following a cruise up the coast of New England and into Canada. 

However, whenever my father’s parents travel outside of Illinois, there’s an element of danger or, should I say, danger from the elements. Every time they cross state lines, bad weather is sure to follow. When my grandparents and my Aunt Krisha went to San Antonio, it was snowing. In Texas! When they came back to New York, this streak of freak weather continued when, in just a few days, New York got a month’s worth of rain. The subways were flooded, streets were flooded, parks were flooded, a few animals escaped from zoos, the street gutters caused whirlpools to form, the asshole Bible-thumpers that stand outside of Planned Parenthood clinics were shouting about the end of days, the bus system was abandoned in favor of canoes, the residents of Staten Island developed gills and the millionaires that stole Greenwich Village remained dry. And all because my grandparents had to leave Illinois. You can’t help but feel good knowing that your loved ones put the safety of all five boroughs in jeopardy just to see you. 

Luckily, when my grandparents actually set foot in Manhattan for their day of shore leave, New York had dried up somewhat so we could leave the hotel in Midtown and explore other parts of the city. Wanting to keep things simple, I took my grandparents to Greenwich Village to see all of its bizarre and endearing atmosphere. When we made it to Washington Square Park, the rainy weather had driven off the weirder elements of the place which was a shame. After all, what’s Washington Square Park without all of the poets, dancers, musicians, potheads and assorted oddballs? However, we did see a guy on a skateboard with a Home Depot bucket and sticks (presumably for banging on the bucket) while he was wearing a top hat. That’s certainly something to get my Grandpa’s attention. 

My grandparents in Washington Square Park, one of the weirdest places on Earth. Who would have thought?

Walking throughout the Village, I was able to show them some of the cool sights of both personal and historic significance including my favorite bar The Cellar Dog, the Stonewall Inn, Bob Dylan’s first New York apartment and some of the beautiful street art. When we worked our way back to the park, there was a group of musicians playing stringed instruments. It was so beautiful and you certainly can’t see something like that in Farmer City.

For lunch, I wanted my grandparents to have a brand new culinary adventure. I wanted to show them a new kind of food but it had to be something that I knew they would love. I figured that a Jewish Delicatessen would do the trick. But not just any Jewish Deli. If you have one day in New York, you’ve got to go to Katz’s. Most of my experiences with Katz’s have involved no line but, for some reason, there was a massive group of people stretched halfway around the block. Thankfully, my grandparents are patient people and we waited in that line for quite some time. However, before going into the restaurant I made sure to tell my grandfather “remember that this is a kosher deli so don’t tell them you were a pig farmer.” 

About 40 minutes later, we finally had a table in the back where we would be served by a waiter. If anything, the wait helped because we were so hungry and made sure to get a plethora of classic Jewish cuisine. Each of us ordered half of a sandwich (with brisket, reuben and pastrami being ordered) with soup and my grandparents all got to try Matzo Ball for the first time. While they didn’t dislike it, they thought it was okay but nothing to write home about. The sandwiches and latkes, on the other hand, were a different story. Not only were my grandparents intimidated by the sheer size of the sandwiches, but they also loved the hell out of them. Along with some black-and-white cookies for dessert, we went back to the Midtown hotel stuffed. I myself couldn’t eat a thing for the next 12 hours. 

After saying goodbye to my grandparents and making it back to my apartment, I got a text from one of my friends wanting to hang out in the Village. If only I had gotten that text a few hours earlier. It would have saved me a train ride. Nevertheless, I’m always up for a night of fun in Greenwich Village so we spent the next few hours listening to jazz and shooting pool at our haunt The Cellar Dog. We stayed out so late that, when we went to Joe’s Pizza to get slices, all of the parks were closed. Instead, we sat outside of a church to eat our pizzas and, of course, we gave thanks to God for a place to park ourselves. On the way to the subway station, I begged all of my friends to go to Bob Dylan’s former apartment during his early years on 4th Street. 

Shooting pool at The Cellar Dog just never gets old.

Later that week, my friends and I went out to celebrate my new favorite aspect of living in New York during October: Hitchcocktober. In honor of the cinematic master of suspense Alfred Hitchcock, the Village East by Angelika on Second Avenue plays a film directed by Hitchcock every Wednesday of October with a showing of “Psycho” on Halloween. Starting off this celebration, my friends and I went to see the classic “Rear Window” with Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly. What I love about seeing classic cinema in a theater is not just being able to see the film on a big screen with no distractions, but I also want to see how others react to the film. In the case of “Rear Window”, not only did the audience gasp quite a few times but they laughed at the dry dark humor that can be found throughout Hitchcock’s filmography. To be able to laugh as Themla Ritter discusses cutting up a body with a crowd is one of those pleasures that’s worth buying a ticket. 

That’s a big reason why I love going to theaters to see movies. It’s for the communal experience. It’s becoming part of this large organism that laughs more and cries harder at what’s being projected on the screen. I like being able to stream movies or putting on a Blu-Ray as much as the next guy but, for me, a movie truly exists when it’s being projected in a theater. Luckily, when you live in New York, the odds are that you’ll be able to see an older film you really like in a theater at some point. 

But not only have I been enjoying the cinema, I also got a chance to see another Broadway show when my mom won a lottery ticket to go see “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” which I was both excited and apprehensive to see. The thing is this, I love Harry Potter. I love the books, the movies, the theme park, the store in Flatiron, the candy, the merchandise and all the rest. However, while I got to experience both parts of “The Deathly Hallows” in theaters, I was too young to wait until midnight at a bookstore to await the release of the latest Harry Potter book. Until 2016, when the play “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” was being brought to the stage and the script was also being published. 

So many people I knew were so excited for this one. It was a sequel to the Harry Potter books with J.K. Rowling, before we realized she was less than pleasant, contributing to the story. I was on the edge of my seat at Barnes and Noble as we all awaited the release and when we finally got our copies and read them, it was so disappointing. If the seven Harry Potter books are the original “Star Wars” trilogy, then reading the script of “The Cursed Child” was the equivalent of watching “The Phantom Menace”. 

However, I always love going to see live theater because, like seeing movies, even if the play is bad I still appreciate the experience of going to a theater and seeing art with an audience. Maybe seeing this play performed would be better than reading the script. I was wrong. “Harry Potter and The Cursed Child” was the first Broadway play that I legitimately hated which is a shame but, at the same time, I’ve had a tremendous run of great shows when you think about it. I’ve seen “Company”, “Death of a Salesman”, “Into The Woods”, “Wicked” and so many other plays so it was inevitable that a bad one would come around to snap the streak. 

There’s definitely elements of the play that I admire. First, it does a wonderful job of transporting you into the Wizarding World and I loved the spectacle, special effects and dedication towards making the audience feel like they had returned to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I also like seeing Harry Potter as a parent and how his status as the savior of the Wizarding World is a hindrance to the relationship with his kids. It’s nice to see that Harry Potter is human. 

Despite some incredible spectacle, “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” just doesn’t work either as its own play or as a sequel to the Harry Potter books and films.

There are scenes in the play that really work and are quite strong in the Harry Potter canon but they are bogged down by a nonsensical script and acting that feels way too over-the-top. But that is sugar coated dreams compared to the biggest horror: they try to write jokes. In the books and films, the comedic moments of “Harry Potter” often came from character interactions and felt normal. However, watching this film is like watching a new stand-up comic bomb on stage. Except in the comedian’s case, you give them some slack because they’re new. This is a big-budget Broadway play and it feels so artificial. “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” is the kind of mega-hit that tourists want to see instead of the musicals and plays that only last for a single season on Broadway. That’s fine if you’re also innovative and entertaining like “Wicked” or “The Lion King” but this play is neither. Despite my love for Harry Potter, this is one experience that I wouldn’t mind being erased by a memory charm. 

With the fall weather at last settling in, I knew that I would have to go on a particular cinematic adventure. So, on a day off, I went to the Upper West Side to see all the filming locations from my mom’s favorite film, and one of my favorite romantic-comedies, “You’ve Got Mail”. It’s your classic scenario of two people (Tom Hank and Meg Ryan) who don’t like each other but secretly love each other. Only this time, there's a modern twist because they’re anonymous pen-pals on AOL whatever the hell that is. I absolutely adore the film and why shouldn’t I? It’s a Nora Ephron film starring Meg Ryan. There’s literally a holy trinity of those. So, in the continued spirit of seeking filmmaking locations from New York, I made my journey on the C train to where the street numbers go past 60. 

My first stop was the location of Meg Ryan’s children’s bookstore, a small business which is threatened by Tom Hanks’ giant superstore called The Shop Around The Corner (a reference to the classic Jimmy Stewart film of the same name that inspired “You’ve Got Mail”). The funny thing is that this location has never been a bookstore as far as I know. Originally, it was a cheese shop but the location just really spoke to Nora Ehpron. So, they sent the owner on a nice vacation, turned the store into a book shop and then put it all back to the way it was when production wrapped up. However, when the cheese shop owner retired in the mid-2000s, the location became a dry cleaners and it’s been that way ever since. While I didn’t go inside, since I had nothing with me that needed to be dry-cleaned, it was enough to stand outside and just remember what this place used to be. 

Seeing Café Lalo in such shape was unbelievably sad, especially as a fan of “You’ve Got Mail”.

I next made my way to Café Lalo, where Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks have a vicious confrontation. Seeing that café in the film for so long, I built it up in my mind as this really cozy and welcoming environment. That’s partially true. While that’s what Café Lalo used to be, the place was one of many businesses that never recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic. It was so bizarre to see that so much of the furniture and cutlery was still in the place. It feels like everyone just left and never came back. I do sincerely hope that someone buys the café and restores it to its former glory but I have a sickening feeling that it’s just going to become another soulless franchise so some guy who doesn’t even care about the community can get even more money. 

Seeking a more uplifting location, I walked even further up the Upper West Side for block after block until I made it to the apartment stoops where Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks lived. On the way, I stopped by Riverside Park and I discovered a few neat spots. For starters, there’s a gigantic memorial called The Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument to honor the soldiers who fought for the preservation of the Union during the Civil War. You see southern states? That’s how you do it. You win the war, you get the monument. It seems pretty obvious but yet, for some reason, so many people insist on having statues of Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson and all of the other assorted traitors. That’s like demanding that “Cats” should have gotten the 2019 Academy Award for Best Picture instead of “Parasite”. 

Further up the park I also found a massive statue for Joan of Arc. I have no idea why the statue of a woman who died just six decades before Columbus even landed has a statue in New York but I don’t think I’m going to question that one. I continued my stroll through Riverside Park because it’s at the 91st Street Garden where Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan at last meet with the knowledge that they were pen-pals all along and that they truly love each other. Harry Nilsson’s cover of “Over the Rainbow” is booming, Tom Hanks’ dog is happy and there’s not a dry eye in the house as he tenderly tells Meg Ryan not to cry. Good luck doing that Meg because I’m not even there and I’m welling up. 

Seeing the garden from the end of “You’ve Got Mail” in person was just such an incredible sight and I can’t wait to share this with someone someday.

For me, there are just certain places in the city that stir up a strong emotional reaction because of the powerful movies that were filmed there. The stretch of Stuyvesant Avenue where they shot “Do the Right Thing” five blocks from my apartment is one of them. So is the spot where Diane Keaton and Woody Allen watched the sun rise over the Queensboro Bridge in “Manhattan”. So is the garden from “You’ve Got Mail”. 

After getting a few snacks at the famous Zabar’s (don’t worry, I didn’t use a card in the cash only line), I walked to Central Park because, when I’m on the Upper West Side anywhere from 85th to 60th Street, I have to go to Strawberry Fields. That’s just a law at this point. What else can I do? Not go to the park to sing “Hey Jude”? I think not. 

In other news, I’ve still been maintaining my support and solidarity with SAG-AFTRA as the actors continue to strike for a fair deal with the AMPTP. While the WGA strike has been over for a few weeks now, the fight of the actors is just as important. You also have to remember that, back in the early summer months when just the writers were on strike, the members of SAG-AFTRA were showing up in solidarity and marching alongside the people who write the lines they say. So, it’s been wonderful to not only continue walking the picket line whenever I have the time (which is not as often as I would like) but to also see just how many WGA members have continued to march with actors. Yes, many of them have gone back to work and don’t have the time to walk the lines but they all still remember the help SAG-AFTRA was even before they went on strike. When one group of people in show business go on strike, other parts of the industry offer their support whether their union is on strike or not. 

While the actors strike has been holding up many productions in film and television, I still managed to find my way onto independent productions that don’t fall under union jurisdiction. One day, I received an email from Onur Tukel, a wonderful film director and producer that I worked for on the set of a film that he was producing, saying that a friend of his was wrapping up a film and needed some help on set for a few days of production. Ever since I had served as a production assistant on “The Next Big One”, which earned me my first credit on IMDb, I had been craving to get back onto a film set. I wanted to work and I wanted to meet even more people in filmmaking because they truly understand the ambitions that I have. 

While I was being attached to this new film, a psychological thriller called “Seed” and directed by the excellent Oliver Irving, as a production assistant, I quickly realized that they were asking me for much more. I was also going to be in charge of getting props, splattering blood on set, dressing an abandoned office space to look like a functioning environment, picking up catering and just doing whatever needed to be done. This kind of versatility is what I love about filmmaking because not only is every day different but it prolongs the amount of time you’re working and feeling useful. Instead of just working on the three shooting days, I would spend even more time tracking down props and wardrobe. 

Working on “Seed” has been very rewarding and also stressful in the best ways. At one point, the day before we were scheduled to shoot, I had to pick up a poster board with a fictional company logo attached and I also had a ticket to see “Vertigo” for Hitchcocktober that night and I was working at the café during the day. I had to carefully plan this day out if I was going to be able to successfully do all three. So, I quickly and efficiently closed up the café so I could leave at 5:30 p.m. I then took a train from Long Island City a few stops to Williamsburg where I ran multiple blocks to the FEdEx location where my printed poster board would be located. I picked it up and then ran to the train station to catch the G train back to my apartment. After barely making it to the next train, I arrived at my stop and ran to my apartment where I dropped off the poster board and quickly applied deodorant and changed clothes to look nice for the “Vertigo” screening. I then quickly walked back to the train station so I could take the G train, transfer to the L train and then walk to the theater to see Hitchcock’s masterpiece and I did it all by 6:45 p.m., leaving 15 minutes to spare. And if you feel stressed having read this summary of an afternoon in my life, try living it. New York is not for the slow and it’s not for the weak and I’m neither. 

The next day, I was on set at an abandoned Ralph Lauren office complex on Madison Avenue for a 12 hour production day. It was long, it was exhausting and I loved every minute. It just felt so good to be working with such wonderful people who were so gung-ho about making a film. Seeing all of the production tricks that were used to make the film feel like it had a bigger cast, crew and budget were also impressive to see because it gave me ideas for how to handle filmmaking dilemmas in the future and just felt like a more scrappy version of filmmaking that makes for the best set stories. 

Being in that office for 12 hours also made me thankful that I didn’t go into a field that would require me to work in such a place. If I did, I’d probably kill myself. Okay, that's pretty dramatic but I certainly wouldn’t be happy spending 40 hours per week in a cubicle in such a cold, lifeless environment. I think I have an even better picture of the world Peter Gibbons was rebelling against in the cult-comedy classic “Office Space”. Despite the soulless world, we made the best of it and I was really pleased with the work I did to transform some of those cubicles and make them look furnished. I also was in charge of administering blood to some extras and, since the film was shot in black-and-white, I went full Alfred Hitchcock and purchased Hershey’s chocolate syrup to use as gore. 

Set dressing, production design and blood splattering are three skills I have gained through working on the film “Seed”.

When I had to grab lunch for everyone, I went to a bagel place down the street and ordered ten sandwiches, ten bags of chips, 25 bottles of water and two cups of coffee. So, there I am taking all of these items from the restaurant to the office building and I’m moving fast. I make it to the lobby and flash the guest badge but the doorman still stops me because he wants to see my feet. He asks if I’m wearing shoes and I say yes. Turns out the reason that he stopped me was because I was moving so fast that he thought I was wearing skates. 

After the next day of shooting (a quick exterior scene) was postponed due to rain, we reconvened in the lobby of the building the following day for another long period of work. Working in the lobby was probably easier just because the shots were less technically difficult and the set-ups were more simple as opposed to our first day, which had half of the shoot dedicated to a lengthy Steadicam shot. However, there were still our fair share of memorable moments. For me, I not only got to slate scenes with a clapper board and move  around equipment, I also was in charge of creating fake rain effects. To do this, I purchased a four gallon backpack sprayer from Home Depot and then, looking like I was due for a job interview at an abandoned firehouse in the Financial District where I would be asked if I believed in the theory of Atlantis, I had to lightly spray down a cast member and then apply a constant barrage of water to the windows so it looked like it was raining outside. It certainly was a good deal of fun to spritz someone with water and to convincingly make it look like it was raining but the process of pumping the water was really starting to wear down my left arm. We ended up shooting the scene for around ten takes and, by the end, it felt like my arm was completely shot. But that kind of exhaustion was still fulfilling. As of now, we still have another day of shooting and I can’t wait for one more time on this set to see what this bizarre occupation of mine has to offer. 

Seeing Michael (Left) and Kevin Bacon’s show as The Bacon Brothers was one wild and fun ride full of good music and fun times.

In terms of entertainment, there’s still so much to experience in the city and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. As a congratulatory gift for getting the production assistant job on “Seed”, my mom got me a ticket to see The Bacon Brothers band at the City Winery. Founded in the mid-90s, The Bacon Brothers is the musical side project of actor Kevin Bacon and composer Michael Bacon. While I had seen them perform a few times on late-night television, I was still very much a novice to their music. After attending the show, I’m most definitely a fan. 

Watching this show, I just felt so comfortable with the laid-back atmosphere that surrounded the whole thing. Kevin and Michael’s music didn’t feel like this bombastic thing. It had more of a clubhouse vibe as if the brothers had just invited a few friends over to just casually play some songs and then decided to just invite a lot more people. And I was in the front row, right in front of the band. The songs themselves were quite catchy with plenty of more raucous sounding tunes balanced with some soulful ballads. Kevin had all of the charm that you’d expect while he and Michasel had such a musical versatility to them. Not only did they both play guitars well but Kevin also rocked the djembe for a sweet percussion sound while Michael frequently traded the guitar for other stringed instruments like the autoharp and the cello. 

Being in front of this group was such a pleasure especially when Kevin Bacon made me a rockstar for five seconds. During one of the group’s new songs, titled “Old Bronco”, Kevin led the crowd in the chorus with the line “just like my old Bronco.” He then preceded to lower the mic stand to a woman in the crowd and then, after she sang the chorus, lowered it to me where I sang the words “just like my old Bronco” in a deeper voice that I think came off as more soulful. After all, I’d hate to go for a high note and fail miserably. When in doubt, go for the low notes. The night continued to be full of great songs like “Tom Petty T-Shirt”, “She-Zee-Zee” and “Hookers and Blow”. 

Just when it felt like the show was over, the band came back onstage for an encore and they followed up all of their original songs with the cover you’d want to see Kevin Bacon sign and dance to. Of course it was “Footloose”. The crowd was so full of energy as we all delighted in seeing Kevin Bacon dance, proving that the decades haven’t hindered the incredible moves he showed off nearly 40 years ago. If anything, his dancing has strengthened. In “The Last Waltz”, a 1978 concert film by Martin Scorsese detailing The Band’s final concert with a massive roster of influential guest stars, one of my favorite moments is when Ronnie Hawkins takes off his hat and starts to fan Robbie Robertson’s guitar like it’s going to burst into flames. So, when Michael Bacon took the guitar solo of “Footloose”, I did the exact same thing. His playing was just too hot. I guess that Michael must have liked this recognition because, when the show was over and as the band was taking their final bow, Michael handed me his guitar pick which is now stored in an autographed CD that I purchased from the merch stand.

A few days later, I reconnected with two actor friends of mine whose schedules make it impossible to see most of the time. However, when we do meet up, it’s always a grand time. With the pair having recently moved from Greenwich Village to Astoria, we went out to shoot some pool at a local sports bar. I don’t know how it happened but I actually became really good at pool for a few games. It was like I’d taken steroids given to me by Paul Newman from “The Hustler”. I don’t know if it was me or the bar but I definitely want to go back. 

I think that October might have set the record for how many old films I’ve seen on the big screen because, due to Halloween, a lot of horror films and thrillers have made their way back to the arthouse cinemas of New York. This October, the IFC Center held a special two-week event where the films of the great director William Friedkin, who sadly passed away earlier this year, would be screened. So, in the spirit of cinema, I went to the theater to see three of Friedkin’s films, all of which were made in the 1970s: “The French Connection”, “Sorcerer” and “The Exorcist”.

Watching all three of those films on the big screen was marvelous as they were all so suspenseful and riveting. How can your blood not be pumping watching that intense car chase with Gene Hackman hunting down an assassin or watching Roy Scheider try to lug a tanker with nitroglycerin over a rickety bridge or seeing two priests trying to defeat a demon of Hell? Due to the cold weather, I was wearing a turtleneck with a coat and, if you’ve seen “The French Connection”, you know that it’s impossible to be wearing those items, watch that film and not want to run down the sidewalks of New York which I did. I probably should have been on medication to survive watching a double feature of “Sorcerer” and “The Exorcist” on a Friday night but I turned out okay. 

One thing that I’ve been finding to be very fulfilling has been the pursuit of local music. As great as seeing artists like Dead and Company or Billy Joel have been, it’s also nice to just go to a bar, pay ten bucks for a ticket and just hang out with some up-and-coming artists. One such group that I’ve really loved following has been Camp Bedford. After first seeing them at the LIC Culture Lab, I have seen them two more times at the great venues Baby’s All Right and Sundown. I think because the venues are smaller and so many of the people going know the members of the band, there’s a communal vibe that I really gravitate towards. I just can’t get enough of the entertainment options in this city. 

Camp Bedford has quickly become one of my favorite local bands to check out in the city. Whenever they perform, I’m probably going to be there.

Over the years, so many films and television shows have used New York as the primary setting and this was especially true for the 1990s with shows like “The Nanny”, “Everybody Loves Raymond” and, my personal favorite, “Seinfeld”. However, the most iconic of these sitcoms was undoubtedly “Friends”. Not only was this show so important to my parent’s generation (Generation X) but years of television reruns and a new life on streaming, including a reunion special on MAX, have made “Friends” just as important to Millennials and Generation Z. While everyone has their favorite characters, mine were Chandler Bing and Phoebe Buffay (played excellently by Matthew Perry and Lisa Kudrow respectively). Their comedic timing was priceless with Perry having this organic sarcasm that was quickly endearing and Kudrow just bringing this bizarre quirkiness to her role. Plus, I always thought Phoebe was the sexiest one on “Friends”. Everyone else was “Courtney Cox this” and “Jennifer Anniston that” but I always had a thing for the woman who wrote songs about a smelly cat and who bagged Paul Rudd. Lucky bastard. 

Like many, I was heartbroken to learn of Matthew Perry’s passing. Not only was he fantastic in “Friends” and several other projects in film and television but he had a well-documented history of substance abuse that made him forget filming portions of “Friends”. Despite his struggles, Perry was always trying to get better and not only committed himself to achieving sobriety but also helped others in the industry to do the same. While his death doesn’t appear to have been caused by any substances, it’s still shocking to see such a bright presence in many of our lives be gone like that. So, when I found out that Perry had died, I went to The Village to see the apartment building that was used for the establishing shots of the apartment building where Courtney Cox, Jennifer Anniston, Matt Le Blanc and Matthew Perry all lived on the show. So many people were at the building to look, remember and pay their respects to one of their favorite fictional New Yorkers. At the street sign that is just outside the building, there was a massive pile of flowers, trinkets and homemade signs. Could I be any closer to crying? No. I couldn’t. 

The very moving makeshift memorial for Matthew Perry outside of the “Friends” apartment building in Greenwich Village.

One of my favorite holidays of all time is Halloween. I just love it so much and I always try to go big with my costume. I don’t like to buy a prepackaged set from Party City, Spirit Halloween or places like that. I want to cobble together clothes I already own and use that as the basis for a really authentic costume. With an upcoming concert on November 15, I knew just who to dress up as for Halloween: Bob Dylan. Specifically, I was going to dress as Bob Dylan during 1965-66 when he had gone electric and alienated many of his fans. He went from wearing more traditional folk clothing like flannel shirts and replaced them with an androgynous look complete with grown-out hair and a signature pair of sunglasses. 

Well, since I had already been growing out my hair ever since I came to New York and it’s now at my shoulders, I thought that I had the natural slender figure, the irreverence and the knowledge of Dylan’s history to convincingly portray him for Halloween. First, I had to think about the wardrobe. Luckily, I already have the fashion sense of a 60s hipster so that wasn’t a problem. Blue jeans, Chelsea boots, a leather blazer, a vest and prescription shades. As for the hair, that would be more challenging. Since my hair is incredibly straight, I knew that I would have to use curlers to make my hair all frizzly like his. But I’ve never had to use them because I’ve never had the desire for curly hair until this very moment and I never had much hair to curl in the first place. My only frame of reference was when I was in theater in middle school and high school and every girl I knew that had to wear curlers for the day of the show hated them. I mean, absolutely loathed. So I was not expecting the best experience. 

The night before Halloween, I took my shower, I let my hair get damp and I FaceTimed my mom so that Icould get a more informed opinion about this. Since Bob Dylan’s hair was not neat by any meaning of the word, this gave me a bit more freedom when it came to curl placement and the precision in which I applied them. After what felt like 30 minutes and a few times where I had to wet my hair again, I finally got all of my hair in curlers. There was still one more step to really look like Bob Dylan. I had to shave my beard. After all, Bob Dylan didn’t grow facial hair on a regular basis until he and The Band went to Woodstock following the nearly fatal motorcycle crash Dylan had in 1966. After shaving, I wrapped up the curlers in a bandana so that they were more secure and I wound up looking like a prepubescent David Foster Wallace. 

The next morning came and I nervously went to the bathroom to undo the curlers and see what had happened to my head. The results were good. Actually, more than good. They were perfect. The hair I had amassed in the night looked so much like Bob Dylan’s. When I put on the costume and the sunglasses, I actually felt a physical transformation. I found myself walking differently and talking differently and I thought “this is how an actor must feel when they’re in costume and make-up right before the cameras start rolling.” 

To fully get into character, I studied as much as I could in a couple weeks. I obviously listened to a lot of Dylan records but I also checked out several documentaries about him including “Don’t Look Back”, “Eat The Document”, “No Direction Home” and “Rolling Thunder Revue”. I also watched the 2007 masterpiece “I’m Not There” which is one of the best movie biopics of all time despite not being a biopic technically. Instead of trying to trivialize Bob Dylan’s life story into a formulaic film, the film depicts six different avatars that all represent an aspect of his life played by Cate Blanchett, Christian Bale, Marcus Carl Franklin, Ben Whishaw, Richard Gere and Heath Ledger. 

Through this binge, I really got an impression down that I felt wasn’t too nasally and over-the-top. Obviously Bob Dylan has a distinct voice but it, like his musical persona, has evolved tremendously. If you listen to “The Times They Are A-Changin’”, the singer doesn’t sound like he does on “The Girl From The North Country” or “The Man In Me”. So, I went for something that was a blend of his early folk year and his more electric sound. But the real trick for me was how Dylan moved. During the period that he had gone electric, Dylan was described as being a feline off-stage and a marionette on-stage which was the key for me really transforming. It was like Peter O’Toole saying how he knew how to play T.E. Lawrence when he was told that he had the posture of a boxer. 

With the look, voice and movement all nailed down, I went to the café to not only get some good pictures at the picturesque location but to also show my coworkers my look. When I got there, I was greeted with laughter because not only were my coworkers just so impressed with my costume but they also couldn’t recognize me. With one of my bosses having seen Bob Dylan live, she told me that the resemblance was uncanny which was a pretty strong compliment. 

Leaving the café, I took the train down to Greenwich Village where I dedicated the rest of my day to exploring all of Bob Dylan’s old haunts. Among them was The White Horse Tavern, a Village staple that was the preferred stomping grounds of many including Dylan Thomas, the poet where Bob Dylan took his last name from. When I went in for a drink, the bartender recognized my costume and said to me “you used to come in here all the time.” So, I talked to him in character as Bob Dylan. I just couldn’t help myself. 

After multiple visits, I was finally able to get a photo of me walking down Jones Street just like Bob Dylan did 60 years ago.

Among the other places I visited included Café Wha?, where Dylan performed his first gigs and The Up&Up, a wonderful bar that was the former site of The Gaslight Café where Dylan also performed. Another club I visited was The Bitter End which was where Bob Dylan performed his New York show on the Rolling Thunder Revue Tour of 1975. I also visited familiar spots like Washington Square Park, Dylan’s first apartment at 161 W Fourth Street and Jones Street. It was on this tiny street where I finally got a photo of me walking in the middle of the street in an homage to the album cover of “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan”, Bob Dylan’s second album whose cover was shot on that very street. 

The best encounter I had was when I went into the iconic music store The Music Inn. It was there that I had a conversation with Jeff Slatnick, the store’s owner, who instantly knew who I was dressed as. He knew Bob Dylan back in the day and talked to me about how he was just this young kid earning money playing folk songs in The Village. When Bob Dylan cut his first record in 1962, he came into The Music Inn demanding that the record be played. His career really took off not too long afterwards. Jeff also talked about being friendly with Dylan, The Band and spending a lot of time up in Woodstock throughout the 1960s. He was especially good friends with John Simon, who produced The Band’s first two albums and “Cheap Thrills” by Big Brother & the Holding Company among others, and told me this story about how, while visiting Simon, he fell into a waterfall in Woodstock and nearly drowned only for one of his friends to save him. 

As we were hanging out, I picked up an acoustic guitar and began to strum a Bob Dylan song and I saw that Jeff was singing alone when he realized that I was playing “The Times They Are A-Changin’”. Then, I played a few songs by The Band that were written by Bob Dylan, “When I Paint My Masterpiece” and “I Shall Be Released”, and we just sang along. It was just a pleasant and casual half hour that really got me to connect with what Bob Dylan was all about and share the love for this music with someone who truly lived the life. 

If there’s anything to take away from this whole trip, it’s this. James Mangold, if you’re reading this and Timothée Chalamet is no longer able to be in your Bob Dylan biopic that is supposed to be centered on the years when Bob Dylan goes electric, I will happily take on the role for a reduced salary. Maybe some unknown talent is just what the film needs. Or, if you need someone to play one of the members of The Band, I could do that as well. I especially think I could play Robbie Robertson or Levon Helm really well. As for you Mr. Chalamet, I really love you as an actor but you’d better step it up to play Bob Dylan because I lived for a day as him and I wasn’t even getting paid. Your performance had better knock my socks off. 

After my trip to The Music Inn, I went to Caffé Reggio which is one of the most ornate restaurants I’ve ever seen in my life. The walls are adorned with sculptures and oil paintings and they still serve espresso from a machine that was built in 1902. Founded in 1927, this café is dripping with history and so many people have been here over the years including Bob Dylan and John F. Kennedy when he was running for president. When I was there, I spotted a familiar face. I saw my buddy CJ in the window. He was the director of photography for “The Next Big One” and we had seen each other again at a fundraising event for our friend Stine but it had been some time since then. I invited him to sit down for dinner and we just talked for a while about what’s been going on in our lives and about different kinds of cinema. It was just a pleasant way to wrap up my time as Bob Dylan. 

Following that wonderful day of masquerading as one of my favorite artists, I went to the Village East Cinema to see “Psycho” on Halloween for the second year in a row. I guess this is going to be a tradition. No matter what I’m doing for Halloween in New York, I will always be at the Village East to see “Psycho”. I don’t think there’s anything new I can say about the film. It’s “Psycho”. One of the greatest films ever. However, when I walked into the auditorium, an attendee recognized me and yelled “Judas!” and, just like Bob Dylan when he was called that on the 1965-66 tour, I said “I don’t believe you.” 

Often, when I go to see these iconic films, I love to see the reactions of people who have never seen the film before. For this screening, I had a great front-row seat to this when a couple was sitting in front of me and the woman in the relationship had not only never seen the film but she knew nothing about it. I understand that plenty of people have never seen “Psycho” but most people know about the shower scene and those piercing string sounds of Bernard Herrmann’s score. Except for this person. So, when Janet Leigh is stabbed to death in the shower, this woman was screaming in fear and I loved it. 

With Halloween over, I now have to resist the urge to celebrate Christmas in favor of giving Thanksgiving its due. But when Thanksgiving is over, I will be full of Christmas spirit and ready for giant Christmas trees, wearing a Santa hat to work and finally getting a ticket to see the Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall. In the meantime, I still have a film to wrap up and I can’t wait to see what else comes my way.

I think this photo in Washington Square Park of me as Bob Dylan pretty much sums it all up.