Fun at Dubya's expense

So we had fun last night. I caught a train into the city to meet Jess after work for dinner and a show. We didn't have a lot of time to spend on dinner, so we dashed into Chipotlé, a fast-food Mexican place. Now, understand that New York doesn't have that many Mexican food places, and when you do find one, it's either expensive or not great (or both). Being from Kansas originally, where Mexican food was good and cheap, this is annoying. I kid you not! In fact, I know a college president here on the island who used to be the president of Kansas Newman College in Wichita. When I asked him if there was anything he particularly missed about Wichita, he quickly responded, "Mexican food...there is no good Mexican food here!" and we got a good laugh out of that because I told him I had found exactly the same thing.

Anyway, back to the Mexican food place (geez, do I get off on a tangent, or what?): It was a lot like Moe's Southwest Grill except much better. I had the crispy tacos with "Barbacoa" style meat, which is brisket that has been soaked in chipotle and adobo seasonings, along with cumin, cloves, and a bunch of other spices. They were topped with green tomatillo salsa (which was quite spicy) and cheese and lettuce, and they were good. I was pleasantly surprised. Everything was very fresh; it was practically health food for a fast food joint. I was less impressed with the guacamole, but that takes a lot to impress me. I'm really picky about good guac, and this was just okay. Jess really liked his burrito, with seasoned chicken and a corn salsa. And it was inexpensive - for the two of us, it cost about $20. Them's cheap eats in the big city. Okay, now I am sure my good friends Brad and Bob from Wichita are reading this, and I wonder if they think that I've gone completely insane in the absence of real Mexican food here...I know they have Chipotlé outlets in Wichita, so I will be interested to see what they think of them. By the way, Brad makes some great Mexican food.

After the meal, we headed off to our show, Bush Wars, a satirical musical based on the Dubya presidency. It was really nicely put together. Nancy Folson and Jay Falzone's little show should last through the rest of the idiot's term...one can only hope. Jay Falzone also co-directed, choreographed, and performed in the show. In its third performance since its opening night on October 4 at the Actors' Playhouse, there wasn't a single hiccup in the performance.

There were a number of good laughs and since the premise was Dubya, what's not to laugh at? Of course, you have to laugh, because if you don't laugh at what a fool the man and his cabinet has made of America, you'd cry. The singing was good and harmonies were tight, something that a lot of these little off-Broadway shows lack. The numbers were parodies of other songs, some of the best being, "Stop...in the Name of Us," "My Way," "Be Our Guest," "The Institute of Marriage," and "When the Saints Go Marching Out," (the latter one being about the Katrina debacle and the Superdome).

At the end of the show, the cast came back out for one last musical number that was a nice little cherry on the whipped cream - a tune that expressed appreciation for the ability to satirize things even as serious as the presidency without the fear of being locked up for it...which was a classy ending (Proud to be an American). Oh yes, and the little keychain countdown timers that they had for sale after the show, which count down the number of days left in Dumbya's term, were a nice little closing zinger.

Ooh, and the best part of all? An absolutely charming, adorable, and quite handsome Chris Van Hoy, who should make it to the Great White Way soon if there is any justice in the world. Actually, the entire cast was great, and Jason Levinson did a terrific Bush (from a Jewish guy...gasp!), but Chris was just [swoon] a doll. Unfortunately, you won't see much of him on the show's site, and he doesn't photograph as handsomely as his appearance in the flesh.

If you can't stand Dumbya (and what truly self-respecting American can't?), you gotta see this show.