8 in '08 - Reflections on the year gone by

8. Living Legends. This year I saw Patti LuPone on Broadway and still have goosebumps. I met Angela Lansbury at the National Corporate Theatre Fund gala and (of all things) babbled about "Bedknobs and Broomsticks." Barry Manilow at the Xcel Center reminded me of singing along to the 8-Track that came as a bonus with my mom's 1977 Cadillac Seville. Yes, I was that gay even then.

7. Writers Reading. Thanks to the Loft, the Twin Cities gets more than its fair share of amazing writers to come to town. Armistead Maupin and David McCullough were charming and wise, but David Sedaris remains uncannily able to make me laugh with a well-turned phrase, an unexpected inflection. I'll never again be able to say "crop-dusting" without thinking of its other meaning.

6. Diva Damsels. A road trip with Paul took us to Chicago's United Center for Madonna's Sticky & Sweet tour. It had been 22 years since I saw the Who's That Girl tour, and I was keenly excited. While Madge's biceps, stagecraft, and choreography dazzled, the show was emotionally bankrupt...until she stood center stage and accompanied herself on acoustic guitar to perform "You Must Love Me" from Evita. (Killing her former personae in "She's Not Me" was cool, though, in a meta kind of way.) More recently, I scored free tickets to Celine Dion here at the Target Center -- she has to be the dorkiest diva of all. Her outsized head and giant hairdo atop her skinny little body make her resemble a bobblehead of herself. But when she hits those notes, you can't help but love her. My favorite performance of the year, though, had to be Cyndi Lauper in her True Colors tour. Where Madonna, Manilow, and even George Michael's stage shows seemed obsessed with their own pasts, Cyndi rocked it out, covering old and new songs with her spectacular voice, striding into the crowd, perching at the edge of the stage, standing on seat backs. Her new single "Into the Nightlife" is on my iPod in heavy rotation.

5. Top TV. It will be no surprise that I'm devoted to Mad Men. Don Draper, Peggy, Betty, and Joan -- poor Joan!- I talk to them on the screen. I love them. I care about them. All this, and Sterling Cooper has an Eva Zeisel coffee set in its board room. 30 Rock consistently earns guffaws, and Jane Krakowski is finally getting a chance to show off her vocals. Eli Stone has charmed me with its spiritual-but-not-embarrassing-like-Touched by an Angel concept. And any prime time show that allows Broadway stars like Victor Garber and Laura Benanti to sing? Awesome. Rosie O'Donnell's Thanksgiving variety show deserves special mention as the single worst hour of television in 2008.

4. Lowertown Lives! My neighborhood finally showed signs of life this fall with the opening of the Bulldog across the street from my loft. Who knew that all St. Paul needed was 40 tap beers to bring it to life after 5? A co-prize goes to the new Pop! restaurant for affordable, fun cuisine. Both are skyway connected to my loft, both are owned by residents in my building!

3. Thrilling Thespians. Working at a major theater, it's hard for me to find the time or the will to see theater outside of what's showing at the Guthrie. Favorite performances of the year, though, go to Sarah Agnew in The Syringa Tree at the Jungle, Sally Wingert and Emily Gunyou Halaas in Third at the Guthrie, Stephen Yoakam and Tracey Maloney in Pillsbury House's Blackbird, and the entire production of A View from the Bridge at the Guthrie.

2. Spiritual Satisfaction. It's weird to discover one day that you are an Episcopalian. Not just someone who goes to a church somewhere, but someone who fits in and belongs there. This year, I was baptized at St. John the Evangelist Episcopal Church in St. Paul. What drew me there at first was the Gothic architecture (in part, designed by Cass Gilbert); what intrigued me were the clergy; what kept me coming back were the warm and friendly parishioners. Now I'm a lay reader and chalice bearer there. For a guy who had no spiritual context in his youth (except for a slightly scary Baptist summer camp one year), I am grateful to have found a place to call home.

1. Family & Friends. My sister and I have gotten closer this year, frequently dining on sushi and sharing laments about our mother (love you, Mom!). I went to my cousin Joanna's wedding in May and felt very old, because I used to change her diapers. My friends continue to be a rich and wonderful extended family. And two weeks away from our first anniversary, Paul and I -- and Lucy and Angus -- and all our pottery -- feel ever more familial. My friend Peter gave me a gift several years ago of an astrological reading, which said things would come together for me in 2008. Hearing that in 2005 was catastrophic for an impatient Sagittarian like me! My competetive brand of optimism kept me pushing for more, sooner. But here it is, the end of 2008, and it looks like the stars knew what they were talking about after all.

Comments

[emily gunyou halaas]

Thanks so much for the nod! My husband and I both, by the way, love love love mid-century design. Our favorite store is Succotash on Raymond in St Paul.

[Jenny]

As much as it pains me to say it, I agree that Madge MAYBE blew my mind ever-so-slightly less than she has in the past. I feel like a lightning bolt might strike me down at any moment for saying so, though. And Cyndi totally rocked, no question.