Cozy Entertainment
"I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.” L. M. Montgomery wrote this phrase in Anne of Green Gables, and it's a favorite of mine. Despite the beautiful fall foliage, this October is different and more stressful than a normal October. Here are a few cozy pieces of entertainment for when you need a break!
Let us return to a fictional administration... The cast of The West Wing reunited for a staged performance of the season three episode Hartsfield's Landing in partnership with When We All Vote. While I expected the reunion to be emotional, I didn't expect to find such a QUALITY restaging of the episode. The direction was flawless, the music was on-point and the acting felt completely natural and in-character. We've seen a lot of reunions through the years and this one felt the closest in spirit to the original source material. The reunion is now available on HBO Max.
We can't have Broadway right now, but we'll always have Patti (or a Patti impersonation): Last year, my brother introduced our family to the Inappropriate Patti Instagram account and our lives have never been the same. Jonathan Hoover posts videos of himself impersonating Patti LuPone singing various Broadway classics. There are costumes. There are props. And just this week, he ventured outside his apartment to play Patti telling people to wear a mask.
The ultimate NYC love letter from Nora Ephron: I shared this New Yorker article in an early newsletter, but it's always good to revisit a classic! When I think of fall comfort, I think of a Nora Ephron movie. In this ode to her Upper West Side apartment, Nora takes her love of NYC and channels it into one perfect piece of writing.
A PBS celebration: As many of you probably know, our family didn't have cable TV when I was a child, so my brother and I watched hours of PBS programming in our youth. This New York Times article breaks down 50 gems from PBS, some of which I enjoyed as a child (Mr. Rogers, Barney, Cyberchase) and others I appreciate as an adult (Downton Abbey, Julia Child). PBS was also the place that first introduced me to Anne of Green Gables via the iconic pledge drives, which is what I would have contributed had The New York Times consulted me!!
When in doubt, bake some cookies: If you want something that tastes and smells like the holidays, give these ginger cookies a whirl. Unlike gingersnaps, this recipe gives you a soft version of the treat. They are perfect any time of day, from morning coffee to evening tea.
