Worth the Wait

iTunes came through for me! Rufus's Waiting for a Want EP is online, available for download, and luscious! (As Ferris Bueller said, "if you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up.") "The Art Teacher" will bring you to tears, and it's about damn time that the fans have access to a nicely recorded version of in-concert favorite "Gay Messiah."

Also, had the opportunity last night to use some comp tickets to see Bleacher Bums at the Royal George. While the updated version of the script is quite enjoyable, and it's an incredibly special experience to be able to see that show in Chicago, it was very much a Thursday night performance. The actors felt like they were racing to the finish line, and some of the staging felt needlessly awkward. But, as always, there were isolated pleasures throughout. Original Bum Joe Mantegna showed up to sing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the seventh inning stretch, and Kevin Stark as the Cheerleader had just the right amount of annoying energy. But the show absolutely would have folded without Thomas Gebbia as Greg. He had all the cool, wisecracking intelligence that the character needs to stay appealing, without needing to bludgeon us with his essential "Chi-caaaaago" good-guy-ness that anyone playing Decker automatically gets saddled with.