Angela Lansbury

My pal Danny was down from Boston and it was 7:37pm on a Saturday night when we decided to try and go to the theatre. A taxi ride through impenetrable traffic and a scurry through seas upon throngs of people in Times Square and we were at the TKTS booth looking at the board. Nothing appealed there so we raced to get into top tickets "Gods of Carnage" and then "Billy Elliot."

"Nae chance pal" as they say in Scotland.

Back to the board with minutes to spare and we were at the Shubert Theatre seeing Noel Coward's "Blithe Spirit."

It is a fun chestnut of a play and this production was pleasing, if a little uneven, but pleasing for a night out at the theatre. I have to say the real thrill was seeing Angela Lansbury on the stage. I had never seen her perform live before and she is in her 80s and still amazing. This role had a lot of physicality to it and she was game for every step.

I marvel at her. Always have. She has been Oscar-nominated, won 4 Best Actress in a Musical Tonys, made a pot of money on "Murder She Wrote," been happily married AND lived a good long time in Ireland. She doesn't need to work and yet there she is 8 performances a week.

She is gifted and she is blessed.

I once saw her at 11 o'clock at night walking down Broadway by Columbus Circle on her own. This unassuming legend. But that is New York.

Grateful tonight to have seen her on the stage and I hope I take away from it some of her blithe spirit.