As I type this, we are in the last week of March, and "extra, extra, read all about it, Gypsy newsboys!", we made it. We made it through the 91 days of Upstate Gulag. To be fair, it wasn't a horrid Gulag experience this year. I can't remember 1 white-knuckled drive home in the dark, or more than 2-3 shoveling events. Just cold. Just unfashionable parka days. Just the THEORY of Winter is what I hate.
I know a 60 year old woman who marvels at every snowfall, be it December White Christmas-y flakes or an Ides of March nor'easter. 60 going on 8, you mean, cuz that's 3rd grader stuff. That's the stuff of snow globes, Frosty The Snowman, and youth. I mean, don't get me wrong: I've built my share of snow forts, I've snowmobiled, attempted to skate/ski/snowshoe, and once helped construct a snow bar (where we undergrad Oswegonians sat on snow stools and served slo-gin-fizzes or something like that)(that's where I learned to like Black Russians). But no more. GIMME WARMTH!
And yet it seems to be Easter ANNNND Spring...no matter the temps/mud/ice/plastic grass/candy eggs and/or thermal socks slid into Mary Janes! So we'll do it up, no matter what Mother Nature bestows on us, with Ella's brown and yellow basket, Judy's Easter bonnet, Fred will be putting all of HIS eggs in 1 basket, plusssss Something Rotten! (could it be the eggs?), The Band Wagon, and a bunch of super poignant Spring ballads. Tra La, it's (not quite) May!
And then in about a half hour, it'll be the Equinox and the Spring Pledge Drive. May Day, Memorial Day. Ice creams by the shore, sand between your toes, picnics with assorted bugs, parades, and sunburns. Huzzah. We're turning the corner, so don't blink!
Easter Parade (Judy Garland, Fred Astaire, Easter Parade)
I'm Putting All My Eggs In One Basket (Fred Astaire, Follow The Fleet)
It's Eggs! (Ensemble, Something Rotten!)
A-Tisket, A-Tasket (Ella Fitzgerald)
Shakin' The Blues Away (Ann Miller, Easter Parade)
Mr. Monotony (Judy Garland, Easter Parade)
We're A Couple Of Swells (Judy Garland, Fred Astaire, Easter Parade)
Cherry Pies Ought To Be You (Barbara Ashley, William Redfield, Charlotte Greenwood, David Burns, Out Of This World)
How Could You Believe Me When I Said I Love You When You Know I've Been A Liar All My Life (Jane Powell, Fred Astaire, Royal Wedding)
You're Awful (Betty Garrett, Frank Sinatra, On The Town)
They Say It's Spring (Blossom Dearie)
Later Than Spring (Elaine Stritch, Sail Away)
Spring Can Really Hang You Up (Ann Hampton Callaway, Blues In The Night)
Meet Me In St. Louis (Judy Garland, Ensemble, Meet Me In St. Louis)
The Boy Next Door (Judy Garland, Meet Me In St. Louis)
Under The Bamboo Tree (Margaret O'Brien, Judy Garland, Meet Me In St. Louis)
Spring Is Coming (Laura Benanti, In Constant Search Of The Right Kind Of Attention)
That's Entertainment (Jack Buchanan, Fred Astaire, Nanette Fabray, Oscar Levant, The Band Wagon)
Welcome To The Renaissance (Michael James Scott, Ensemble, Something Rotten!)
Right Hand Man (Heidi Blickenstaff, Something Rotten!)
Bottom's Gonna Be On Top (Brian d'Arcy James, Christian Borle, Company, Something Rotten!)
Spring, Spring, Spring (Ensemble, Seven Brides For Seven Brothers)
Younger Than Springtime (Matthew Morrison, South Pacific)
Spring Is Here (Carly Simon, Torch)
You Must Believe In Spring (Ann Hampton Callaway, Liz Callaway, Sibling Revelry)
A Shine On Your Shoes (Fred Astaire, Leroy Daniels, The Band Wagon)
Triplets (Fred Astaire, Jack Buchanan, Nanette Fabray, The Band Wagon)
I Love Louisa (Fred Astaire, Oscar Levant, The Band Wagon)
Louisiana Hayride (Nanette Fabray, The Band Wagon)
Something Rotten/Make An Omelette (Brian d'Arcy James, Something Rotten!)
Easter Parade (Clifton Webb, Leo Reisman Orchestra)