Had Time To Kill last week before returning to the west coast so I headed to TKTS in Times Square moments before show time and picked up a 4^th row center orchestra seat for $60 to the preview opening of John Grisham’s, A Time To Kill.

The stage adaptation of the legal thriller is about a young white lawyer defending a black man for a revenge murder in Mississippi. The play was concise and true to the book and the 1996 movie which starred Matthew McConaughey and Samuel L. Jackson. The set is realistic and innovative, the lighting  dramatic and effective.

The cast is excellent except for the well known and established, former Tennesse Senator Fred Dalton Thompson who just could not remember his lines. As the presiding Judge Noose he could have kept a crib sheet on his bench and no one would have been the wiser. On the way out. I mentioned to the director that the senior cast member should learn his lines…he chuckled and agreed.

Sebastian Arcelus stars as ambitious lawyer, Jake Brigance and John Douglas Thompson as Carl Lee Hailey, a man who takes the law into his own hands when his daughter is savagely beaten and raped. Tom Skerritt makes his Broadway debut as Lucien Wilbanks. Ashley Williams plays the role of Ellen Roark and she is dynamite…really lights up the stage and picks up the pacing of the play. Patrick Page as defense attorney, Rufus Buckley, gives a fabulous performance.

The theater version is written by Rupert Holmes known for writing the book and score for, The Mystery of Edwin Drood for which he won a Tony.

It is entertaining and compelling, but if time and money are limited, there are more engaging shows to be seen on Broadway. The play officially opens on October 20^th. Golden Theater 252 West 45th Street, NYC.

The mega hit movie,Gravity, is a weighty film starring, Sandra Bullock, with back up from the ever charming and debonair, George Clooney. Even in an astronaut suit, he looks good. I really enjoyed when they were on screen together. Sandra Bullock was fabulous and she has perfected anxious breathing which is the soundtrack to the movie. Her body is rockin’…this bothered me a bit. When do scientists, even those who have trained for a space mission, look like Sports Illustrated swimsuit models? Keep her real hair rather than that ratty wig and forget the daily hours of training…why does Hollywood only deal in perfection?!

I admired her composure under pressure…she actually took out the landing manual and calmly followed instructions. I never would have been able to read the manual and right the ship. It is a great ride, complete with crash landings. IMAX 3-D a must!

Casa Mono, a Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich mainstay, is a charming small restaurant on a quaint street in Gramercy. Elizabeth, my design and decorator bud, and I  started our small plate tapas adventure with grilled Pulpo, fennel and grapefruit ($13). It was tender and flavorful and the grapefruit enriched the dish. Next was the divine Paella croquetas with uni and baby tomatoes…amazing…topped with scrumptious sweet uni that melted in your mouth. The Mussels with Cava and chorizo were good, but I am a mussel traditionalist and prefer the white wine and shallot broth…frankly, I have had better.

We toasted the lunch with a delish Spanish rose, Luiz Alegre 2012 ($12) and headed to ABC Carpet to feed our eyes…a perfect afternoon interlude.

Casa Mono 52 Irving Place, NYC. Reservations recommended. Open from noon to midnight daily.

Have a groovy weekend…it has been in the 80’s in Southern California so it may just be a beach weekend as the Giants are on Monday Night Football…at least the weekend won’t be ruined.