Every day is opening night.

I’m Ready for My Closeup, Timmy Blupe!

I, Timmy Blupe, accompanied the ever glamorous Scoop Verbena on the trip of a lifetime – a whirlwind tour of that land where skinny black ties and ancient forums are daily occurrences. Boats and trains from Rome to Florence, we finally found an Italian paradise to hang our Borsalino hats – Venice. We parked and I followed Scoop to the local haunt, Harry’s Bar, where we were to meet the legendary Jacqueline Bisset (they had Bellini plans). We entered and I saw her sitting like a goddess. My instinct was to snap away, but Ms. Bisset stopped me in my tracks. This is where she comes for peace and quiet, not paparazzo. I couldn’t protest.

The little tiff made my presence a tad awkward, so I left the legends to their Bellinis as I roamed the historic establishment, resigned to find other inspiration. Resignation quickly turned to amazement though, as I walked down corridors of ancient busts and marble entryways. I was a kid in a candy shop, and the sights brought me back to John Napier’s glorious, Tony-Award winning set for Andrew Lloyd Weber’s Sunset Boulevard (it seems I can’t escape the Great White Way, even across the pond). It made me yearn for the 90’s again, when Lloyd Weber was debuting his hits, what seemed like, every week. A revival of Sunset Boulevard on Broadway? An immersive adaptation in Harry’s Bar? Whatever. Just get that classic back up! This Photo of the Week is a small example of my finds – my art in another land. I am back in the city now, but whenever the stress of the moment gets the best of me, I go back to Venetian beauty.