The Countess is leaving tomorrow for New York City. The reason for this visit is the Private Preview Reception at the Wally Findlay Gallery in honor of Michael Allen Lowe's solo exhibition.

What an incredible achievement for a young artist. A solo show at a prestigious New York City art gallery! Some artists have to die before getting recognition like this. Congratulations, Michael! The Countess is honored to be one of your guests.

I should tell my faithful readers about how I met Michael. It just happened to be a night that I walked into Rumpy's Tavern for a nice glass of Glenlivet on the rocks. As I was sitting at the bar this very handsome young man came up next to me to order a drink from Prince Troy, Bartender Extraordinaire. We started a conversation, I gave him the Countess Card, and the next day he emailed me and gave me the link to his website. When I looked at his work, I was literally blown away.

While I am in NYC, I want all you peeps to head on up or over to Stockbridge and go to the Berkshire Theatre Festival's production of The Caretaker. Jonathan Epstein, James Barry, and Tommy Schrider are tearing up the boards in this production. (Yes, the very same James Barry who is rocking out with the St. Bernard Hop in the video before this post....multi-talented is our James!) Harold Pinter always leaves you wanting something and this one is no exception. Magnificent acting, the set is perfection, costumes, lighting, and sound all come together for a memorable evening of theater. Take it from the Countess, you will experience something special when you see this production. But don't take my word when you can read other opinions here, here, and here.

And you know that I will be seeing a couple of shows while I am in the City. "Passing Strange" is one of the shows that everyone is raving about and got a lot of Tony nominations. I'll tell you all about it in my next blog.