On May 6, many New Yorkers were caught between a run and some round places

Sunday, May 6 was a big day for many New Yorkers. Thousands of athletes, sports spectators and drivers within the New York metro area were affected. Whether picking from among the 35th annual Long Island Marathon, the 30th annual Five Boro Bike Tour, or the Yankees-Mariners Major League Baseball game to participate in or watch, or plotting a path of least resistance among the traffic-jammed down-state arteries, countless people were caught between a run and some round places.

The run, specifically the Long Island Marathon, started near and ended at one of my favorite sites in Nassau County (Eisenhower Park , formerly known as Salisbury Park). According to Wikipedia, the annual, 26.2-mile foot-race "was first run in 1970 as the "Earth Day Marathon" and was "renamed the Long Island Marathon in 1978." A half marathon (13.1 miles) was added in 1984 and a 10K run was added this year "to encourage greater participation in the event by providing a less vigorous run and one in which families can take part."

"2007 RexCorp Long Island Marathon Date Set for May 6" reports:

For the first time in its history, the marathon weekend will also incorporate a family-friendly "Kids’ Fun Run" at the Mitchel Athletic Complex as well as a "Museum Row Family Festival." Both activities are in the "Hub" area by the Nassau Coliseum.

Despite my fondness for Eisenhower Park, if I hadn't had to teach a course, and then go to bed to nurse a bug, I'd have made the rounds in the Five Boro Bike Tour. Bike New York says it's "the largest recreational cycling event in America." The proof is in the pedaling: 30,000 registered riders geared up to cyle around the 42-mile, traffic-free circuit around Manhattan, da Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island.

Northwest of Nassau County, the New York Yankees were hosting the Seattle Mariners at "the House that Ruth Built." The Yankees-Mariners Major League Baseball game at Yankee Stadium in da Bronx was probably the most-watched of the events, what with its capacity of 57,545 and international news and sports coverage, including MLB multimedia.

I didn't watch any of the events live, but was affected nonetheless - all the way up in Westchester County - by the resulting traffic tie-ups along the New York State Thruway System and its tributaries. I let radio traffic reports guide me and tried to be cool, calm and collected.

Traffic was not all that was congested. . Fortunately, my trusty tissue box and I reached our destination promptly and I kept my cool - and my voice - until class ended. Ironically, though, when I shut the books and doused the lights, my voice shut off, too.

Never fear, I'll lick the laryngitis by any means necessary; certainly no later than high noon on my next big day (Wednesday, May 9). That's when I'll interview dancer-teaching artist Tanya Calamoneri, Co-Director and Manager, Sponsored Artist Program and Co-Director of (Performance Zone, dba) The Field. Join us on the Lisa Tolliver Show on New York Radio WVOX 1460 AM and wvox.com.

PHOTO CREDITS:

Top Left: Commerce Bank Five Boro Bike Tour Logo.

Middle Right: Nassau County of Parks, Recreation and Museums. Caption: "The magnificent Veterans Memorial in Eisenhower Park pays tribute to those who have served the country."

Bottom Left: Yankee stadium exterior.jpg accessed at Yankee Stadium - Wikipedia.

Bottom Right: The Field logo.###

ON STAGE: As in 'American Idol', the audience and judges select The Strawberry One-Act Festival winners

They're baaack! The audience, judges and wild card have spoken: Welcome to Norway's cast and crew are survivors. They have advanced from last week's round in the 12th annual Strawberry One-Act Festival to the next.

The next showdown will be staged tonight at Manhattan Island's Riant Theater. Check the schedule.

As I posted in "Kissing and Telling," Welcome to Norway (by writer-director Robin Anne Joseph) is about a woman (played by Laura Maggie Kramer) who "discovers a powerful lesson about life's destinations and how to accept it." Also acting up acting out acting again in the production will be my pal, Stephen Plaushin.

Although thespian rather than musical, the Riant Theater's competition smacks of American Idol (sans Paula Abdul, Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Ryan Seacrest, of course), but it's better. According to the Riant Theater website:

The Strawberry One-Act Festival [...] is a play competition in which the audience and the theatre's judges cast their votes to select the best play of the season. Twice a year, hundreds of plays from across the country are submitted for the competition, of which 40 are chosen to compete. Plays move from the 1st round to the semi-finals and then the finals. The playwright of the winning play receives a grant and the opportunity to have a full-length play developed by the Riant.

Van Dirk Fisher created the Strawberry One-Act Festival a dozen years ago to find and nurture best-in-class talent. I'm sure he also recognized it as a good device to garner attention and revenues for the competition's venue. The same can be said for FOX-TV's creators of American Idol (which debuted less than a decade ago).

Despite their similarities, the series' philosophies and approach differ drastically. The Strawberry Festival's producers publicize the competition at the Riant Theater as "a wonderful opportunity for the audience and the industry alike to see some of the best talent in the nation." The festival staff cherry-picks the Strawberry Festival entries and presents only the best-in-class contenders. Submissions that don't pass muster never see the lights of the Riant's stage, and consequently are never seen by the festival's audience. And the audience - although involved (they vote by ballott) - is tame and civilized.

American Idol drums up drama differently. Each season, early episodes of the hit FOX-TV reality series feature the show's talent-shopping spree and weeding-out process. Ratings are spiced by screening samplings of well-done, medium-well, and bloody-bad performances. Selected performers who make the cut are served, like raw meat, to the judges and TV viewers, whose worst remarks couldn't possibly rival Simon Cowell's notoriously cutting, sometimes vicious comments.

If the Strawberry One-Act Festival suits your palate, check it out. Two flavors are available: sit down and take out.

Admission to sit down in the theater costs $20-$25. To take out, view the productions online at www.therianttheatre.com/video the day after they are performed on the boards.

To Stevie and company: break a leg!