With three days left to go in my trip, I was walking around Havana flat broke. I had been spending my convertibles, the secondary currency used by tourists, like Monopoly money. I figured when my cash supply got low, I’d simply slow down my spending. With funds dwindling, I realized I had miscalculated the cost of my lodging, and forgotten about the exit fee at the airport. Cuba is not a place where one can access American banks or use credit cards, so if you run out of cash you cannot get anything. You can’t even get off the island. I had been staying in a casa particular, where specific families are licensed to rent out a bedroom in their homes by the night. The couple putting me up had become like my surrogate Cuban parents; Carlos knew just how I took my coffee, and would stay up waiting for me if I came home late at night. We would sit in their sun room and chat about everything from rations to folkloric dance, and I couldn’t bear the thought of not being able to pay my bill. When he tried to teach me a Spanish phrase using the tricky subjunctive tense, the example he gave translated to, “I would go out with you tonight if I had the money…” I almost choked on my own tongue. What could I sell? Who did I know that I wouldn’t be ashamed to ask for a loan? How would I ever reimburse Carlos and his wife if I couldn’t send a check back from the States? I thought about reciting monologues in the Plaza Vieja for spare change.

I could swallow my pride and ask to borrow from someone in the humanitarian aid group that brought me, but they had already left for the other side of the island. With few cell phones, most everyone is still accustomed to leaving messages at someone’s home and waiting for a return call. My younger sister, who was there with her college, had agreed to cover for me. That is, if anyone could find the person to unlock the dormitory safe, and that could take days. I knew I might not starve, but I would have to beg, borrow or steal to pay for the rest of my stay.

Thanks Maria for the heads up!

Julia just arrived at the Golden Globes looking absolutely GORGEOUS!!! Go here to check out the livestream. Julia just came by! I added the first pictures to the gallery so check those out as well. I’ll keep updating this post with news.

Unfortunately Julia did not win, Jane Lynch won the award for her role in Glee. I added several images of the Globes to the gallery as well as photos of the after parties she attended.

On January 15 Julia attended the 2011 Art Of Elysium “Heaven” Gala looking lovely as always.

A star-studded reading of Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple, which will benefit PS 3, will be presented Jan. 9 at 7 PM at the Cherry Lane Theatre.

According to Telecharge.com, the sold-out reading boasts the talents of Ethan Hawke, Billy Crudup, Wallace Shawn, Louie CK, Alessandra Nivola, Julia Stiles, Mario Cantone, Emily Mortimer and Jonathan Marc Sherman.

The Odd Couple opened on Broadway in 1965 starring Art Carney and Walter Matthau. Matthau later repeated his work for the 1968 film. The play received a Broadway revival in 2005 starring Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane.

Neil Simon – the only playwright to have four of his works running on Broadway simultaneously – has been honored with three Tony Awards, a Pulitzer Prize, a Drama Desk Award, an American Comedy Award, a Golden Globe Award and the Kennedy Center Honors. Some of his works for the stage include Barefoot in the Park, The Odd Couple, Chapter Two, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues and Broadway Bound. He also contributed librettos to the musicals Sweet Charity; Promises, Promises; They’re Playing Our Song; and The Goodbye Girl.

Cherry Lane Theatre is located at 38 Commerce Street, off 7th Avenue, one block south of Bleecker. For more information visit Telecharge.com.