The Dirty Word in 43 Down: A New York Times crossword gaffe. “Scumbag” means “condom”? Huh. News to me. I’d never actually thought about it.

Ghosts of Passovers Past: Putting together a seder in modern Berlin. “There is no continuum of Jewish life here; no longstanding local traditions remain. The Jews who now live in Berlin are mostly newcomers like me, making things up as we go along.”

Today Matt and I saw Festen with my mom. (Weird, weird, weird.) The weather was awful this afternoon; it was pouring when Matt and I got to the theater to meet my mom. A sea of umbrellas filled the sidewalk and overflowed into the street. In order to have better chance of seeing my mom, Matt and I stood underneath the marquis of the Gerald Schoenfeld Theater directly across the street, where The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (with David Schwimmer) has not yet opened for previews.

As we waited, a young woman came up to us and asked if we knew where Chita Rivera’s show was playing. I looked at Matt and then looked back at the young woman. “I thought that had closed?” I said. She walked away, puzzled. Then she hesitated, turned around and walked back. She showed us her ticket. It was, indeed, a ticket for Chita Rivera: The Dancer’s Life, dated April 8, 2006, at the very theater in front of which we were standing.

Indeed, the show closed two months ago. I guess nobody told her.

I felt bad for her. I hope she hadn’t come from very far away.