Two days in a row — how lucky am I? … I saw not one, but two performances that elicited uncontrollable inner smiles …

The first: Billy Elliot in the Imperial Theatre in New York, with that performance’s Billy played by Trent Kowalik.

After seeing Trent’s incredible moves at this year’s Tony Awards, I has hooked. Then, he and two other young boys who play Billy shared the  “Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical” award ..

The show was even better than I had imagined – good music, incredibly sets, fabulous performances and creative dance numbers that had me wished I was still taking tap.

At the end, Trent’s face beamed as he received multiple standing ovations from a Wednesday nite crowd. I have to wonder what will happen to him when he is too old to play young Billy… For now — he’s on a natural high.

The second: Julia and Julie. Or it it Julie and Julia? You know the movie I mean as it’s all the buzz.

I have to ask: does Nora Ephron ever miss? She writes real dialogue, because from what I know from the few encounters I’ve had with her — she’s very real. ..

In the movie, Meryl Streep was more Julia that the Julia I remember from those last years of her life. Meryl spoke, moved and laughed just like Julia.

I remember my first lunch at the wooden table in the center of Julia’s Cambridge kitchen. It was 1981. Paul was at one end, one or two other guests along the sides… and … (gulp) me… I was so nervous.

Oh, no.

I noticed something strange about my coffee cup. Water splashing. …a fly doing the backstroke. And, I oh so needed the caffeine for the drive back to CT.

I didn’t want to embarrass Julia. Little did I know, I probably couldn’t. I stood up, my coffee cup in my hand and turned my back so that no one could see what I was saying to her…

“Julia, there’s a fly in my coffee,” I whispered.

“No problem,” she said as she took my cup and used the spoon on the rim to flip that fly out of the coffee into the sink.

“Here you go” she said as she handed it back to me and continued explaining why she had blanched the green beans for the salad Niçoise.

Give yourself a present, and go see either (or if you’re in NYC, both) of these feel-good performances!