City So Nice I Visited Her Thrice

Start spreading the news, I'm leaving today...

Well, truth be told, I actually just got back today from my third trip to the Big Apple, and, let me tell you, I had a marvelous time.

I want to be a part of it- New York, New York...

Saturday: We arrive. Right off the plane I am asked what I want to do the most. My answer, and let me just state that I have no shame for my musical theatre nerdiness, was "See Sutton Foster." She was currently showing in Shrek the Musical. Mom and Codi go to the TKTS line whilst Dad and I rush to theatre to see if Sutton was in fact going to be in the show that night or if she called out. Her name was on the list. Check! Mommy managed to get tickets to that night's show. Check! Now, what to do to kill the time until curtain? This is when we wandered into Ellen's Stardust Diner. Food was ok, but the atmosphere was phenomenal! (FYI: Ellen's is home to a singing waitstaff who entertain throughout the meal). After some memorable renditions of classic and broadway tunes (esp. a quite hilarious Defying Gravity), it was time for our show. Now I love Shrek the movie and I love broadway, so this show had some high expectations, and boy, did it deliver! Sets and costumes were just gorgeous, lyrics and dialogue funny and witty, and acting was fantastic (how could it not be with Foster, James, Sieber, and Tartaglia at the wheel? Just like the movie makes fun of other movies, Shrek the Musical takes stabs at other musicals; I loved all the references, especially A Chorus Line, Wicked, 42nd Street, and Lion King. Oh, and for fans of the show, Lord Farquaad's horse, whose name changes every show, was named "Plastic Horse." And what Broadway show could be complete without visiting the stage door afterwards? We head out to wait and it is sprinkling outside. No, the rain cannot dampen my spirits, I am going to wait it out despite the fact that I'm wearing a half white dress (has green spots). Christopher Sieber is the first out followed by John Tartaglia. Both are very nice and chat with us while signing Playbills and taking pictures. The rain picks up slightly as Brian d'Arcy James, Shrek himself, comes out. By now it is raining quite hard, but, wanting to stay to meet Sutton, I brave it out in the rain (It should be noted that I have some of the most patient/understanding parents ever. Not only did they go see a Broadway show with me, and they may be standing under a balcony removed from this event, but they are still out in the cold rain waiting to see people who they have no idea who they are just because they know it is important to me... Love you!). To make this short, as if this entry isn't long already and we are only on day one of four, she never came out. I was a little sad, but hey, I still got to see her perform live just moments earlier and that is amazing in and of itself. Because the rest of the family is hungry, we go to McDo and, while inside, the heavens open up. Despite pouring buckets of rain, we decide not to stay put and to leave for the hotel (it is, after all, way after midnight). Our plan: RUN. Let me paint a picture for you: I am in whitish dress and flip-flops around 1 or 2 in morning running as fast as I can through Times Square in a terenchal downpour. As I approach the hotel (about 20 feet a way), a man puts out his arm to try to stop me as I near him saying "Miss, would you like an umbrella?" I continue to rush past him yelling back as I do, "It's too late for that now!" Once inside I find Daddy, who ran faster than me, and we are joined shortly by Codi, who had her shoe fly off somewhere between 48 and 49th street and had to spend time retrieving it, and a little while later by Mommy, who just walked figuring she was wet anyway. Now up for hot showers and to rest for another day.

These vagabond shoes are longing to stray right through the very heart of it...

Sunday: We spent the next day exploring Greenwich Village and eating a lot of sweets. Max Brenner's Chocolaterie for lunch and sweet cupcakes for dessert, what could be better? We found the bakery used in Sex in the City, the Magnolia Bakery, and Carrie's apartment (taking a picture of Kerri and Carrie's), before some delicious New York pizza for dinner. This day was all about food! (Oh, and miles and miles of walking trying to find all these places, which, as it turns out, were nowhere near each other.)

These little town blues are melting away...

Monday: We take a trip to the Museum of Natural History. The Dinosaurs were neat, but I feel mislead as the Museum's layout was nothing like the movie (some of those things are not even there...). Oh well. We also took a quick trip to the Hello Deli to meet Rupert from the Late Show with David Letterman before meeting Dad for Dinner at Bobby Flay's restaurant Bar American. The special was chicken fried chicken and, while it was tasty, Mommy's chicken fried chicken could beat it in a thrown down any day!

I wanna wake up in a city that doesn't sleep...

Tuesday: We took a trip up into the sky! That's right-- we went up the Empire State Building. The wait was long, but the view was more than worth it. Speaking of long, afterwards we walked 33 blocks to the Barnes & Nobel in Lincoln Center (pausing only slightly for a quick stop at TKTS). Why the long haul? Because the original Broadway cast of 9 to 5 was there celebrating the release of their cd! We went and, after worrying that we wouldn't get in because we were quite far back in the line wrapping around the building, got in to see the show. Marc Kudisch, Stephanie J. Block, Megan Hilty, and Allison Janney, the four leads, were all there. Kudisch sang a very funny "Here for You" followed by a sassy southern "Backwoods Barbie" by Hilty. Then all three girls joined together to close out the show with a very emotional "I Just Might." Right after the performance we went up to the table and met, talked, and took pictures with all the stars as they signed my cd (Hilty is my favorite of the bunch! She was very down to earth and uber sweet!). After the signing, we took a cab back to the hotel and, after eating at the great NYC restaurant known as Sbarro, I got ready to go see 9 to 5. (Yes, I met them and talked to them about their show before I had actually seen the show... it's all good). I was going to see this show by myself, which I do not mind, but I do mind that it was at the Marquis Theatre. Don't get me wrong, the inside of that theatre is just as gorgeous as the next, but getting into that theatre is another story (it is located inside a hotel on its second floor- it took some time wandering and finally breaking down to ask for directions to actually find the doors.) Being on the second floor of another building also presented this problem: where is the stage door? No worries though! After the hilarious dance-filled girl-power show about three unlikely friends who accidentally end up kidnapping their boss, I was successfully able to located the stage door. I called up the rest of the family to come meet up with me, which they did, and meet/chatted with the cast for the second time that day. Oh! Let me tell you the pen story. So I am standing at the stage door with my playbill penless. For those of you unfamiliar with "stage dooring," this wouldn't be a problem for the main stars/leads (the ones you are probably waiting for anyway) all come out with their own pens. Ensemble members generally do not stop to sign stuff, and therefore do not have pens, but some of them were stopping. Myself, not having a pen, was just letting them walk past me with a smile and a friendly "hello" (including Andy Karl who I would've liked to have signed it, but hey, I had no pen). Then out comes a confident ensemble man, going down the line and signing everything. As he approaches me I start to panic in my head. I do not want to tell him "no," but I have no pen to offer out. He comes over and outstretches his hand. I look downcast and quietly explain that I have no pen. He smiles and throws his hands up exclaiming in a booming voice, "No problem young lady! I have a pen!" He pulled a pen out of nowhere, signs my playbill, and winking, hands me back my playbill and his pen saying, "You keep it." It was so sweet and allowed me to collect a few more names, but I still have no idea who he was (signature was illegible). So, Mr. Pen Guy, whoever and wherever you are, thank you for a great stage door memory! :)

And if I can make it there, I'm gonna make it anywhere...

All in all, it was a great trip. We got back safely and experienced no delays (way to go Atlanta airport!). Many of the places we ended up visiting, things we ended up seeing, or people we ended up meeting did not happen the way we had planned, nevertheless, I wouldn't have changed it for the world.

It's up to you - New York, New York!