2004 New York Trip

Since we had so much fun in 2002 (and we didn't lose anyone), we decided to go again in 2004. Our group doubled in size since everyone heard how much fun we had in 2002- so we had about 40 people. We also had entire families come (including one family of 4- the father not only had never been to NYC, but he also couldn't remember if he had ever seen a PLAY before in his life- he thought that he had...) we also had the fun additions of Bradley and Shawnda Moss + my cousin Austin Cope (who had the pleasure of going to Pomme Frites with us and Jared Stromberg and eating amazing french fries).
Our first show was the high energy Hairspray which was hilarious. Michael McKean (from Laverne and Shirley + Christopher Guest films) was Edna. The group loved it.

The next show was Assassins at Studio 54- this is the first and last show I ever paid full price for. It was nominated for Best Revival (and won) and it had Neil Patrick Harris, Denis O'Hare, Michael Cerveris and lots of fantastic actors. It was amazing (but I still don't know if it was worth $210 for both Jackie and myself...)

Our group split up that night and Jackie went to see Thoroughly Modern Millie and I went to The Lion King. The Lion King was in Disney's amazing theatre that used to be Ziegfeld's back in the 20's. It was visually impressive.
After that was our play Sly Fox with Richard Dreyfus, but the most memorable part was going to take students to the Empire State Building--- only to have the Olympic Torch arrive in Times Square from Greece. The crowds were a big as New Years Eve and we were literally holding students shoulders to keep them from getting separated. Bradley and Shawnda reached the Empire State Building only to be turned away because it had reached capacity.
After that it was Billy Joel's Movin' Out- most memorable was afterwards waiting for dancers to get their autographs only to have Hugh Jackman come out from the theatre next door and sign some students programs (he was starring in The Boy From Oz).

We then went to Forbidden Broadway- which I was worried about because it was in a small Off-Broadway theatre- and everyone had a great time (I still remember Austin Cope's face when the cast of Rocky Horror Picture Show came out...)
Last, but not least, we got to see Wicked with the original Broadway cast 2 days after Idina won Best Actress for the show. Unfortunately, she was out filming a movie- BUT we still had everyone else (and Eden Espinoza was fantastic). The best part was Norbert Leo Butz (playing Fyero) slipped and fell on his butt causing Kristen Chenoweth to break character, laugh and leave the stage. Very funny. She was really nice to students afterwards and took pictures with everyone. It was a fantastic trip!