Newsies Tribute

No matter what your thoughts are on The Addams Famiy Musical (I'm looking at you Jackie), this Newsies tribute from the current touring cast (which we're seeing in Salt Lake City in November) is pretty clever and fun.

NYC 2012 Day #7

So the week has flown by.  We wake up Monday morning and pack up and meet in the lobby to take the subway to 42nd street,  We walk to 10th Ave. to load up on our charter boat tour.
While on the boat, we curved around (getting some interesting information about Hoboken and other buildings on both the NJ and Manhattan sides of the water.

In 2014 we're doing this boat tour on the day of our red eye because you will get great shots of the Statue of Liberty and the Brooklyn Bridge. And then I'll never have to step a foot on Ellis Island again.
Since Renae and Ray had bussed up to Washington DC earlier that day, I was without sunscreen.  Thus, as I left the CircleLine Cruise, I was lobster red. 
Our bus was not taking us to the airport for a while so everyone had some last minute free time and shopping.  We ran over to the Drama Bookstore, the Disney Store, a mini-cupcake store and Broadway stores to get stuff for the girls.
We ate at a gourmet hamburger joint (The Counter- which used to be in SLC.  Until it closed) and then headed back to the hotel.
We loaded up without incident and (unlike the bus ride into the city a week ago), got to JFK just fine.
We ate some good food at the airport (the Jetblue terminal is great) and we loaded up on the airplane (and again, thank you Jetblue) I watched tv all the way home.  Until midnight.
Peace out NYC 2012.  You were fun. 
Out of my personal preference:
Peter and the Starcatchers- hardest I laughed on stage (thank you Christian Borle.  And the mermaid song was pretty great too).
One Man Two Guvs- Outstanding performances (James Corden slapping himself, the whole dinner sequence at the end of Act 1 and every word that came out of Stanley Stubbers mouth).
Evita-  Your set was beautiful and stunning.  I liked your choreography too.
Sister Act-  Carolee Carmelo was fantastic as the Mother Superior.  Good comic timing (and that triple costume quick change on stage is pretty sweet).  Oh- the only sholw with a disco Virgin Mary.
Nice Work If You Can Get It-  Great choreography (and costumes-  that wedding veil was great).  Great comic timing and Matthew Broderick was funny.  Kelli O'Hara has a great voice too...
War Horse-  Just overall mise en scene.  Stunning.
Once-  Beautiful set, direction and stunning stage movement.  Steve Kazee- pretty awesome.
Tribes-  great intimate setting and passionate performances.
Newsies-  Just a fun, Disney show- great dancing and Jeremy Jordan was great.
Oh, also, one day over the week we went and walked the Highline (Saturday morning). It's a cool former elevated train track that is now an outdoor park.  It's very nice. 
 It was awesome and I as I ate an organic blueberry pop, Amanda Cox gave us a botany tour of all the plants.  We even got Ray and Renae to go to!
Everyone, save your pennies now for NYC 2014!

NYC 2012 Day #6

Ahh Sunday.  A day of rest and contemplation.  So while Jackie was in the shower, I booked it on the subway down to Donut Plant to bring back an assortment of donuts (my favorite being the creme brulee one...).  Jackie mocked me for getting a dozen assorted (since her parents had left to go get rush tickets for The Best Man with James Earl Jones and Angela Lansbury) so up we went to the Coxes and Kelly DeHaan- but Kelly was full from eating previously mentioned Crack Pie from Momofuku Milk Bar.  So Jackie and I ate 6 donuts each.  Not really...but they were a great treat for later.
Jackie and I then headed over to the TKTS play line (where we made friends with a family in town for Father's Day from Staten Island.  When he found out we were from Utah, I was fully expecting a Book of Mormon musical question but instead he talked to us about Mitt Romney (he didn't like him).
We got tickets to Tribes a play Off-Broadway (in fact, way down in the village) directed and in the same theatre that we saw Our Town in previously.  The director (David Cromer) does great work and this play was highly recommended.
We went down near the theatre to shop for the girls---and eat lunch at Peanut Butter and Company.  Tribes was fantastic.  It's about a deaf boy whose parent's forced him to read lips and never learn sign language.  He falls in love with a girl who is going deaf and teaches him sign.  There were some great performances and it's in a cool small space.
After that we booked it up to the Nederlander Theatre for Newsies- which starts at a weird time on Sunday's.  We wandered around looking for food- but gave up (but we looked at a cool private dinner going on at Wolfgang Puck's Steakhouse...).
Newsies was fantastic.  Jeremy Jordan was awesome and so was all of the dancing.  We had a talk back afterward (but was sad when our friend from Utah, Thayne Jaspersen, didn't come out afterward- we had done 1776 together at Hale). 
After Newsies it was time for our annual dinner at Max Brenners.  It was delicious (but really dark...like- we had to open our phones to read the menu and see our food).
Only one more day left in the Big Apple.

NYC 2012 Day #5

Saturday morning was early...really early.  You see, Once had just beaten Newsies for Best Musical.  It was the only musical that Jackie really wanted to see...so I had secretly purchased tickets a month earlier to ensure we could get in.  I thought it would also be a show that Jackie's parents would like- and Brent Cox wanted him and Amanda to see it as well. 
Unfortunately, the only way they were getting in (cause the show was sold out) was to get a Same Day Rush Ticket.  Now normal shows that have been open for a while will do a lottery or you can just wander up the day of the show and try to get a ticket.  Not so with Once.  Since it was super popular (and since we had students try it on Wednesday), we learned that we probably needed to get in line at the box office around 5am to ensure tickets (and the rush tickets were only $32).  So, 4:45am the alarm went off (amazingly, Ray was not off eating his morning oatmeal) and me, Brent and some students were off to sit for five hours (box office opening at 10am) to get tickets.
I had a relatively comfy seat with Brent under an awning- and the weather was nice.  We were not 1st or even 2nd in line (there was a group from Boston in town for a bachelorette party right in front of us- but they weren't competition because they wanted matinee tix and we wanted evening). 
Honestly, I don't remember much of the five hours.  I dozed, hallucinated, chatted, and had my bottom fall completely asleep.  Jackie came by around 9am with delicious croissants from Petrossan Bakery that were amazing- and at 10am, I walked up and bough Ray and Renae a Father's Day gift of two tix to Once for that night.  Oh, and I sat it something disgusting on the concrete.  Brent told me to not wear them again on the trip.  Jackie looked and almost vomited.  I don't know what I sat in but it was disgusting.
I have no recollection of what we did the rest of the morning (I napped...I think...) and we met up with everyone in the lobby of the hotel at 1:00pm to head up to Lincoln Center for Warhorse.
I had seen this show a year before seated in the 2nd Row.  Watching it again from the back row (a better place for this show) I was completely taken in by the beautiful staging (the Beaumont has a huge stage- and is stunning for this show).  Although both Jackie and I were sad that the singer was a guy this time instead of a girl, it was just as beautiful and powerful as ever--and I mean it because Kelly DeHaan was weeping next to me like a child at the end of the show.
That night was Once.  We were so sad that the lead girl was understudied (I normally don't mind, but we REALLY wanted to see her) but Steve Kazee deserved his Tony Award for Best Actor.  He was fantastic (as was the set and ensemble) and it s sweet, sweet story with beautiful music.  We thought there were mic issues with the Girl character (and I would want to see it again with the full cast), but overall, it was great (and I hope it was worth the 5 hours sleep that was given up for Ray and Renae....). 

NYC 2012 Day #4

Charging ahead to Friday, we awoke to the dulcet sounds of Justin Bieber shutting down midtown Manhattan with a performance on the Today show.  Jackie being a fan insisted on waking up early to get within 5 blocks (not joking there- he shut down five blocks for his concert) of the Biebs.  Not. 
Instead, we opted to sleep in a bit and then get everyone over (after minor subway waiting- we were on the wrong platform- thank you kind woman that told us to walk around after waiting for 20 min...) to the Upper East Side to go to the Metropolitan Museum with our guided docent tour (Jim Spann!  The best- not kidding- the best).

Cloud City on the roof of the museum.  Only 12 people at a time allowed in.

After some great time in the museum (and me and Renae being brave and walking through the really cool roof-top sculpture that was made of plexiglass and mirrors- and took you 40 feet on top of the Met), we took a big chunk of the group through Central Park (with the usual stops- Bethesda Fountain, Strawberry Fields) and then it was the Clin Eaton eating tour of the Upper West Side.
We began with Grey's Papaya, followed by Levain Bakery (where we ran into Utah friend Rachel who was in 1776 with me and is now auditioning in NYC for roles).  For those who were extra adventurous (not Jackie), we headed over to Grom for some gelato (or in my case, a refreshing granita) and then, miracle of miracles, Amanda Cox found Beard Papa's- a famous cream puff restaurant and of course we had to fill up.

After that, for those that were more daring, (the Coxes, Kelly DeHaan and Jackie) it was off to Pomme Frites where we had fries with lots of good dips- and then almost watched Kelly vomit into the street.  We figured after that it was time for a foot rub so we zipped around the corner to a foot rub place that Jackie and I discovered in 2011.  The guy was a bit overwhelmed when 5 people all needing 50 minute footrubs walked in, but after a quick phone call, we were all having our calves washed (Amanda, Jackie and Kelly in the back room, Brent and I on the sofa in the front of the store).  I was complemented many times on my feet (she kept slapping them saying "so nice") and we felt great after that.
After a delicious dinner at Eatery (with the Coxes and Renae- I don't know where Jackie's dad was), it was off to Nice Work If You Can Get It. 

Now Matthew Broderick didn't get the best reviews, but I found him hilarious (along with the rest of the cast).  The story was fun and we saw the 2 Tony winners for Best Supporting actor and actress.  Plus, Kelli O'Hara and Matthew Broderick were super nice to my students and even posed for pictures with them. 
Jackie had a headache and went and fell asleep while some of us went to a diner on 9th.  We should have gone back and slept because the food was gross and the service was worse.  I should have slept because Saturday was going to be an early morning for Ray's B-day and Father's Day- it was an early morning to get Once rush tix...

NYC 2012 Day #3

I am bound and determined to finish this trip before school starts back up...let's see what I remember and if you were there, make corrections as necessary:
Thursday was our super early day which everyone complains about- until they see the security lines to go out to The Statue of Liberty in the afternoon.  So, off we hopped on the 1 subway downtown to hopefully catch the first ferry out to Ellis Island (everything on Liberty Island was pretty much closed).  We were successful beating the rush and made it out to Ellis Island before hoards of school children from all over New Jersey and New York descended upon it.
Jackie and I (and a few of the kids) did the audiotour- some kids visited the gift shop and some just slept on the lawn.  To each his own. (And new for the 2014 trip, no Ellis Island.  We are doing the Lower East Side Tenement Museum instead).
After that, we marched up Broadway to look at the Wall Street Bull (now under police protection- and new for this year, no touching his testicles for good financial luck), Wall Street, the statue of George Washington, etc.
Then, it was off on the subway to Chinatown where we sent the group on their merry way for fake purses and watches.
A few select grownups however (Jackie, me, Kelly DeHaan, Brent and Amanda Cox and Vicki Olsen) were off on a culinary walking tour of Manhattan.
First stop, dim sum at Dim Sum Go Go.  Our awesome waiter gave us our order forms and I had the regular dim sum platter and Jackie had the vegetarian one.  Mine was awesome.  12 different works of art.  I don't know half of what I ate, but it was good.

Kelly then found a tiny upstairs cupcake shop and treated us to cupcake goodness (although we were all mocking him for taking us down strange alleys looking for a cupcake).  Then it was off to the Village for some S'Mac (at Vicki's request).  We ordered one huge sampler platter that had 6 kinds of mac and cheese (all delicious). 

After that, it was off to the upper east side for macaroons at the new fancy French shop Laduree to sample their edible works of art.  The macaroons are boated over from Paris once a week.  Jackie and I bought a sampler and Amanda and I came up with a taste test idea for Jackie.  While Kelly, Brent and Vicki went their separate ways, Jackie, Amanda and myself went to a cool kids store in Rockefeller...and bought nothing.  But then it was off to La Maison du Chocolate where Amanda bought a macaroon the same flavor as a Laduree one (salted caramel in case you were wondering). 
At this point, my feet were weeping from all of the walking and when we made it back to the hotel, we made them open the dining area so Jackie could do a blind taste test on the macaroons so see which one was superior:  the results:  Laduree for taste (that filling was yummy) and La Maison for texture (which Jackie is very particular about).
It was then time for naps- but I woke up hungry so I took my mother-in-law out to eat at a great burger place on 9th.
That night it was Sister Act at the Broadway theatre.  I had seen it the year before and had a great time- but then I was worried that the group wouldn't like it--but, even with Raven Symone (who was good- but not as good as Patina Miller), it was a hit.  Really funny book, great singing (especially Mother Superior and the novice) and a huge disco Virgin Mary statue.

After Sister Act it was time for Momofuku Milk Bar.  I had heard about this place in magazines for a while and was determined to find it.  After walking by it twice, we went in and ordered the signature Crack Pie, a crazy milkshake for me (can't remember the flavor) and a cookie for Jackie. 

Crack pie at Momofuku Milk Bar.  Buttery, buttery goodness.  A great breakfast for the next morning too.

This was the day of 5000 calories- but in our defense, we walked... a lot.  However, I do think it was this day that turned Jackie off food for the rest of the trip.