Sunday, July 27, 2014

NYC 2014 Day #5

Saturday morning was great.  No scheduled activities until the show that night.  We saw people off to get their rush or lottery tickets- we also had people go off to see a Yankees game and to visit the Intrepid.  Jackie and I however headed off  (with Kelly D and Kelly R.'s money) to see if we could get Rush ticket for the musical Violet.  (Although, first, while Jackie was getting ready, Kelly DeHaan and myself did a quick croissant run to our favorite croissant place, Petrossin).  We scored great at the box office with Rush ticket for Violet- $30 got us into the matinee at 2pm- and there was no line (except some crazy lady that was talking about the matinee being for student only).
After that, Jackie and I did some shopping for the girls (hello Aladdin and The Lion King beach towels) and met up with Kelly Riding for some delicious 5 Napkin Burger.
Violet is a fantastic little musical that opened Off-Broadway a few years ago.  I've always been intrigued by the story, but what brought it to Broadway was the fact that it was starring Sutton Foster (it also helped that it was produced by the creators of Gilmore Girls and Bunheads- also starring Sutton Foster which Jackie and I loved- and was cancelled).  This musical featured a band on stage and fantastic performances from everyone- especially Josh Henry (who sang a fantastic solo called Let it Sing) and Sutton.  She plays a young girls who was scarred on her face with an axe from her father when she was a little girl.  She travels by bus in 1950's Tennessee to be healed by a faith healer she's seen on tv.  Sutton wears no makeup and it's your imagination where the scar is on her face.  It was lovely- the ending was a little tearful and the singing and band were gospelly and powerful.  All in all, a fantastic show that I'm so happy I got to catch on Broadway.
After Violet we met up with the Coxes at Peanut Butter and Company (always tasty) and then it was time fro ice cream at the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck which is now a store-- and is home to the most delicious soft-serve ice cream concoctions you have ever had.  The Salty Pimp (their best seller) was amazing.  In fact, every ice cream combination was amazing. The next time you are in NYC and are craving ice cream, get yourself to the Big Gay Ice Cream store.  You will not regret it.
Now that we were full of ice cream and peanut butter, it was time for our evening show, Bullets Over Broadway.  Bullets is probably my favorite Woody Allen film-- there are so many great lines and characters in the film (but the film is NOT a musical).  Susan Stroman teamed up with Woody Allen to musicalize the film using relatively unknown songs from the 1920's (as Allen likes to do with a lot of his films).  So, the new musical is really an old-fashioned jukebox musical (but unlike Jersey Boys or Mamma Mia!, you probably don't know these songs).
Despite having seats up near the actual gates of heaven (the balcony is 5 flights of stairs- they keep going and going), I had a great time at the show.  I thought the sets and costumes were big and brassy (that train was awesome) and the characters were having a lot of fun.  The Hot Dog song made everyone laugh and there was an amazing male gangster tap dance number that stopped the show.  The best part was having a talk back with the cast afterward and all of the leads came out!  That has not happened at a show since we saw Putnam County Spelling Bee in 2006.  Zach Braff (from tv's Scrubs) was super charming and likable (and similar to Daniel Radcliffe, totally posed with students in their selfies at the stage door).  We even had a dresser who was originally from Salt Lake City come out specifically to talk to our students.  It was a great talk back.
After Bullets, it was time for Empanada Mama- a small restaurant on 9th by our hotel that serves over 20 kinds of empanadas 24 hours a day.  It took forever to get our to go orders (it's a popular Saturday night hangout) but was totally worth it and delicious.

Friday, July 18, 2014

NYC 2014 Day #4

The goal this Friday?  A foot rub.  Preferably by a strong-handed Asian woman who would make me weep from pain and gratitude.  But first?  More walking.
Jackie and I love Big Onion tours.  I've done a couple in NYC but Jackie has done a lot.  We arranged 4 guides through Big Onion to do a guided tour of Central Park.
It was a beautiful summer day- and a perfect day for a walk in the park.  We got history, architecture, statues, and a nice hike through the ramble- and I saw places i never would have found on my own.  It was awesome (and definitely will be a repeat on our trip).
We ended at the Met Museum (where I paid a $.50 donation so I could go use the restroom)- but I was happy that students will milling about and running around trying to find works of art.  I love the Met- but instead it was off to try Serendipity again-- with still a 2 hour wait (but I got  salted caramel frozen hot chocolate mix for my parents-- thanks Mom and Dad for watching the girls!  Sorry Millie vomited on your new carpet...)
We were all starving so off we went to the Upper West Side for our annual stop at Levain cookies.  I also made a quick pit stop at Beard Papa's for their amazing cream puffs- and was sad to see that my favorite gelato place (Grom) had moved.  But there was no time for tears- it was down to the Lower East Side for more eating.
on the subway, Kelly DeHaan repeatedly told us that if he did not eat something soon he was going to die.  He proceeded to tell us this every 3 minutes.  I promised him we were going to a street with lots of good places but his faith was waning.
We finally reached St. Marks St. and Crif Dogs.  Voted best hot dogs in NYC, they really are delicious.  Kelly did not make it there though-- he pulled off into Dumpling Man and got 6 dumplings for 2 dollars.
after our dogs, it was foot rub time.  The rest of our group went off to Pomme Frites for fries- and Jackie and I went and got hour long foot rubs.  Mine was awesome.  Jackie's guy was watching a Chinese soap opera on his Ipod the entire time- and contorted Jackie's body so he could more easily watch his movie.  By the end of her massage, Jackie (who had really not been in foot pain) now had a pain in her knee.  Classic Jackie.
Earlier that day, Kelly Riding had demonstrated in our room a "burpee" fitness move that she was working on for a race she was running later in June.  To inspire her, Kelly DeHaan ran back to our hotel room after fries and composed an entire song (with backing tracks) for Kelly to listen to on her race.  If you ever run into Kelly DeHaan, ask him to sing you the Burpee song.  It will inspire you.
That night, the group went and saw Pippin (which Jackie and I had seen in 2013) while Jackie and I went to see Idina Menzel in If/Then.  We were such fans of Next to Normal by the same composing team- and our travel operator had gotten us amazing seats.  Idina was awesome.  In fact, the whole cast was really strong.  The design was great and when Idina sang her 11 O'Clock number, I got chills.  I appreciate that the creators of the musical were trying to do something original and new- but parts of the story didn't really work (we did follow the alternating stories just fine) and I could see where some people would not be sympathetic with her character.  I found the catchiest song to be What the F*** which just kind of played in my head on repeat the rest of the trip.
Sidenote-- two night earlier after Gentleman's Guide we were walking to Shake Shack when Kelly Riding grabbed my hand and said "look behind you at who's been following us the past 2 blocks."  I looked behind and saw a woman with short blonde hair that I didn't recognize.  Kelly then says, "not her-- next to her" and lo and behold there was Miss Adele Nazeem herself asking questions about The Book of Mormon musical. We didn't know what to do so we just kept walking (and pulled Jackie out of line for Shake Shack- which made her mad).  We couldn't figure out how to take a picture subtly, so we just pulled over, said "We like you" and she went on her way.
The rest of the group had widely varying responses on Pippin (which is good), but they were sad that all 4 leads were out on the same night.  Kelly DeHaan also said he had more talented guys that could sing the part of Pippin at his high school than the understudy that night... but all that really mattered is that my feet felt fantastic.

Thursday, July 17, 2014

NYC 2014 Day #3

Thursday.  The day that nearly killed us all.  We intentionally decided not to take the group out to Ellis Island and The Statue of Liberty this year because A:  You have to wake up REALLY early to not stand in a very long line and B: because every elementary school in NYC and New Jersey takes their field trips the same day as us.  I did however want to give our group something about the immigrant experience.
We decided to do the Lower East Side Tenement Museum eating tour and the Chinatown/Little Italy Gangster Tour.  I wanted to do a Chinatown tour because mainly we dump the group off, grab dim sum and get out of there.
The problem arose when our group swelled up to 90 people-- the LEST Museum wanted 3 groups of 30.  The Gangster Tour wanted 4 groups of 22-24.  When I was given the times to accomodate, this became a logistical nightmare.  Our groups left at different times (and kudos to the Kelly's, the Coxes, Miriam and Erin), everyone got where they were going just fine.
My group began with the Gangster Tour.  We saw some fascinating stuff in Chinatown (Muck Duck, the Bloody Angle, etc.) and in Little Italy- but after 90 minutes of walking a standing and hearing so many names that all blended together, we all began zoning (or looking longingly at all the foot massage places in Chinatown).  Overall, it was a fine tour, but it should only be a 1 hour (and not a 90 minute).  It did however let me see both areas in a new way (and I think it let students be a bit more bold in those neighborhoods).
With not a lot of time to spare, we raced off to the Eating Tour.  The LEST Museum has an amazing gift shop that's worth looking at.  We ate some yummy food- some students had their very first potsticker/dumpling ever- and to give our group credit, when it was done, a lot of people went back and ate at some of the places we visited.  However, we never got a proper lunch, and the other groups (still finishing up their Gangster Walking Tours) were dying of hunger and sore feet.  Never again will we take the group on two walking tours in the same day.
We had a late lunch in Little Italy (where Kelly DeHaan graciously stood gaurd at the bathroom door because I was having my own Pakinstani emergency) and went back up to the hotel because our show started at 7:00pm.
I really, really liked everything about The Cripple of Inishmann.  Daniel Radcliffe was impressive as Cripple Billy- in fact, the entire cast was spectacular (especially the drunken Grandma and the 2 aunties- one of whom talks to stones).  The best part was the fascinating talk back we got with the actors afterward (no Daniel Radcliffe- but everyone else came out!) and they were kind, gracious and informative.
The students (and adults) biggest thrill was after the show-- Daniel Radcliffe was super nice to everyone- signed all of their programs and even posed for selfies with a lot of the students!  All in all, a really great show and night.
After that, we made a quick jump up to Serendipity 3- but the wait was too long- but that was ok because we went to Carnegie Deli for amazing cheesecake and onion rings (and new and sour pickles).  Another  awesome night in the city.

Sunday, July 6, 2014

NYC 2014 Day #2

After a great morning sleeping in, we helped the kiddos (and adult-os) get into a matinee show of their choice.  This was the morning that we learned if students had forgotten their high school ID card that they could pull up their school picture on their smartphone as proof of being a student.  We had students get into:  The Book of Mormon, Of Mice and Men (with James Franco and Chris O'Dowd-- the crowd at the stage door of that show was as crazy as when Julia Roberts, Bradley Cooper and Paul Rudd were all in a play together on one of our trips...), Cabaret, All the Way (with Bryan Cranston), Newsies- and some brave souls went off to explore Battleship Intrepid.  Since the Coxes and Kelly Riding already had their tickets (to see Idina Menzel in If/Then) and Jackie and I had our tickets (for Kinky Boots), we were off to explore EATALY down by the Flatiron building.
First off, EATALY is basically like an Ikea for all things Italian.  We walked in the door and were greeted by the Nutella Cafe (Nutella floor to ceiling).  We wandered around lost in the homemade pasta bar, the seafood bar, the focaccia counter, the panini counter, the gelato bar, it just went on and on...
Brent and Amanda helped themselves to a meat and cheeses of Italy platter while Jackie and Kelly got focaccia.  I got a delicious panini and a strange Italian canned soda.  It was delicious and a place we will visit again (and the salted caramel gelato was amazing).
It was off to Kinky Boots with Kelly DeHaan (who had a delicious lunch of Pakistani food that everyone in our hotel got to experience over and over again...).  Kinky Boots was a lot of fun-- and Billy Porter was really amazing (we're glad we got to see him)-- but since it won Best Musical last year, with all the hype, we found it... ok... nothing spectacular, but ok... I'm glad we saw it though.
After Kinky I picked up some scripts for school at the Drama Bookstore and then back to the hotel to distribute tickets for: A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder.
After Kinky Boots, I was worried that this Best Musical winner would also be overhyped--- but it was not.  This show was amazing.  The 4 leads were spot on, having a fantastic time with each other and the audience.  This show was hilarious (from Jefferson Mayes and the spit flying from his lips in the Act 2 dinner scene to Monty Navarro's pitch perfect facial expressions and the two female soprano's beautiful voices), this was an amazing show from start to finish.  Everyone had a great time-- such a great time that I blocked out what we did after the show (I know it involved eating and making fun of Kelly DeHaan and his Pakistani lunch).  If you are in NYC, see this show.  It's wonderful.