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.
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