Well I made it to NYC. It wasn't when I planned it, or how I planned it, but I made it. It was a loooong Sunday. I had thought my flight was at 7am, but when I checked it the day before, discovered it was 7pm. Thankfully it only cost me $10 to add an extra day on my Disney pass, so I spent most of the day riding the "Midway Madness" ride (hour in line, 4 minute ride, then back in line - it has the longest wait of any ride at Disney). Anyway, I won't go through a blow by blow of what happened between 4pm Sunday when I got to Orlando airport, and 2pm Monday when I finally landed in NYC, except to say that the trip back to the airport in the morning was a bit hairy. A clearly tired an emotional passenger decided to take it out on the poor old courtesy bus driver at the hotel. As a result, he refused to take any of us (don't blame him really). A few of us, worried we would miss the plane, caught a cab instead. We also gave the airline check in staff a heads up about the mood of the incoming passengers. The result of being first, and being nice? We got moved to the only vacant seats on flights to NYC that morning on another airline. Our flight? Well it got cancelled eventually and because there was a NASCAR race on all the flights were full and the others had to wait another day. American Airlines fail.
Anyway, I made it. My hotel is dead smack bang in Times Square. This is the view from my room on the 40th floor.
The main difference between Times Square in summer and Times Square in Winter? In Summer you get all the naked cowboys and cowgirls among the buskers. The ones below are of the right age and build to be doing this. The lady in her 80's wearing nothing but a bikini bottom and some star shaped pasties that I saw yesterday may want to rethink her life choices...
I also saw Snoop Dogg in Times Square. Fo shizzle! He was coming out of one of the studios there. Dude is super skinny is real life, and he keeps his braids done up with hair ties I think I stopped wearing when I was about 5...
There is of course the usual array of weirdos in Times Square, who are hard to avoid when you are staying so centrally. This morning I walked out of my hotel and was high-fived by Batman. There was also a very creepy looking Mickey Mouse.
So, as always, I am here to go to the theater. On Monday night, I started off-Broadway with Rent. Now Rent was good, I liked it, but it was slightly ruined by the fact that halfway through the second act I had a "Hobo With A Shotgun" moment. The joke won't mean much to 99.3% of you, but suffice to say, I blame my friend Matt for ruining any dying moment of a stripper/hooker on film or stage. I had taken the handbag without tissues, which was a bad move. On the upside, I had forgotten to put mascara on (small miracles).
Tuesday night I went to see Once. I hadn't done my homework on this one. I bought the ticket on the basis of an email from my Mum telling me about all the Tony awards they had won. Turns out it is based on a movie (which I also hadn't seen). It was however a very pleasant surprise. The music was lovely, and the dialogue was so much funnier than I expected, but once again, I needed the damn tissues. This wasn't sad in the dying-drag-queen way that Rent was, but more sad in a tragic-what-could-have-been kind of way. Sweet sad. Which I think it worse.
Wednesday was double header day! Even better - the first thing I had done Wednesday morning was go to Walgreens and buy a travel sized pack of tissues (which of course I haven't needed since...).
First up was the Sister Act matinee. It has Raven Symone (from The Cosby Show) in the Whoopi Goldberg lead. I hadn't seen this at Christmas because I thought it would be tacky. I was so wrong. This was fun. I think I smiled through the entire second act. There were real nuns, in real habits, in the audience. And no, I did not breathe a word about snow leopards (sorry, yet another joke only 3 of you will get!). My only issue with this was that Raven was clearly uncomfortable with the dancing, and looked so awkward. Girl can sing though. And she has great comic timing. I'm not a religious person, but for some reason I felt considerable guilt at laughing at the giant disco ball in the shape of virgin Mary on stage...
That evening was defiantly a star studded affair. I went to see The Best Man. The premise of the play is that they are at the 1960 convention to decide a presidential nominee (they never reveal if they are Republican or Democratic). The cast included James Earle Jones, John Larroquette, Cybill Shepherd, John Stamos, Kristin Davis and Angela Lansbury. It took me the whole first act to get over the fact that Jessica Fletcher was a party powerhouse, and that Uncle Jesse from Full House had married Charlotte from Sex and The City. The hardest obstacle however was that Darth Vader was the outgoing President of the United States. Every time I closed my eyes when he was talking I could hear only Vader. The premise of the first act was the candidates (Stamos and Larroquette) were waiting to hear from the President which one of them he would endorse at the convention. I totally just wanted him to tell one of them he was their father...
Tonight, it was Harvey, starring Jim Parsons of The Big Bang Theory fame. Anyone who knows this play and his Big Bang character knows that this is perfect casting. The characters of Elwood and Sheldon have a lot in common. The biggest difference is that where Sheldon is sane ("I'm not crazy, my mother had me tested") Elwood is believed to be hallucinating his friend Harvey. I read the interview with Parsons in the PlayBill and he was talking about how he finds it interesting how many people get to a point in the play where they see Harvey on stage. Even more interesting how many people will admit it. This was the conversation everyone had as they were leaving the theater "did you see Harvey?". Strangely I had a moment where they were all acting so much like the six foot three bunny was there with them on stage I believed the bunny was there. Not sure what that says about me...
I am a teeny bit excited about tomorrow night. Ricky Martin. In Evita. Saturday night involves Matthew Broderick. Am yet to work out what to see Sunday (had a ticket to Jesus Christ Superstar, but I may have been the only one, as they closed it early).
I am once again living on cupcakes (bad New York). There is a Sephora next to my hotel so I have expanded the nail polish collection (bad New York). The Walgreens across the street are also now doing a roaring trade in York peppermint paties and pretzel m&m's thanks to me (baaaaaad New York). I love this city.
Anyway, I made it. My hotel is dead smack bang in Times Square. This is the view from my room on the 40th floor.
The main difference between Times Square in summer and Times Square in Winter? In Summer you get all the naked cowboys and cowgirls among the buskers. The ones below are of the right age and build to be doing this. The lady in her 80's wearing nothing but a bikini bottom and some star shaped pasties that I saw yesterday may want to rethink her life choices...
I also saw Snoop Dogg in Times Square. Fo shizzle! He was coming out of one of the studios there. Dude is super skinny is real life, and he keeps his braids done up with hair ties I think I stopped wearing when I was about 5...
There is of course the usual array of weirdos in Times Square, who are hard to avoid when you are staying so centrally. This morning I walked out of my hotel and was high-fived by Batman. There was also a very creepy looking Mickey Mouse.
So, as always, I am here to go to the theater. On Monday night, I started off-Broadway with Rent. Now Rent was good, I liked it, but it was slightly ruined by the fact that halfway through the second act I had a "Hobo With A Shotgun" moment. The joke won't mean much to 99.3% of you, but suffice to say, I blame my friend Matt for ruining any dying moment of a stripper/hooker on film or stage. I had taken the handbag without tissues, which was a bad move. On the upside, I had forgotten to put mascara on (small miracles).
Tuesday night I went to see Once. I hadn't done my homework on this one. I bought the ticket on the basis of an email from my Mum telling me about all the Tony awards they had won. Turns out it is based on a movie (which I also hadn't seen). It was however a very pleasant surprise. The music was lovely, and the dialogue was so much funnier than I expected, but once again, I needed the damn tissues. This wasn't sad in the dying-drag-queen way that Rent was, but more sad in a tragic-what-could-have-been kind of way. Sweet sad. Which I think it worse.
Wednesday was double header day! Even better - the first thing I had done Wednesday morning was go to Walgreens and buy a travel sized pack of tissues (which of course I haven't needed since...).
First up was the Sister Act matinee. It has Raven Symone (from The Cosby Show) in the Whoopi Goldberg lead. I hadn't seen this at Christmas because I thought it would be tacky. I was so wrong. This was fun. I think I smiled through the entire second act. There were real nuns, in real habits, in the audience. And no, I did not breathe a word about snow leopards (sorry, yet another joke only 3 of you will get!). My only issue with this was that Raven was clearly uncomfortable with the dancing, and looked so awkward. Girl can sing though. And she has great comic timing. I'm not a religious person, but for some reason I felt considerable guilt at laughing at the giant disco ball in the shape of virgin Mary on stage...
That evening was defiantly a star studded affair. I went to see The Best Man. The premise of the play is that they are at the 1960 convention to decide a presidential nominee (they never reveal if they are Republican or Democratic). The cast included James Earle Jones, John Larroquette, Cybill Shepherd, John Stamos, Kristin Davis and Angela Lansbury. It took me the whole first act to get over the fact that Jessica Fletcher was a party powerhouse, and that Uncle Jesse from Full House had married Charlotte from Sex and The City. The hardest obstacle however was that Darth Vader was the outgoing President of the United States. Every time I closed my eyes when he was talking I could hear only Vader. The premise of the first act was the candidates (Stamos and Larroquette) were waiting to hear from the President which one of them he would endorse at the convention. I totally just wanted him to tell one of them he was their father...
Tonight, it was Harvey, starring Jim Parsons of The Big Bang Theory fame. Anyone who knows this play and his Big Bang character knows that this is perfect casting. The characters of Elwood and Sheldon have a lot in common. The biggest difference is that where Sheldon is sane ("I'm not crazy, my mother had me tested") Elwood is believed to be hallucinating his friend Harvey. I read the interview with Parsons in the PlayBill and he was talking about how he finds it interesting how many people get to a point in the play where they see Harvey on stage. Even more interesting how many people will admit it. This was the conversation everyone had as they were leaving the theater "did you see Harvey?". Strangely I had a moment where they were all acting so much like the six foot three bunny was there with them on stage I believed the bunny was there. Not sure what that says about me...
I am a teeny bit excited about tomorrow night. Ricky Martin. In Evita. Saturday night involves Matthew Broderick. Am yet to work out what to see Sunday (had a ticket to Jesus Christ Superstar, but I may have been the only one, as they closed it early).
I am once again living on cupcakes (bad New York). There is a Sephora next to my hotel so I have expanded the nail polish collection (bad New York). The Walgreens across the street are also now doing a roaring trade in York peppermint paties and pretzel m&m's thanks to me (baaaaaad New York). I love this city.
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