NYC Trip #1 2010 = SUCCESS!

It was a spectacular trip this time.
Stayed in my favorite hotel, only lost my way once or twice (instead of daily), all the shows I saw were VERY good, and I had a great dinner at Sardi's with friends. Even better was the fact that I got ALL my Playbills signed by the artists in that show.
'Looped' was a three person show and the whole cast was very nice. We had to wait a bit for Valerie Harper, but she was very gracious and so sweet. There was a young girl there that asked me to take a picture of her with Valerie Harper. So cute.
'Red' was a matinee, so I wasn't expecting to be able to get a signed Playbill. They, however, were still raising money for BC/EFA and had signed Playbills for sale in the lobby. Score!
'Promises, Promises' was awesome! Loved it! We waited quite a while for Kristin to come out of the stage door. The guys patrolling the area were very strict about not using your flash when you take her picture. It probably has some effect on her. She was very sweet and signed everything.
'Sondheim on Sondheim' was also wonderful! The clips of him in his house were so sweet. You got to see him in his element and they did a lot of songs that were cut from various shows. They also did a lot of numbers that weren't cut. Barbara Cook was amazing. Vanessa Williams was excellent too. There were some ebay guys who were there getting her to sign some of her old albums. I should look for them online. There were eight in the cast and the only one I missed was Euan Morton who left before I got there.
'Anyone Can Whistle' was very interesting. The music was spectacular, but the story was a bit weird and sparse. The dancing was excellent too, but again there was just something missing. I didn't stay to get signatures for that one because I was kind of just done with it all. I did go inside a bought myself a tshirt. They really miss out on a lot of sales by putting the merch table in the lobby. Everyone sitting up in the balcony is ushered in and out without ever going into the lobby, so they don't even know it's available.
There was a little drama with getting to JFK. The E train was closed for a stretch and I had to get out and take a shuttle bus. Luckily I was paying attention and wasn't zoning out with my headphones. There were a lot of people just standing on the platform. Another lucky thing was the fact that the line for security wasn't long at all and then my plane was delayed a bit. Whew!
I did go to the Guggenheim, Central Park, and the Moma. I was gonna go to the Met, but just didn't make it this time. I also was able to read all three graphic novels that I brought and had the obligatory piece of Jr's cheesecake. All these things make for a great trip.

NYC Trip #1 2010

In 2009 I went to New York twice. Once in June and once in December. Off hand I'd say I saw about 14 shows. Awesome!! The trip in December was extra fun cause my friend met me there and we went out to eat and did extra things that I usually don't do when I go by myself. The hotel was a dud though. Right across the street from all the construction of the World Trade Center. They never stopped! There also wasn't any free wifi at the hotel. Yeesh!
2010 is starting out right as I've planned a trip to NYC during my spring break. My favorite hotel, The Franklin, has a deal of staying three nights get the fourth night free. Free wifi and a continental breakfast make the hotel top notch!
If all goes according to plan I'll go to NYC three times this year. (evil grin)

Planning to see:
Looped - starring Valerie Harper!!
Red - starring Alfred Molina!!
Promises, Promises - starring Kristen Chenoweth and Sean Hayes!!
Sondheim on Sondheim - starring Barbara Cook, Vanessa Williams, Tom Wopat, Euan Mortan, and Leslie Kritzer!!
Anyone Can Whistle - starring Raúl Esparza, Sutton Foster, and Donna Murphy!!

It's a very star-studded trip. This time of year tends to have more big names in it in order to bring the people to the theatre.

Hopefully the weather is nice. It's looking to be an awesome trip and I'm SO EXCITED!

It's been too long...

This tends to be a slow time of the year for my theatre attendance. In January I didn't even have any tickets to a production. In February I missed 'Female of the Species' at the Geffen, which I had a ticket to and right now I'm scheduled to miss 'Dreamgirls' at the Ahmanson because I'm double-booked. It's usually not a big deal to take my season ticket to a different performance. They're very accommodating and are hardly ever sold out. :)
It's also the time of year that I start day-dreaming about a trip to NYC. Last time I went was the week between Christmas and New Year's. My friend Carolyn met me this time, which made it a completely different experience. We went out to eat more and had a few more adventures. When I'm on my own I tend to not go to restaurants. She was a good sport and did stuff with me that she probably didn't want to, like the Guggenheim, but I think once she got there that she enjoyed it. It was my birthday and she took me out to the Russian Tea Room, which was AWESOME!! It was a great time. We found a fun a few fun places in Little Italy, pizza and canoli. Delicious!!
Here's a list of the shows I saw:
The Understudy
Shrek
Love, Loss, and What I Wore
Ragtime
Race
A Little Night Music
God of Carnage
Finian's Rainbow

Shrek was the only one that I didn't care for, and it was better than Little Mermaid. I'm glad I saw it with Sutton Foster.
There were two off-broadway shows. The Understudy was my favorite of those.
Ragtime was powerful. I connected with this Coalhouse WAY more than I did with the original. No one was ever gonna beat Audra, though.
Race was interesting. Very Mamet.
A Little Night Music was thrilling. Loved every second.
God of Carnage was a bit shocking. Thoroughly enjoyable, and entertaining.
Finian's Rainbow was charming. Loved it.

It really was a great trip. We even had dinner at Sardi's with the Salazar's. Very fun!!