Final Stop: New York

So after a fun drive down the Merrit Parkway and the Hutchinson, we pulled up in front of our friend from last summer Aneta's building at exactly 4pm on Tuesday. She was quite weirded out by that, actually, and if I had it to do again, I'm not sure I could manage to time it so perfectly, but we were exactly on time in New York City. We dropped off bags, parked the car, and relaxed for a little while watching the Tyra Banks show while we waited for Caitlin, another friend from last summer, and her sister Emily and boyfriend Rob. We met Annie from last summer on our way out the door and the eight of us went to Vynl on 9th at 51st for dinner. The decor at Vynl was very entertaining with Elvis, Dolly, and Cher-themed bathrooms (with enormous mosaics, music piped in, and a dressed up Barbie in a display case), as well as Barbie display cases throughout the restaurant (TLC, New Kids On The Block, etc). The food wasn't bad, either.

After dinner, Caitlin, Rob, and Emily went to see Cry-Baby, and the rest of us went back to Aneta's to regroup and meet up with Sasha and Junior. From there we went back to 9th and 51st to a bar called Vintage where we spent the rest of the evening. I had two caramel appletinis (one was for Aunt Laura!), and a couple of Maker's and ginger ale (I only remember having 2, but they tell me I had 3). My phone kept ringing, and I would go outside to answer it so I could hear better, and who should stop me on the street but my director from Pajama Game last summer. Anyway, aside from that, we all had a good time, and aside from the fact that I lost an earring at some point Tuesday, it was a fantastic birthday.

Wednesday I was not feeling so well and moving slowly. Caitlin, Rob, and Emily had tickets for the 2pm matinee of RENT, so Eva, Justin, and I went down to the Nederlander to see about rush tickets. We were later than I had wanted to be, but it was just as well because they do a lottery now, and we didn't have to stand in line. None of us won tickets, but they bought discounted tickets and the six of us went to lunch with Sasha and Junior before the matinee and before their train home.

RENT was sort of a let-down, which I was expecting it to be. I hadn't seen it since 1996 when I saw the original cast shortly before the soundtrack came out, so I've had 12 years to glorify it in my mind, and this cast just did not live up. After the matinee, we went back to Aneta's to gather our stuff and we checked into the Wellington Hotel on 7th at 55th. Then we met up with Yvonne and Matt from the cast of Pajama Game last summer for a quick drink and a bite before we had to run off to see Young Frankenstein.

I had heard that Young Frankenstein was not getting good reviews, so I didn't have terribly high expectations, but it was phenomenal. The singing and dancing was 10x better than that afternoon's performance at RENT. The costumes, the sets, the lighting, the live audio mixing...all of the elements were very strong. And as long as you know that you're going to see Mel Brooks and not Shakespeare, you will not be disappointed with the script. It was an amazing production with amazing performances. Also, I was excited that an actor I had worked with when I was a production assistant at Studio Arena Theatre in Buffalo is in the Young Frankestein cast, and I enjoyed picking him out in the crowd scenes. After the performance, we met back up with Yvonne to see the view from her roof, and then we had a late dinner at the Galaxy Diner on 9th and called it a night.

Thursday morning we all slept in which was wonderful, and Justin, Eva, and I met Caitlin, Rob, and Emily at about 12:30 for brunch. We ended up back at Vynl because we had been told the wrong location for The Eatery which was where we had wanted to go. After brunch and a brief visit to an antique shop, we walked them to their car and sent them on their way. We went back to the hotel to regroup and rest, and spent a few hours that afternoon on 5th, at F.A.O. Schwarz, and Rockefeller Center. At about 6pm, we met up with my college friend Christopher for a drink and appetizers at the Playwrights Tavern in Times Square (which until then we'd been avoiding like The Plague). After that, we went over to Aneta's to meet her friend Jackie and then headed over to El Azteca on 9th for Mexican. Three pitchers of margaritas later, we we walked down to Aneta's favorite bar, on 46th, for a quick beer. At about 10:30pm, Justin, Eva, and I said our goodbyes and headed over to the Gershwin Theater to meet up with my friend from home Briana who is a swing and understudy for Nessa Rose at Wicked. She met us at the stage door and let us tag along while she gave a father and daughter a tour of the stage and backstage and introduced her to the actors who played Glinda and Elphaba. The best part, I think, was when Briana suddenly remembered where we were supposed to meet them, and we sprinted up 2 flights of stairs and then across the raked stage to get there. I could tell we were going across the stage, but I thought the curtain would be in and was very surprised to look to my left and see the empty seats while sprinting across the raked stage. Anyway, after our tour, we went over to Briana's for beer, rum cake, and a nice visit.

Friday was our travel day back, and Google Maps had put it at 13 hours. We actually stopped for both lunch and dinner, and we ran into a blizzard in Ohio, so the whole trip actually took 16 hours, but we made it back safely in one day, which was the goal. In total, it was a great trip and a great birthday week, and I'm glad to be back.

Tolls from Chicago to Boston to NY to Chicago: $53.30.
Gas to travel the 2054.8 miles: $217.58.
Running across the set for Wicked on Broadway? Priceless.