UNIQUE NEW YORK

We have, finally, switched to the classic 'Broadway' schedule. That means no killer weekends where we do 5 shows in 3 days, the schedule that makes Sunday almost impossible to bear, knowing that, even though every fiber of your being is screaming for rest, there are STILL two more shows to get through. 

Now, instead, we have the much more sensible two-show-Wednesday,  two-show-Saturday, and one show on Sunday that starts at three p.m. !!! This means that Sunday mornings can be a leisurely affair, and Sunday evenings are fat with possibility since you're out of the theatre by six p.m. Why, it's almost like having two days off! After doing the horrible five-show-weekends for the entire run in Singapore, this Broadway schedule is like getting all you Christmas and birthday presents at once.

This is how I used to feel about Sunday...

This is how I feel about a Sunday matinee now...

It's worthy of a party. And party we did...

After our last two-show-Sunday, the boys down in dressing room A hosted a small, celebrational soiree, serving up Perfect Manhattans. (For the mixologists, that's equal parts sweet & dry vermouth and a good quality Bourbon. And if you're feeling wild, a splash of Cointreau for complexity). 

Nothing says "Celebrate" like pizza and manhattans.

******************

New York continues to entertain me. I lucked into some tickets for "How To Succeed In Business...".

It's not one of the shows I would not have picked on my own, but I'm really glad I saw it. It's bright, fresh, energetic and just plain fun with some of the best choreography I've seen in a long time. Strong performances from everyone including, though I am loathe to admit it, Nick Jonas who was charming and funny, and Beau Bridges was hysterical and who knew he could sing and dance.

 *

Through a series of connections, I also managed to score some tickets for the always-sold-out "Sleep No More". This is a kind of non-linear, non-verbal, movement-based, immersive, sensory-overloading theatrical installation event created by a company called Punchdrunk. 

The experience, in which you follow characters around a HUGE environment to witness a loose re-telling of MacBeth, is difficult to explain. I found it to be like being lost in someone else's vast dreamscape. I couldn't stop thinking about it. Even the next day, I still couldn't get some of the images and theatrical moments out of my head. The more I think about it, still, the more I want to go back because I know there are lots of things that I missed.

For some great photos and a really well written explanation of the experience, click HERE to see another blogger's page about the show. If you're coming to New York and you don't mind a little leg-work with your entertainment, this is a must-see.

*

I also took myself to see the much-acclaimed "War Horse". There were no connections or luck involved with this ticket, just me forking over $125, but it was worth every penny and more. In decades of going to see live theatre, this is one of the most unique, intense, brilliant and beautiful productions I have ever seen. The craft of story-telling honed to it's finest. The end of Act I had me so gob-smacked that, when the house lights came up, I sat in my chair, mouth hanging open,breathless and unable to move.

*

This mad city also continues to provide plenty of free stimulation. My British friends might be interested to know that British Tourism has partnered with The New York Metro Transit Authority to promote culture-vulture holidays...

Conversation over-heard on 5th Avenue...

HER: Do you wanna see my office?

HIM: Can I fuck you in your office?

HER: (no pause or change in tone) No. Do you wanna see it?

And then there was the topless woman beating the crap out of Hello Kitty in front of the Toys R Us in Times Square.

This has been making the rounds on Facebook.

It couldn't be truer...

ALL AROUND THE TOWN

I never thought I'd say it, but I wish it would snow. This warm weather just isn't right. Don't get me wrong, I curse the snow as I'm trudging through it just like everyone else, but that doesn't mean I want the seasons to disappear. So far, we have had one snowfall in NYC, and the snow barely lasted one day, but for that one day, my little street was transformed.

Lonely, stone puppy on my terrace

In this city, it's easy to want to cut yourself off from the constant input of information and the never-ending crush of people, particularly when you work in Times Square. But if you can find a way to channel it, it can also be a rush to navigate the energy currents on the way to and from the theatre.

 It's like taking a short-cut through the circus every day.

Tis the season for new shows to inhabit Broadway and, as an outsider, the sheer volume of theatre here is a thespian wet dream. The Minskoff Theater, home of The Lion King, faces Times Square and straddles the block between 44th & 45th Streets. Both of these streets are crammed with theaters. In fact, if you were to leave The Minskoff stage door, walk along 44th to 8th Ave, and up 45th to return to the stage door, you would pass more than 10 theaters. On a quick trip to grab a coffee between shows, I snapped a few pics of new shows set to open, all on 45th street, all within 3 minutes of my stage door.

 Our dressing room windows look across the street into their dressing room windows.

Perhaps I can terrify Ricky's kids with my Scar make-up.

 This is the Imperial theatre that hosted the recently closed "Billy Elliot"

 This musical is based on the indie movie of the same name.

Any one's guess how long it will last.

 Yes, William Shatner is opening a one-man show.

This is the theater that housed the Canadian production of "Private Lives"

starring Paul Gross and Kim Catrall

Ridiculously stellar cast, including fellow Canadian Eric McCormack

 And those are just Broadway shows. Factor in all the off-Broadway, off-off-Broadway, experimental, cabaret and 'happenings', and it all becomes overwhelmingly fantastic.

I've been doing the show for 3 weeks now, and despite my best efforts, the massive bouquet of roses I received from Pam, Michael, Kay and Tim have faded. When I brought them home from the theatre, I tossed them in the bathtub overnight to rehydrate them. They looked so colorful, I almost left them there just for fun.

Over time, I kept pulling  the dead ones out of the vase and rehydrating the struggling ones. Fortunately, it's so hot in my apartment that the survivors dried out almost perfectly and, three weeks later,  they are still on my coffee table, looking almost as if I put a dried arrangement there on purpose.

When Pam wasn't in charge of buying roses on the sly, we chewed up as much of NYC as time would allow. I thought I might have to physically restrain her when we got a counter seat at the pizza/pasta bar at EATALY.

And then when the pizza and pasta of the day arrived, .....well, it was carnage.

I posted in a previous entry how great it was to receive opening wishes from around the world. Well, it was equally great to receive some sass from far away. I got a text from Lyall in South Africa. He included a pic of him dining with some of the folks from the Singapore production of LK. I made a sarcastic comment about having to dine with "THEM", and received this photo in reply...

 Yup, that's Jamie. He played the meerkat. One of these guys....

Feel the love