Today I...
- Ate waffles at Nice Matin (just as good as I remembered!)
- Completely by accident, found the New York Public Library (had planned to just get subway to 42nd Street and walk to 5th, but stop actually let me off right there. Yess! Sometimes, am brilliant!)
- Walked from library down 5th to 57th - just cuz. Stopped by Rockefeller Center, Radio City Music Hall (ahhh!), Carnegie Hall
- Ate at a deli down the street from City Center (not Carnegie Deli - too crowded and was hungry) and had massive piece of cheesecake. I had trouble deciding which to order and waitress said, helpfully "Do you want to look at them?"
- Took N train back to 42nd and wandered around. Shopping.
- Found myself in front of the St. James theater (again, completely by accident) and picked up my ticket for tuesday performance
- Saw "The Happening" - for god's sake, don't see that movie. Was terrible. Should have waited 35 minutes to see the Zohan.
- Went on nighttime bus tour. Still daylight. Got rained on while we came back from Brooklyn. Had to wear unattractive plastic bag style poncho with hood. Tour cut short.
- Bought umbrella, went back to hotel.
- Changed clothes, went to dinner at Ristorante LaGrolla on Amsterdam Avenue.
- Ate (delicious) risotto with salmon, safforn, peas and scallions.
- Lost umbrella (damn)
Notes that I took on Tuesday, June 17th
Today I...
- Ate another waffle (helloooo, lovah...)
- Took the wrong train while attempting to go downtown and ended up in Brooklyn (grrr. Not brilliant.)
- Shopping for birthday present at South Street Seaport, rapidly got tired of touristy kitsch and went (somewhat inexplicably, yes?) back to 42nd Street. More shopping. This is what I do when left to my own devices??
- From there went to Lincoln Center to buy "This Charming Man" by Marian Keyes (had to get something to read on the flight home!)
- Went to the Historical Society. Replica of guillotine worth $6 (student) admission
- Went also to American Museum of Natural History.
- Realized am totally uninterested in Natural History-style exhibits. An hour and a half (and $11 student admission) that I am not getting back.
- Because I am SO.INCREDIBLY.PARANOID about missing curtain, I arrive in midtown ridiculously early. Eat at Junior's (but no cheesecake) and wander around for the hour and a half or so before it is time to head back to the theater.
Time for the show. Ohmygod. I could again go on & on & on & on & on, but then this would be a really long post & you all probably would not like me very much. I think I have said that I could listen to Gypsy every minute of every day of the rest of my life and be happy. I am not kidding here. If I lived in NYC, I would go and see the show a whole lot. I would be happy. Broke, but happy. This marked the 10th time I have seen Patti do Gypsy, and every time, I marvel. I know what's going to happen, I even know some of the inflections they will use, the movements they will make, and yet, I am entranced, enthralled, enchanted, every single time. It was even more special this time around because so many people were there to support the cast after the big Tony wins. It - oh, I can't even describe the thrill I felt. The anticipation beforehand, anxiously bouncing around in my seat when the lights went down, cheering wildly for Patti's first entrance, and then for Boyd's, and then for Laura's.... until the audience was nearly told off for being so vocal... then we all settled down... I have tried to explain the experiences I've had in the theater to people who don't know, who don't go to live theater and have no clue what I am talking about. It was like a spiritual experience. Is that too much to say? It's how I feel.
Afterwards, booked to stage door, and got a fairly decent spot. Got shoved to the front when Patti turned up, which was good, but I always get so overwhelmed, I couldn't rub two brain cells together to form an intelligent sentence. It always seems to me that saying something like "you were great" or similar doesn't really capture everything I'd mean to say to her, doesn't convey the impact, the specialness of the occasion, so I can't even say anything, which is annoying, but ah, maybe next time!). The lady next to me said something to her about knowing a teacher of Patti's - "Which teacher?" Patti asked, while scribbling her name on extended programs and stagebills. The lady said something rather incoherent and Patti clearly had no idea what she was talking about because all she said was, "Huhhh..." and moved on. You either got it, or you ain't.
As for me, it was in a cab and back to the hotel for frantic last minute packing.... The next morning I left for LaGuardia by 8:00. United had canceled my return flight since I had not flown with them on Sunday, and so I spent a little bit of time getting that straightened out. No other problems and back home...
Let me just say this, kids, it's gonna take me a long time to get over this one...
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