New York Memoirs: May 2005
I had such a wonderful time in New York! It was my second time going there. The first time I went with my best friend Scott, I decided that someday I want to live there. Seven years later, I decided to see if my sentiments for New York are still the same, and they are! I felt at home there. New York people are my kind of people! Hmmm, it almost sounds like a song....
Day 1, Thursday, May 19, 2005
Doug and I arrived at New York-LaGuardia Airport around 2:25pm, New York time. We missed the shuttle to our hotel in Elmhurst, so I decided we should get at least one cab ride in during our trip and we took a cab to the hotel instead, which was around $6.00 or so. We arrived at our hotel and were able to get into our room, so I freshened up and we decided upon where to go first. We were both starving. The question of the moment was, "What are we hungry for?" Doug and I had not made it to Little Italy yet during past stays, so we decided it would be a good place to start. We took the bus (our stop was right across the street from the hotel) to the subway station, bought our week passes, and took the train to Little Italy. The 7 train from Queens took us to Grand Central where we were to switch trains to get to Little Italy. Just as we were about to pull into Grand Central, I looked at my watch and said, "Doug, it is 5:00pm--rush hour at Grand Central. This will be cool!" Scores of folks scurried past us. As we emerged from the 7 to find our way to the red line to Little Italy, Doug realized his worst nightmare--There was a man playing bagpipes! We caught the red line down to Little Italy and looked for a place to eat. We walked a few blocks and the signs on the buildings changed from Italian to Chinese writing, so we turned around, turned a corner and happened upon Lombardi's Pizza. Lombardi's claims to be America's first pizza parlor. Regardless of whether or not they actually are, the pizza is outstanding! The sangria is also pretty good. We split a large pizza between the two of us (we can eat when we get together), then we headed towards our next destination, the Empire State Building. Doug asked the hostess if the ESB was within walking distance and she said, "Start walking and you will run into it." It is one of the tallest buildings in the world, it shouldn't be too hard to find, right? Wrong! There is this whole perspective thing that exists and the other tall buildings that are closer to you tend to cover up the other big buildings further away.
Doug and I walked and walked. We finally got to the Union Square station. I pointed out that Union Square is in the East Village and so is the ESB, so we are close, we just cannot see it. We passed a huge Halloween store and I just had to go in. It was a Halloween Mecca. It also had tons of theatrical/stage make-up. I was in heaven. A guy who looked like Marilyn Manson waited on me. Doug thought he was a she. We went on without buying anything.
I have to say, before I left I had a vision of the perfect pair of Pumas I wanted to get for the trip. I wanted a purple pair of Pumas. On our way to the ESB, we passed a shoe store, Mephisto, and there, in the window looking back at me, were my purple Pumas, just like I imagined! I bought them, changed shoes and we went on. I finally spotted the building, it was just a matter of getting there, again with the whole perspective thing. We got there, got our tickets and went up to the top. By the time we got to the observation deck, it was about 8:30-9:00pm, so the sun was down and the city was beautifully lit. We saw for miles. I got real excited when I spotted Macy's Herald Square. I saw Trump tower. I also saw a huge black hole amongst some buildings, which must have been "Ground Zero." I'm not sure. We did not do Tony's audio tour, because Tony had every language but Pig Latin. After about a half-hour or so at the top, we left and caught the red line back to the 7, back to Queens.
Day 2, Friday, May 20
Macy's day! We got to Grand Central around 11am and were starving. It was chilly and drizzling. We headed towards the Museum of Modern Art, looking for a place to eat along the way. Soup sounded good to both of us. Fortunately, we happened into this cool deli, right at busy lunch hour. Everyone was moving so fast, and I'm like, "Doug, we better figure out what we want and fast." We each got clam chowder, a half sandwich, and a drink for around $5.50. It was quite good. We walked on, looking for the MOMA.
The Museum of Modern Art is AMAZING! I saw Van Gogh's Starry Night and two Salvador Dali paintings- AWESOME. I am not a big Piccasso, cubism period fan and I discovered I like his one-time neighbor, Georges Braque, a lot better. Their works are similar. Braque seemed to copy Piccasso, but did a better job, in my opinion. Six hours later we left the museum and looked for Macy's. We had an address, but were not exactly clear on how to get there. I kept seeing all these people with Macy's bags, so I knew we had to be close. We did stop in Rockefeller Center for some coffee. That area was hopping. There was a heavy police presence and people waiting for something--Duh! the Emmy's were that night. A kind NY native pointed us in the right direction, and we finally got to Macy's. It was so overwhelming. When I shop, I have to go with something in mind (like the purple Pumas) and I search until I find it. I was searching for the perfect, satin green top to go under my white jacket to wear to the theater. After two hours of trying on clothes and me breaking my favorite necklace, I found my top. It was 100% silk, the perfect shade of green, and a steal at $49.00. At that point, it was 9:00pm and closing time, so we decided to head to Greenwich Village, one of my favorite parts of New York. Doug and I walked around the Village, then happened upon a fun cafe where a bunch of locals were watching the Yankees/Mets game. I had couple glasses of Sangria, Doug had a Guinness and we split some chicken nachos. The nachos were awesome. They put fresh jalepenos on the nachos, which made them so good. When we finished, we headed home for the night. We got back to our room and one of our favorite movies, Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory was playing.
Day 3, Saturday, May 21--Spamalot Day!
I did not want to head into the city too early, because I did not want to get all dirty and smelly before the show. Besides, I thought we could go somewhere and have a nice, pre-show dinner, so Doug and I hit the Marriott brunch buffet. The buffet was good. I started with fresh fruit, granola, and a bagel. I was not quite finished with my bagel, when I went for round two, and I left my bagel with one bite taken out of it, a full glass of juice and a full glass of water, along with my Village Voice, at our table. Doug and I waited for our omelets, and when we got back to our table, everything was gone! This hurt, because I am not one to waste food and I could not stand the thought of an entire bagel and fresh glass of juice going to waste. WTF? Not to mention, we had not paid our bill. Did they think we just walked off without paying? A different server apologized and we started all over again with coffee, juice, and water. If we made any more trips to the line, one of us stayed behind.
After breakfast we hit the pool and hot tub for an hour or so. The hot tub felt so good on our legs and feet. New Yorkers have to have awesome legs from all the walking they do. Come to think of it, I did not see any overweight people there.
Doug and I showered, I primped, we took some pre-show photos (It felt like prom), and left the hotel around 4:00pm.
It took us about 45 min. to get to Times Square and the first thing I wanted to do was find the Shubert Theater, in case dinner ran a little late. We easily found the Shubert and found about twenty people waiting for cancellation tickets. The show is sold out until fall. I had butterflies in my stomach. I was so paranoid that I was going to lose the tickets. After we got our bearings, we decided to look for a non-touristy place to have dinner. We were walking away from the Shubert, back towards Times Square, about to cross the street, and, call me crazy, but as I looked to my right, a neatly-dressed, familiar-looking beard with sunglasses was heading towards me, in the direction of the Shubert. He was not too tall but not too short and he was by himself. Doug was facing the street, but I looked this man in the sunglasses and grinned as he almost brushed my shoulder. By his body language, I think he thought I recognized him. I noted the time to be about ten to six, most likely about call-time for the evening performance of Spamalot. We crossed the street and all I kept thinking to myself was, "I think that was Tim Curry that passed me!" It felt like I was a five-years old again and seeing Santa Clause for the first time. I did not say anything to Doug at the time, because I did not want to chance causing a scene on a busy intersection. Moreover, I did not want to say anything as the guy passed me, because there was a small margin of doubt and like I mentioned before, I did not want to cause a scene and make the poor man late for work! I didn't say anything about it to Doug after we crossed the street, either. I wanted to be certain it really was Tim.
On our way to dinner, there was this man going off on someone on his cell phone. You could hear the dude from a block away. I was like,"Maybe he's a street performer and we should go up and hand him a dollar." He was really givin' it to someone. Somebody stood him up. Walking on, Doug and I happened upon this quaint Belgian place. This couple was outside smoking and we went up and looked at the menu. The guy smoking told us to try this certain type of beer. The outside of the restaurant reminded me of a place I went to on Catalina Island. The front windows were completely open to where anyone could reach in and steal a beer off the front table. There was a couple kicked back, sitting at that front table, people-watching. I was like, "Oh yeah. This place is perfect!" It was not crowded at all. Doug had a burger with bleu cheese and a beer (whatever beer he was told to try). I had cream of mushroom soup and a spinach salad with warm goat cheese and honey. It was AWESOME! To drink, I had this Belgian raspberry beer. It was bright red and tasted like raspberry soda. We finished our dinner by 7:15 and headed back to the Shubert. There were a ton of people waiting outside and just as we got under the awning, there was a loud clap of thunder, the sky opened up, and it poured down hard rain. To entertain us, Doug started yelling out Monty Python quotes to see if anyone would answer. Finally, he got an answer from some sixteen-year-old Canadian girls behind us. One of the girls was so excited, she looked like she was going to pass out. She looked how I felt. It made me think that there is hope for today's youthand the legacy of Monty Python lives on!
Doug and I took our seats, which were AWESOME! to say the least. We were eight rows from the stage and left of center, right on the aisle. I felt so relieved, thanks partly to a trip to the ladies room, and I could not believe that I was finally going to see, live, the actor who I have been so infatuated with since I was a kid, Tim Curry.
The orchestra, for starters, was phenomenal. The set, lighting, and costumes were brilliant and had to have cost millions. The choreography was outstanding. The best part of the show, however, was that it was clear that the actors were truly enjoying themselves and getting a kick out of what they were doing. Many of the actors played multiple roles, which is common, but has to be tiring, because the show never stops moving and it is full of energy.
The audience cheered when Hank Azaria and David Hyde Pierce first took the stage. Then, for the next scene, a backdrop opened and Tim Curry (King Arthur) and Patsy (Michael McGrath) appeared. It sounded like a rock
concert, as the audience screamed and applauded for Tim. I realized that I had a mile-wide grin on my face and I noticed tears streaming down my cheek. I felt kind of silly, but I suppose this is what the girls in the Ed Sullivan Theater felt like when The Beatles first appeared. Tim looked and sounded great! He said in a recent interview that he quit smoking about a year ago. It is very noticeable. His voice sounded crystal-clear. The raspy quality his voice once had was now gone. Granted, the raspy quality sounds sexy, but I listen to his recordings and I'm like, "Please stop smoking. Don't ruin your voice!" His was the voice of an angel. I could go on. He's not a big guy at 5'9", so when Sara Ramirez stood next to him, she kind of dwarfed him. I have to say, too, that his mustache, beard, whatever, was the same one that passed me on the street earlier that evening. Call me crazy....
Now, I'm not, by any means, calling Sara Ramirez fat. She is not the least bit overweight. Moreover, Sara just about stole the show. Her voice is amazing and she is an incredible character actress. It is rare to see strong, lead females, like Sara. Her Liza Minelli impression was right on. I get so sick of seeing all of these tiny girls, with puny, nasal voices, in musicals, so it was very refreshing to see Sara perform. We will see more of Sara Ramirez in the future. I remember thinking, "I want to be like Sara." Check out Sara's fantastic web site at:
www.sararamirez.com She comes across as a friendly and approachable person. She has some great behind the scenes pics of the cast. She gets to hang with Tim. As Napoleon Dynamite would say, "Lucky!" (LOL)
Spamalot was so good! They had a giant Trojan rabbit, flying cows, and a killer rabbit. The black knight lost all his limbs in a sword fight with King Arthur. They even found the grail! It was on Broadway, at the Shubert Theater, under seat C101. I had a feeling they would pull someone from the audience and bring him up on stage, and they did! Only, they picked the wrong "Harris!" The guy who was sitting in the "hot seat" was Mark Harris. So close!
Another funny thing that happened was when I was walking back to my seat, during intermission, this guy goes, "Have you come back for more, Jeni?" I answered, "Heck yeah, I had to!" but I did not ask him how the heck he knew my name. I figured he'd been talking to Doug while I was in the restroom. I didn't say anything to Doug about it, nor him to me. When I turned around to see if the guy was still there, he was gone!
I was, of course, in La La Land after the show and I needed an after-show beer, so we went back to our Belgian restaurant. We sat at the bar for a while and talked to the owner of the bar and a local. They were showing, "Some Like It Hot" behind the bar. Then, we went back to Queens.
One thing I forgot to mention, though, is that from watching Tim perform, I learned the value of eye contact with the audience. It's not that it is easy to see out into the audience, but he seemed as though he looked at people in the audience, including me, in the eyes when he sang or delivered his lines.
Day 4, Sunday, May 22 (Still 2005)
I had to go back to Times Square!
Doug and I stopped off at Woodside (also in Queens) on our way into the city to see if his friend, Matt was home. Doug and Matt were musicians on a tour of Hello, Dolly! several years ago. We walked to Matt's apartment and I have to say that Woodside is a very quaint neighborhood. There were tons of people out, going about their day to day business. There were a lot of mom and pop restaurants and markets. Even the apartments and houses were quaint. I thought, "Oh yeah, I could live here." We got to Matt's and he was home, so the three of us visited for a while. Matt was on his way in to the studio to edit a new drum video he is putting out. The video is all about kick drum techniques. It is the only video of its kind at the moment. He spent around $20,000.00 of his own life savings for this video. He filmed it at a real prestigious studio in up-state NY, and the sound technician f'd up the sound! The technician did not mic the kick drum correctly. I am still curious as to whether or not the studio will fix it for free or not. Anyway, Matt's web site is: www.mattrittermusic.com
Matt is a phenomenal jazz drummer. He teaches and plays clubs in and around NYC.
Matt rode the train into the city with us. The first thing Doug and I did was look for a place to eat. We decided to go to Chinatown. My memory is fuzzy at this point, but we ended up getting off at the wrong stop, somewhere in the court district of the city. Judging (all puns intended) by the map, Chinatown was not too far, so we decided to walk there. Chinatown ended up being a bit far, but the walk was fun, despite the rain. Chinatown was insane! It looked like Singapore or something. People were body to body, looking at useless crap to buy and so on. There were a lot of open-air markets. It smelled ripe. We happened upon a Vietnamese restaurant that was like the Wal-Mart of Vietnamese restaurants. You could order over a thousand different dishes. You could get everything from sweet-n-sour chicken to blood conjee. Blood conjee? I almost ordered it out of curiosity. When in Rome...but I was not in Rome, so I ordered lamb curry and rice. The food was okay. It was only around $4.50 a dish, so one cannot be too picky. Other Asians were eating there, which is always a good sign. We then left the restaurant to go to Ground Zero.
On our way to Ground Zero, it started pouring down rain. How appropriate! Visiting Ground Zero was not something I wanted to do, but something I felt I had to do. I felt like I had to pay respect and say a prayer for all of my fellow Americans who perished on September 11, 2001. I did not think it was going to be such an emotional experience. At the moment, MTA is constructing and brand new train station. It is going to be awesome! The area around the two buildings is fenced in, of course, but people can walk around the perimeter of the site and let me say that for me, going there and looking down into the remains of the Twin Towers was the equivalent of going to a wake or funeral. As if the "water works" weren't bad enough, people have written messages and prayers all over the fence, around the perimeter of the site. Doug and I stood there, looking down into the site, and had several minutes of silence. I did not take any pictures, because for me, I did not feel it was appropriate. Like, "This is me waving and smiling in front of the place where thousands lost their lives in a terrorist attack." I just could not do it. The new train station is super cool, though! I still think "they" need to put a park at Ground Zero, but that is just my opinion. There is still a lot to clean up at the site.
We took a train from the brand new train station back to Times Square. I had to go back to the Shubert and take pictures, since I did not bring my camera with me on Saturday, for fear it would be taken away by theater personnel. I took pictures outside of the Shubert and of a picture of the Spamalot cast that was hanging on the wall. Actually, I was secretly hoping to spot Tim. Doug and I were walking on the opposite side of the street from the Shubert and I noticed a small crowd and a man signing autographs. I could not make out who it was, so I dragged Doug back across the street. I was a bit disappointed to see that it was only Jeff Goldbloom. (Sorry if I mis-spelled the name!) I sadly snapped some photos of Jeff and we moved along. Then, we went to Starbucks for a potty break and to sit for awhile. We sat at a table next to an older man and a young girl. I was listening in on their conversation (my favorite thing to do) and I thought, "How sweet. An Eastern philosophy professor is having a discussion with his student." Then, as I glanced down at some of the books he had with him, I realized he was trying to persuade her to become a Scientologist. The look on her face all the while he was talking to her was worth a million dollars. She looked like she was bored to death! She looked as if she was praying for lightening to strike her dead or something. I was like, "Doug, should we jump in and save her?"
We moved on to Virgin records, which is always fun. I bought Spinal Tap's "Black Album" and a Queen songbook, among some things. Then, I asked if there was a Barnes and Noble nearby, thinking there was a closer store than the one in the East Village. The clerk was like, "It's just down the street, that way." We walked and walked. We walked some more. We stopped for souvenirs along the way. We walked some more. Finally, we arrived at Barnes and Noble, needing to pee, at 7:10pm. The store just closed! I was like, for fuck sake, had I known the clerk was talking about the store in the East Village, we could have taken the subway! We took a train back to Times Square to use the bathroom (hey, we were desperate) and to catch our train back to Queens.
I had a hard time leaving Times Square for the last time during this stay. I tried not to think about it too much as we got on the 7 back to Queens for the last time. I did promise myself this: I will not stay away so long next time. I will make it a point to visit New York City at least once a year. Eventually, once I graduate from college, I hope to live there. I hope to take some acting workshops up there, as well, because I can get credit through NYU, which will transfer to my school as electives.
New York City is a city that welcomes all who go there with open arms, shares its energy and wonders with all who walk its streets, and leaves one with a sense of longing to return, but does weep for those who bid it farewell. It has no time to weep--There, life never stops.
...And now for some photos...
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/guitargirl63376/album?.dir=de45&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//photos.yahoo.com/ph//my_photos
Day 1, Thursday, May 19, 2005
Doug and I arrived at New York-LaGuardia Airport around 2:25pm, New York time. We missed the shuttle to our hotel in Elmhurst, so I decided we should get at least one cab ride in during our trip and we took a cab to the hotel instead, which was around $6.00 or so. We arrived at our hotel and were able to get into our room, so I freshened up and we decided upon where to go first. We were both starving. The question of the moment was, "What are we hungry for?" Doug and I had not made it to Little Italy yet during past stays, so we decided it would be a good place to start. We took the bus (our stop was right across the street from the hotel) to the subway station, bought our week passes, and took the train to Little Italy. The 7 train from Queens took us to Grand Central where we were to switch trains to get to Little Italy. Just as we were about to pull into Grand Central, I looked at my watch and said, "Doug, it is 5:00pm--rush hour at Grand Central. This will be cool!" Scores of folks scurried past us. As we emerged from the 7 to find our way to the red line to Little Italy, Doug realized his worst nightmare--There was a man playing bagpipes! We caught the red line down to Little Italy and looked for a place to eat. We walked a few blocks and the signs on the buildings changed from Italian to Chinese writing, so we turned around, turned a corner and happened upon Lombardi's Pizza. Lombardi's claims to be America's first pizza parlor. Regardless of whether or not they actually are, the pizza is outstanding! The sangria is also pretty good. We split a large pizza between the two of us (we can eat when we get together), then we headed towards our next destination, the Empire State Building. Doug asked the hostess if the ESB was within walking distance and she said, "Start walking and you will run into it." It is one of the tallest buildings in the world, it shouldn't be too hard to find, right? Wrong! There is this whole perspective thing that exists and the other tall buildings that are closer to you tend to cover up the other big buildings further away.
Doug and I walked and walked. We finally got to the Union Square station. I pointed out that Union Square is in the East Village and so is the ESB, so we are close, we just cannot see it. We passed a huge Halloween store and I just had to go in. It was a Halloween Mecca. It also had tons of theatrical/stage make-up. I was in heaven. A guy who looked like Marilyn Manson waited on me. Doug thought he was a she. We went on without buying anything.
I have to say, before I left I had a vision of the perfect pair of Pumas I wanted to get for the trip. I wanted a purple pair of Pumas. On our way to the ESB, we passed a shoe store, Mephisto, and there, in the window looking back at me, were my purple Pumas, just like I imagined! I bought them, changed shoes and we went on. I finally spotted the building, it was just a matter of getting there, again with the whole perspective thing. We got there, got our tickets and went up to the top. By the time we got to the observation deck, it was about 8:30-9:00pm, so the sun was down and the city was beautifully lit. We saw for miles. I got real excited when I spotted Macy's Herald Square. I saw Trump tower. I also saw a huge black hole amongst some buildings, which must have been "Ground Zero." I'm not sure. We did not do Tony's audio tour, because Tony had every language but Pig Latin. After about a half-hour or so at the top, we left and caught the red line back to the 7, back to Queens.
Day 2, Friday, May 20
Macy's day! We got to Grand Central around 11am and were starving. It was chilly and drizzling. We headed towards the Museum of Modern Art, looking for a place to eat along the way. Soup sounded good to both of us. Fortunately, we happened into this cool deli, right at busy lunch hour. Everyone was moving so fast, and I'm like, "Doug, we better figure out what we want and fast." We each got clam chowder, a half sandwich, and a drink for around $5.50. It was quite good. We walked on, looking for the MOMA.
The Museum of Modern Art is AMAZING! I saw Van Gogh's Starry Night and two Salvador Dali paintings- AWESOME. I am not a big Piccasso, cubism period fan and I discovered I like his one-time neighbor, Georges Braque, a lot better. Their works are similar. Braque seemed to copy Piccasso, but did a better job, in my opinion. Six hours later we left the museum and looked for Macy's. We had an address, but were not exactly clear on how to get there. I kept seeing all these people with Macy's bags, so I knew we had to be close. We did stop in Rockefeller Center for some coffee. That area was hopping. There was a heavy police presence and people waiting for something--Duh! the Emmy's were that night. A kind NY native pointed us in the right direction, and we finally got to Macy's. It was so overwhelming. When I shop, I have to go with something in mind (like the purple Pumas) and I search until I find it. I was searching for the perfect, satin green top to go under my white jacket to wear to the theater. After two hours of trying on clothes and me breaking my favorite necklace, I found my top. It was 100% silk, the perfect shade of green, and a steal at $49.00. At that point, it was 9:00pm and closing time, so we decided to head to Greenwich Village, one of my favorite parts of New York. Doug and I walked around the Village, then happened upon a fun cafe where a bunch of locals were watching the Yankees/Mets game. I had couple glasses of Sangria, Doug had a Guinness and we split some chicken nachos. The nachos were awesome. They put fresh jalepenos on the nachos, which made them so good. When we finished, we headed home for the night. We got back to our room and one of our favorite movies, Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory was playing.
Day 3, Saturday, May 21--Spamalot Day!
I did not want to head into the city too early, because I did not want to get all dirty and smelly before the show. Besides, I thought we could go somewhere and have a nice, pre-show dinner, so Doug and I hit the Marriott brunch buffet. The buffet was good. I started with fresh fruit, granola, and a bagel. I was not quite finished with my bagel, when I went for round two, and I left my bagel with one bite taken out of it, a full glass of juice and a full glass of water, along with my Village Voice, at our table. Doug and I waited for our omelets, and when we got back to our table, everything was gone! This hurt, because I am not one to waste food and I could not stand the thought of an entire bagel and fresh glass of juice going to waste. WTF? Not to mention, we had not paid our bill. Did they think we just walked off without paying? A different server apologized and we started all over again with coffee, juice, and water. If we made any more trips to the line, one of us stayed behind.
After breakfast we hit the pool and hot tub for an hour or so. The hot tub felt so good on our legs and feet. New Yorkers have to have awesome legs from all the walking they do. Come to think of it, I did not see any overweight people there.
Doug and I showered, I primped, we took some pre-show photos (It felt like prom), and left the hotel around 4:00pm.
It took us about 45 min. to get to Times Square and the first thing I wanted to do was find the Shubert Theater, in case dinner ran a little late. We easily found the Shubert and found about twenty people waiting for cancellation tickets. The show is sold out until fall. I had butterflies in my stomach. I was so paranoid that I was going to lose the tickets. After we got our bearings, we decided to look for a non-touristy place to have dinner. We were walking away from the Shubert, back towards Times Square, about to cross the street, and, call me crazy, but as I looked to my right, a neatly-dressed, familiar-looking beard with sunglasses was heading towards me, in the direction of the Shubert. He was not too tall but not too short and he was by himself. Doug was facing the street, but I looked this man in the sunglasses and grinned as he almost brushed my shoulder. By his body language, I think he thought I recognized him. I noted the time to be about ten to six, most likely about call-time for the evening performance of Spamalot. We crossed the street and all I kept thinking to myself was, "I think that was Tim Curry that passed me!" It felt like I was a five-years old again and seeing Santa Clause for the first time. I did not say anything to Doug at the time, because I did not want to chance causing a scene on a busy intersection. Moreover, I did not want to say anything as the guy passed me, because there was a small margin of doubt and like I mentioned before, I did not want to cause a scene and make the poor man late for work! I didn't say anything about it to Doug after we crossed the street, either. I wanted to be certain it really was Tim.
On our way to dinner, there was this man going off on someone on his cell phone. You could hear the dude from a block away. I was like,"Maybe he's a street performer and we should go up and hand him a dollar." He was really givin' it to someone. Somebody stood him up. Walking on, Doug and I happened upon this quaint Belgian place. This couple was outside smoking and we went up and looked at the menu. The guy smoking told us to try this certain type of beer. The outside of the restaurant reminded me of a place I went to on Catalina Island. The front windows were completely open to where anyone could reach in and steal a beer off the front table. There was a couple kicked back, sitting at that front table, people-watching. I was like, "Oh yeah. This place is perfect!" It was not crowded at all. Doug had a burger with bleu cheese and a beer (whatever beer he was told to try). I had cream of mushroom soup and a spinach salad with warm goat cheese and honey. It was AWESOME! To drink, I had this Belgian raspberry beer. It was bright red and tasted like raspberry soda. We finished our dinner by 7:15 and headed back to the Shubert. There were a ton of people waiting outside and just as we got under the awning, there was a loud clap of thunder, the sky opened up, and it poured down hard rain. To entertain us, Doug started yelling out Monty Python quotes to see if anyone would answer. Finally, he got an answer from some sixteen-year-old Canadian girls behind us. One of the girls was so excited, she looked like she was going to pass out. She looked how I felt. It made me think that there is hope for today's youthand the legacy of Monty Python lives on!
Doug and I took our seats, which were AWESOME! to say the least. We were eight rows from the stage and left of center, right on the aisle. I felt so relieved, thanks partly to a trip to the ladies room, and I could not believe that I was finally going to see, live, the actor who I have been so infatuated with since I was a kid, Tim Curry.
The orchestra, for starters, was phenomenal. The set, lighting, and costumes were brilliant and had to have cost millions. The choreography was outstanding. The best part of the show, however, was that it was clear that the actors were truly enjoying themselves and getting a kick out of what they were doing. Many of the actors played multiple roles, which is common, but has to be tiring, because the show never stops moving and it is full of energy.
The audience cheered when Hank Azaria and David Hyde Pierce first took the stage. Then, for the next scene, a backdrop opened and Tim Curry (King Arthur) and Patsy (Michael McGrath) appeared. It sounded like a rock
concert, as the audience screamed and applauded for Tim. I realized that I had a mile-wide grin on my face and I noticed tears streaming down my cheek. I felt kind of silly, but I suppose this is what the girls in the Ed Sullivan Theater felt like when The Beatles first appeared. Tim looked and sounded great! He said in a recent interview that he quit smoking about a year ago. It is very noticeable. His voice sounded crystal-clear. The raspy quality his voice once had was now gone. Granted, the raspy quality sounds sexy, but I listen to his recordings and I'm like, "Please stop smoking. Don't ruin your voice!" His was the voice of an angel. I could go on. He's not a big guy at 5'9", so when Sara Ramirez stood next to him, she kind of dwarfed him. I have to say, too, that his mustache, beard, whatever, was the same one that passed me on the street earlier that evening. Call me crazy....
Now, I'm not, by any means, calling Sara Ramirez fat. She is not the least bit overweight. Moreover, Sara just about stole the show. Her voice is amazing and she is an incredible character actress. It is rare to see strong, lead females, like Sara. Her Liza Minelli impression was right on. I get so sick of seeing all of these tiny girls, with puny, nasal voices, in musicals, so it was very refreshing to see Sara perform. We will see more of Sara Ramirez in the future. I remember thinking, "I want to be like Sara." Check out Sara's fantastic web site at:
www.sararamirez.com She comes across as a friendly and approachable person. She has some great behind the scenes pics of the cast. She gets to hang with Tim. As Napoleon Dynamite would say, "Lucky!" (LOL)
Spamalot was so good! They had a giant Trojan rabbit, flying cows, and a killer rabbit. The black knight lost all his limbs in a sword fight with King Arthur. They even found the grail! It was on Broadway, at the Shubert Theater, under seat C101. I had a feeling they would pull someone from the audience and bring him up on stage, and they did! Only, they picked the wrong "Harris!" The guy who was sitting in the "hot seat" was Mark Harris. So close!
Another funny thing that happened was when I was walking back to my seat, during intermission, this guy goes, "Have you come back for more, Jeni?" I answered, "Heck yeah, I had to!" but I did not ask him how the heck he knew my name. I figured he'd been talking to Doug while I was in the restroom. I didn't say anything to Doug about it, nor him to me. When I turned around to see if the guy was still there, he was gone!
I was, of course, in La La Land after the show and I needed an after-show beer, so we went back to our Belgian restaurant. We sat at the bar for a while and talked to the owner of the bar and a local. They were showing, "Some Like It Hot" behind the bar. Then, we went back to Queens.
One thing I forgot to mention, though, is that from watching Tim perform, I learned the value of eye contact with the audience. It's not that it is easy to see out into the audience, but he seemed as though he looked at people in the audience, including me, in the eyes when he sang or delivered his lines.
Day 4, Sunday, May 22 (Still 2005)
I had to go back to Times Square!
Doug and I stopped off at Woodside (also in Queens) on our way into the city to see if his friend, Matt was home. Doug and Matt were musicians on a tour of Hello, Dolly! several years ago. We walked to Matt's apartment and I have to say that Woodside is a very quaint neighborhood. There were tons of people out, going about their day to day business. There were a lot of mom and pop restaurants and markets. Even the apartments and houses were quaint. I thought, "Oh yeah, I could live here." We got to Matt's and he was home, so the three of us visited for a while. Matt was on his way in to the studio to edit a new drum video he is putting out. The video is all about kick drum techniques. It is the only video of its kind at the moment. He spent around $20,000.00 of his own life savings for this video. He filmed it at a real prestigious studio in up-state NY, and the sound technician f'd up the sound! The technician did not mic the kick drum correctly. I am still curious as to whether or not the studio will fix it for free or not. Anyway, Matt's web site is: www.mattrittermusic.com
Matt is a phenomenal jazz drummer. He teaches and plays clubs in and around NYC.
Matt rode the train into the city with us. The first thing Doug and I did was look for a place to eat. We decided to go to Chinatown. My memory is fuzzy at this point, but we ended up getting off at the wrong stop, somewhere in the court district of the city. Judging (all puns intended) by the map, Chinatown was not too far, so we decided to walk there. Chinatown ended up being a bit far, but the walk was fun, despite the rain. Chinatown was insane! It looked like Singapore or something. People were body to body, looking at useless crap to buy and so on. There were a lot of open-air markets. It smelled ripe. We happened upon a Vietnamese restaurant that was like the Wal-Mart of Vietnamese restaurants. You could order over a thousand different dishes. You could get everything from sweet-n-sour chicken to blood conjee. Blood conjee? I almost ordered it out of curiosity. When in Rome...but I was not in Rome, so I ordered lamb curry and rice. The food was okay. It was only around $4.50 a dish, so one cannot be too picky. Other Asians were eating there, which is always a good sign. We then left the restaurant to go to Ground Zero.
On our way to Ground Zero, it started pouring down rain. How appropriate! Visiting Ground Zero was not something I wanted to do, but something I felt I had to do. I felt like I had to pay respect and say a prayer for all of my fellow Americans who perished on September 11, 2001. I did not think it was going to be such an emotional experience. At the moment, MTA is constructing and brand new train station. It is going to be awesome! The area around the two buildings is fenced in, of course, but people can walk around the perimeter of the site and let me say that for me, going there and looking down into the remains of the Twin Towers was the equivalent of going to a wake or funeral. As if the "water works" weren't bad enough, people have written messages and prayers all over the fence, around the perimeter of the site. Doug and I stood there, looking down into the site, and had several minutes of silence. I did not take any pictures, because for me, I did not feel it was appropriate. Like, "This is me waving and smiling in front of the place where thousands lost their lives in a terrorist attack." I just could not do it. The new train station is super cool, though! I still think "they" need to put a park at Ground Zero, but that is just my opinion. There is still a lot to clean up at the site.
We took a train from the brand new train station back to Times Square. I had to go back to the Shubert and take pictures, since I did not bring my camera with me on Saturday, for fear it would be taken away by theater personnel. I took pictures outside of the Shubert and of a picture of the Spamalot cast that was hanging on the wall. Actually, I was secretly hoping to spot Tim. Doug and I were walking on the opposite side of the street from the Shubert and I noticed a small crowd and a man signing autographs. I could not make out who it was, so I dragged Doug back across the street. I was a bit disappointed to see that it was only Jeff Goldbloom. (Sorry if I mis-spelled the name!) I sadly snapped some photos of Jeff and we moved along. Then, we went to Starbucks for a potty break and to sit for awhile. We sat at a table next to an older man and a young girl. I was listening in on their conversation (my favorite thing to do) and I thought, "How sweet. An Eastern philosophy professor is having a discussion with his student." Then, as I glanced down at some of the books he had with him, I realized he was trying to persuade her to become a Scientologist. The look on her face all the while he was talking to her was worth a million dollars. She looked like she was bored to death! She looked as if she was praying for lightening to strike her dead or something. I was like, "Doug, should we jump in and save her?"
We moved on to Virgin records, which is always fun. I bought Spinal Tap's "Black Album" and a Queen songbook, among some things. Then, I asked if there was a Barnes and Noble nearby, thinking there was a closer store than the one in the East Village. The clerk was like, "It's just down the street, that way." We walked and walked. We walked some more. We stopped for souvenirs along the way. We walked some more. Finally, we arrived at Barnes and Noble, needing to pee, at 7:10pm. The store just closed! I was like, for fuck sake, had I known the clerk was talking about the store in the East Village, we could have taken the subway! We took a train back to Times Square to use the bathroom (hey, we were desperate) and to catch our train back to Queens.
I had a hard time leaving Times Square for the last time during this stay. I tried not to think about it too much as we got on the 7 back to Queens for the last time. I did promise myself this: I will not stay away so long next time. I will make it a point to visit New York City at least once a year. Eventually, once I graduate from college, I hope to live there. I hope to take some acting workshops up there, as well, because I can get credit through NYU, which will transfer to my school as electives.
New York City is a city that welcomes all who go there with open arms, shares its energy and wonders with all who walk its streets, and leaves one with a sense of longing to return, but does weep for those who bid it farewell. It has no time to weep--There, life never stops.
...And now for some photos...
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/guitargirl63376/album?.dir=de45&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//photos.yahoo.com/ph//my_photos
posted by Jeni @ 10:45 AM
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