Phase 3: NYC (play)

Spending a week in New York is enough time to develop somewhat of a routine. You leave the apartment at the same time, you stop in at the same bakery to pick up some breakfast, you walk to work, you walk home, and you meet friends for dinner or a show afterward. It’s enough time to start fooling people into thinking you’re a real New Yorker…mostly because you’ve stopped carrying your camera on your wrist or waiting for the walking man to appear before launching into the street. It’s enough time to realize the buzz and excitement that has worn you out is the exact same buzz and excitement that is, in fact, keeping you from falling over. It’s enough time to have an internal wrestle with yourself over whether you shouldn’t perhaps move there as soon as possible. But it’s enough time to realize that everything from the money you have spent to the smoke you’ve inhaled to the low percentage of sky you can see at any given time points to the fact that living there would probably drive you crazy. Still, it’s enough time to leave you with a heavy heart when the trip is over.

Prior to this week, I’d only ever spent one other week in NYC, and during that week, I’d been working a trade show and only had one day to myself. So this time there were lots of things on my to-do list. But first thing was first. I needed a place to stay. Not prepared for how much it would cost to stay in the city for a week, I at first laughed at the thought of paying $250 per night. Of course I wasn’t laughing when I actually realized that $250 was the CHEAP end. I ultimately decided to rent an apartment, which was slightly cheaper than a hotel and would allow me more space as well as a more “New York” experience. The apartment, steps away from Times Square, couldn’t have been more conveniently located.




Highlights include a session at the temple, a trip to Tiffany, and a ferry out to see the Statue of Liberty up close and personal. I don’t know why, but the statue fills me with a lot of emotion, and not just because of the Reading Rainbow episode I saw as a kid. (And yes, Neil Diamond was totally going through my head.) Going to the top of the Empire State Building was also a treat, mainly because I was surprised by how quiet it is up there. The noise and chaos of the city is reduced to a muffled hum, and though the observatory is crawling with people (even at 1:00AM), everyone seems surprisingly reflective. As if contemplative silence is needed just to take it all in.





And then there were the shows. I saw three of them, and while any show on broadway would surely be a treat, I worried for months in advance about getting an understudy, particularly because my selection of shows had been largely based on a few lead characters whom I really wanted to see. The thought of an understudy terrified me. My first show was How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, and I’m happy to report that little Daniel Radcliffe (aka Harry Potter) was not replaced by an understudy that night. I’m also happy to report that the show was delightful. He’s clearly having the time of his life, and the show, which I hadn’t been super familiar with, is funny. Especially if you work in business. And this just in: Harry Potter can dance! So nice to see him smile and laugh and not be constantly plagued by evil wizard death threats.




Sutton Foster is “the” broadway girl these days, as everything she touches turns to gold…or at least lands her a Tony nod. She won a few months ago for the revival of Anything goes, and again, I was in a cold sweat prior to entering the theater lobby over whether or not she’d be replaced by an understudy. What if Sutton was sick? I was quite sure I would die if Sutton were sick, especially since six years earlier I’d tried to see her in Little Women, and the box office sold the last ticket to the person in front of me in line. True story. But Sutton was not sick, and she played the best Reno Sweeney you’ll ever see. Not only is she sickeningly talented (how about that 15-minute tap number?), she’s such a good actress. She was truly a pleasure to watch, and Reno is such a glamour role that I have to believe she’s fun to play. Also in the show was Kelly Bishop (Mrs. Gilmore on Gilmore Girls), and I also recognized an actor from Love Actually, but really, this show was all about Sutton.



And surely “the” older broadway girl is Bernadette Peters, someone whom I’ve wanted to see for the better part of two decades now. It almost happened once when dad and I had tickets to see her in concert, but she cancelled on account of her Annie Get Your Gun run. Lucky for me, she opened in Follies earlier this month, and also lucky for me, there were no understudies when I saw the show last week. But perhaps the luckiest thing of all is that when I picked up my ticket from will call and handed it to the worker in the theater, he directed me to my seat IN THE FRONT ROW. Me and Bernadette, five feet away. The show is not exactly chipper, and her character is sort of crazy and definitely plain, but she did so well, as did everyone in the cast. I waited outside for her to come out of the theater, now all glamour in her black dress and 4-inch heels, and in case you’re wondering, she signed autographs for everyone who wanted them and was then escorted by security into a shiny black car. I know it would be beastly hard, but that doesn’t stop me from wishing sometimes that I could be a broadway baby too.



And I simply must mention my travel companions. Roommates in Provo, K and I hadn’t seen each other since we graduated from BYU, and she met me for a weekend of pure sightseeing. And L, who used to live in Cleveland but has since moved away, joined me for the second part of my trip. Because as much as I love NYC, it’s even better when you’re in good company.




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