Category Archives: entertainment

i’m a crappy blogger

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I seriously have so much to say. And so many fabulous NY things to share. But no time to do it. As it is, I’m averaging between 4 and 5 hours of sleep a night and if I try and add blogging in…well, let’s just say it’s not a great idea. 

So, here we go, bullet point style:
  • My friend, Kari, is in town from Arizona. I have been playing the role of tourist (and really, just because I cross the street when I’m not supposed to and get upset when people stand on the left side of the escalator does not mean I’m a native). We have had a great time. Circle Line Cruise around the island, night time bus tour, etc.
  • I saw Wicked for the third time. I still love it! Probably my favorite musical of all time. Admittedly, I didn’t get chills this time like I did when Stephanie Block played Elphaba, but it was still amazing.
  • Taking full advantage of Restaurant Week…although the restaurants are probably winning since I keep ordering off the regular menu. If
  • Saw (500) Days of Summer…fell in love with this song (two versions…one live, one not):
  • Had my mid-summer review with my boss. So far, so good. Hopefully it stays that way, although today was rough…I had serious ADD.
  • Speaking of internship, I’m over halfway through. It has been an incredible experience. I’ve been given some really amazing opportunities. I’m loving the company. I’m loving my boss and the three other women in my little space. I love the building in which I work. 
  • London might be where I’m living next fall…it’s a long shot, but wouldn’t that be amazing!!!
  • I have no money to show for my internship, but lots of pictures and lots of…pounds? Yes, I am eating my way through NYC and loving every minute of it.
  • I’m starting to get excited about seeing all of my school peeps, but the thought of leaving New York really is starting to break my heart!
I’m tired. It’s past my bed time. That’s all for tonight. 

my own personal theater week

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Last week was seriously amazing. First, as I already posted about here and here, I got to see Twelfth Night in Central Park. Then, Friday night, Sarah, Kelly, Mark (Candice’s husband…Candice didn’t want to see it, so she was home with her kiddies), and I saw August: Osage County starring, none other than, Phylicia Rashad (aka Claire Huxtable). It was incredible. Seriously. I loved it. And meeting Phylicia Rashad was amazing, too.



Pre-theater, I met up with Sarah and Kelly for yummy sushi at Haru. My second time there…still loved it. Post-theater, we got to meet the cast, including Brian Kerwin (the dad in 27 Dresses). 

And a quick digression…what the crap were this kid’s parents thinking when they took him to see this very R-rated play? Not to mention that the guy played a total perv which makes this pic and the one below of him riding away on a bike kind of creepy.

And then, after the play, Emily (my MBA friend from Boston) met up with us. On Saturday, Emily and I went to see both Our Town and Mary Poppins. Our Town was fantastic (and just around the corner from my apartment). I’d never seen it before and I loved it. Such a different experience and one that really made me think. Kind of heavy for a Saturday afternoon, but I’m a fan of deep thought as a general rule

We followed it up with Mary Poppins, which I would have thought to be the opposite of heavy, but the Broadway production really puts an emphasis on just what a difficult marriage George and Winifred Banks had. However, in the end, it all worked out, just like it did in the movie version, so a much happier ending than that of Our Town. Overall, the musical was good, but I will say that it didn’t live up to my expectations. Some of those dancers would have never made it through Vegas on SYTYCD. And the actress playing Winifred Banks would have been cut from American Idol. Other than that, it was delightful.
Oh, and on Thursday, while not the theater, as in live theater, Kelly, Sarah, Candice, and I did go see The Proposal…again. It was in a movie theater, but a theater nonetheless. And can I just say Ryan Reynolds is dreamy!!! Part of it is that he is just good looking…the other part is that he is hilarious!!!
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We did do some other stuff over the weekend, but those are the theater highlights from the week. I may not be paying down my school debt, but I sure am enjoying myself!!!

proof

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So, here are the other pictures from last night. I don’t have time to label them. But the first pic is us waiting. The next is us with Anne Hathaway. And the bottom is Mark, Candice’s husband, with Raul (I can’t remember his last name now), but he played the Duke. Anyway…fun times.


shakespeare in the park

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I snuck a picture of the stage on my phone before the play started. The stage alone was super impressive!!!

So, thanks to my fabulous friends who got up at the crack of dawn this morning to go stand in line for five hours while I worked, we all got to see Twelfth Night at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. Anne Hathaway was the major headliner, but I think Audra McDonald (of Private Practice fame) was probably the show stopper. Or…well, really, the whole performance was PHENOMENAL!!! It was the first live performance of Shakespeare I have ever seen and all I can say is that I’m sad I wasted so many years of my life not knowing just how amazing Shakespeare is live! I mean, I know the stories, and I’ve seen a number of movies, but it’s just different. And all of the live music, both instrumental and vocal…fabulous!

And then there was the theater itself. From our seats, we could see the castle behind the stage (look at the picture again…castle is real, not part of set). There was a beautiful sunset making me appreciate all the gray skies I’ve had since moving here. No rain (a miracle in and of itself). Seriously, incredible. And, afterward, we all got to meet the cast, including Anne Hathaway. She was so nice, too (as were they all). I’m a huge fan. I just wish I could see it again! (Assuming I move here next summer, I will for sure be getting here in time to do this again!)
P.S. Picture of all of us with Anne Hathaway to come.

two shows in two days

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Lauren Graham (Miss Adelaide), Oliver Platt, (Nathan Detroit), Kate Jennings Grant (Sarah Brown), and Craig Bierko (Sky Masterson)…HOT!!! (Kelly managed to snap this shot right at the end.)

As a child, I spent a lot of time at my grandma’s house and she had a lot of musicals. I would watch them over and over again. It has been so fun this year to see a few of them live. Guys and Dolls was one of my favorites, so when KP and Sarah told me about their plans to see it in March I, of course, invited myself along (that’s really the whole reason I decided to go to NY in for this trip…of course spending so much time with the besties was totally worth it, too).

KP anxiously awaiting the casts’ arrival post-show.

The besties are all uber fans of Lauren Graham (of Gilmore Girls fame). I joined that bandwagon a little later in life, so while I am always quite starstruck, I was more excited just to see the show. And, bad reviews or not, I LOVED it. I thought most of the actors did a phenomenal job (Oliver Platt left a little to be desired).

If you look, you can Oliver Platt and Lauren Graham inbetween the crowds.

There were a couple of little twists that just made the experience so great. First, I forgot how much dancing (or maybe in the movie there isn’t as much) there is in the show. So fun to watch. Next, Lauren Graham did a great job portraying Adelaide, and I loved that she did her own version, rather than attempting to be the Adelaide of the movie version. My favorite, though, was Tituss Burgess as Nicely-Nicely Johnson (with Mary Testa as General Cartwright) singing “Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat”. Unbelievable. So good. If you get a chance to go see it, I swear it’s worth it just to hear that one song.

I’m sad you can’t see Ollie’s fantastic red track pants (so awesomely bad).

Lauren getting closer…

KP, Sarah, and Lauren Graham. She kindly told us that she wasn’t posing for individual pictures, but I managed to snap one anyway (and she tried to smile for it…without stopping).

Oh, to look that good at 42! (Hell, to look that good now!)

And a little self-portrait of all of us (thanks KP), post-show (loving the NYC humidity).

The only picture we have is courtesy of KP…this is the amazing theater where we saw the show. West Side Story is another favorite. It’s interesting, though, not having seen it for years, how the prejudices displayed affected me (embarrassingly enough, I got rather emotional about the whole thing).

In this production, a few of the songs and part of the dialogue were in Spanish which I actually really enjoyed (although I was really wishing that I spoke Spanish during those parts). The costumes and dancing were incredible. The actors were pretty good (Tony was not my favorite, but…he doesn’t actually do a lot, so it wasn’t a big deal). Somehow, I had totally forgotten that this is basically Romeo and Juliet…so the ending was a little more depressing than I was planning on.

My favorite part of all, Anita (played by Karen Olivio). She was incredible!

Totally worth seeing.