This Past Week in NYC

I realize I haven't updated much this past week or so. I've been keeping busy with work, school, and, of course, fun! I'm running out of time here in NYC, and I'm trying to get as much out of it as I can. Below I'll recap some of the more exciting moments I've had recently.

CD Signing: Priscilla Queen of the Desert

Last week I happened to come across by chance an awesome event happening at Barnes and Noble on the Upper East Side. Thanks to Twitter, I headed to the bookstore after work for a performance and CD signing with the cast of the broadway show Priscilla Queen of the Desert. The event was very cool. All I had to do was buy a CD for about $14 and I got to hear members from the show's Original Broadway Cast sing some of the songs for a select group of people. The music was tons of fun, and it was nice to get my CD signed as well. I'd love to check out this show-- the music features fun stuff like "I Will Survive," "Like a Prayer," and "Girls Just Want to Have Fun." There's also drag queens involved, so you know it's gotta be good! Unfortunately the only rush tickets they offer are $45 for Sunday evenings. A bit pricey for me right now, but I've got to say this CD signing was a great way to get a sneak peak of the show. Here are a few photos I took:

This is the show's orchestrator. Hopefully my brother will be doing these events one day!

These are the Divas:

And here's one of the guys singing:

Lastly, my signed CD:

Dave and Busters

Last weekend my old neighbor in the house Jason came back for a visit. On Saturday he and I went to Dave and Busters in Times Square with Mary (my other neighbor) and her boyfriend Matt. While I can always go to D&B back in Boston, I had never been before. We didn't go for dinner, but the arcade was really fun. Of course, you're spending a little bit too much money for the "tokens," which are actually on a plastic card much like a credit card. That probably explains why it's so easy to just swipe it and run out of points quickly! The experience was really fun, but I would definitely not go there too often because you'll end up spending a lot. The good thing, though, is that your tickets are saved on your card so that any time you go back they're still available for use. If you're looking for something fun to do with a group of friends, Dave and Busters is a cool place to hang out. 

Off-Broadway: Love Song

After getting a late start on Sunday, I decided to get a ticket for an off-broadway show on my new favorite website StudentRush.org (seriously, you NEED to check it out). That way I didn't have to be in the city all day after waiting in line to get a ticket. I had been hearing praise for Love Song at the 59E59 theater on Twitter, so I decided to give it a shot. My ticket was free with the exception of the $5 I paid for a reservation fee with the website. I was pretty excited when I had a first row seat, but then the show started. Don't get me wrong-- the actors were amazing. All of them did a great job in their roles. The story, however, was not for me, and not what I was expecting. I wasn't the only one who felt this way either. The lady sitting two seats down from me fell asleep, and for the parts she was awake she shook her head at every swear (which there were many) and checked her watch literally every 5 minutes. I'm not mad that I went, but I definitely would not recommend this show to anyone. The story, in the end, was a good one, but getting there was a little painful. You can click the link above if you'd like to learn more about the story. 

That Championship Season

Thanks to StudentRush.org, I was able to see the broadway play That Championship Season on Thursday night for free (again, just the $5 to reserve the ticket). I was sitting in the center orchestra pretty far back, but still an awesome seat. The cast of this show is enough reason to see it-- Chris Noth, Jim Gaffigan, Kiefer Sutherland, Jason Patric, Brian Cox. Who wouldn't want to see these guys in person?! The show was really good, too. The story revolves around four guys who are visiting their high school basketball coach to remember their infamous championship win when they were kids. What starts off as a happy reunion brings out a bunch of dark secrets. Things get pretty serious when you find out what the guys are hiding. In the end, they learn that life goes on, and sometimes you need to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and move on. My only complaint about the show was that the intermission definitely does not split up the evening very well. The first act is over in about 40 minutes, but then the second act is about an hour and 15 minutes. By the end of the night I was ready to get out of there! I'm really glad I went to see this show, but I wouldn't go again. Once was enough for me! I recommend this those who are college age and older. It's really geared toward 30s and up, I think. 

Catch Me If You Can

One of this season's hottest new musicals is Catch Me If You Can. Today I went to the matinee by getting student rush tickets for $27. I got to theater an hour early thinking that since it is such a new show I'd need to get there early. Boy was I right-- there were already about 17 people ahead of me in line when I got there! Luckily I still got a seat in the boxes (not my favorite, but still great). I was unsure of how a musical rendition of the story would be, and let me tell you, it is tons of fun! The gorgeous Aaron Tveit stars as Frank Abagnale, Jr. Not only is he easy on the eyes, but he is one of the best performers broadway has to offer. The rest of the cast is to die for as well. Catchy songs, fabulous dance numbers, and, of course, a story that doesn't disappoint (but you already knew that part). Catch Me If You Can is the perfect musical adventure. Go see it.

Lesson 5: You Don't Have to Spend a Lot of Money to See Broadway Shows

Think you can't afford to see shows on broadway? Think again! If you're a student like me, or even just a bargain hunter, seeing the world's best theatrical performances can be quite affordable. In the past four days, I have seen three broadway shows for the combined total of $64. By taking advantage of student rush offers at the box office, and a great new website that actually found me, I was able to get amazing seats for Wonderland, Memphis, and Rain. 

Wonderland

On Saturday I got student rush tickets for Wonderland. For $32 I had third row seats in the orchestra on the left side (a seat that normally costs $125). This new musical is a take on the classic Alice and Wonderland. The story was a bit different than I expected. Alice is not a young girl, but a mother who lives in New York. She begins have problems with her husband, and she and her daughter move in with her mother-in-law. Taken to Wonderland by the White Rabbit via her apartment complex's elevator, Alice meets the regular cast of characters, but with a modern spin. The cheshire cat, for instance, is known as El Gato, and while he still has his famous grin, he can no longer turn invisible. 

There were two parts of this production that I absolutely loved. The first was the reference to the Tea Party as an evil group. The audience roared with laughter. Of course, they were really speaking of the Mad Hatter's Tea Party, but the message was quite clear. I also loved the boy band moments. That's right-- boy band! The White Knight, Jack, has a group of four other guys (back-up singers, if you will) that join him with classic moves made famous by those guys I know and love. Of course, it is meant to be comical (and believe me- you will laugh), but what girl wouldn't love Jack and his guys? 

If you're looking for a fun show, this is certainly the one to go to. It is great for families, but adults will love it, too. In fact, much of the story is meant for adults. Plus, the music is fabulous, and the costumes are out of this world (literally). If you're a student, definitely take advantage of the rush program. I recommend getting to the box office about 30 minutes early for this one. There was a line when I arrived. 

Memphis

I also got student rush ticket on Sunday to see Memphis. This time I paid only $26.50, but I had box seats. My seat was in the back of the box, so I couldn't see about 1/3 of the stage, but for the price I paid I am definitely not complaining. Of all the shows I have seen in the past few weeks, Memphis is definitely my favorite. There is something about the story and the music that is so captivating. Set in the 1950s, the story of Memphis brings together people from different walks of life. A poor, white man wanders into a black club simply because he loves the music they are playing. He promises Felicia, the sister of the club owner and a singer, that one day he will play her music on the radio. The story that follows is the struggle that Huey and Felicia go through both together and apart. Huey becomes a famous radio DJ, and then television show host, that breaks the norm and plays "race" music for his white listeners. With his help, Felicia becomes a well-known singer. While there is a "happy ending," there are moments when the characters go through extreme hardships. The audience will literally laugh and cry during the show.

Another one of the reasons I loved Memphis was for the amazing dance numbers and powerful songs. The entire cast is extremely talented. If you're in the ensemble in this show, you do not fade into the background-- ever. It is easy to see why Memphis won the Tony for Best Musical in 2010. It is truly one of the big performances that people equate with the word "broadway." The mix of the powerful story with the talented cast was really moving. I recommend this show to everyone and anyone. It is even worth it to pay full price if you have to! If you are doing student rush, definitely get to the theatre about 45 minutes before the box office opens. I happened to get the last student rush ticket of the day, and I was about the 10th person in line. Also, if you get there early you may have a chance at the front row instead of the box seats.

Rain: A Tribute to the Beatles

Last night I went to see the show Rain for free. Yes, for free. Okay, technically I paid $5, but that was for the reservation fee. How did I get such an amazing deal? I joined a free website called StudentRush.org. This website actually began to follow me on Twitter when (I'm assuming) it saw my posts on me getting rush tickets to shows. I am so glad it did, because it is such a great site! It offers students tickets to broadway, off-broadway, concerts and more through its Will Call Club. Tickets are free, or sometimes discounted. If free, members pay a $5 reservation fee that helps keep the website in business. I'll be honest, I thought this was a scam at first. But when I was sitting in the 5th row of the center orchestra, I knew it was the real deal. That's right-- for $5 I was sitting in a seat worth $213. Amazing.

The show was great, too. I have seen a number of Beatles tribute shows before, but this is broadway, so you know it's going to be big. Basically, this is a Beatles concert mixed with historic video footage. The band changes outfits (and wigs) to match the time period of the music. The video clips allow them time to change. What was great about this show was how interactive it was. Before the show begins, Beatles trivia appears on the video screens (and, believe it or not, I knew more answers than the older couple sitting next to me who was alive when the Beatles were popular). During the show, the band asks the audience to sing along, to stand up and dance, and to clap along. Not so typical of broadway, but definitely a lot of fun. If you love the Beatles (and really, who doesn't) then go to this show. As the advertisements say, it's the closest you'll ever get to the Beatles.

Lesson 5: If you find great deals, Broadway shows are quite affordable. By finding out rush policies that shows offer, and using discount websites, you can get amazing seats for a small price. 

Broadway | La Cafe aux Folles

Today I traveled into the city to get student rush tickets to another broadway show. This time I chose La Cage aux Folles. For those of you that have seen the movie The Birdcage, this is the show it is based off of. Basically, a gay couple owns a drag club and their straight son wishes to get married to a girl that comes from a very conservative family. When the girl's parents are coming for dinner, the son pleads with his family to act "normal" for the meal so he can get married. (As I'm writing this, the story is actually quite similar to The Addams Family...). But conservatives beware! If you are not okay with drag queens this show is not for you! If, however, you are as liberal an open-minded as I hope you are, you will love this show as much as I did. 

The show opens with the funniest drag queen ever. She interacts with the crowd asking couples how long they've been married, telling older women to "shake it" and even sat down on some guy's lap. Then, once the show begins, you'll be amazed at how much you'll fall in love with "les cagelles," or the chorus line. These boys (girls?) can dance! And they're stunning, too. Absolutely flawless. The rest of the cast is full of big names that you won't want to miss. The one and only Harvey Fierstein plays the "mother" and Christopher Sieber (whom I love from Mary-Kate and Ashley's Two of a Kind) plays Georges, the dad. I was most excited about seeing Wilson Jermaine Heredia, who is famous for playing Angel in RENT. I was thrilled to meet him after the show. He even let me take this picture with him:

With such a talented cast, great music, and fabulous dancing, La Cage aux Folles is an amazing show experience that I definitely recommend! Although I wouldn't recommend bringing students younger than high school age. Oh! I almost forgot to mention that I had box seats, too! For only $36.50 I was sitting in one of those cool boxes above the stage. I had a perfect view, and was extremely close to the actors. Being a college student definitely has it's perks! 

Book Signing | A Place of Yes by Bethenny Frankel

I've been a fan of Bravo reality shows for a long time now. My favorite is the Real Housewives of New York, followed by its spin-off series Bethenny Ever After (formerly Bethenny Getting Married). Last night after work I headed over to the Barnes and Noble at Union Square to meet Bethenny Frankel and have her sign her newest book A Place of Yes. I got there around 4:00PM, with the book signing scheduled for 7:00PM. I am so glad I got there so early! Not only did I get second row seats at the event, but if I showed up even an hour later I probably wouldn't have been able to sit! The place was absolutely packed. Bethenny tweeted later that 900 people showed up! Thankfully I didn't have to wait long at all to get my book signed after hearing her speak. 

Bethenny's book signing was a bit different than JWOWW's. Before she got to signing the books, she talked a bit about it, and held a short Q&A with the audience. Wondering if she's just as hilarious in person as she is on the show? Well, she definitely is! Here's a video clip I took of her speaking about living a parallel life to Chris Brown:

Bethenny also seemed to be a really nice person that cared so much about her fans. She almost cried when one of the fans in the audience told her it was her upbeat personality and lifestyle that helped him through cancer, and she teared up when reading the dedication page of her book out loud (which was also to her fans). I'll admit, when she was on the Real Housewives, I was not really much of a Bethenny fan. Once she had her own show, however, I couldn't get enough of her. She's always funny, and now I know how much she truly cares about her fans. Even though I was one of the first people to get her book signed last night, Bethenny greeted me with a huge smile and seemed like she truly was happy to meet me. Here are a few other pictures I took:

I didn't even have to zoom in to get a great shot!

She is a human barbie doll! Tiny waist, and check out those shoes!

Of course, her signature in my book.

I'll end this entry with a fun fact: David Yontef, who was on the Bravo show Millionaire Matchmaker, was sitting right behind me at the event.


This post contains an affiliate link. All opinions are my own. 

Broadway | The Addams Family

Today I made my way into the city to buy student rush tickets to a broadway show. On Sundays the box office opens at noon, so I figured getting there at 11:00AM would mean a good spot in line. I was very surprised when I got there and found no one waiting at all! In fact, there were only a handful of people behind me when the box office opened. I had prepared a small list of shows that I was interested in, and got my first choice of The Addams Family. For only $37 I got a seat in the mid-mezzanine! All I had to do was show my student ID to get the ticket. 

The show was fantastic! Besides sitting behind a really tall guy (of course) I had a great view. It's was weird to think that when I saw Beauty and the Beast in the same theater (the Lunt-Fontanne), I was sitting in the fourth row. The music was very catchy, and the story was funny. Grandma was particularly hilarious. Another cool thing about the story was that it took place in the current time period, so references to pop culture were made. The one-liners were great!  In this take on the Addams Family, Wednesday falls in love with a "normal" guy, and his family comes to dinner at the Addams' residence. While Wednesday pleads with her family to act like everyday people for just one night, that isn't of course what happens. There are fights, games, and so much more. Uncle Fester even finds himself falling in love! I would definitely recommend this show for a fun family comedy on broadway. Just be aware that if you bring young children there are some obscenities. 

After the show I stayed at the theater to get my playbill signed. I usually have the cast sign the program book that I always buy as a souvenir, but since it was all black I figured the playbill was a better idea. Here is a picture of the program and signed playbill:

I had a great time at The Addams Family, and I plan on seeing a lot more broadway shows while I'm here! Many of them offer student rush tickets, and some offer general rush tickets. If you're looking for a show to see, check out this website for the shows playing and the discounts you can receive: Link

Lesson 4: It's Okay to be a Tourist Sometimes

Yesterday was a great day here in New York City. The weather was bright and sunny, and a warm 70 degrees. My boss gave me the day off to enjoy the day and explore the city, and that's exactly what I did! I usually don't like to make myself stand out as a tourist, mainly for safety reasons, but sometimes it's great to experience the city as one. My housemate Jason and I started off the day at the Empire State Building Observatory. For $21 you can go up the 86th floor, which has an outside observation deck, unlike the 102nd floor that costs $15 more. Besides being a bit cold and really windy, it was great! Jason even paid for the audio tour, so he was able to point out some cool landmarks for us to look at. Here are some of the many pictures I took. The city looked amazing!

That brown building is where I work! 

If you look closely you can see the Statue of Liberty in the distance! 

 

After the Empire State Building, we shopped a little in the Macy's at Herald Square. I've been here a number of times since it's just a few blocks from where I work, but this was an exciting visit because we saw Clinton Kelly from What Not to Wear! He was busy filming, so we weren't able to meet him, but I snapped a couple pictures of the back of his head. 

Next we headed off to some of the fancy shops on Fifth Avenue. The only thing I purchased was a shirt at Armani Exchange (for only $13.88 might I add), but I enjoyed the area. We saw some landmarks along the way as well. Here are pictures of the Trump Tower and the hotel from Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (one of my favorite movies!). 

The last big adventure of the day was a trip to Madame Tussauds Wax Museum. Jason and I met up with my friend Bri from school, who happened to be in the city for a week-long externship. I had been to this museum before during a visit with my dance class back in high school, but it's always something to check out. It is a little pricey (I paid $35 with a student discount of $3), but it includes a cool showing of The Wizard of Oz in 4D, complete with smell-o-vision and bubbles. Plus, there have been many additions to the museum since I've been last. The figures are also rotated every 2-3 months, so you have the chance to see different ones every time you go. I was just happy to see that *NSYNC was still there! Here are some of my favorite pictures:

Kim Kardashian

Bri and I with the Spice Girls

My favorite boys, *NSYNC

Lady Gaga

Lesson 4: While it's usually good to blend into the crowd while New York City, going to tourist destinations and whipping our your camera can be a lot of fun. Just remember to stay safe and be aware of your surroundings. 

Long Island & New York Bagels

This week, my college back home is on spring break, so I traveled up to Long Island to visit my friend Kathleen. The trip took me about a total of two hours, but half of that is on the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) which is a lot nicer and more comfortable than the subway that I'm used to. It was really nice to get out of the city to a suburb, and to meet Kathleen's family. On Saturday night they made me a really nice dinner of lemon chicken, brown rice, and green beans. It was absolutely delicious! For dessert we had chocolate fondue with bananas and raspberries (also delicious). I really liked having a sit-down, family dinner with them. Her parents and brother are really nice. I also really liked the setup of her house. It had cool levels in it, and lots of great colors for the walls and carpeting. I kept thinking of how much my sister-in-law would have liked their antique style lamps and green furniture! 

After dinner, we met up with one of Kathleen's friends from high school and went to see the movie "No Strings Attached" with Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman. The movie was pretty cute. It's still weird to see Ashton play someone else other than Kelso from That 70's Show, though. I was also pretty excited when we saw the preview for The Hangover II. I cannot wait to see that movie!

When we got back to her house we played some Wii sports before going to bed. I was lucky and got to sleep on a pull-out couch in my own room!  I also thought it was really funny that the comforter I used was the same patterned Minnie Mouse one as my bedroom set that I have at home from when I was little. 

This morning, Kathleen took me to have my first New York bagel experience. It wasn't too much unlike other bagel shops I've been to, except in New York you don't get your bagel toasted because it's hot from just coming out of the oven. I had honey whole wheat with cream cheese. After bagels, we hung out at her house for a while before I had to take the train back to the city. Although it was a quick visit, I really enjoyed Long Island. Thank you to Kathleen and her family for having me!