Favorite NY Memories #8: "Rent" on Broadway

Oh, Broadway, how I love thee. When I started making this list, I knew Broadway had to make an appearance. But, how could I choose which particular show or moment? I have now seen 25 Broadway shows (and four off-Broadway). All were fantastic in their own ways and I loved every second of theater I have enjoyed in this city.

But then, it hit me, and it was so obvious. And so the number eight spot on my countdown goes to Rent, which we saw in its last week on Broadway, just two days after we arrived in New York City. That was the quintessential Broadway experience in my book.

Rent at the Nederlander Theater, September 2008

Before we came to New York, we caught wind that Rent would be closing, but that it had just extended its end date to be just a week after our scheduled arrival. In fact, thanks to the extension, we were able to buy tickets in the front row of the center balcony the day they went on sale. We ended up with a great view.

I remember we had arrived just two days earlier, were right in the midst of unpacking (and running up to Lincoln Center daily to use their free WiFi to connect with the world while we waited for our cable/internet to be set up), but we dropped everything and got dolled up for a night out - our first in the city. We walked to the show, which I thought was amazing. The show itself was fantastic, of course. Rent is one of my favorites, so I was not surprised. After the show we hung around the theater and ended up meeting three of the actors (those who played Mimi, Roger and Angel).

Outside the theater after the show

Happy to be new New Yorkers!

Then, we walked back home through Times Square, and it was just this "holy cow, I live in New York" kind of moment. I had wanted to live in this city for so long, and then all of a sudden, there I was, standing in the middle of Times Square on my way home to my New York City apartment after just having seen a fabulous Broadway show. I was so overcome with excitement for this new life I was entering into.

From our walk home through Times Square

Since that night, Eric and I have enjoyed so many fantastic shows, and I have been repeatedly hit with that "I'm so lucky" feeling I had the night we saw Rent, but never with quite so much intensity and excitement for what was to come. It was so surreal and so exhilarating. And that is how Rent takes its place on this list.

Click here to read all about our evening out for "Rent," or here for all Broadway-related posts.

Broadway on Broadway 2012

Two Sundays ago, Eric and I took Ellie into the city for her first taste of Broadway (aside from the shows she attended in utero, naturally) at this year's Broadway on Broadway concert, which is always held in early September to kick off the new Broadway season. As you may recall, I first went to this concert with my mom and Aunt Debbie in 2009, and it was a blast - all of Times Square was blocked off (so there was plenty of space for all the spectators), so many great shows were featured, and the whole thing ended with a confetti drop that gave us a taste of the New Year's Eve experience. Eric and I went back in 2010 and also had a delightful time, but we missed it last year. This year, we figured it would be a nice, easy-going event to take Ellie to. So, into the city we went.

Unfortunately, this year it was set up very differently compared to the other times we've attended. Instead of blocking off essentially all of Times Square and setting up the stage at the south end (under the ball), they had the stage at the north end, right in front of the red steps, with only that segment of Times Square blocked off for spectators. That meant it was crowded. We couldn't even get into the pen, actually, and even if we had been able to, it wouldn't have been fun - super crowded and right in the sun. Because of the location of the stage, that also meant that if you wanted to stand behind the pens to try to get a view, you were largely out of luck because the red steps blocked the majority of the stage. Very disappointing.

But, it was a beautiful day so we made the most of it. We started by walking through the little row of booths promoting the various shows, then found a shady spot by the Olive Garden behind the red steps. We were late, so didn't catch all the performances, but we saw a few by shows like Chicago, Mamma Mia, and Newsies, plus a medley in celebration of Nederlander's 100th anniversary on Broadway. Kathie Lee Gifford hosted the show.

Times Square

Ellie and I made the front page at the Newsies booth!

Hanging out, enjoying some show tunes

The cast of Chicago on the CNN screen

The cast of Mamma Mia on stage

As in past years, the show ended with a rousing rendition of "New York, New York" - always a crowd-pleaser! However, that brought yet another disappointment with this year's production: no confetti drop. We were really looking forward to it, so that was a bummer. I don't know if they couldn't do it now with the stage in the new location or what, but it was definitely missed.

All the performers on stage for the big finale

Crowds trying to get a good picture of the stage

Despite our few disappointments, we did have a very nice time at the concert, and I think Ellie enjoyed it, too. Once again, she was an angel for the entire outing. I could tell she was getting sleepy on our walk back to the train, but she handled it like a champ.

Nestled in to her mama

Holding on

This picture has nothing to do with Ellie or the concert, but we happened to take it that day and it's pretty! Ha!

It was a great afternoon in the city! And I hope it was a good introduction to Broadway for Ellie - I would love it if she would enjoy the theater as much as we do!

GAD and the Grandparents W.

This past weekend, visitors descended upon our household and Ellie met several new relatives. I think it gave her a taste of what is to come in the next few weeks, as we are leaving on Saturday for a 10-day Florida trip to be followed immediately by my family reunion in Cleveland. It will be a lot of travel, a lot of new places, and lots of new people for Ellie to meet. I hope she's ready for it. I guess it was probably good to have this weekend to ease her into it, on her own turf.

The weekend started off with a little visit from my Aunt Debbie, Gary and Debbie's sister Lori. They stopped by for an hour or two on Saturday morning before continuing on into the city for some sightseeing. Ellie blew us away with her good behavior during this visit. She was quiet, sweet, happy, smiley and all around delightful. Considering that the last time she met one of her great-aunts, she screamed the entire time, we welcomed this new approach.

Saying hello to her Great Aunt Debbie

Aunt Debbie has had lots of baby practice recently - both of her children have had babies in the past six months!

Lori, Aunt Debbie, Gary, Achilles and Ellie

Sweetness!

After the first round of visitors left, Ellie had some lunch and went down for a nap. While she was sleeping, her Grandpa W. and Grandma Suellen arrived for their visit. So as not to disturb the baby (all that "never wake a sleeping baby" stuff people always say is so, so true), Eric took his dad and Suellen into the city for a little sightseeing while Ellie napped. They saw Eric's office, Rockefeller Center and St. Patrick's Cathedral before heading back to Hoboken, where they stopped to take in the views of the skyline at Pier C.

Ellie's grandparents at Rockefeller Center!

Enjoying the view

Welcome to Hoboken!

By then Ellie was waking back up, and she was ready to meet another set of grandparents. I would say the first introductions went quite well.

Everyone getting a good look at each other

Ellie and her Grandpa

Three generations of W.'s!

After having a pizza lunch and spending an awful lot of time watching Ellie roll around on the floor, we all went out for a short walk around Hoboken, along the waterfront and over to Washington Street. We stopped for some Crumbs cupcakes then came back home for a bit before everyone left for dinner at Biggie's, while Ellie and I stayed home.

It seems that as time has gone on, I've gotten a bit more casual with how I hold her.

On Sunday, the W. Grandparents returned and we watched Ellie roll around for a while once again. That kid is entertaining! When it was about her nap time, Eric took our guests back into the city. This time they stayed downtown. They walked past the World Trade Center, through St. Paul's Chapel, down Broadway to Trinity Church, down Wall Street to the Stock Exchange (and the area where Eric filmed The Dark Knight Rises, in theaters Friday!), and down Williams Street to where Eric's dad used to work. They then walked back to the train, passing the Bull on the way.

By the Stock Exchange

On their way home, they stopped for lunch and ate along the waterfront. Ellie was still asleep when they got back, so we very quietly said our good-byes and they left for Connecticut, the next leg of their road trip through the area. It was a nice visit, and now Ellie has met nearly all of her grandparents - only one left! I can't wait for her to have met them all!

She was really so good all weekend - we could not have asked for anything more. She was an angel. Now, let's all cross our fingers that she does just as well with the visiting marathon she has ahead of her starting this weekend!

Jesus Christ Superstar

Last night Eric and I enjoyed another weeknight date night for a Broadway show, and it was delightful. As the days and weeks pass on by, we're becoming more and more aware of the fact that these kinds of nights are numbered as Baby Time draws closer. So, we continue to be glad for the opportunity to take advantage of these sorts of outings until then.

A while back, Eric and I were roaming around town when we saw the marquis of a "new" show preparing to open on Broadway: Jesus Christ Superstar. I flipped out, as this is one of my favorites. When I was growing up, we watched the 70's movie version over and over and over again. My sister could seriously sit you down and sing the whole thing from top to bottom if you wanted her to. We loved it.

So when I saw it was coming back to Broadway, I crossed all my fingers and toes that it would open before Baby Time. Sure enough, preview performances began in early March! Eric was great at the whole "buying tickets to shows" thing, as per usual, and got right on it. I was so excited.

Yes! Tickets in hand!

The show was scheduled for 7:00 last night, which made me happy because I figured that meant less time to kill between work and show time, and an earlier arrival back at home afterwards. Eric and I met up shortly after 6:00 and roamed around the neighborhood for a bit (yes, I still miss living over there), then we made our way to the theater...only to find out they had changed the show time to 8:00. I was pretty frustrated, because I could have killed more time at work, or Eric and I could have had a nice dinner out, or whatever. Plus, the show has both a Facebook and Twitter account and I follow both, but there was never any mention of a changed show time there, which would have been an ideal way to get the word out. But whatever. So, we killed another hour. Finally, it was time.

Jesus Christ Superstar at the Neil Simon Theater

Eric got us perfect seats to the show. We were in the orchestra level, right on an aisle (good for a pregnant lady's bathroom-related peace of mind), and we had a great view.

The show itself was excellent. I thought they did a great job with the lighting and some of the effects, and of course the performers were wonderful. I thought Paul Nolan (Jesus) and Josh Young (Judas) were both fantastic, and I also especially liked Lee Siegel (Simon Zealotes). Tom Hewitt also did a great job as Pontius Pilate. Overall, really great. And, as I mentioned, I loved some of the electronic effects, particularly during the "lashings" and at the very end of the show - I thought it was very artfully done. Also, Eric and I both commented on how easy it was to understand the lyrics, which can sometimes be a challenge in live theater. At first I thought it probably just seemed that way to me because, well, I know all the lyrics, but Eric brought it up as well and he is not nearly as familiar with the words as I am. So, kudos to the performers and sound people!

And so, we add another Broadway show to the list (this was my 25th one!). I would definitely recommend this one, too!

Feeling Wicked

This past Wednesday night Eric and I had another Broadway date night, this time to see Wicked at the Gershwin Theater.

Eric almost got hit by a cab to get this shot, so please enjoy it.

The Gershwin Theater

Now, we already saw Wicked once before, back when Eric was a summer associate here the summer before our wedding. I came up from D.C. to visit him a week or two before my birthday, and he used his summer allowance (or whatever the firm calls the "Here's Some Spending Money So You Can See How Awesome NYC Is and Come Work For Us" allowance they give their summer associates) to buy Wicked tickets for us that weekend. If I know us at all, I'm sure we went to a super-fancy dinner at KFC or some other fast food beforehand, then went for drinks and appetizers at the Hard Rock Cafe afterwards. We were a predictable sort back then, but we sure did enjoy our summer weeekends in the city! And I fell in love with Wicked instantly. I knew nothing of the story or music going in, and I was just blown away. It was incredible.

Before Wicked back in July of 2007

We've been wanting to see Wicked again since coming back to NYC, but it's just one of those shows that always sells out so you can never find dicsounted tickets. Until we did! Because Eric is awesome! Right now Broadway Week is underway, which offers 2-for-1 tickets to select shows. Eric happened to check out Wicked at just the right time, and just like that, we had our discount Wicked tickets in hand.

The funny thing that I realized last night is that the first time we saw this show, we were just a little over a month away from getting married. This time, we're just about two months away from having our first baby. Clearly, we love to see Wicked right before big life events, right? Needless to say, I am a bit less svelte this time around:

The belly is getting out of control

At least my shoes still match my bag?

(Also, side note: it got up to 60 degrees on Wednesday. Wait, what? First day of February, and 60 degrees? Hence, my flats and unbuttoned coat. Such warmth!)

As soon as we stepped inside the lobby of the theater, I got excited. This theater seems to be one of the few where the lobby is decorated in honor of the show (aside from the usual souvenir stand, of course), which is pretty cool.

Dragon clock

Maps of Oz on the walls

Even more exciting is the stage - that big dragon is just so cool. And our seats were very good!

Eric snuck an iPhone picture inside the theater, because he is a rebel

The show was fantastic, as expected. We loved every second of it, particularly the end of the first act, which is just so BIG. It was great to see the show again now that I'm familiar with the soundtrack, to sort of put everything back into context again. And of course, for just about every song I was all, "oooh, good, I love this one!" Honestly, great show. If you haven't seen Wicked, you must.

We weren't the only ones who loved it, either - Baby Girl "danced" up a storm during all the musical numbers! I'll tell you what, she is a Broadway girl. Maybe she'll take after her Auntie Heather and want to be a performer. She really seems to respond to music!

Speaking of, Baby's love for Darren Criss has been well-documented already and I got more proof of that with this week's episode of Glee (which was awesome, by the way). During the opening Blaine number, Baby went nuts. She was jumpin' and jivin'. And then for the rest of the show? Radio silence. She was all "bring back my Darren!" and refused to budge. I'm telling you, she loves him. I mean, I realize it could be a coincidence, or we could be looking at the next Mini Warbler:

VIDEO: Mini Warbler sings "Teenage Dream." Honestly, how cute is this kid?!

Either way, I'm glad to know that Baby already likes music and musical theater! Heck, I'll even sacrifice and try to get to as many shows as I can now before she's born just for her benefit. I'm a good mother like that! Next show on tap? Jesus Christ Superstar in March...unless we decide to hit something else before then!

Another Dose of Darren

Last night Eric and I had another weeknight date night, this time to see How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying on Broadway. I have had this show on my January calendar ever since I heard that Darren Criss would be taking over for Daniel Radcliffe in the lead role of "J. Pierrepont Finch" for three weeks this month, before Nick Jonas comes in for a longer run. We all know how I love me some Darren Criss, so I was all, "sign me up for that!"

Darren Criss in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

(source)

Eric was very sweet and knew how badly I wanted to see this, and time was running out as Darren's run ends on Sunday. So, yesterday he took a break from work and went to get us tickets at TKTS. He had actually planned to try for the lottery in the morning, but apparently that's a "camp out" situation, which we did not realize. So, as of an hour before lottery ticket distribution, he knew there was no chance. That left us with TKTS as our best option, and Eric came through. He's a keeper, I'll tell you what. This is twice now that he has inconvenienced himself to enable me to see Darren! That's love.

Eric and I met up after work and walked west over to our old neighborhood. Man, I miss it like crazy. Even with as much as I do like Hoboken, if it were not so incredibly financially stupid to do so, I would move back to our old neighborhood (and preferably our old apartment) in a heartbeat. It just still feels like home over there, even though it has almost been a year (already!) since we moved on out. Our savings account sure was happy about the change, but I still miss it!

Anyway, we grabbed some pizza on 8th Avenue then found our way to the theater. We found our (rather cozy) seats and the show began shortly.

The theater before the show

As soon as Darren Criss was visible on stage, the crowd went wild! Darren sure does have a faithful fan club.

The show itself was great; I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was funny and cute and Darren was just about as charming as could be. Beau Bridges ("J.B. Biggley") was also excellent, as was the rest of the cast. Darren will only be a part of the production for a few more days, but I liked the show so much overall that I definitely recommend it, regardless of the lead!

Darren Criss and Beau Bridges

(source)

Ever since learning of Darren's January Broadway run I have been devising a plan which would result in him hugging a crazy pregnant lady outside the theater, so needless to say, we planned to hang out by the stage door after the show for autographs/pictures. However, when we saw people start leaving the show before it even ended (presumably to stake out the best spots by the stage door), I knew we were in trouble. Sure enough, by the time we got outside after the show, the crowd was probably 10-deep back from the door, and continued across the street with people scaling lightposts and the whole shebang. I just did not have the energy to fight with that kind of a crowd, even for the sake of another photo with my beloved Darren. The original picture will just have to do!

Me with Darren Criss at Joe's Pub last month

Another great night at another great show! I love this city!

Memphis

On Tuesday night Eric and I went to see Memphis on Broadway, thanks to my office's Social Club. The Social Club offered up discounted orchestra-level seats to this show, so I was all over that. Memphis has been on my short list of shows to see, ever since it was all over the Tony Awards in 2010 (including a win for Best Musical). Plus, just recently Adam Pascal (the original "Roger" from Rent) joined the cast in the male lead role of "Huey Calhoun," and I was quite interested to see him. So we definitely jumped at this opportunity, and because the Social Club had a few extra tickets, Dave and Salua were able to join us. It was a lovely evening!

Memphis at the Shubert Theater (because we came straight from work, we didn't have the good camera with us, so iPhone photos will have to do)

The show was really, really good. I can see why it was such a presence at the 2010 Tony Awards! Good story, great performances, wonderful singing and fabulous dancing. My favorite singer was J. Bernard Calloway in the role of "Delray" - what a beautiful voice! I loved his "She's My Sister" number with Adam Pascal. James Monroe Iglehart ("Bobby") was also exceptionally entertaining in his "Big Love" number, with his awesome dancing! I also particularly loved Adam's "Memphis Lives in Me" towards the end - wonderful. All in all, it was a great show and I highly recommend it.

As we left the theater after the show, we saw a crowd and heard the sound of screaming fans outside the theater of Hugh Jackman's latest show. Lo and behold, Hugh himself was on his way out and was taking time to sign autographs. I find Hugh nice to look at, although Eric felt he looked older in person.

Blurry Hugh Jackman!

Crowds trying to get a photo of Hugh Jackman, who is standing up on the edge of a waiting SUV before he got in (you can see the back of his head)

After the Hugh excitement, we went back to the Memphis stage door to wait for the stars. We saw many castmembers come out, and all were very friendly and willing to sign autographs. We got the autographs of Montego Glover ("Felicia") and Adam Pascal, and I posed for a pic with Adam! And of course, we told them what a wonderful performance they gave that night.

Autographed Playbill!

Montego Glover signing autographs outside the Shubert Theater

Me with Adam Pascal

Ahhh, just another lovely New York evening!

An Audition and "The Submission"

Okay, it wasn't actually an audition, per se, but "audition" rhymed better with "Submission" than "open casting call."

Long story short, we had a fun little Saturday this weekend!

We slept in a bit, then went into the city for an open casting call for extras in the new Batman movie, The Dark Knight Rises! They'll be filming the movie in NYC later this month into early November, and were looking for extras in particular for a fight scene to be filmed at the Queensboro Bridge. They were primarily looking for police/military/fighter types, which I am most certainly not, but I thought Eric should give it a shot (and would look super hot in a police uniform). And so long as I was tagging along anyway, I figured I may as well throw my name in for consideration, as well. Who knows, maybe they want a pregnant lady to wander by in the background while the Gotham police battle the bad guys?

It wasn't much of an event, really - just a long line that led into a big ballroom space where everyone was instructed to take a seat and fill out a form with all sorts of information like your hair/eye color, measurements, etc. Then they called us up by rows to collect our forms and take a photo of us. That was all there was, and then everyone was sent on their way with a "we'll call you if we're interested." How cool would it be to get a call?! I mean, neither of us has our hopes up here, we really just kind of wanted the experience of the casting call...but still, how fun would it be to get a call?!

After the casting call we made our way to Greenwich Village, where we stopped for lunch then headed over to the Lucille Lortel Theater to see a new off-Broadway play entitled The Submission, starring Jonathan Groff (of Spring Awakening and Glee fame - and we all know how I love me some Jesse St. James!), Eddie Kaye Thomas (who you might recognize from the American Pie movies), Will Rogers (When the Rain Stops Falling) and Rutina Wesley (True Blood).

Lucille Lortel Theater

The premise of the play is that struggling playwright Danny Larson (Jonathan Groff) has finally written a masterpiece that has been selected for production at the Humana Festival. The problem is, his work is a story of an African American boy and his mother, and he fears that such a tale will never see the light of day in the theater world if he, a gay white man, is revealed as the author. To "solve" this problem, he submitted his work under a pseudonym that sounds like the name of an African American woman. When his play is accepted for production, he hires an actress named Emilie (Rutina Wesley) to play the part of the fictional black female playwright. The plan then is that on opening night, she will get up to make a speech and reveal the true author of the play.

The story begins rather light-hearted and funny, but takes a turn to dramatic and intense as it goes on. As Danny and Emilie work together to get this play produced, both of their prejudices become strikingly apparent - Danny is far more racist than he even realizes, and Emilie calls him out on it, although all the while she makes consistent negative comments about Danny's sexuality. By the end, Danny is starting to realize just how deep his biases lie.

Eddie Kaye Thomas as "Pete" (Danny's boyfriend), Jonathan Groff as "Danny," Rutina Wesley as "Emilie" and Will Rogers as "Trevor" (Danny's friend)

(source)

Eric and I both really liked this play. We laughed, we felt uncomfortable, we were riveted. I thought the play gave a striking look at how each one of us, although we may not even realize it, probably hold some biases that need to be examined and addressed. Hate is hate, regardless of the motivation, and it is toxic to relationships. We thought the play was thought-provoking, well-acted and all around quite good.

After the show we stuck around at the stage door, where we saw three of the four actors exit (the only one we didn't see was Will Rogers), plus Kal Penn (from the Harold and Kumar movies) standing around. We got autographs from Jonathan Groff and Eddie Kay Thomas...

Kal Penn

Rutina Wesley

Eddie Kaye Thomas signing my Playbill (pardon my chins, good heavens)

My Playbill, autographed by Eddie Kaye Thomas and Jonathan Groff

...plus, I got to take a picture with Jonathan Groff!!! I absolutely adore him so I was thrilled.

Aaaaah, I was freaking out!

Both Eddie and Jonathan were very nice and really took their time with the crowd. Jonathan in particular was so friendly, so humble, so thankful, very soft-spoken and just all-around very nice. LOVE HIM.

Jonathan Groff taking a picture with another fan

Not a bad little Saturday afternoon, right?