Bright Lights of Broadway

My sweet sister graduated college, I finally caught COVID, had to self isolate for a week in a hotel in Indianapolis, and cancel my Brooklyn Housesit, but we still made it to NYC for an epic grad trip. The week went by in a blink, but we made the absolute most of it and packed it full of old favorites, a few new discoveries, tons of shows, piano bars, art museums, and fantastic meals.

I shared my NYC Favorite Things Map, blogged about my tricks for seeing shows on the cheap, and my favorite eats, and I was so glad to use them all to help celebrate my sister and this exciting new chapter in her life. Both of my sisters also inherited a more than passing interest in musicals & museums. I was gifted this incredible art book by my other sister, and I had the best time walking around the city checking out some public art I never knew existed. I learned a lot about old favorite pieces and discovered some new ones. Added bonus for catching part of Columbia’s graduation while visiting their gorgeous campus to visit the Rodin Thinker I never knew was there.

Just a couple blocks away is the largest cathedral in the world, The Cathedral Church of St John the Divine. It is MASSIVE and stunningly beautiful. Aside from its spectacular architecture, a $5 p/p entry it’s pretty much the cheapest art museum in the city. My new book highlighted Keith Haring’s last piece, a beautiful triptych altar piece, but I was blown away by so much more. Each individual chapel was more gorgeous than the one before… and with 10, that’s really saying something. The church is under renovation, but it didn’t damper the pretty. This behemoth hosts art installations, has a robust permanent collection and displays a rotating selection from their impressive collection of artifacts and treasures. JP Morgan and Cornelius Vanderbilt were on the board of the church, so it’s definitely been home to interesting (and well funded) benefactors. I’m so glad I finally made this field trip uptown. I spent a lot of time working in parks around the city, and Riverside Park is always worth a stop if you find yourself on the UWS.

Speaking of JP Morgan….somehow the girl obsessed with NYC, art museums, and libraries discovered The Morgan Library through an instagram post. My timing was terrible because I saw it the night before I left New York in January, so it was top of my wish list this trip. I was grateful for my mask, because I walked around with my mouth hanging open. I may be agnostic, but a Gutenberg Bible always makes me happy, throw in some Degas sketches, rare volumes in a bank vault, and the most beautiful balconies of books… I was in heaven.

We timed our trip specifically around 2 museum exhibits, though I’d only return to one. The Monet to Morisot exhibit at The Brooklyn Museum was good, but a LOT smaller than we anticipated. There were some surprising and unique Degas pieces that it made it worth it for me though. Have you ever seen such a whimsical fairy tale looking piece from him? I can’t recall ever seeing his photographs on display either. The Brooklyn Museum’s permanent collection is quite lovely, so it’s a worth a visit regardless of how you feel about this Impressionism Retrospective.

The Matisse Red Studio exhibit runs at MOMA until September 10th and is STUPENDOUS. I seriously considered canceling my international plans just so I could go back and see it again this fall. I’ve been looking forward to this showing for two years, and it was every bit as magnificent as I had hoped. This is the first time in over a century that all of the pieces in the painting are reunited in the same room. One gallery houses the painting and companion pieces. It’s fascinating to see how each piece evolved and changed before he considered them finished. The second gallery covers the history of the painting, a documentary about the preservation, and some artifacts and contextual pieces that will excite any Matisse fan. It was OBSCENELY busy in the museum on a Thursday afternoon, so it was difficult to truly appreciate the magnitude of this undertaking. I’d highly recommend being the first one there earlier in the week so you can take your time and space.

A fabulous friend set me up with a gig running around town recording videos for Barbra Streisand’s debut TikTok, and it fully funded my crazy theater binge. I’ll be ever grateful because if I wanted to see it, I went for it! I used TKTS, Today Tix, and some resale sites on the day of show to snag some great tickets to fantastic productions. I wasn’t successful with any lotteries or rush tickets, but I had some insane luck with last minute tickets. I can’t stress this enough- unless there is a show you can’t live without seeing, staying flexible and trying these tricks can make for a really successful and relatively inexpensive run of shows. I saw 7 shows for the running rate of Music Man tickets.

A couple years ago, I was waiting in the Hamilton no-show line when I found some insanely cheap tickets to the Harry Potter show just before the curtain went up. I snapped them up and ran to the theatre just as it went dark. While it is better to see a show with a friend, I usually have GREAT luck getting into shows if I’m going alone. If there’s something you’re curious about, but wont be heartbroken to miss- this trick is tops. Ferris Bueller is one of my favorite movies, and I’m a huge Sex and the City fan, so I was curious to see Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick appear together in Plaza Suite. I’m generally disappointed if I pick a play to see a specific cast instead of a musical because of the show. I hadn’t heard great reviews on this show, so I was only going to go if I could do it on the cheap. The show was sold out at the box office, not available on my usual suspects, but I popped into the theatre just to see if there were any solo seats at the box office. Standing in the no-show line, I scored a $25 self-print ticket on Stub Hub 10 minutes to curtain. I got my money’s worth for the show, SJP was pretty terrific, displaying a wide range in her characters and surprising slapstick comedy chops. Unfortunately Matthew’s characters were all smarmy d-bags, so it was hard to appreciate seeing the golden boy of the 80s in the flesh. Honestly, the show really didn’t age well. I don’t regret going, but I probably would have had I paid the $200 asking price I was seeing on tickets that morning. The audience lacked the usual enthusiastic buzz as we left, so I know I’m not alone.

Since I had a few days alone in the city, I walked to the Times Square TKTS on Saturday afternoon, told them I wanted a solo ticket to a couple of shows and they gave me the best seats they had available to the Saturday matinee and evening shows, and Sunday’s matinee. 1 miserable jaunt through Times Square and 3 half-priced tickets later, I had orchestra center tickets to every show I wanted to see for under $100 each. As a Billy Crystal fan, I absolutely enjoyed Mr. Saturday Night. The show is entertaining and fun, but Shoshanna Bean is the only singer of the bunch, and the numbers really didn’t do her range justice. Come From Away was as moving and poignant as everyone said, but I felt like a sociopath leaving with dry eyes despite many many warnings to bring tissues. This is another show whose soundtrack probably won’t join any of your playlists, but I had spectacular seats and I really enjoyed the show. It’s based on the true story of the 9/11 passengers stranded in Newfoundland after American airspace was closed. The town adopts the passengers and they in turn adopt the town. It’s heartwarming and lovely, and as a one act show- it’s a great option for people that can't sit through a lengthy production. POTUS was my most pleasant surprise. I was told it was hilarious, but it was pee in your pants funny and timely. It’s cheap, always available on the discount sites, the cast is perfection. If you enjoy SNL and The West Wing, this is a must see. Kyra would have LOVED it, but her wishlist was longer than the nights she had in town.

My sister’s #1 wishlist show was The Music Man, but it is the hottest ticket in town. It’s no exaggeration when I say I couldn’t find us tickets for less than a mortgage payment. The production had been plagued by COVID cancellations since it opened at the height of the Omicron surge last winter, and all of the COVID canceled shows were rescheduled for the week we were there. Not one to be deterred, I checked every day on every site and SOMEHOW snagged us affordable seats the night before she arrived. I saw a touring production of The Music Man as a kid, and was really underwhelmed by the story, music, and the costumes. I don’t even think I was able to make it through the movie, despite being filmed on the same set as Gilmore Girls. I was willing to go to see Sutton Foster and Hugh Jackman, but I went in with insanely low expectations. My sister and I looked at each other at intermission, shocked by how much we were enjoying it. The music teacher and the spinster were blown away. The story meant a lot more to us as adults, the ensemble was incredible, the costumes were stunning. It deserves every bit of the praise it’s been getting, and the Tony shut out is a total shame. If you can score tickets that fit your budget, we give it 4 VERY enthusiastic thumbs up. We left so happy and invigorated. We couldn’t stop excitedly chattering about how lucky we felt to see it as we wandered out to check out some NYC Nightlife. We had a ball at the piano bar at Stonewall Inn, sang along to the classic show tunes (and stray disney hits) at Marie’s Crisis and Don’t Tell Mama.

When people join me on my trips, I have them prioritize their wishlists so I can save the things they want to do and do what I want to do on my own time. I purposely picked shows Kyra didn’t NEED to see to enjoy before she arrived, and I kept my eyes peeled for availability and pricing for the tickets I knew would make her happy. I got the lay of the land upon arrival, sent her my suggestions, and she confirmed that I had her wishlist down to: Music Man, Funny Girl, and Take Me Out. A chance viewing of Skylar Astin’s Instagram Stories showed me that he was in a very limited run in Little Shop of Horrors, which then zoomed onto our Pitch Perfect loving lists. We sought out the best seats at the best prices and planned accordingly. Take Me Out was sold out for the days she was there, but we did catch every other show she requested. Funny Girl was her #2 pick, and I spent so much time waiting outside the theatre interviewing Barbra fans, I was game. Jane Lynch was marvelous and Beanie Feldstein pleasantly surprised me. I’d say we were pretty whelmed by the show in general. Beanie exceeded my expectations, but not by much. Jane Lynch was SPECTACULAR. The male lead was pretty impressive, and there were a couple of sets that were pretty stellar. I hear Beanie has been missing shows pretty regularly- unless you are a diehard fan of the film (which neither of us had ever seen), I’d honestly say skip it. We had family and friends see Little Shop a month before us, and we all had similar reviews and feedback. It’s not one of our favorite shows, but if you love the male lead, it’s worth a visit. Skylar Astin was wonderful, but he still can’t make me love this show. Kyra says the human Audrey gave her recurring nightmares. Overall, a very successful week on the Great White Way.

I was hospitalized for some kidney trouble about a decade ago, and I’ll never forget Kyra keeping me company while I recovered in bed binge watching FRIENDS (on DVD, because I’m old.) I had to pick and choose appropriate ones for her, and it’s been our thing ever since. I was standing outside a club waiting to see a friend perform in NYC last winter when I noticed the Friends Experience across the street. I went with other family while visiting last year, but it was felt a little wrong going to The Friends Experience without my sister. I was thrilled to see that it was still running this summer and we could geek out together. $50 a pop is kind of steep to go take some pictures and look at props for an hour, but it is a lot of fun. I wouldn’t go a third time, but I highly recommend at least one visit for a Friends Fan. Bonus points for happy hour frozè juice boxes on the 230 Fifth rooftop around the corner after. It’s really a perfect afternoon if you can PIVOT.

Our family is entirely made of “Live to Eat” people. It brought me so much joy sharing my favorite foods with my sister, and discovering a couple new gems. You know I didn’t go to NYC without a trip to Sugarfish (Soho or bust), Frank’s Supper (Monday nights for the best risotto of life), a field trip to Myers of Keswick for British imports, happy hour martinis and the crazy cauliflower app at Dante West Village, and a half and half at Katz’s Deli before she arrived.

Kyra now officially shares my love of Artichoke Basille’s pizza, Gnoccheria’s Italian Flag platter, Frank Restaurant (and the cracktastic Spaghetti Limone), and the mythical mojitos at Yuca Bar.

46th between 8th and 9th is my new favorite block of midtown. We randomly happened upon a half price happy hour at Dim Sum Palace. The food isn’t going to haunt my dreams, but it is going to the top of the list for a servicable pre-show dinner. We waited out the rain across the street at Don’t Tell Mama, and had an absolute blast with one of the best bartenders in town. Tequila shots and singalongs are always a win for us. Joe Allen is one of the most iconic pre-show dinner spots in town, but few people know about their sister spot upstairs. I once read about Bar Centrale in a Lily Tomlin interview, and I found myself there between matinee and evening performances. I made friends at the bar, and actually wound up meeting up with my fascinating dinner companion for another night of musical magic and my first trip to Feinstein’s 54 Below. It felt like a fairy tale, and I’ll never forget the fun I had. 46th is now my happy place in the otherwise hellish vicinity of Times Square.

I’m of the opinion that you really can’t go wrong with a walk around the city. I spent most of the winter just wandering, and this time I worked from rooftops and parks, secret gardens, and cafes. You know I always keep my eyes peeled for iconic spots, filming locations, street art, and loveliness. Planning a trip to the city can get really overwhelming. There is so much to see and do. I’ve planned every minute of the day, and spent aimless days wandering and both are equally rewarding. This week was a solid mix of both and one of the best trips I’ve ever had there. I’ll treasure it always.

I’m so grateful that my OG Spoiled Spinster, Auntie E, has fostered and facilitated my love of the magical city. I always look forward to visiting her and sharing my adventures. Most of mine wouldn’t be possible without her graciously hosting me after a business trip or before a house sit. She says just hearing my itineraries makes her tired, but I’d bottle the happiness I feel floating around if I could. I was able to cancel my house sit to keep my travel plans flexible as I recovered from COVID, and she let us stay at her Brooklyn apartment while she was out of town. Our trip wouldn’t have been possible without her. She’s talking about leaving the city, and I know it won’t be the same without her. It was so lovely to use her apartment as home base. It’s just a quick stroll down the hill to Brooklyn Bridge park, and I insisted that Kyra get up and take a walk down to the promenade with me before we left. We opted to grab drinks and walk the Brooklyn Bridge, and it was the perfect end to this leg of an amazing adventure. It’s a seasonal drink, but I would be remiss if I didn’t tell you that a Joe Coffee salted strawberry iced coffee is the best bougie brew I’ve ever had in my life. Kyra and I kept looking at each other and exclaiming how delicious the concoction was every few steps across the river. There was magic in nearly every moment of that trip, but if I could freeze any- it would be us on that bridge, with that coffee, discussing all of the shows we saw. You just can’t put a price on that kind of happiness.