New York, New York, It's a Wonderful Town!

Mom was getting the itch to travel and Dad doesn't want to go anywhere so she and I planned a weekend getaway to NYC! Our number one purpose was to see shows on Broadway. We spent some good money to get good seats at the first two shows and then got more economical tickets for the last show.

We were not disappointed!!

Landed in NY!

The Lion King

I saw the Lion King once in NY when I was in high school as part of a music group tour in my district. I remember sitting near the back but being fascinated with how effective the giant hat/masks were the actors wore and the costuming in general was phenomenal. This time, Mom and I splurged to sit on the 4th row on the extreme side - so slightly less visibility of the stage at certain angles but overall still great seats. Actually seeing the expressions on the actors faces was awesome! And while the illusion of the costuming is different up close than far back, they are still massively detailed and intricate. I'm also a big fan of the music and the arrangements to include more African influences. To hear it performed live is an incredible treat. Can I also say how impressed I am at how long this play has been running? I think it shows that by putting EXTRA top effort into a Disney play you can get something really worth seeing that will last longer than most of their other productions they've made. (I love the others, don't get me wrong but they all start to sound the same and have the same design/look. This one feels truly original and authentic.)

Anastasia

This show was one I picked to see because as a new production, I really wanted to see the movie brought to life! I was also excited since some of the original cast was still performing - including the main character Anya. Mom and I both agreed this new production had the feel of a classic Broadway show for style, acting, music, and story-telling. However, it had a lot of great special effects and costuming to make it all the more magical. I really really hope they do a tour of this show and it comes to Salt Lake because I really want my friends to see this play! I've already decided I'm getting my best friend the music because I need her to become obsessed with it with me. haha

Hello Dolly

Mom chose Hello Dolly as the show she most wanted to see and it did not fail us! This classic was brought to life by Bernadette Peters and Victor Garber. I have nothing but praise for these two! This play was infinitely funnier than the movie with their wit, ad-libbing, and charm. Bernadette was so hilarious as she would play around on stage around Victor. And Victor was infinitely as grumpy as Walter Matthau but sang like a pro - something Walter Matthau could not do. That made me like Victor Garber better than Walter Matthau because his acting was on par and I got great songs from him. Originally I wasn't as keen to see this one because I already love the movie, but I had to admit that their performance was even better than the Anastasia show and nearly topped it as my favorite show we saw. This made me sad that we cheaped out just a little to sit in the top of the 3rd tier far away from the action (and those seats were a little terrifying because it was so high up at a steep angle!)

We had some other fun too. Because we had some time to kill we ended up wandering around to see various sights. The day we landed we hadn't slept a wink on the plane so we shuffled like zombies to Central Park and then the Met Museum. I was dying to see both and they did not disappoint. At the museum we mostly saw part of the Egyptian exhibit and some paintings - many that are famous and quite familiar which I was happy to see in person. I was only sad that we were too exhausted to stay longer than an hour at the museum because mom was falling asleep on her feet. In fact, she fell asleep while we were on the subway and I had to wake her up to get off at our stop.

View from Central Park

Met Museum

We headed back to our hotel where they finally had a room available so we could take a long and deserved nap. Next time - no red-eye flights if we can help it!! Did I mention that our hotel was right by Times Square around all the plays? We splurged to stay in the Paramount Hotel in Times Square since we were visiting for the shows and we ended up being across the street from the theater playing Hamilton. It was so convenient getting out of a show late at night and only having to walk 2 small blocks to our hotel. Loved. It. Well worth our 2 night splurge.  

On Saturday we wandered through a street fair - a Jewish festival of some sort and it was filled with great food, music, and vendors selling all sorts of items.  We ended up having lunch in Hell's Kitchen  at the 5 Napkins - this was our favorite restaurant ever and we want them to come to Utah! I'm not a burger person but I couldn't get enough of their burgers! The picture below is a beef/lamb burger on a salad. We liked it so much we ate here again on Sunday for lunch.

On Sunday morning we had some time to wander before our flight and we went over to Rockefeller Center, the M&M store, and a very cute church, Saint Mary's Times Square Episcopal Church. We also walked past Radio City Music Hall where mom wished she could have seen the Rockettes. 

M&M's

Rockefeller Center

Saint Mary's

Overall, I would say it was a very successful weekend visit! We would love to do this again sometime, but it's a rather expensive weekend! Either way, we have been inspired to see more of the touring shows in SLC and we've committed to going more often in our own hometown.