Broadway, baby!

So I went to New York last week. Ashley, who was headed there with a friend for a theater trip, had called me just a couple of weeks prior to invite me along. Though I was to be in Pittsburgh for a few days to celebrate my cousin's high school graduation, I decided I could squeeze in a couple of days in the city and a show or two. So, for the second spring in a row, Ash and I started making New York plans.

Unlike last year, however, I was basically crashing Ashley and Dustin's (her friend from St. Louis) trip, so I was pretty much along for the ride. "There will be no sleeping in on this trip. Up and at 'em every morning to stand in lines," she warned me, referring to the lines for the TKTS discount ticket booths. But that was fine, so I bought my BoltBus tickets, and off I went. During the mere 48 hours I was there, we managed to:

• See two plays and a musical:

• Meet the star of one of those shows: Christian Borle, of the fan-freaking-tastic (and nine-time Tony nominated) Peter and the Starcatcher, and also the tv show Smash

No, that is not a stain on the front of my dress. 
Just a shadow.

Best show I've seen in years. 
Hilarious, charming, creative, brilliantly staged.

• See an insane collection of pop culture icons all on stage together in Gore Vidal's The Best Man (Murphy Brown, Darth Vader, Will Truman, Jessica Fletcher, and Dan Fielding) 

I mean, really, would you 
look at that cast?!

The Schoenfeld Theater

• Run into John Lithgow on the street (alas, no photo--we were trying to play it cool) in front of the theater where HE is starring in The Columnist

• Stalk Andrew Garfield, who is currently starring in Death of a Salesman, which was across the street from our hotel. We were waiting for Philip Seymour Hoffman (same play, but he never emerged from the theater).

The next Spiderman, 
ladies and gentlemen!

And, of course, a Tony nominee 
for Biff in Death of a Salesman

• Consume multiple smoothies

• Stroll through Central Park

• Visit with three friends (including Donald, the best man from Jules and Michael's wedding)

• Eat at a restaurant featuring cocktails named for divas and music legends (I had the Rosemary Clooney), with bathrooms themed for particular musicians (Dolly Parton, Cher, Elvis). 

Obviously, I chose Dolly.

• Accidentally eat at Robert DeNiro's restaurant in Tribeca (by accidentally, I mean that it was unplanned and we stumbled across it)

Betty and Bea pose with the owner

• Visit the World Trade Center site (not the full tour and memorial, just walking by)

Under construction

Old, new

• Walk well over 5 miles from South Street Seaport to the WTC and all the way north to our hotel in the theater district, not to mention a couple of post-play nighttime strolls

Empire

Chrysler

• Sweat profusely (it was quite hot, and we walked many, many miles)

In the end, despite the heat and the walking, it was a great trip. While I've been to several shows in New York before, I've never done the stand-in-line-for-tickets, wait-for-the-artist-at-the-stage-door thing, and it was kind of fun. Beyond that, our hotel was on the same block as three Broadway theaters, putting us right in the middle of the action. Normally I try to avoid Times Square, but if you're doing a theater-centric trip, it adds to the excitement to be so close to everything.

When I was a kid, I wanted more than anything to live in New York. That urge has faded with age, but I do still love visiting now and again. There's nowhere quite like it!