"I miss the sound of your voice, and I miss the rush of yours skin..."
I'm back!
New York City was amazing. The greatest city I've ever been to. ♥
Of course, I took a gazillion pictures. Well, not that many, but it's a lot. So now I will present you with my NYC recap:
Day One:
Wherein I discuss sleep deprivation, Rockefeller Center, MY LONG LOST BFF KRYSTAL S., Central Park, callieach being amazing, and a;ldkjfa;sdlkf RENT.
Okay. The flight there was a long five-ish hours, and I was pretty exhausted when we arrived. It took a little while to actually get to New York City itself, because we flew into Newark, but an hour after we landed, I was stepping out of Penn Station into the city I've been dreaming about for as long as I can remember. And believe me, it's gorgeous. We walked up to Times Square, which absolutely blew me away. Our hotel was right in the middle of it all, so we dropped off our bags and went walking. We stopped by the Nederlander first, where we'd be going later that night to see RENT. It's a spectacular building from the outside alone!
After breakfast, we toyed with the idea of going to the Empire State Building, but because of the fabulous weather, the lines were way too long. So we settled for the top of Rockefeller Center instead, which has a gorgeous view.
(seriously, excuse how dorky I look here, please)
After getting done with that, we went all the way back down to the bottom to meet up with Krystal S. (krystal23), whom I hadn't seen in ages! It was amazing. We walked and chatted and had a generally awesome time. Then we split for a bit, and my dad and I headed to the CBS store first and then up to Central Park. Which is gigantic. And while we were there, there just happened to be a group of guys putting on a little breakdancing show, where they did crazy stuff like this:
Then we met back up with Krystal S. and had some pizza at Angelo's, which is right next door to the Ed Sullivan theater, where they tape the David Letterman show.
After all that, we went back to the hotel to nap for about an hour. And right outside our room?
No joke. So I was already giddy and excited for that evening. After the nap, we walked back around to meet up with Krystal S. one last time to say goodbye. D: And then I headed off to the Hershey store to meet up with callieach! :D And we talked. A lot. A lot, a lot, a lot. And it was awesome. Our families headed to Planet Hollywood to have dinner together, but my dad and I had to rush off a little early to see RENT. But not before Dakotah and I got a chance to take a picture together!
(and look! you can see my really amazingly tasty dinner!)
And then?
THAT'S RIGHT. RENT.
And believe me, I have a lot to say about it. Now, I haven't seen RENT performed many times. I saw the tour in Seattle last year. I've seen the film. I've seen the opening night bootleg online. And I've listened to the 1994 NYTW recording. But this performance? Best performance ever. Ever. Let me just discuss the cast:
Tamyra Gray (Mimi): BEST. MIMI. EVER. I'm not lying. She had a beautiful, beautiful voice, but with that edge that Daphne Rubin-Vega brought to the role. She was spunky and energetic and just spectacular. She just was Mimi. I don't know what I'll do if I see the show ever again without her!
Will Chase (Rodger): INCREDIBLE. He was the most fabulous Roger ever. He got a little harsh and shouty at times (he was obviously a classic rocker type of guy), but outside of that, his voice was brilliant. He also brought this tiny sliver of sarcasm to the role, and he changed the tone of lines I've heard a million times to give them a new meaning. I loved it. (There was also a supremely hilarious moment during 'Happy New Year' where his jacket got caught on Tamyra's dress, but they played it off very well, albeit with a bit of laughter.)
Adam Kantor (Mark): He was pretty much the only one who was a bit of a letdown. I'm pretty sure he's a bit new to the cast, and from what I heard, Matt Caplan was a lot to live up to. I could tell that he really understood the character, and he had a bit of the energy you see in Anthony Rapp's performances of Mark, but all that spirit didn't shine through all the time, like he was holding back a little bit. Also, his voice was gorgeous when he really sang, but it seemed like sometimes he was trying a bit too hard to speak more than sing. But by the time they got to 'What You Own', he was belting it all out and sounding fantastic.
Caren Lyn Manuel (Maureen): krystal23, you had me scared! She was a fabulous Maureen. Incredible, actually. She sounded so much like Idina that it was actually kind of scary. But it wasn't as if she was copying Idina's entire role, she brought her own twist to the character and really made it her own. I was very impressed.
Justin Johnson (Angel): He took Angel a step further than I've ever seen. He was an amazing singer with that fabulous Wilson Jermaine Heredia range. He took the solo in 'Contact' even higher than I'd ever heard, and it was heart-wrenchingly beautiful. He had so much energy and spirit and it was amazing.
Michael McElroy (Collins): He was a great Collins. His acting just tore your heart out in the second act, and his performance of 'I'll Cover You (Reprise)' was fantastic.
Merle Dandridge (Joanne): She was a fantastic, fantastic Joanne. She had that sassy spunk that you see can hear in Freddi Walker's Joanne. She had a real presence onstage and her voice was, obviously, wonderful.
Rodney Hicks (Benny): He brought such a new side to Benny. In the versions I've seen before, Benny's character kind of redeems himself a little as the play progresses. But here? It was like Benny was a total ass, and knew it. It was just a little over the top, a little obnoxious, and it was perfect for a touch of humor.
All in all? I was blown away. By 'Rent' I was tearing up just thinking of the history of this show, of the theater, of the people who've been in those seats and on that stage. It was an incredible experience.
They practically kill you for taking pictures, but I snapped just one quick one as people were leaving. It's not great, but still:
That's the big, metal, psuedo-Christmas tree on the righthand side of the stage. I was maybe ten feet from the front of the stage, which was spectacular. ♥
After that, we headed back to the hotel. It started to rain, which was incredible. I love rain! Most people just ran for cover, but I stayed out in it, and ended up soaked. But it was worth it! I also took a couple of photos of Times Square and such at night:
Day Two:
Wherein I discuss subway riding, The Village, Washington Square Park, the Friends apartment building, the insane line for half-price tickets, a;ldskfja;sdl SPRING AWAKENING!, and Chinatown. (With some fandomy jokes and pictures tossed in!)
Okay, the first picture I took on Sunday was of the television. Because they had this channel called New York 1, and it made me think of How I Met Your Mother and so I took a picture because I'm a dork:
The rest of the HIMYM dork in me regrets not doing my research beforehand on HIMYM sites to visit: McLaren's is based on a real pub on 55th and Broadway (which means I probably actually walked right by it!), and that the apartment is supposedly on 75th and Amsterdam (um, they can afford to live in the Upper West Side?!). But still. I saw some other great stuff, so it's alright. :)
That morning we rode the subway, the first time for the both of us. And this was kind of another HIMYM moment for me, because now that I understand the subway system, the F train line in the pilot actually makes a whole lot of sense to me! And then we went to the Village, where I saw a Gray's Papaya. Not the one pictured in 'The Limo', but still!
Also while in the Village, we walked through Washington Square Park. It's beautiful even with half of it blocked off for renovations. (And I'm not even a Jess/Rory 'shipper, but I knew I had to see this place anyhow! Also, major points if you have any idea what I just referenced there.)
Then we walked into the West Village, which is a gorgeous part of town. Much more homey than the huge, urban, Times Square-esque areas. More trees, more residential buildings, more little shops and restaurants, and more quiet. Obviously, as a Friends fan, I had to see the infamous corner of Grove and Bedford. The Friends Site has a little piece on the location in their FAQ, along with an older picture. When I was there, the Bedford half of the street sign was missing, and that shop underneath has actually been rented out and looked to be a little cafe.
(The site also claims that the Lucille Lortel theater is 'just down the street', and I actually walked by that, too, however, in reality, is a couple blocks away.)
After that, we searched and searched for a subway that would get us back up to Times Square. On our way, I just had to take this picture because I'm a Torchwood (read: Ianto) fangirl:
Now, see, Jones Alley isn't all of the hilarity. You can't quite see it there, but in the background, there's this:
Win, right?!
Once back in Times Square, we stood in line for discount tickets. The line was long. But we finally got to the front, and ended up with tickets to the matinée of Spring Awakening! :D After that, we went to have some pizza and then headed up to the Eugene O'Neill theater for the show.
(and yay! I don't look as dorky there!)
Spring Awakening blew me away also. I feel honored that I got to see it was a bunch of the original cast members, like Lea Michelle, Jonathan Groff, Christine Estabrook, and Lilli Cooper. Even the replacements, especially Blake Bashoff and Matt Doyle, were amazing. I'd gotten my hands on a version of the musical before it hit Broadway, but this was so different and so much more.
I'd highly recommend this musical to anyone. It's a little racy; there's a bit of cursing and a sex scene or two, but really, that's the basis of the show. The music is phenomenal, the choreography is phenomenal, and the acting is absolutely brilliant. It's going on tour starting this fall, and I think everyone should see it. ♥
After the show, we took a quick walk by Ground Zero, and then headed down to Chinatown, which is an intense place. It is just jam-packed with people and shops and all kinds of craziness.
And then we went to dinner at Roxy's in Times Square where I had the most massive egg salad sandwich ever made. Seriously. Then we headed back to the hotel where we collapsed at eight or so before waking up at three in the morning to head back here.
...and that's pretty much it. If you read all that, I love you a lot. It took me quite some time to get that up there! I'm going to go take a nap now in preparation for the massive amount of finales coming my way tonight.
-Krystal
New York City was amazing. The greatest city I've ever been to. ♥
Of course, I took a gazillion pictures. Well, not that many, but it's a lot. So now I will present you with my NYC recap:
Day One:
Wherein I discuss sleep deprivation, Rockefeller Center, MY LONG LOST BFF KRYSTAL S., Central Park, callieach being amazing, and a;ldkjfa;sdlkf RENT.
Okay. The flight there was a long five-ish hours, and I was pretty exhausted when we arrived. It took a little while to actually get to New York City itself, because we flew into Newark, but an hour after we landed, I was stepping out of Penn Station into the city I've been dreaming about for as long as I can remember. And believe me, it's gorgeous. We walked up to Times Square, which absolutely blew me away. Our hotel was right in the middle of it all, so we dropped off our bags and went walking. We stopped by the Nederlander first, where we'd be going later that night to see RENT. It's a spectacular building from the outside alone!
After breakfast, we toyed with the idea of going to the Empire State Building, but because of the fabulous weather, the lines were way too long. So we settled for the top of Rockefeller Center instead, which has a gorgeous view.
(seriously, excuse how dorky I look here, please)
After getting done with that, we went all the way back down to the bottom to meet up with Krystal S. (krystal23), whom I hadn't seen in ages! It was amazing. We walked and chatted and had a generally awesome time. Then we split for a bit, and my dad and I headed to the CBS store first and then up to Central Park. Which is gigantic. And while we were there, there just happened to be a group of guys putting on a little breakdancing show, where they did crazy stuff like this:
Then we met back up with Krystal S. and had some pizza at Angelo's, which is right next door to the Ed Sullivan theater, where they tape the David Letterman show.
After all that, we went back to the hotel to nap for about an hour. And right outside our room?
No joke. So I was already giddy and excited for that evening. After the nap, we walked back around to meet up with Krystal S. one last time to say goodbye. D: And then I headed off to the Hershey store to meet up with callieach! :D And we talked. A lot. A lot, a lot, a lot. And it was awesome. Our families headed to Planet Hollywood to have dinner together, but my dad and I had to rush off a little early to see RENT. But not before Dakotah and I got a chance to take a picture together!
(and look! you can see my really amazingly tasty dinner!)
And then?
THAT'S RIGHT. RENT.
And believe me, I have a lot to say about it. Now, I haven't seen RENT performed many times. I saw the tour in Seattle last year. I've seen the film. I've seen the opening night bootleg online. And I've listened to the 1994 NYTW recording. But this performance? Best performance ever. Ever. Let me just discuss the cast:
Tamyra Gray (Mimi): BEST. MIMI. EVER. I'm not lying. She had a beautiful, beautiful voice, but with that edge that Daphne Rubin-Vega brought to the role. She was spunky and energetic and just spectacular. She just was Mimi. I don't know what I'll do if I see the show ever again without her!
Will Chase (Rodger): INCREDIBLE. He was the most fabulous Roger ever. He got a little harsh and shouty at times (he was obviously a classic rocker type of guy), but outside of that, his voice was brilliant. He also brought this tiny sliver of sarcasm to the role, and he changed the tone of lines I've heard a million times to give them a new meaning. I loved it. (There was also a supremely hilarious moment during 'Happy New Year' where his jacket got caught on Tamyra's dress, but they played it off very well, albeit with a bit of laughter.)
Adam Kantor (Mark): He was pretty much the only one who was a bit of a letdown. I'm pretty sure he's a bit new to the cast, and from what I heard, Matt Caplan was a lot to live up to. I could tell that he really understood the character, and he had a bit of the energy you see in Anthony Rapp's performances of Mark, but all that spirit didn't shine through all the time, like he was holding back a little bit. Also, his voice was gorgeous when he really sang, but it seemed like sometimes he was trying a bit too hard to speak more than sing. But by the time they got to 'What You Own', he was belting it all out and sounding fantastic.
Caren Lyn Manuel (Maureen): krystal23, you had me scared! She was a fabulous Maureen. Incredible, actually. She sounded so much like Idina that it was actually kind of scary. But it wasn't as if she was copying Idina's entire role, she brought her own twist to the character and really made it her own. I was very impressed.
Justin Johnson (Angel): He took Angel a step further than I've ever seen. He was an amazing singer with that fabulous Wilson Jermaine Heredia range. He took the solo in 'Contact' even higher than I'd ever heard, and it was heart-wrenchingly beautiful. He had so much energy and spirit and it was amazing.
Michael McElroy (Collins): He was a great Collins. His acting just tore your heart out in the second act, and his performance of 'I'll Cover You (Reprise)' was fantastic.
Merle Dandridge (Joanne): She was a fantastic, fantastic Joanne. She had that sassy spunk that you see can hear in Freddi Walker's Joanne. She had a real presence onstage and her voice was, obviously, wonderful.
Rodney Hicks (Benny): He brought such a new side to Benny. In the versions I've seen before, Benny's character kind of redeems himself a little as the play progresses. But here? It was like Benny was a total ass, and knew it. It was just a little over the top, a little obnoxious, and it was perfect for a touch of humor.
All in all? I was blown away. By 'Rent' I was tearing up just thinking of the history of this show, of the theater, of the people who've been in those seats and on that stage. It was an incredible experience.
They practically kill you for taking pictures, but I snapped just one quick one as people were leaving. It's not great, but still:
That's the big, metal, psuedo-Christmas tree on the righthand side of the stage. I was maybe ten feet from the front of the stage, which was spectacular. ♥
After that, we headed back to the hotel. It started to rain, which was incredible. I love rain! Most people just ran for cover, but I stayed out in it, and ended up soaked. But it was worth it! I also took a couple of photos of Times Square and such at night:
Day Two:
Wherein I discuss subway riding, The Village, Washington Square Park, the Friends apartment building, the insane line for half-price tickets, a;ldskfja;sdl SPRING AWAKENING!, and Chinatown. (With some fandomy jokes and pictures tossed in!)
Okay, the first picture I took on Sunday was of the television. Because they had this channel called New York 1, and it made me think of How I Met Your Mother and so I took a picture because I'm a dork:
The rest of the HIMYM dork in me regrets not doing my research beforehand on HIMYM sites to visit: McLaren's is based on a real pub on 55th and Broadway (which means I probably actually walked right by it!), and that the apartment is supposedly on 75th and Amsterdam (um, they can afford to live in the Upper West Side?!). But still. I saw some other great stuff, so it's alright. :)
That morning we rode the subway, the first time for the both of us. And this was kind of another HIMYM moment for me, because now that I understand the subway system, the F train line in the pilot actually makes a whole lot of sense to me! And then we went to the Village, where I saw a Gray's Papaya. Not the one pictured in 'The Limo', but still!
Also while in the Village, we walked through Washington Square Park. It's beautiful even with half of it blocked off for renovations. (And I'm not even a Jess/Rory 'shipper, but I knew I had to see this place anyhow! Also, major points if you have any idea what I just referenced there.)
Then we walked into the West Village, which is a gorgeous part of town. Much more homey than the huge, urban, Times Square-esque areas. More trees, more residential buildings, more little shops and restaurants, and more quiet. Obviously, as a Friends fan, I had to see the infamous corner of Grove and Bedford. The Friends Site has a little piece on the location in their FAQ, along with an older picture. When I was there, the Bedford half of the street sign was missing, and that shop underneath has actually been rented out and looked to be a little cafe.
(The site also claims that the Lucille Lortel theater is 'just down the street', and I actually walked by that, too, however, in reality, is a couple blocks away.)
After that, we searched and searched for a subway that would get us back up to Times Square. On our way, I just had to take this picture because I'm a Torchwood (read: Ianto) fangirl:
Now, see, Jones Alley isn't all of the hilarity. You can't quite see it there, but in the background, there's this:
Win, right?!
Once back in Times Square, we stood in line for discount tickets. The line was long. But we finally got to the front, and ended up with tickets to the matinée of Spring Awakening! :D After that, we went to have some pizza and then headed up to the Eugene O'Neill theater for the show.
(and yay! I don't look as dorky there!)
Spring Awakening blew me away also. I feel honored that I got to see it was a bunch of the original cast members, like Lea Michelle, Jonathan Groff, Christine Estabrook, and Lilli Cooper. Even the replacements, especially Blake Bashoff and Matt Doyle, were amazing. I'd gotten my hands on a version of the musical before it hit Broadway, but this was so different and so much more.
I'd highly recommend this musical to anyone. It's a little racy; there's a bit of cursing and a sex scene or two, but really, that's the basis of the show. The music is phenomenal, the choreography is phenomenal, and the acting is absolutely brilliant. It's going on tour starting this fall, and I think everyone should see it. ♥
After the show, we took a quick walk by Ground Zero, and then headed down to Chinatown, which is an intense place. It is just jam-packed with people and shops and all kinds of craziness.
And then we went to dinner at Roxy's in Times Square where I had the most massive egg salad sandwich ever made. Seriously. Then we headed back to the hotel where we collapsed at eight or so before waking up at three in the morning to head back here.
...and that's pretty much it. If you read all that, I love you a lot. It took me quite some time to get that up there! I'm going to go take a nap now in preparation for the massive amount of finales coming my way tonight.
-Krystal