Trip to NYC
I took my first road trip to NYC this past weekend, and saw my first Broadway show. We chose "Wonderful Town" to see. I think it was a good choice. I was 'wonderful' seeing a full 22+ piece professional orchestra! What a sound! Set worked and looked good. Light & sound were excellent. During the overture, a different colored light hit the orchestra as they moved through different pieces of music.
I'm aware the show won best choreography. And it may be well deserved. But there were only three, maybe four, really good dance numbers...granted they were very well staged and executed.
My opinion of how people are cast in NY has now changed. There is no possible way that the remainder of that cast actually beat out others to get their parts. Jennifer Westfeldt is lousy. The rest of the speaking parts were worse. I've seen much better performers around here. Gregg Edelman & David Margulies were marginally okay. I became frightened anytime Donna Murphy left the stage. The people cast in this show HAD to know someone in the production crew. No doubt about it.
Donna Murphy has to be one of the best performers I've ever seen. After seeing her in "Passions", she has to be one of the most versatile actors as well. When I see "Wicked", Idina has got quite a task in order to prove to me she deserved the Tony. She not only carried the show, she was the show! We met her after the show. My friend had met her prior, went to the same high school, and Donna knew his sister. She was very cool. Very down to earth.
Hung out with couple sets of friends. It was good to hang with MattyG again. Ate at a singing diner. Toured around ground zero. Learned a stupid dance to N'Sync's - bye, bye, bye. Saw an incredible life-like wax statue of a young Ronald Regan.
Saw a she-man, on two separate occasions, (fri & sun) standing in the same spot - near a nut vendor - (irony?). It was at different times of the day. It was very peculiar. I'm guessing a weird hooker.
It was a good trip. I plan on making many more!