Broadway Baby!

I've got several blog entries stored in my head from this month. Some you may actually get to read, a few probably won't even make it to my private journal.

Rachel and I have been out and running all month, ever since school ended. We've been to Manhattan at least once a week. We've had all sorts of adventures, most focusing around one of our shared passions, musical theater. I am so lucky to have had a child that loves so many of the same things that I do. :) Here's a little summary (mostly so I can print this out and put it on a scrapbook page.. I have no photos because I didn't want to lug around my big camera.. I needed to save room for our shopping finds. :o)

The first week was a completely spontaneous trip. We had a horrendous heatwave in NJ and Howie kept telling us to spend the day out of the house in order to not turn the AC on. We spent two days at two different malls and saw two different movies. There was a little break in the heat the following day when it only went to the low 90's, so we headed into "the city," which is what everyone in the suburbs calls NYC. Very provincial sounding, but that's what I've been hearing since I was younger than Rachel is now.

Anyway, I had read that they actually have a lottery for front row seats to 'Wicked.' Neither Rachel nor I have seen 'Wicked.' She knows every word to every song by heart and plays a few of them on her flute. She's been mildly obsessed with the show. Howie tried to get tickets for her birthday in March 09, but there weren't any great seats to be had for the $125 or more price tag. So, without plans for the day, we decided we'd head over for the morning lottery. After reading that 200-300 people enter the lottery for most shows, we figured a Wednesday matinee before most schools were out for the summer would be our best bet. No luck. A woman we met while waiting had won tickets the night before and she won again! Rachel was in tears as we walked away. She's getting a little emotional these days. Can't imagine where she gets that from. So, I decide that instead of MoMA, we'll visit the TKTS booth.

The TKTS booth is now at the Marriott Marquis while the new booth is under construction. I have not been to the booth in years. For the out of towners, it's where you can pick up same day discount tickets for shows. It used to be half price, but not all shows are half price anymore. These days, I usually use Broadwaybox.com for similar discounts, but you can buy in advance and chose your seats. Anyway, I let Rachel pick the show. I thought she'd go for the 'Little Mermaid' (was surprised they had a few seats for it) or 'Mamma Mia,' but she chose 'Rent.' Even though it has been playing forever, I had never seen it either. We ended up sitting in the second row, off to the side, with our 50% off tickets. Not bad at all. Loved the show. Very glad we saw it in person as it is closing soon.

We spent the rest of that day walking around the fashion district. Rachel is a huge Project Runway fan and was keeping her eye out for people and sights from the show. LOL. Instead of Project Runway, we ran into a kid and his brother from "The Naked Brothers Band." Literally. Actually, he ran into Rachel. I admit I have heard the phrase before, but really didn't know what she was talking about. As they walked away, Rachel whispered to me "MOM!!!! That's the from the 'Naked Brothers Band!" I shook my head knowingly (not). I looked them up when we came home and she was right. It was one of the kids from the show (I forget his name).

This occurred as we were heading back to the Gershwin Theater. As we walked out of 'Rent,' Rachel asked if we could try again for 'Wicked" tickets. I figured why not. I told her not to get her hopes up again and that we could go to the American Girl Place for dinner if we did not win. After a quick stop to an ATM to get more money (you have to pay at TKTS in cash or money order and it must be cash for the Wicked lottery), we made our way to the Gershwin again. This time, the crowd was huge. Definitely the 300 or so they mention on line. This time was also different because we WON!!! Yes!! FRONT ROW center tickets to see 'Wicked' for all of $26.50 a piece. We wasted some time at the Capezio store and had dinner at Ellen's Stardust Diner. And then, it was show time.

Sitting in the front row was a wonderful experience for my Wicked-ly obssessed child. Many times, the actors played directly to her. She was the only child in the front row. She got quite a few little winks and looks from Glinda in particular. At the curtain call, Glinda waved directly to Rachel. Everyone around us commented on it. Those who did not know the first row were lottery tickets (some kids sitting behind us) thought she was a friend. LOL. We went to the stage door afterwards so Rachel could get her autograph. If Rachel had a broomstick, she could have flown home, she was so high after the experience!

The following week, I used Broadwaybox.com and got tickets for 'Cirque Dreams.' It's Cirque's first time ever on Broadway and we've never been to one of their shows before. Friends came with us. I took Rachel and her friend in earlier and then her mom met up with us for dinner and the show. The show was amazing, of course. It really would be a great one for anyone to see.

Then, this week, my dad's wife (stepmother just doesn't work for me at times) took Rachel and two of her other grandchildren in. I was asked to come along to make it easier for her to manage 3 children in the city. We took them to Ellen's (yes, again) and saw "Legally Blonde." Rachel's been listening to the music since she learned we would be going. Very infectious stuff. I hear it in my head even as I type. LOL. Fun show. Very cute. Would see it again, at a steep discount only of course.

There's more, but this is enough for now. Our adventures are coming to an end. Rachel starts a ballet summer intensive on Monday, which means mostly ballet, mostly all day. And I go back to my normal life. Not sure what that means though. And it's not exactly my normal life either. More on that one later.