Cornucopia: Meaning Bountiful...A Lot Of

Thanksgiving in New York City has come and gone. My dad and brother came to visit, and we tackled a cornucopia of exciting activities. The festivities began on Wednesday and lasted all the way to Saturday. Nonstop.

First things first: I get word that the fam has arrived in North Bergen, New Jersey at around 5:00 on Wednesday, and they board a bus around 6:00, poised to arrive in the city within 15 minutes. So I scurry on over to the Port Authority Bus Terminal...only to discover that there bus is caught in ca-razy holiday traffic. So I wait (and wait (and wait)), and they finally arrive around 7:15. We quickly scarf down some pizza at Famiglia and hoof it on over to the Helen Hayes by 8:00 for a hysterical performance of The 39 Steps. It was just as funny the second time around, and provided a lovely start to the weekend ahead.

With Thursday came Thanksgiving itself! And what does Thanksgiving in NYC mean?...Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade! Live! In person! A large group of NYAPers headed out early (really, it was 6:30 a.m., a small price to pay), and we scoured out a prime spot on 42nd St. & 7th Ave. - the parade made a turn here, so we got to see the balloons and floats coming at us, and then do their wondrous turns. After two hours or so of waiting, the parade finally began! We could literally see it coming at us from a mile away - straight up the street from Central Park. And the parade did not disappoint: the balloons were massive and made some frightening turns over our heads/through narrow gaps, the floats were exquisite, the celebrities were...present (I either didn't really know who most of them were, or just didn't care), and the crowd was massive. The experience was thrilling.












After this, we made a trek up to Rockefeller Center (where the not-yet-lit tree stands) and then to Central Park. After accidentally riding an express train all the way up to 125th St. (we wanted 72nd), we finally made it to the park. We stumbled upon the Jacqueline Onassis Reservoir, which is huge and I've strangely never seen before, as well as Strawberry Fields, which was sadly not decorated - the homeless man who usually brings the flowers and does the work took the holiday off. We then rested for a little while in preparation for Thanksgiving Dinner, which was not to happen until late at night.

Around 8:30, we finally met up with the Voigt family and headed down to SoHo for our lovely feast at Bistro Les Amis. We arrived just before 9:00 (the time of our reservation) and discovered there were no tables available...so we waited outside (and waited (and waited))...until finally, we were seated at 9:30. Luckily, the wait was well worth it. The meal consisted of bread, carrot ginger soup, salad, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, squash, mashed potatoes, turkey stuffed with sausage and mushrooms, and a choice of pumpkin pie or cheesecake for desert (I had a little of both...). Each and every course was delicious, delectable, and festive. Properly stuffed, we headed back and hit the sack for the night.

Friday was the day of the museum. We first headed back to Central Park to visit the Museum of Natural History. I've missed this place since my first visit more than 5 years ago. The best parts are all the animal exhibits, which display all sorts of creatures in their natural habitats. And of course, the forest, biology, space, and dinosaur exhibits are all fascinating as well. What a wonderful tour - I even learned a little something in the process. After this, we headed to another museum for a less intellectual experience. Yup, we went to Madame Tussauds Wax Museum. It was so worth it, too. I got my picture taken with all of my favorite celebs: Tyra, Whoopi, *NSYNC, Shakira, The Spice Girls, and even Madame Tussaud herself. They look so real!










Saturday was the last day for dad and Scott in the city. So how did we kick it off? By heading to New Jersey of course! We hopped on the NJ Transit and headed to downtown Hoboken, home of Carlo's Bakery (of the show "Cake Boss"). Unfortunately, upon arriving, we discovered a huge line looping around the block - and it wasn't moving, so it was surely a good hour wait. Well, we didn't have time for that, so we just snapped some pics of the front facade and then headed out. Around the corner, though, we spotted the back alley behind the shop. And emerging from it, bearing two enormous sheet cakes for the crowd, was none other than Mauro (we didn't know his name at the time - I just looked it up). Well, he offered us the cake (I took one of each - chocolate and red velvet) and then we got a nice picture with him. These people are incredibly nice. It was so worth the trip.

After moseying around a nice park in Hoboken for a while, we re-boarded the NJ Transit heading for the World Trade Center. Except that we ended up somewhere else in Jersey and had to wait for the correct train to pick us up there. We ended up a good hour out of our way. The NJ Transit only has five trains, but it's still so confusing. Well, we finally got to lower Manhattan, saw Ground Zero, perused the memorial, and walked along the southern shoreline, catching a distant glimpse of the Statue of Liberty as the sun set. Wow, that was beautifully stated...

And for our last event, we attended a performance of the groundbreaking musical, Next to Normal. Upon entering the theatre, I was disheartened to find that the amazing Alice Ripley would not be performing in the show (let's be honest though, neither dad nor Scott cared - and her understudy was phenomenal anyway). Again, this was my second time seeing the show - and it was even better this time around. Everybody loved it - how could they not?!

So that's the amazing holiday weekend. It was great to see my dad and brother before I embark on my last month in the city (ah!). And it was also terribly convenient, because they drove in, and I was able to send a whole bunch of unnecessary things home - because I can't take it all on a plane. Now that Thanksgiving is over, bring on the winter!

Passtime Potpourri

These past few days have been eclectic, to say the least. It wasn't my same old routine (work-->show; repeat) - I shook it up a little bit. On Saturday I did actually have a double shift working the patron's lounge for Nightingale. But I had four hours between shifts, so I hoofed it over to Central Park to (finally) get a look at the fall foliage! And let me say I was not disappointed. Sure, it was drizzling out, but the leaves were still all sorts of lovely colors - and the rain even added to the autumnal ambiance. That is until I reached the dead middle of the park...and it started pouring. Buckets. Vats. Dams. (It was raining very hard). I could not escape it, and even though I had my umbrella, I still got a got soaked. I hope the patrons at the night performance didn't notice my soggy clothing and the faint smell of mildew...











On Sunday, a whole gaggle of NYAPers went to see improv at the Upright Citizens Brigade. On Sunday nights, there are free shows - all you have to do is wait in line for an hour so, at which I am a pro. The show is basically an hour and a half of improv - the troupe performs skits based on improvised monologues given by a person called the "monologist" (who is generally famous). This was actually my second visit to the UCB - last time there was a whole slew of famous people - lots of SNL cast members, including Amy Poehler, Seth Meyers, and Bobbie Moynihan, as well as Jack MacBrayer from "30 Rock" - and the show was absolutely hysterical. This time around, the troupe didn't have any particularly famous people, although the monologist was none other than...Chevy Chase. That's right, the Chevy Chase. His monologues were actually incredibly strange and not terribly funny (and the ensuing improvs were a little sub-par as well), but being able to see Chevy Chase up close was alone worth the trip. I shall be returning very soon.

And now comes Nick's advice for the day. This one is for prospective NYC tourists: if you want to win tickets to a Broadway show via a lottery, go for Rock of Ages. I tried this on Monday, and the contest was virtually nonexistant - roughly 14 people vied for 28 tickets (at 2 per person), so everyone got in. I had my hesitations about this show, but I cannot lie - I actually liked it. A lot. It does for 80's rock songs what Mamma Mia! does for ABBA - and it even does it slightly better (although sadly without the exclamation point). The show is just downright silly, and I even recognized most of the songs! Not to mention that the vocals were absolutely phenomenal. I really went for Kerry Butler, who did Xanadu last year - I know, you wish you had seen that one, right? She was hilarious and sassy of course. And Constantine Maroulis (of "American Idol" Season 4 - back in the day when I still watched) was surprisingly great. Add to the mix the battery-powered lighters they handed out and the glittery confetti at the end of the show, and I am sold.

And finally, tonight I attended a taping of "Inside the Actor's Studio" with the Strasberg Institute - Kelly got comps, and I tagged along. The special guest was Kate Hudson, so it wasn't the most intriguing of discussions. Although I do love her work in "Almost Famous" and am super excited for "Nine". In the end though, it was just amazing to see James Lipton in the flesh - he seriously had a colossal stack of note cards and went through all of them. So look for the episode to air later this year and listen for a sustained scream during the final applause - that would be me.

The Gang's All Here

I apologize for the incredibly lengthy delay in post time - I have most certainly set a new record. I know all of you out there are have been pining for more news of the city. Although, let's be honest, more than half of the people who read this blog were in the city with me last weekend anyway. As such, there is lots (and lots and lots) to report.

It all started last Thursday. I picked up mom and Scott at the airport around 2:00. We arrived at the "305" around 3:30, got settled in, and went to eat lunch at my favorite place in town: Dinersty! This is cheap, disgusting Chinese food at it's best - they have the most exquisite Sesame Chicken in town. I go to this place so often, they just see me and know to give me Sesaly Elliot, The Royal Family, Nightingale opening, Central Park, God of Carnage, Staten Island Ferry, La Mela, Empire State Building, Jamba Juice, Shrek, Today Show, Chicago, parade, Columbus Dayme Chicken. (Although I once ordered General Tso's instead and they disregarded my order and gave me the Sesame - not that I'm complaining). Anyway, mom and Scott enjoyed their meals immensely - unless they were just being nice, but I sincerely doubt it.

We took it easy for a few hours before heading out to "dinner" in Times Square (wink wink). I strategically took them to Times Square through a Subway that would give them a good view right upon exiting - I remember my first Times Square experience well, and I try far too hard to replicate it for others. We wandered around the area for a while before heading down 45th Street. We told Scott we were going to dinner at a restaurant called Charley O's - which is conveniently located kitty-corner to the Imperial Theatre, home to Billy Elliot. Mom and I had been putting all our effort into averting suspicion - although there was a frightening moment in which Scott almost read my last blog post. Luckily, I put a stop to that...Anyway, we arrived in front of the theatre, right across the street from the fabled Charley O's, and I turned around and proclaimed, "You know, is anyone really that hungry? Because I do have three tickets to Billy Elliot here..." This is where Scott went crazy - he had absolutely no idea. We entered the theatre, took our seats, and the curtain went up. The show was amazing - a little different than expected, but still great. Phenomenal dancing of course, inspired performances (we got a Tony Award-winning Billy, thank goodness), and wonderful direction. Surprise!

Friday: incredibly eventful. It all started with the Today Show - I could unfortunately only stay for a few minutes, but I hear that Scott and Diane enjoyed it very much - they even stayed for Kathie Lee and Hoda (but who wouldn't, really?). After I got out of work at MTC - it was a very eventful day, what with The Royal Family reviews coming out and all - we headed to Central Park. We went to the wondrous Belvedere Castly, saw some crazy street performers, and stumbled upon Strawberry Fields - and get this: it was John Lennon's birthday! There were a good 150 people or so packed in and singing along to a whole bunch of Lennon songs - what an amazing coincidence. That night, we ate dinner at Monetti's - so they could get their first taste of New York pizza - and then got standing room for God of Carnage. Everyone loved the play of course, because it is amazing. We even got to chat with Jeff Daniels (who did not seem to care that we are from Michigan), James Gandolfini (who does not pose well for pictures), and Marcia Gay Harden (who unfortunately had to hurry out because she had some sick children). A grand time was had by all.

Saturday: Beka arrived in town! We started the day off by heading to the Staten Island Fairy and taking lots of unnecessary Statue of Liberty pictures. We then checked out the 9/11 memorial before heading to Greenwich Village to check out some beautiful apartments we could never afford. After this, we decided Chinatown would be a lovely place to visit...it is not. It smells stank nasty and is dirty as all hell. So we wandered around for a while (led by my misguided direction) before finally finding Little Italy. We stopped in for a delicious dinner at La Mela Ristorante. We were taken down a dark, scary hallway before emerging into a lovely dining room. The food was delicious and there was even a wonderful two-man band that played some lovely Italian songs, my favorite of which was "That's Amore" by the incomparable Harry Warren. Penultimately, we made a visit to the Empire State Building - a la "Sleepless in Seattle". We all felt just like Meg Ryan waiting for Tom Hanks, and we even got in some lovely sightseeing in the process. New York is gorgeous at night. To cap it all off, we stopped by Times Square (Beka's first visit - she was astounded) for some more sights and sounds, and some delicious Jamba Juice (this was Scott, Diane, and Beka's firsts - they were all astounded). Wow, we did a lot.

Sunday: Mom and Scott had to head out in the early afternoon, so we walked around the town a little more before heading to the airport. We said our goodbyes, and I headed back to meet up with Beka and Kelly. We headed to Beka's first Broadway show: Shrek. It was a riotous good time, and clearly warranted a Stage Door visit. Beka got some lovely photos with some cast members, although we were unfortunately stood up by Sutton Foster once again (this also happened when Kelly and I saw it in May) - but we are determined to meet her at some point. We headed to Jamba Juice once more, and then layed down for a good night's rest.

Monday: We woke up bright and early to check out the Today Show. We got there around 8:00 to find a mob of screaming little girls. We couldn't get within 200 feet of Matt and Meredith. "Why?", we asked. Well, it was apparently all because 15-year-old singing sensation Justin Bieber was performing - he is now all of our nemesis. Luckily, the screaming girl crowd cleared out around 9, after Justin Bieber left, and we were free to enjoy the Today Show as we pleased. Kelly had to go to work, so Beka and I hung around for Kathie Lee and Hoda (again, who wouldn't?), and we may have even managed to get on TV. Soon after, we stumbled upon a Columbus Day Parade - apparently, in New York, this day is an excuse for Italian Americans to celebrate their heritage. The parade was overall pretty lame, with the possible exception of a crazy winged girl on roller skates and a man we met dressed up in Italian garb, complete with glasses with windshield wipers. Beka enjoyed her first NYC pizza, and Kelly rejoined us for dinner at Applebee's and Beka's second Broadway show: Chicago. As always, the show was phenomenal - this was the best cast of the three times I have seen it. And of course, we stopped by Jamba Juice after for a perfect ending - our new best friend is now Jesus, the man who works the register there.

On Tuesday, I dropped Beka off at the airport bright and early...well, "dropped off" isn't really the right phrase. There was all kinds of drama because they thought Beka owed $25 for her luggage from Detroit, and they were not at all hasty about solving this problem, even though her flight would leave in 40 minutes or so. We waited around for a while, and Beka was finally able to get in line (where I understand there was even more drama), and finally onto the plane. I took a lovely bus/subway ride to work and my normal routine began again.

So that's the amazing weekend. I know what you're thinking - there is another week to cover! Well, I'm exhausted, and I will give you the rest of the update tomorrow (hopefully...). So everybody calm down and I'll be with you shortly. I hope you can forgive me for the delay, and will all stay the faithful followers I know you to be.

Perpetual Anticipation

I am super duper excited for this weekend - my mom and brother (Scott, that is) are arriving in la ciudad tomorrow afternoon, and the lovely Beka Kroesing is dropping in on Saturday. We have a cornucopia of fun things planned. And by "cornucopia", I clearly mean "empty chasm", as I have done little to no preparation. We'll figure something out...

But for now, back to the past week. Last weekend was actually packed with a cornucopia of fun (and mostly free) things. Friday brought the off-Broadway production of Blind Lemon Blues (comp tickets of course - I love my internship). The show is about blues-folk singer Blind Lemon Jefferson and is basically an excuse to sing his songs - no plot really, but mostly strong performances and some stunning music arrangements.

Saturday brought rain (of the steady variety, of course). Kelly and I ventured to Union Square and then north to Times Square, where we once again met up with her friend Michael...who ironically lives near Union Square. We ate a scrumptious meal at the Applebee's in Times Square (which is not too ridiculously overpriced) and got some complimentary desert shooters. We then pranced around H&M for a while (because the Disney store was sadly closed) before returning home.

Sunday was extremely eventful. I pretty much spent the whole day at the Friedman Theatre, home of MTC's The Royal Family. I got trained to work in the Patron's Lounge (abbreviated P.Lo for some reason) during the matinee. That is, I got trained until 20 minutes into the performance, when Tony Roberts (an actor in the show) experienced a minor seizure and the show was subsequently cancelled. Well after this I promptly headed to Central Park, where the New York Arts kids had a fun picnic. We ate. We drank. We played frisbee. We hit people with frisbees. We danced. We got weird stares from other people because of our dancing. 'Twas a wondrous time. And after all this hullabaloo, I finally got to see the night performance of The Royal Family! The show was absolutely hysterical, the set was gorgeous (it even got some applause), and the performances were very strong. And, of course, our tickets were generously provided by the Manhattan Theatre Club. Love it.

And guess what? More comp tickets! Tonight we saw the off-Broadway play Circle Mirror Transformation. I kind of loved this play - it was very simple, but very funny and moving. The dialogue was very realistic, and the all of the performances were pretty much perfect. This may be my favorite off-Broadway experience thus far. And another great experience: I ran into Bridget Martin (sister of Claire) today! We just happened to pass each other on 8th Avenue - small city, no? We agreed to meet up some time soon, and I am real excited about it!

So there's the lowdown. I gosta got to bed - I have 3 long hours of work tomorrow. MTC was kind enough to let me off at 1 so that I can pick up some folks from the airport. Tomorrow's a big day, and it will be amazing. (Don't tell Scott, but we're seeing Billy Elliot tomorrow night - it's kind of a surprise). Alright, good night. And good luck.

Ooh, My Feet! My Poor, Poor Feet!

I think the painful reality of living in a pedestrian city hit me today. After four days in the city, I am still yet to take a subway. Kelly and I decided a trip to Central Park was in order for this day of Labor. We speculated that we might even visit the zoo (on the stipulation that it be free - a detail it would have been handy to research before taking to the streets). So we traveled north 30 blocks till we reached the park.

Upon entering the park, we promptly found the zoo only to discover that it costs $10...nay nay, that I will not pay. Lost for words at this point, we decided that an excursion another 20 blocks north to visit the exterior of the MET was completely rational. Along the way, we encountered a myriad of eccentric folks, including a juggler with an inspirational message for the children, and an impoverished family lipsynching for money. Upon arriving at the MET, the harsh reality set in: we now have to walk back. And we did just that, arriving back at 305 a mere hour and a half later. The total distance: 7 miles. Yeah, I think I might do some stretches before embarking on another walk.