The Reign Is Over

Today marked the end of a wonderful era at MTC: both of our current productions, The Royal Family and Nightingale, closed today. Being the sentimental person that I am, I could not resist attending the closing performance of The Royal Family. I brought Kelly and Amy along with me, and we had a rick-rollicking good time. We even crashed the patron lounge and took our fair share of coffee/water/m&m's/chocolate almonds.

As for the show, I had not fully appreciated just how brilliant it is until viewing it again...but it is seriously hysterical, perfectly paced, and deeply moving. Jan Maxwell is truly a comic genius (Kathie Lee said this on The Today Show, and she was right), and I am seriously going to miss watching her catastrophic meltdown at the end of Act Two. The cast of course got a rousing standing ovation, and Ms. Maxwell and Rosemary Harris were thrown more roses than they could possibly know what to do with. I am so proud to have worked at MTC during the run of this show. It had a great run (or should I say reign?).

This night, we were all discouraged about attending UCB, since it was raining so intensely. Fallon, Lisa, Amy, and Bryce braved it and waited outside for 2 hours to get front-row seats. Kelly and I finally decided to go, and headed out way later so we would only have to wait 45 minutes or so. Upon getting outside we were delighted to find that the rain was over (see what I did there? Refer to the title of this blog post for the pun). Well, we still got second row seats, directly behind the rest of our crew. There was nobody particularly famous this week, but the monologues and improv were simultaneously hilarious and bizarrely inappropriate.

So all in all, it's been a good reign. Rain? Reign.

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.

Statues and Stories

This weekend was chock-full of of good times. Friday was actually strangely eventful. I finally got trained for the patron lounge shift at the Friedman Theatre. (If you'll recall before, my earlier attempt at training was cut short when actor got sick during The Royal Family and the performance was cancelled). Well, this time, everything went as planned...actually, even better than planned. There were a couple celebrities in the house, and to my delight, they stopped by the patron lounge. The first to stop by was Judith Light - I had never heard of her, but she is apparently in "Ugly Betty" and was incredibly nice. During the first intermission, we got a visit from Jenna Fischer of "The Office". Her presence set the patron lounge abustlin' with excitement. She took a few chocolate-covered almonds and some coffee. When she returned for the second intermission, a few people mustered up the courage to talk to her. She was very amicable, but I prefer to keep my distance. This is wondrous job indeed.

With Saturday came a trip to the (in?)famous Metropolitan Museum of Art. The place is HUGE - I think I was in denial about just how much time it would take one to navigate through. We probably saw roughly 15% in just over 3 hours. The Greek and Roman collection was lovely and exquisite, the Africa/Oceania/Americas section had its moments, the Modern Art collection was crizazy (of course) and at times interesting, and the photography showcase was intriguing. Much to our chagrin, the musical instrument collection was temporarily closed. My favorite part, though, was the European Art. There were paintings by Van Gogh, Monet, Seurat, Degas, Picasso, and all of their friends...Although I was disappointed by the distinct lack of the Mona Lisa and Seurat's A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. But we still got to see some amazing stuff, so I'm not complaining. Don't tell the MET, but I may or may not have come very close to destroying a classic Monet painting - I went to point to it and somehow found my finger dragging across. I scurried out of there as fast as I could...hopefully, they'll let me back in some time in the future so I can explore the rest.

And finally, today I had my midterm review with the savvy Dana Tarantino. She thinks I'm doing just swell, but is of the opinion that I need to see fewer shows and get out and see the city a little more. I think I may agree with her. So what did Kelly and I do tonight to change this trend?...We saw Mary Poppins! We got quite possibly the best student rush ever - front row of the mezzanine, close to the center. The show was actually much better than anticipated. The set, particularly the house (complete with an attic and roof that fly in), was awe-inspiring. Our cast was so legit - we had Laura Michelle Kelly, the original Mary Poppins in London, and Broadway star Christian Borle. The musical had some questionable moments (particularly the terrifying life-size stuffed animal nightmare sequence), but the choreography and performances were wondrous. And it doesn't hurt that Mary Poppins flew at the end - not just on the stage, but out into the audience. She came literally within 5 feet of our seats. I felt like a child again.

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.