I’ve been in NYC 2 hours* and I’ve touched Cyndi Lauper’s clothes**, bought two discounted theater tickets*** — $83 total! — and am about to eat NY pizza****. And I’ve walked 7500***** steps so far.
* Was up at 4 am to get to airport by 5, to deal with a surprisingly packed airport, and an especially long security line, to arrive at my gate five minutes before boarding. All that pain and hassle was worth it because then I was in Manhattan by 11 am.
**Couldn’t check in to hotel yet, so I checked my suitcase and wandered out of the hotel. Immediately next door is an auction house with a display of Cyndi Lauper clothes through the years and Stanley Kubrick props (two separate auctions, of course). I got to touch Cyndi Lauper’s clothes — first off she’s tiny, as I knew. I told the 20-something auction house employee that I saw Cyndi Lauper the first time in 1983! The Kubrick stuff is expected to go for tens and hundreds of thousands. No touching them — they were under glass. I decided against bidding on an axe from The Shining that is expected to go for $40,000.
***I wandered to the box office of the theater showing Oh Mary, where I used the phrase I learned from a theater-savvy friend: “rush ticket for one.” I got a ticket for $43 for tonight. Per the show’s website, the only tickets left for tonight were more than $400. Then I walked to the box office for the theater showing Schmigadoon, and did the same and got a ticket for $40 for this afternoon. I’d already passed the TKTS booth with the 45 minute long line where discounted Schmigadoon tickets were starting at $81, or $91 per the website. Now, my seats may (probably) suck… but it’s always fun to save a few hundred dollars. I did my part for the Theater paying full tourist price in prior years.
****Best pizza. Good and greasy. Also, I’ve now come to theater district enough that I’m at a pizza place I’ve been to before. Yay Carnegie Pizza on 41st St.
***** Tax season, I often have days of less than 2000 steps — something I say every season I won’t do again, and yet I do. A trip to NYC certainly gets me moving again. Love a walkable city.
ACCOUNTING ADDENDUM: so I saved approximately $40,390 today. This trip is paying for itself! 😆😆😆💰💰💰
Dessert before two shows: German chocolate cake
THEATER
Schmigadoon was delightful and clever and great dancing and laughs. But you can save yourself a trip to NYC by watching the Apple TV show. The musical was nearly word for word exactly the TV show. Fun to see live, but having seen the TV show, I wasn’t quite so blown away by the musical.
Oh Mary! Good campy fun and crazy revisionist history. It was funny. But did not live up to the hype of the most amazing cutting edge show ever. I enjoyed it… but not enough to see it again when it tours through Tampa.
Got free merch from both shows thanks to Robyn. I didn’t go overboard: a cup and magnet at Schmigadoon and a set of ones from Oh Mary!
ADDED: Two years ago in Italy, my aunt and my daughter and I stopped at Venchi chocolate in Florence Italy. And the chocolates are so good, I was slowly savoring them day by day. Still had a few when we were in Naples and my bag got stolen — CLASSIC Naples story. My bag had a couple small souvenirs from Florence and Venice and the last of my Venchi chocolates. So then today I was walking down 7th Avenue in New York and there is a Venchi chocolate. So I bought myself some yummies and I will do my best not to let my bag get stolen this time.
End of day: 13,680 steps. And I’m in bed at 9:30 pm.
