While I was walking down East 11th street I walked upon the Cinema Village Theater when I saw a man on a ladder changing the lettering on the showing sign in front of the theater. I had never seen them actually change the signs before so I stopped and watched the man. As I was about to continue on with my walk the man yelped out “OH NO!” I looked up and saw the man on the ladder reaching through the air for something. When I turned to see what the man had so dreadfully lost I saw a plastic sheet with the letter “R” written on it blowing down the street going to no particular destination. I thought I’d be nice to the man and help him out so I yelled to him “I’ll grab that for you!” I placed my bag next to his ladder and jogged towards that letter which by now had blown into the intersection where traffic was passing through, driving right on top of it. I waited for the crossing light to turn and then ran out and stomped on the letter just before the wind had a chance to catch it again. I picked it the letter and slowly walking back to the theater I cleaned off the dirt with my jacket. When I got back to the man I handed the letter to him and he popped it in place. We exchanged comments and right before I picked up my bag to leave, the man handed me an “ADMIT ONE” ticket and said “Thank You.”
Posts Tagged ‘theater’
Running For The “R”
I <3 NYC Series: Broadway Binge
New York is a city with a unique theatrical culture, bound up in itself, that inspires excellence and wonder on the stage. I love New York theater, from the small venue, fringe shows to the bombastic spectacles that line Broadway. In addition to seeing shows, one can line up outside the stage door and interact with the performers one admired on the stage. A lucky few may even be invited for a backstage tour! But what is particularly awesome is when the liberal, live-and-let-live theater culture clashes with the numerous other groups that call New York home. On one occasion, I attended a showing of Hairspray while the National Republican Convention was in town. I ended up sitting behind George H. W. and Barbara Bush. Shockingly, the cast was aware of their audience, and changed lines in the show in order to make fun of President George W. Bush. The audience was able to applaud the former president as well as laugh at the expense of his son. There’s no shame in this town, and a lot of guts. During intermission, I was able to chat with the former first lady and get her autograph on my Playbill. I asked her what she thought of the reception, the combination of patriotism and parody. Her reply is timeless: “Only in New York.”
I <3 NYC Series: The Heart of the Theatre World
If you love live theatre, you will love New York City. On any given day, you can see a revival of a classic musical, a one person show, a new drama, a revival of an Arthur Miller or other classic playwright, or the latest in avant-garde theatre. The sheer amount of theatre available both on Broadway and Off Broadway is staggering. New York City also attracts recognizable film stars who want to try their hand at live theatre, or who are returning to his or her acting roots. In the last couple years, David Hyde Pearce, Patrick Stewart, Kelsey Grammer, and Scarlett Johansson just to name a few, have appeared in Broadway productions. Seeing a familiar actor performing live is really a treat, and often you see them stretch themselves creatively in ways they wouldn’t normally in their film or television career.
Although tickets for Broadway productions can be pricey, if you are willing to stand in line at the TKTS, or get standing room only tickets, you can see popular productions at a fraction of the normal price. Off Broadway productions are much less expensive, but still offer a great theatre experience. If you are in the mood for something edgier or offbeat, Off Broadway is probably your best bet. If you are wanting big names and big spectacle, you should stick to Broadway. Either way, you are in for a treat!
Theater Review: Mary Poppins
My husband and I went to see Disney’s Mary Poppins on Broadway in NYC for our Anniversary. It was amazing. We sat right behind the conductor. The music was upbeat, fun, and the actors interacted with the audience. The actress who plays the little girl even winked to the girl sitting next to me! They made you feel like you were part of the play. They did so many stage tricks that we left wondering how they did them!
Then afterwords, we went to “Bubba-Gump Shrimp” for dinner. The whole restaurant was themed around the movie “Forrest Gump”. They have pictures of scenes, props, and background history about the movie all over the walls. Even the decor on the table are “Forrest Gump” themed. It was a fun experience. And the food was great! I recommend the fried shrimp, of course. What was really interesting was that a lot of the servers were from different parts of the world. One of them were from New Zealand. He was fun to talk to. The whole night was a wonderful experience. This is just one example of a fun night you can have in NYC.
Gettin’ Hooked on Theater
How else could I have gotten my then boyfriend—current husband—hooked on live theater? Broadway will claim all those who submit!
When we first starting traveling to NYC, on various summer vacation trip, we went to see Doug Henning’s Magic show because I knew my husband liked magic and “Oh! Calcutta!” But I wanted to see some musical theater. So, we also saw Hair and Jesus Christ Superstar (I was pretty sure the partial nudity and humor would appeal to my husband)…and we enjoyed the music as well as the plays. Neither of us had ever seen live, professional theater before—only your typical grade school plays, which just don’t count! Luckily, we were able to get good seats at the box offices for a reasonable price. We were surprised to find the theater wasn’t as formal as we had expected…though the mix of people attending was colorful and varied.
Live theater is just so different from television and the movies. The shows were enthralling as the power of the characters, played brilliantly a wealth of talented actors. The stage caught us in its spell we became involved in the story. It felt like stepping into another world. We had a great time experiencing the thrill of live performance, and we’ve made it part of our lives ever since.