I’m no stranger to New York City, nor to Broadway Shows. However, this trip to New York City was very different from my previous excursions. For starters, it was a freezing cold third week in November, and I was accompanying my daughter who owns and operates a talent agency after a career in musical theater herself. She has many contacts and talents working on Broadway and what was a business trip for her was an opportunity for me tag-a-long to discover the joys in a visit to New York City worth blogging about. And there were a lot.
Few successful trips happen without preparation. I wanted to enjoy everything to the fullest and that meant setting the foundation for physical and emotional comfort and convenience. First and foremost, years of travel taught me the importance of traveling lightly. I use a small carry on and a small travel purse that fits in my light backpack. My small carry on is adequate for four weeks because I pick a basic color theme and plan my outfits around this theme, washing clothes each week (sometimes by hand). This time I chose black and dark grey with burgundy and teal as my pops of color. I purchased two important items specifically for this trip: black walking sneakers and a burgundy down coat. I got lucky on the coat. Macy’s was having an early Black Friday sale and I was able to purchase a Michael Kors burgundy down hooded coat for only $99, shocking the sales lady at the register. The retail price was $270. That purchase was a gift because it was freezing in New York City, and I wore that coat every moment we were outdoors.
Since I’m on a plant-based diet and do intermittent fasting, my daughter tasked me with finding restaurants. Before researching the best restaurants in New York City, I made a couple of decisions. First, I loosened my strictly plant-based diet for the week. I would allow myself diary, fish and chicken, but no processed meats. I would limit sweets and concentrate mostly on vegetables at every meal. And second, I would continue to eat only during my eight-hour window that coincided with my California eating times. That meant eating our first meal at 11am and our last meal before 7pm. It worked out perfectly because my daughter doesn’t do breakfast and we generally missed the crowds at very popular restaurants where I couldn’t make a reservation.
I’ve never been one to get star struck. Perhaps it’s because my parents exposed me to so many entertainment industry people growing up in California. That early experience exposed me to the sad reality that many celebrities have greater insecurities and fewer freedoms than others. As I’ve aged, many of the actors I encounter refer to me as “Mom” and find a weird comfort in my company. This trip was simply more of the same as we dined and socialized with Broadway actors, producers, and production people after shows and between shows. I enjoyed the VIP treatment while watching my highly competent daughter be the networking guru that she is as a former performer turned businesswoman. We met with her New York agents, and I got to see first-hand how highly respected she is as a boss-lady.
As for the shows, upon arrival in New York, we attended the video taping of Sherri Shepherd’s show as VIPs because my daughter’s good friend is the producer. It was fun. Sherri really caters to a Black female audience whom I would characterize as “church ladies”. That evening we went to see “MJ”, sitting center orchestra. I highly recommend the show to anyone who, like me, was a fan of Michael Jackson. The young actor who plays Michael, Myles Frost, won a Tony Award for his portrayal. Personally, I was amazed by his presence and his dancing, but I couldn’t understand a word he was saying. It might have been a problem with his mic or my plugged ear situation acting up. The playlist included all my favorite Michael Jackson hits and that alone put a smile on my face.
My daughter’s long time best friend, Jewelle Blackman, is starring as Persephone in “Hades Town” and so we went to see it. We later had lunch with her and one of the production designers who is also her boyfriend. It was by far my favorite show of the week. I loved the story, the music, the production, and the set design. No wonder it won a Tony Award for the Best New Musical. Again, we had the best seats in the House, but I hated the lack of leg room in that theater.
We also had great seats for “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child”. The magic in that production is unbelievable, the production stellar, and the story is really interesting. But what impressed me the most was the diversity of the cast. Unlike the movies, there were people of color cast in a variety of roles. Most surprising of all was that the role of Hermione Granger was played by an amazing Black actor, Rachel Leslie. Again, the lack of leg room afforded to audience goers was uncomfortable and detracted from the overall experience. It may just be me who hates feeling cramped.
And finally, we went to see K-Pop pre-opening (front row seats) and then again on Opening Night (back row seats) because my daughter has two actors in the show. Trust me, the back row seats in the small theater is much better. I’m a big BTS fan, but not a huge K-Pop fan. However, the show was a real treat for the eyes and sometimes for the ears as well. The lights, the costumes, the dancing, the production and even the story were on point. My favorite songs were performed by the K-Pop star, Luna. Some of the other songs were less memorable and there was one song in particular that I actually hated. I was tempted to make a comment about that song to one of the producers whom I met in the lobby the first night. I held my tongue since opening night was the following day and I knew the entire cast was under tremendous pressure. So, I complimented him on the show, hoping that someone would catch and correct that one egregious moment when everything was so off. Unfortunately, it was still there Opening Night and I just wanted to cover my ears until it was over. Thankfully, Broadway shows are notorious for self-correcting weak moments.
I thoroughly enjoyed our jam-packed four days in New York City despite the cold weather. It neither rained nor snowed and we felt safe in the city. We interacted with wonderful people every day including industry people, restaurant servers, hotel staff, Uber drivers, and tourists. In my experience, being kind and caring towards others brings out the best in people and that’s what we experienced. On day two, our doorman began hugging us every time we returned to the hotel to welcome us in from the cold. Upon our final departure, I left a thank you note for him with the front desk clerk whom we had shared untouched leftovers from Carmine’s a couple of days before.
Well, this post is getting way too long, so I will save our restaurant and other great experiences for next week’s blog post.