AND BOSTON!
Hello everyone!!!
I've just come back from a having a kickass time in NYC and Boston (my
first time in Boston mind you!) New York was super cool because I got to
see some very very FABULOUS SHOWS (some of which I doubt will ever
tour...so it was kinda like a "last chance theatre" kind of thing) and I
managed to cram a bit more of New York this time around. While in the
BIG APPLE the first show I saw was SHOCKHEADED PETER This was one
of the trippiest shows I've ever seen. It was a mix of Tim Burton, Ed
Gorey and a Vaudeville Circus rolled into one. The show is based on the
stories of STREWPELPETER by Heinrich Hoffman and his droll collection
of grisly bedtime stories from the mid-19th century. While it's
considered a "sort of " musical it has a three piece band (an accordion,
bass, and drum set) and only one person in the show sings (well he sings as
he narrates the stories). I love it when I get a chance to see a new angle
on Broadway theatre (and not just the cookie cutter shows that have been
polluting time square lately...Sweet Charity with Christina Applegate
anyone?) The next night I got to see a show called THE PILLOWMAN with
Jeff Goldblum and Billy Crudup. It was an AMAZING show. The story was
truly dark and interesting and just gripping from start to finish. While it
can be scary (I jumped in my seat at one point) it's billed as a
"comedy-drama" and actually has some very funny dialogue in it. The story
centered on Billy Crudup's character who writes twisted children's
stories. Jeff Goldblum plays a cop that interrogates Crudup and the tag
line for the show reads: "His stories were pure fiction...until they started
coming true"
I highly suggest if your going to New York or if your already there, make
it a point to check out THE PILLOWMAN. After the show I got to meet
the cast and they were very sweet and even took some pics with me (see
pics at right) the next day I won a lottery for AVENUE Q ( a lottery for
theatre is when you put your name in a bucket and if they draw your name
you pay about 20 bucks (instead of the going rate of $100) to see the
show) and it was extra cool because the "lottery seats" for this show
were front row, so I ended up front row center. I thought I would love
AVENUE Q and seeing it...I WAS NOT DISAPPOINTED IT WAS GREAT!!!
So funny, clever, smart, did I say funny? That show is another "not to be
missed" I think your going to see a trend in this entry that all the shows
I saw were AMAZING and not to be missed! I don't usually say this about
all shows but this time around I really picked some gems to see. The Last
show I saw in New York was THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY
SPELLING BEE. This show was HYSTERICAL and I was crying at one
point because it was so funny. It was a musical based on (you guessed it)
the tension of spelling bees and along the line of "Nunsense" it's very
audience participation heavy. I couldn't get a seat for this show (well
because of how popular it was) so I got a "Standing room only" ticket
which they only give to about 15 people you pay $21 for it and stand
usually in the back of the house and see the show. But the cool thing
about seeing this show was that the theatre had a "thrust stage" so it
played like theatre in the round and I was standing more center of the
house and also because it was a very small theatre I could sit on the floor
and still watch the show as if I actually had a seat...it was a very cool
night and I was just happy I got in to see the show.
In between seeing shows I went to Harlem to visit my friend Elena, who
told me about a contest that was going on at Macy's in Harold Square...so
first we decided to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Modern art and see
a couple exhibits (the Channel collection being one of them). The Met is
crazy big and even though I spent 2 1/2 hours in there I barely scraped
the "art surface" it will definitely have to be something I go back and see
more of later. But since we were pressed for time It was now onto the
"Sing for you ticket to the Tony's" contest and I thought it would be fun
to do. We got to Macy's about an hour before it was supposed to begin
and I got a pretty good place in line. I was given a list of songs I could
sing from (not a good selection...we're talking "Sound of music" from Sound
of music, "What I did for love" from A Chorus Line, "Caberet" from
Caberet and "Think of me" from Phantom) Now these are not the best
songs to show range and we were told that we could only do 45 seconds of
the song and would be cut off so make it good. I went with Caberet. It
was fun and I was told I did well (I was a BIG hit with the cosmetic dept
of Macy's) but I didn't win...I wasn't even in the top 5 sad but true. But
I did get my picture in BroadwayWorld.com (click on the link and scroll
halfway down and there I am!) After my big New York experience, I
hopped a bus and went to Boston. My friend Reggie's cousin lived there
and since we were already in New York we figured why not stay there a
couple days and see the sites. Boston was too cool. I loved all the history
and was amazed at how much is packed into one city. I saw
everything...well mainly because I took a trolley tour of Boston. The only
downer was it was FREEZING there, I'm talking 30's and 40's while it
was in the hundreds back here in Cali. I was so not prepared. I knew it
was gonna be cooler (because my friend told me and I checked the
weather) but this was some freak storm that came out of NOWHERE and
I ended up getting soaked and cold while trying to take in the sites of
Boston. All in all this was a super fun trip! And now I need a vacation from
my vacation! WHEW~
Carla
Boston!!
