NYC Break 2: Day 1

Well, after one day in NYC, all I can say is that I missed this place SO much, but it really feels like I never left. I kinda really love NYC.
Anyway, on to my day. We arrived in Newark around 6:30 and my mama had been holding back a surprise from me. She told me as we waited for a bus into Manhattan... it was tickets to Behind the Emerald Curtain, the backstage "tour" of Wicked! I was SO EXCITED! But we had to get into Mangattan first.
So we got into the city, checked in to our hotel (fun fact: Hotel @ Time's Square is NOT at Time's Square) and then went to get standby tickets to SNL for the show last night. Our chances of getting in were slim, but we wanted to try anyway. Then we roamed around Rockafeller Center for a bit, tried to find the Nintendo Store, and eventually made our way to the Gershwin Theatre where Behind the Emerald Curtain was.
As a huge fan of Wicked AND of the creative aspects of building a show, this was PHENOMENAL! There were original costume designs being displayed AS WELL AS a few costumes from a few pretty well known characters...

Needless to say, I was pretty excited.

Whatta derp.

We also got to go into the theatre and watch a couple of videos, but the costumes were my favourite part.

After that, we went to the Stardust Diner for lunch. If anyone doesn't know this place, it's a 50s style diner where the servers are all actors and actresses trying to make it big. To prove this to every single person eating in the restaurant, they sing! I've been every time I've gone to NYC because it's so fun, but this was the first time I was in their Jazz Club room. It was pretty sexy. I got their Loaded Sock Hop Fries because I'm a glutton (waffle fries, cheese, bacon and chili).

By the time we had finished our meal, I was tired. Like, falling asleep at the table tired. And I'm not 5, so that's a pretty big feat. So I headed back to the hotel for a nap. And I know some of you are all "But Cat! You're in NYC! Why are you napping, you derp?!!?!" 

Herp.

Well, I had been up since 3am New Brunswick time, which was 2am NYC time, so I was sleepy. But after a short nap of 20 minutes, it was off to Seminar featuring Alan Rickman and, my favourite, Hammish Linklater!

Not going to lie, I was absolutely blown away. The acting was superb in every way, allowing me and my father to step right into Kate's apartment and join the fiction writers in their quest for fiction-writing stardom. All the actors were beyond professional, but Hammish stole the show for me. From the minute the lights came on, he was his character, and we saw the growth that his character had throughout the play. Alan Rickman was pretty awesome too, I guess... No, he was awesome.

What ALSO astounded me was the set! HOLY SHIT! There is one set change in the entire play, and that's leading into the last scene. The set before that was Kate's apartment, but during this transition, the entire apartment FLEW up into the gallery and behind it was a studio apartment belonging to Alan Rickman's character, Leonard. Holy shit.

Got a couple of autographs from Hammish and Jerry O'Connell (yeah, he was in it too) and then it was SHOPPING TIME!!! I went to Sephora first, looking for the Kat Von D tattoo cover up. Found it, tried it, not very impressed. I could still see mine, which was NOT was advertised. Needless to say, I didn't get it. But I did go to Forever 21 and get a dress and a white blazer! Photos to come regarding those. I also went to the Disney store and resisted buying Princess dresses on countless occasions. (Yes, I KNOW they don't fit me, but I waaaaaant one!)

Finding a place to eat was hard. It was that time, right before a show, where most people were also on the hunt for dining, ESPECIALLY sit down dining, so... yeah. We ended up getting sushi (which I really wanted) at a neat little restaurant on W55th, between 8th and B'way, which was just down the street from my next show, Merrily We Roll Along!

This was being performed at the New York Center for the Arts. The inside of that building looked like the most gorgeous Mosque I've ever seen. But more than I was blown away by the building, I was blown away by the show.

If anyone knows me, they would know that I'm a huge Sondheim fan (along with the rest of the Musical Theatre community), so this was especially a treat. Unbeknownst to me, the guy who wrote and starred in In the Heights and the original Olive Ostrovsky from Spelling Bee were in the cast! I died! But the show was amazing, even if I was in the very top balcony. It just meant that I didn't see the entire band, who were on the stage.

The second the show ended and the applause died down, my mother RUSHED us to 30 Rock to get in line with our standby tickets for SNL. I had to pee SO badly, so I roamed up and down, up stairs and down stairs to find a washroom. TURNS OUT they were all closed. Assholes. But we didn't get in to the show, so I just went to the hotel, and it was wonderful.

Things you didn't want to know. Oh well.

So that was my first day. Needless to say, I'm ecstatic about the rest of my trip! Day 2 entails flea markets and a couple of shows I'm sure you've heard about... More on that later!