My New York Life on Broadway

When I was little I loved having friends come over to play. I would make my room sparkle and vacuum in hopes to impress friends with my collection of beanie babies and snow globes. No matter what friend would come over, however, they had no choice of what game we played: school.  

School was a game I had mastered. I was always the teacher, despite many friends’ attempts to challenge my authority. I made fake math worksheets and kept a journal of attendance, acting as I had seen my mom and teachers act. I was fun, but strict and never let any talkers get out of line, especially my teddy bears, which were always very chatty.  I always secretly wanted to be a teacher, but my mom always said that teaching was not a profession I could take up. She said that to my sister, too, who ended up being no other than … a 2^nd grade teacher just like my mom.  But anyways, having friends come over was fun and an adventure, and I jumped at any opportunity…especially for sleepovers!

Sleepovers were the best. As soon as mom and dad turned off the downstairs hallway lights, we would weasel our way to the kitchen, opening the cupboard to find… well, healthy snacks (my mom was a big fan of Special K bars and fruit cups and my dad loved Mini Wheats. We weren’t a cooking family). 
 

So this weekend when Gracie decided to come up to New York City, I had that same excitement that I had as a little girl. I cleaned the room, set up the air mattress (which ended up being faulty), and planned our weekend (sort of). 

Friday I waited in line to get rush tickets for How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying starring Danielle Radcliffe and John Larroquette. I got our tickets right at 10a.m., headed to my internship, then met Gracie at my dorm around 3p.m. for the start of our weekend. I was starving when she got here and so we decided to eat an early dinner in Little Italy and it was quite possibility the best meal I’ve eaten here, even though most Italian food that I eat comes from the cafeteria and is disguised in a sauce that should not be consumed by humans. (Thank goodness for Starbucks and $30 dining dollars a week!!) We ate bread in an olive oil sauce, caprese salad, and pesto gnocchi. And what would be an Italian meal without wine? 

After we ate, we quickly went to the theatre where we sat in partial view seating on the fourth row. Not horrible seats, but a huge chunk of the stage was hidden behind a column. We were about ten feet a couple times from Danielle Radcliffe who looks kind of like an elf in real life being that he is only about  five foot two. Poor guy, never stood a chance. The show was… okay. I don’t recommend it unless you are the biggest Harry Potter fan ever because the cast really had no chemistry and I didn’t think that Radcliffe could sing…well, at all. Also, there wasn’t much of a storyline. But cross that off the bucket list!

After the show we went to a rooftop bar where the view was extraordinary, as were the prices of the drinks…so one was enough! 

 

 
 

Saturday was filled with some shopping, lots of eating, top of the Rockefeller and of course, more eating.  Saturday night we went to a bar in midtown called Joshua Tree, which I highly recommend. They played all the best 80s and 90s music, including Madonna, Michael Jackson, and Whitney Houston. Who said that that music is out-of-date?!  Everyone in the whole place knew every word to every song. What a blast and I hope to go back before I leave!

 

 

 
 

Sunday we spent most of the day wandering around Central Park looking for a place to eat… I was turned around the whole time. I’m not really sure WHAT it was this weekend, but it was like I had only been living in NYC for one day. We got so lost a lot and I apologize to Gracie for that because… we walked a whole heck of a lot. Finally, we found this restaurant that was perfect for lunch and which I THANKFULLY found out is a chain and is only one block from my dorm… YES! 

I sadly said bye to Gracie around 3 p.m. on Sunday and she barely made it to the airport on time thanks to my navigating via upper west side trains which are few and far between. Let me just say… I don’t like asking for directions and yes, I do think I know which direction is right even when I am unsure. 

I worked Sunday night and interned Monday. I saw Harry Potter 7B last night for way too much money, but enjoyed it immensely!  It’s sad to say good-bye to a part of my childhood, even though I only read up to book four. 

Tonight, I was lucky enough to see Anything Goes with Sutton Foster. I LOVE Sutton Foster—Who doesn’t? She’s extraordinary and my obsession with her voice on the soundtrack of Thoroughly Modern Millie was slightly unhealthy, being that I can recite every line of that entire show.  What an honor it was to see her in person! I had the center mezzanine ticket for over a month and only paid, get this… $19.00. Yes, I am a star at getting cheap tickets and maybe one day I’ll tell you my secrets.  Now this is a show you have to see. The audience interacted with the cast the whole time, laughing at the jokes and situations of the cast. I left there wanting to own the soundtrack and I hope to soon!

This show brought me back to my premiere performance in The Boyfriend in high school. I decided my senior year that I was going to be on Broadway…well, at a high school of about 200. I had decided not to play basketball my senior year because well, I wanted to focus on playing other parts instead of just playing center bench. (My team spirit had dwindled a bit after the star players realized I was really good at fetching water for them during timeouts, but that’s another horrific story…)

 “Girl #4” became a huge part to me and though I only had about 3.5 lines that I actually forgot to say in the opening night of the show, no one could bring me down. I was a star caterpillar hoping to become a butterfly on the stage…Or something like that. I got to wear a wig and have short, brown, curly hair and wear a dress that I’m pretty sure I wore when I was twelve. I was a star in my book and although I cannot sing worth a darn, I pretended to that night. 

And even though I’ve grown up a little bit since those play date days, I still love sleepovers and spending time with friends. Gracie always challenges me to have a bit more fun that I usually allow myself and challenges me to be a better person. How could you go wrong with that? I miss UNC and my friends at school and I cannot wait to have play dates when I return in August! This time, we will not be pretending to play school. 

I promise all my friends that I will not make them be my pupils… ever.

Peace, Love, NYC,
Carrie

K-town, a nickname for Kinston

McKay, Alyssa and I at dinner Thursday night at Cowgirl