Well, once again it is breakfast time. However, today is a little less hectic first thing, so I thought I'd catch up everything here - with the exception of pictures. I still need to go through those and figure out what should get posted.
Anyway, we got to NYC on Friday. The first thing we did was get a bus to the hotel and check in. Let me tell you that the digs are very nice. We're two blocks south of Central Park, and a fairly short walk from the places we need to rehearse and perform. It is, all in all, a good experience to this point.
Next, we all gathered together to walk down to Times Square. Picture, if you will, twenty-five college students and two faculty members strolling down the sidewalk of 7th Avenue in NYC. Well, it was interesting. On a side note, the people watching here is intriguing. That's something that "Law & Order" never really suggests.
After our first introduction to Times Square, we broke up the group to go to dinner. I went to Ellen's Stardust Diner. Oh boy, am I glad I did. I had an incredible Reuben sandwich, and TWO, yes 2, milkshakes. I love corned beef almost as much as I love pastrami. That makes me a happy camper since I am spending the weekend in the city of delis.
After dinner, we went as a group to see Wicked. I must admit, I thought the production was beautiful, certainly well staged (not to mention IMPRESSIVELY huge in scale), and there were some amazing performances by the actors. I didn't like the story much, but I won't go into that here. I did leave the theatre very impressed with the experience.
Then yesterday, Saturday, we topped our Friday experience!
After breakfast, we went to our rehearsal in the Alvin Ailey Theatre - home of the American Dance Theatre. It was enjoyable and I learned good stuff (always a pleasant experience). The rehearsal was professional in nature and productive - melding members of four different choirs into a single one.
After rehearsal, I grabbed a quick sandwich from a deli, wolfed part of it down in time to get on a bus for a four hour tour of the city. It was pleasant too. There was some good information provided by our guide, and several opportunities to get out and explore. The highlights included a stop in Central Park, a drive up Central Park Avenue West and returning on the East side of the park - with its "old money" houses to look at. We also rode through several NYC neighborhoods, such as SoHo and Tribeca on our way to Battery Park to get a view of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. We rode past the WTC site and saw the new construction going on - rising from the ashes, so to speak. That seemed like such a poignant metaphor and symbol of what America means to me.
After our tour, we stopped to get show tickets a TKTS in Times Square. Then, we had time for a much more liesurely dinner. I ate at Maison, a French restaurant near the Broadway Theatre. The meal was amazingly good. Then I went to see Sister Act at the Broadway Theatre. To be honest, I had not expected much, but I was much more than pleasantly surprised. In fact, I was blown away. The show was eye-popping in its staging (though a little smaller in scope than Wicked the night before). The vocalists were wonderful performers (particularly the woman who sang the part of Mary Robert - the novice). The story and action had me laughing so hard that I thought I would fall out of my chair. All in all, the experience was over the top!
I am now anxious to see what Sunday in New York has in store.
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