Tag: broadway

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new york city: the trip, the story, the post that follows

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As I mentioned in my previous two posts, we went to NYC for a little vacation, and despite a horrible 10+ hour delay in LaGuardia, we are back. Fun was had, sweat was shed, feet were hurt, subways were ridden, food was eaten, money was spent, and all of that made for some great stories and good times. I have decided to give you a list of the highlights of the trip, so here we go:

downtown

  • I got engaged. James proposed to me on the top of the 30 Rockefeller building, also known as the “Top of the Rock”. It was amazing being up there, and seeing all of NYC, and then being surprised by a beautiful ring (which I picked out), from a beautiful man. I don’t know when the date is going to be set, but I need to ask him in return, so I need to come up with something as romantic as his proposal (which was uber sweet).
  • When I say above that sweat was shed, I meant it. NYC is fucking HOT in the summer. Top all that heat off with the lack of A/C in a lot of places meant that I took no less than 3 showers a day, and changed clothes at least 2 times as well. All in all, we started to acclimate by the end, but that was pretty much pointless, as we were headed back to ATL at that point. I would like to go back to NYC in the fall next time; I have only ever been when it is scorching hot, or freezing cold… I would like to see it during a happy medium.
  • When we got to our hotel, I committed a bit of a gay snafu, if you will. Upon arrival, we checked in at the desk, and I needed to ask the clerk something, so I addressed her by name; or so I thought. Her name was Liza, and I thought, “it can’t be pronounced Lie-za, it just can’t be”, so I called her Lee-za. The best part, was that she corrected me by saying, “no no, honey. It’s Liza. With a Z.” Needless to say, we got a big laugh out of that one, even though I probably lost a few gay points for not knowing the correct way to pronounce Liza.
  • As a result this trip, I’ve pretty much given James and ultimatum; the beard has got to go back down to a van dyke. The reason being, that while we were in NYC, almost every place we went, people asked us if we were twins. Now let that sink in for just a second; not just brothers, but twins!?! I know that we are both guys with beards, but seriously, twins?? I don’t see it. Either way, I don’t want to look just like my lover, so I want him back in the goatee ASAP, so we can curb this “brother” nonsense.
  • We saw two shows while in NYC: Legally Blonde the Musical, and RENT. First of all, Legally Blonde was AMAZING. It met and greatly exceeded my expectations. I saw it on MTV last fall when they broadcast a performance of the show, and when I found out that Laura Bell Bundy was still in the show on Broadway, I HAD to see it. SHE. WAS. AMAZING. If you like the movie, you owe it to yourself to see the musical; it is just as fun, and the songs are delightful. I am so happy I got to see this show with the original cast. Also, we saw RENT, which I have loved for many, many years, but I had never seen on Broadway. As with all traveling shows, they just don’t compare to the Broadway version, and as such, I had to see RENT before it ends on September 7th. RENT was one of the first musicals that I got into, and it was great to see it on Broadway. It too, was excellent.
  • As I mentioned before, walking around really was painful on the old feet. I realized that I need to get back in shape, and I am committed to doing so; especially after suffering during the trip. I hope that I can make a permanent foray back into working out regularly; and if anything good comes out of our trip, that would definitely be a great one.
  • While there, I got to hang with one of my best friends, Steve Yockey, which was awesome. I also got to meet a fellow flickr friend, Michael, for the first time, who accompanied us to a sunny afternoon on the pier, followed by dinner. I wish I could have spent more time with each of them, but time didn’t permit.
  • Overall, the trip was awesome. John was great, and a lot of fun to hang out with. We got to see pretty much everything we wanted to, and felt like we saw it all (even though we really didn’t). It was awesome seeing such spots as the Stonewall Inn and the Brooklyn Bridge, and took a lot of pictures (expect them to trickle onto flickr in the coming days!). I had a lot of fun in NYC, but I am so glad to be home; it was a great vacation, however, I need a vacation because my vacation tired me out so much! Oh well, that’s how it happens, right?

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omigod, omigod you guys…

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This weekend, we were lucky enough to get the chance to see one of the currently playing Broadway shows; Legally Blonde: The Musical… and we didn’t even have to go to New York to see it! MTV aired the entire show on Saturday, and I have to say, it was awesome.

Not only was the musical totally cheesy, campy, silly, and fun, but it was awesome to have the opportunity to see a show that one might not otherwise be able to see (i.e., lack of access to NYC, lack of funds to pay for expensive tickets, etc). I am a big fan of musicals (of the ones that I have seen, that is), and having seen a couple on Broadway, trust me, I get the importance of the quality and presence of the show. However, I always leave the show wishing that it were a movie, or wishing that there was a recording of the show (not just the cast recording), because, of the ones I’ve seen, I enjoyed them so much that I would like to be able to see them again. I have never understood how a show that has such a high budget for production, and rakes in so much money ($100 a seat per night for most new shows), wouldn’t want to to capitalize even more, and bring the show to the masses… especially considering that some Broadway shows barely make back the upfront costs of production!

Sure, they do tours, and have touring casts for certain shows, but those just aren’t the same (trust me, I saw Wicked on Broadway, and I saw it again when it came to Atlanta… TOTALLY different show). Also, you have to be in one of those select cities to get to see the show, which again, plays into that whole concept of access. I just wish that some of the great shows could be recorded like Legally Blonde was this weekend; I can bet that it would make the show way more popular in the long run. I am, however, really glad that a lot of musicals have been adapted into feature length films recently; and super happy that the trend doesn’t seem to be slowing. There have been some EXCELLENT films come out over the past few years, and I hope upon hope that some of my favorites (ahem, Wicked), will follow the same path.

Overall, I loved the concept that MTV had, and I really enjoyed the show. James and I are talking about going to NYC over Christmas (James has family in NJ), and I know that I would REALLY like to see Legally Blonde now that I know what to expect. I personally hope that MTV decides to put the show that they aired on DVD, because I would totally be in line to buy my copy (hint hint, MTV!!).

Other than watching the show with friends, the weekend was pretty relaxing and nice. As I mentioned yesterday, James and I celebrated four years and one month last night, by ordering in some pizza, and just enjoying each other’s company. I am not big on flashy plans and expensive restaurants, personally… I am all about the simple things. (Like musicals on DVD!) I hope that everyone is at least adjusting to the start of a new week… I am personally avoiding the fact that I have an anatomy test this week… grrrr.