New York - again

Now before I say anything I must point out that this isn't my first time to New York City and it won't be my last. NYC is one of my favorite cities in the world and I always love visiting. There is something about the energy in NYC that I love. I could spend my time just walking the city exploring everything from restaurants to museums to shops or simply just relaxing in a park and people watch. I've said at various points that I could live here but I'm not sure if I would enjoy it as much. But now I'm getting off the point of this post. Right now I'm sitting in my hotel room on the last night of my trip and wanted to share the many things that I've experienced on this trip. I'm here for work which requires much of my time focused on those activities but my evenings are free for adventure. I normally see broadway shows while I'm here, and this trip is no different. But there have a been a few extra things that have occurred that I would like to share.

Cash Cab - have you ever seen that show where people get into a cab and are asked to answer questions on the way to their destination to earn money? We'll I have and always thought it would be fun to do. While I didn't get to actually do this, they did have the cash cab and host outside of our hotel next to a food truck they had as part of publicity stunt. So while waiting in line to get food I got to watch cash cab. It was cool.

SMASH - Last year a new show appeared on TV called SMASH. It's fictional story surrounding a group of people trying to create and cast a show for broadway. Clearly my music geek side was drawn to this show. Now I know that they film everything in New York and thought it would be cool to see them. Well on Wednesday night, walking back to my hotel after a show, I saw a restaurant closed for "filming" and all of these trailers. I never could figure out what they were or who was staring but knew I got to see a film set. Well this morning I saw a twitter picture of the cast of SMASH standing outside of the restaurant that we passed. Next time I'll be sure to stand around and see if I can see any one.

Annie - This was one of the shows that I saw. I was a little weary about it but also interested. I've grown up only watching the movie and wasn't sure how I would enjoy it on stage. I had nothing to worry about as the production was great. The girl who played Annie was amazing and had a great voice for an eleven year old. She gave me chills when she sang. The actress playing Miss Hanagan was just as good as Carol Burnett. The show stealer was the little girl who played Molly, the youngest of the cast. She was hysterical. It's a great show for children of all ages.

Once - the other show I saw was the 2012 Tony Award Winning Best Musical. It is set in Dublin, Ireland and has this guy who is giving up music as his heart has been broken. He runs into a Eastern European girl who pushes him to continue with his music as people need to hear his songs. Throughout the course of a week they continue to connect and write music all while falling for each other. The play ends with a vague ending that allows you the audience to determine what happens next. I found this to be a truly amazing show. The music and story were to be described as "hauntingly beautiful". The actors also played all of their own instruments and the dialog in between songs was amusing. I clearly understand why this won best musical. A co-worker had shared that after she saw the show a couple of weeks, she just didn't want it to end. I completely agree. It was amazing and I recommend if you can see it you should. Side note - they have one of the bars on stage so you can get drinks before the show and at intermission. I did this and can say I stood on a broadway stage. One thing I can cross off my bucket list.

This has been a great trip and I'm ready to come back soon. Here are a few pictures: